| Twilight (Twlight) |  | Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Buy New: $17.80
as of 11/22/2009 22:45 CST details
New (4) Used (5) from $15.99
Seller: any_book
Rating:  4538 reviews
Sales Rank: 1815949
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
ISBN: 0316014419
EAN: 9780316014410
ASIN: 0316014419
Publication Date: January 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
When isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresitible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret.
What Bella doesn't realize is the closer she gets to him, the more she is putting herself and those around her at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back. . .
Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight will have readers riveted right until the very last page is turned.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 4538
 One of the Worst supernatural romances ever written November 22, 2009
Amanda Pike (Bellmore, NY)
I can't even express into words how strong my distaste for the entire Twilight Saga truly is. In my personal opinion Twilight is prefabricated, poorly written, shallow, demographic-forcing tripe. When I was a fourteen-year-old girl I was very obsessed with the vampire anti-hero Lestat from Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. And though Lestat had many relationship issues he was still a better defined and more well conceived character than that of Edward Cullen.
Edward and Bella are poorly thought out, two dimensional shells. This was a deliberate effort by the author so that every young reader could imagine themselves as the main characters but in the process she made them so superficial that the characters lacked any quality of definition. They did not feel like real people.
Not only is Twilight poorly written but it also hinders upon actual mythology. The notion of vampires glittering in the sun is laughable at best. It brings to mind the recollection of such toys as the My Little Pony dolls. The logic behind vampires sparkling in the sunlight is non-existent. A vampire burning in the sun has been a staple of Gothic fiction for many years. There are real diseases and disorders in the world that make sunlight harmful to certain individuals. Scientifically it's more plausible to be harmed by sunlight than to 'naturally' sparkle in it.
Another flaw in the mythos of Twilight is the definition of werewolf. I cannot tell you how many times I have come across Twilight fans who insist the characters who can turn into wolves are not werewolves. They say that these characters are shape-shifters. A shape shifter by traditional definition can take on multiple forms, not just one. Many Twilight fans also argue that within the mythos of the books a true werewolf only changes on the full moon and that's why Jacob and company are not actually werewolves. The parapsychology student in me winces at this. In many traditional werewolf folklore out of Germany and France there are werewolves that most certainly can change at will, are aware in their wolf form, and are not bound by the phase of the moon. The very word werewolf means man-wolf. It does not mean part man and part wolf. It comes from the notion of a man INTO a wolf. Most classic werewolf stories (before The Wolf-Man movie) had the werewolf changing from a person into an actual wolf.
The very first werewolf legend can be traced back to the Greek myth of King Lycaon. According to legend King Lycaon served human flesh at a feast for Zeus (the king of the Gods). Zeus was so offended that he punished Lycaon by turning him into a wolf. Only his eyes remained human. This myth is where the terms Lycanthrope, Lycanthropy and the more modern Lycan come from. I guess it's safe to say Stephenie Meyer does not do her research in regard to the occult before writing these stories.
Not only is Twilight poorly written and intellectually insulting to occultists (amateur and professional alike) but it also promotes very unhealthy relationships. Edward Cullen is abusive, stalkerish and obsessive. Edward has also had moments of physically harming Bella. Bella is equally so but that does not make it okay, nor does it make the relationship healthy. At one point Edward disables Bella's mode of transportation and has her kidnapped as a means to 'protect' her. If he was not a vampire this would be viewed as highly abusive of the character. There is a fine line between being chivalrous and sexist. Edward Cullen crossed that line miles ago. This sets a very unhealthy ideal of what defines romantic relationship for the young readers of Twilight. I am not saying not to read Twilight nor am I saying to burn the books. I am simply saying that it needs to be looked at in context for what it truly is and that there are far higher quality reads out there. If you want a chivalrous character who is NOT sexist, seek The Dresden Files novels by Jim Butcher. The hero, a wizard named Harry Dresden, is very chivalrous without being sexist.
Bella is what modern writers call A Mary Sue. In fiction writing and role playing games Mary Sue characters are strongly frowned upon. A Mary Sue is a character of shallow quality who is nearly flawless. The character is so perfect that even her so-called flaws are endearing.
I have run online text based role playing games since 1999 and I can tell you there are plot points in Twilight I would not have allowed in my game. A major one would be when Bella and Edward finally had their daughter toward the end of the book series the child aged extremely fast and by age seven or so she was involved with her mother's werewolf ex-boyfriend. To me this is disgusting. I would never have allowed this in my online role playing game. She might have developed with supernatural speed but she still has only had only seven-years-life experience and I feel that is certainly not enough time to be in a romantic relationship with a grown man. That was disturbing to me. Supernatural speed aging does not give her enough life experience for that sort of relationship. That was simply not right.
