Anyone not like the Twilight series?

[Lailah]

I was wondering if anyone doesn't like the series? I didn't want to go into a fan thread of the series and make people mad or anything with my opinions on it.

I read all four books, and I find the writing very purply. Theres also a lot of repeative words such as "chagrin,dazzling,beautiful". I don't need to hear how beautiful Edward is every five sentences. But when I start a series I have to finish it. I thought hey maybe it will get better, but I was wrong. As I read each book I found some very disturbing messages. I thought Edward's character was very controlling, posessive, stalkerish, and emotionally abusive. I find it sad young girls are thinking this is ok because Edward is like so hot. No it's not ok, and it disturbs me. I thought Bella was a huge Mary Sue, and she complained through out every book. She also had a stuck up attitude towards people who wanted to befriend her, and guys who were interested in her. The two main characters aren't likable at all. They never grow with each book, and they never develop or change. The sparkling vampires:nono she just made every vampire fanatic enraged. Anyways back to the disturbing messages. I also find the books sexist, anti feminism, Pedophilla (with the imprinting). I don't find Bella to be a strong female character she's always hiding behind Edward. She doesn't fight for anything, she gets it all handed to her on silver platter. The series is all about wish fullfilment, and the author is a self insertion of Bella.

I also think the author of this series is very immature, and needs to take some constructive critisim. She also should take a good look at her characters before bashing other authors characters. The "I wrote for myself" excuse when people didn't like the last installment of her Twilight series is getting old. She needs to grow up, and stop acting like a child. If she wrote for herself she should of kept it that way.

So anyone else have a similiar opinion?

[PWS]

Well, the author will probably hear your criticism...you do know she's a FORT member, right?
I'm only part way through the 2nd book, so I can't speak to the final message, but I think it is safe to post criticisms on the fan thread...or at least I did, when I wondered why anyone would choose Edward over Jacob (this is before the imprinting issue enters in, when that seems to be an option). So far no nasty PMs!
What I think the author does really well is capture a teenager's romance sense...all the self comparisons to Romeo and Juliet are well placed. I was never one of those teens who saw every crush as "love" that would last forever, but there are tons of them out there, not only girls. So I think she really knows her audience. I think the imbalance in the relationship you refer to... Edward being so much stronger (not just physically) and controlling ...comes from Edward being so much older...not really a teen, no matter how he looks. You could certainly consider Edward's attraction to Bella to be a kind of pedophilia also... much like the older men who are responsible for so much teen pregnancy. Of course the book blames it on biology---her smell, the fact that for some reason he can't read her mind so she's more interesting than most humans.
The "purple prose" which mostly comes when Bella is talking/writing about the vampires I'm taking to be a reflection of teen think...she's totally dazzled by his looks, biologically seductive vampire smell, etc., and she talks about him and the other vampires that way. Very little talk about Edward's non-physical qualities. In contrast when she's talking/writing about Jacob it's very different; even though he is also goodlooking that's only a small part of what she likes about him.
Of course right now it is a bit depressing to know she's going end up with Edward (that's the trouble with reading fan sites!), but I'm still hoping something happens to even up the power balance. Otherwise I agree, it's like the message from gothic novels.... The guy may be a surly cold hunk, but if you persist long enough you will unlock that soft gooey warm core, and there will have been a good explanation as to why he was cold and at least emotionally abusive, and he'll stop being that way. I always tell the women in my classes--if he he's cold and surly and abusive on the surface in real life that's the way he is all the way down! Go find the guy who's warm and loving on the surface--your odds are much better of finding warm and loving on the inside!

[norealityhere]

I've not read the Twilight series yet, but with all the favorable comments here, I may have to one of these days.
I do know, however, that many years back when the Ann Rice books were so popular, I had to stop after the first one. I just didn't like anything about it.
Reading is a very personal choice for everyone. And it will mean very different things to all readers.

[talldede]

I enjoyed all 4 books, my sister could not get through New Moon. Her complaints; she did not relate to Bella and how devastated and whiny she became, and she did not enjoy the implication that Bella was only ok/whole with a man, Jacob or Edward. My sister is an adult Mom with young teen daughters. One daughter loved all 4 books, one daughter felt just so-so.

It's all so personal.

