I have always had a soft spot in my heart for vampire stories. I am not really sure why that is, but I just really enjoy them. There’s so many different variations on the theme out there to read. I have my favorites, of course. One of the earliest vampire stories that I read was “Salem’s Lot”, by Stephen King. I loved it. I really loved how he just modernized, or perhaps better put - Americanized, the whole Dracula thing! Of course, in the end, the vampires always lose in most stories. Which is something I do not always agree with. Sometimes you want the “bad guys” to win - maybe because life is not always black and white?
Well, I’d seen Stephenie Meyer’s books on the best seller racks before, and finally I decided to try out “Twilight”, the first of her four vampire books. I was hooked very quickly and yes I’ve read all four of them now.
Her prose is fast-moving and her characters are fleshed-out so quickly that soon, you find yourself really caring about what will happen next to Bella, Edward, Jacob, Alice, and all the other interesting inhabitants of Forks, WA. Bella will often react as I would in some situations. Stephenie did a really great job sharing Bella’s thoughts and feelings as the story moves along. She is very much the “everygirl”, in my opinion. She has her crosses to bear (sorry!), especially her clumsiness. But that endeared her to me in some ways.
Meyer’s vampires are very much her own - no fangs, no aversion to crosses or sunshine, and very human. They do not sleep in coffins or do a lot of the things that vampire lore tells us that they should do. But I really do not have a problem with that. I like that Stephenie fleshed out her own vampires rather than just copying others. If I go on, I will give too much away of the story, so I will hush on this.
I really grew fond of Alice over the course of these books. Everything about her is warm and inviting. And then there is Jacob - what to say about him! I think that my favorite character of all is going to be Bella, though. She is just too much. In the end, this author stands out for the incredible characters she can effortlessly (ok, where it may LOOK effortless, I am sure it is not!) whip onto a page.
Altogether this was a great series, and would be a fantastic addition to your library. I was a bit sad to see it all end after only four books. She says that she is writing a fifth one though, a rehash of book one from Edward’s viewpoint. As for myself, I can say that I am eagerly awaiting this book!
Tags: Books