In short Twilight is not what I would consider a good read even for those who truly love supernatural romances. See out the likes of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Twilight is not worth the time. There are higher quality works of fiction out there.
I usually get why girly things are attractive to the American female. . . November 22, 2009
David J. Ashby (Chicago, IL United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I get the gluttonous desire for shoes. I get the unwise attraction to blue eye shadow. I get American Girl dolls and Justin Timberlake and Josh Groban. I get the girly affection for cosmopolitans, crying, and peppermint foot scrub. I get Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. Hell, I even get white zinfandel and the Jonas Brothers!
But what is the charm in a pathetic, co-dependent teenage girl and her sulky, whiney Vampire boyfriend? Reading `Twilight' was more work than reading Thomas Friedman or Paul Krugman (and far less edifying).
SERIOUSLY??? November 21, 2009
Maii (Texas, USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'd seen my friend walking around with the series a few times at school, so, naturally, of course, I being an advent reader, I asked her what it was about. She had the first one at that time, so she explained the summary, you know, girl falls in love with vampire boy. Bella...Edward...Hooblah. Then, whilst in the middle of walking down the hall to another class later that day, she said something about somebody coming through somebody else's window in the middle of the night? Hm. Curious. Once she'd finished, I borrowed it from her, and, was able to finish it within one or two sittings. The following three in the series, as well. (Just to let you know, before you judge me as one who didn't read the books. I've read all four. So there. Anyhow...) Not good. I've noticed that any GOOD book that I've read usually takes me at least a week or so to finish. Most of the time, even longer. There're actually things in the text of those books that make the reader want to fully understand what the author is trying to convey. Besides, I'm way too ADD to sit and read in one sitting while trying to elucidate all of the elements. Twilight? Er, no. It was one of the most NON-COMPLEX books I've ever read in my life. And that's saying something. I've been reading since I was three. The writing looked as if it had been done by a horny teenager who wrote fanfiction as a hobby in their spare time (and yes, I do read fanfiction, so I would know.) The characters, though I failed to notice it at first since I sped through the books, were, as others have said, indeed, quite flat. Edward was cold, hard, and marble-like, but gorgeous, and Bella was an outcast. Uh. Not. Last time I checked, outcasts don't have people flocking behind them like male dogs chasing after a pheromone leaking female with their tails in between their little legs. A lot of the pages were 'Edward, this, Edward, that,', which, if all of that unnecessary stuff had been taken out, might have thinned down the novel by a good 75%. And might have made it somewhat interesting, if it had a plot other than a problem that was solved in like, twenty pages. While the narrator was passed out. WHO DOES A FIGHT SCENE AND HAS THE NARRATOR PASSED OUT ON THE FLOOR???? WHAT??? Another thing that really bothered me, SPARKLY VAMPIRES? ARE YOU BEING SERIOUS, RIGHT NOW? Since when did a vampire ever friggin' sparkle?! I know you were trying to be novel and innovative, Meyer, but perhaps you should have tried that with your plain, flat, yet oh so perfect characters. Sparkly vampires don't do anything but piss us vampire lovers off.(And kill us on the inside, but you wouldn't know about that, now then, would you?)Whoever said that the Twilight series was better than Harry Potter should be hunted down in their sleep and shot point blank in the face. It's that serious. Freakin' sparkling vampires, my behind.
I know what the big deal about this book is! November 20, 2009
J. Macgillivray (Moncton, NB, Canada)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
A really hot guy who wants to take care of you and doesn't constantly pester you for sex ... hello!
It's not Shakespeare, but I give it 4 stars for 'sucking' me in completely by page twenty. And I'm pushing forty, plus the friend who loaned it to me is in her fifties!
If I could give it less than 1 star, I would November 20, 2009
C. C. Roberts (Durango, CO, USA)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
The fact that this...piece of garbage disguised as literature is so popular simply blows my mind. I pride myself on having read some of the best (though certainly not all) that fantasy has to offer (J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, George R.R. Martin, Mercedes Lackey, etc) and the fact that Meyer is touted as the new J.K. Rowling just depresses me. The characters have no depth, Bella Swan is a spineless, scarily obsessive, constantly whining teenager who makes Anakin look pleasant and Edward Cullen is beyond ridiculous. Supposedly the most beautiful man alive, who just can't stay away and is the best at everything. Bella CONSTANTLY has to be saved by Edward, supposedly because she is clumsy but more likely because she is extremely stupid. There's no reason for them to love each other, they're just intensely sexually attracted to each other. Great basis for a romance, Stephanie! And honestly, sparkly vampires? Why wouldn't Bella want to be one? Let's see, pros are that you're now immortal, you can do everything better and you're beautiful...and the cons are that you're sparkly in the sunlight? How is this acceptable fantasy? How did this even get published?!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 4538
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