[CCL]

You could go into the regular thread, Lailah. No one's going to jump you or anything. I agree with some of your criticisms (Bella being quite weak for example). My sister, who didn't particularly like the books, (I think she only made it through the first one actually), always jokes about the dazzling (it was a constant refrain from her before we saw the movie...I made her sit next to my friend so she couldn't say anything to me. ). As for the fact that Meyer's vampires sparkle...well, personally, I don't think there should be any hard and fast rules on vampires; authors can make up whatever they want about them. Overall, I enjoyed the books (the first two more than the others) but like talldede says "it's all so personal."

[burntbrat]

The dazzling never bothered me. I thought that was kind of cute and refreshing, actually. Why do vampires have to be so damn dark all the time? What did bother me about the books is pretty much what talldede's sister said. I thought the first book was ok. The story moved fast enough and the writing wasn't too bad. I didn't like that the story couldn't stand on its own, that they had to lead in to the next book and the fist book couldn't be conclusive, you know? It's okay to be a series, but each book should be a separate story. The second book, on the other hand, was rubbish. It was like someone stitching up a gaping wound for 400 pages, and then the last 100 everything good happens. Then I read the first few pages of the third book and decided that it wasn't worth it. My daughter read the first three and was so pissed off at something that she never read the fourth. Now she's anti-Twilight. I guess it's one of those stories that you either really, really love or really, really hate.

[liz_momof2]

I read all four books, and I find the writing very purply. Theres also a lot of repeative words such as "chagrin,dazzling,beautiful". I don't need to hear how beautiful Edward is every five sentences. But when I start a series I have to finish it. I thought hey maybe it will get better, but I was wrong. As I read each book I found some very disturbing messages. I thought Edward's character was very controlling, posessive, stalkerish, and emotionally abusive. I find it sad young girls are thinking this is ok because Edward is like so hot. No it's not ok, and it disturbs me. I thought Bella was a huge Mary Sue, and she complained through out every book. She also had a stuck up attitude towards people who wanted to befriend her, and guys who were interested in her. The two main characters aren't likable at all. They never grow with each book, and they never develop or change. The sparkling vampires:nono she just made every vampire fanatic enraged. Anyways back to the disturbing messages. I also find the books sexist, anti feminism, Pedophilla (with the imprinting). I don't find Bella to be a strong female character she's always hiding behind Edward. She doesn't fight for anything, she gets it all handed to her on silver platter. The series is all about wish fullfilment, and the author is a self insertion of Bella.

I feel like I could have written this post. Maybe because I wasn't a needy dependent on a boyfriend teenager and even now in my late 20's, I am still not like that. My husband is my partner and in some cases, I am the strong one. Then I read book 4 and went WHAT, even my best friend who IS a huge Twilight fan (books 1 through 3) didn't like Breaking Dawn. Her exact words were "it reads like a fanfic."

[Lailah]

I see what you all are saying. I don't like when fans act like Meyer is such a genius for coming with this epic "love" story between a vampire, and human. It's been done before, it's been done better.

For the person who asked or wondered why vampires have to be so dark. There specific rules in differents lores be it zombies, unicorns, fairies, water nymphs what have you. Good authors do extensive research on them to make the story good. Take Anne Rice for example her vampires were dark like vampire should be. The weren't bothered by crosses, or light from a room,They cried tears of blood, and Louis felt human sympathy as a vampire. Theres a lot of unique traits you can give you fictional character without crossing the line, and taking a poop on the lore. Meyer said she did no research on vampires at all. How am I suppose to take these vampires seriously. L.J Smith had her vampires wear a ring to go out in the daylight. I think pretty cool. Doesn't a guy who still goes to high school, sounds like he looks like Fred and George Weasley put some make-up on Ron Weasley while he was sleeping, and sparkles in the sun, and has no fangs sound like a vampire? would you be afraid of him? does that sound dark and mysterious? would you use him as human disco ball instead? I know I would.

[CCL]

I see it differently. I don't think there should be (or are) and binding rules with regards to depicting vampires (or other mythical creatures). When depicting a real person (someone who actually lived) then, yes, the author should be true to who that person was. When writing about a fictional species they can do what they want.

[Lailah]

So you can do what you want in your book without researching on a lore you don't know anything about?

That kind of attitude shows you would be a lazy writer.


no offense.