Archive for Reviews 500 - 1000

Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1) – By Eoin Colfer

August 2, 2008 at 4:08 am · Filed under Eoin Colfer Books, Reviews 500 - 1000 ·Tagged , , , , , ,

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Wish I could write this title in code.,October 3, 2004

After reading this book in one sitting, I think I’ve finally discovered my true reading level. I may not be that young, but as I’ve been told repeatedly that I’ve yet to grow up, I think I can easily qualify as a “young” adult reader.

This is a book that I had a lot of fun reading. I even busted the code (believe me – not a hard task) and started deciphering the code at the bottom of each page. I’m sitting here with a soft pencil, decoding like a cub scout with a secret decoder ring.

Eoin Colfer is a genius, with a vivid imagination and a wonderfully wicked sense of humor. He has produced a well thought out novel, nicely bound and presented, somehow combining a brilliant 12 year old millionaire criminal mastermind, a loyal butler named Butler who just happens to be a killing machine, a dwarf with a mighty forceful tunneling action, a techie wise-cracking centaur who can give Ian Fleming’s “Q” a run for his money, a tough military-type girl scout fairy and her old fashioned boss, a havoc wrecking troll, and a support cast of dozens.

It’s got magic, intrigue, deception, kidnapping, blackmail, computers, weapons, code-breaking, violence, and projectile flatulence and can’t be faulted for the sheer brilliance of the scheming.

As soon as I finish my decoding, I’m off to book 2, “The Arctic Incident”. Your kids will love this one, and so will you.

Amanda Richards October 3, 2004

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Fantastic,April 30, 2001

Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old boy who just happens to be both a genius and a criminal mastermind. In a desperate attempt to restore his family’s fortune, Artemis comes up with a plan to steal gold from the fairies. Along with his trusty butler sidekick “Butler”, he travels to Vietnam on a quest to find a volume of fairy commandments. Once this is achieved and the book deciphered, the next logical step would be to kidnap a fairy and wait for the ransom money to arrive. However, when Artemis kidnaps Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon, it seems he’s made a mistake. Because these aren’t the cute little elves of bedtime stories. These fairies are armed, dangerous and ready to fight. And they will stop at nothing to get Holly back.

The book has often been claimed to be the “next Harry Potter”, but while it shares the same fantastically imaginative storyline and colourful descriptions, this is far darker and more humorous than JK Rowling’s books. The main characters are all unique and loveable, particularly Holly, Foaly and Root. Even the anti-hero, Artemis Fowl himself is strangely appealing, despite his more dubious characteristics. As the book goes on, you begin to see that he does indeed possess a conscience, he is just careful never to let it get in the way of his evil schemes.

Artemis Fowl is full of humour and action. The author has produced an imaginative, fast-paced adventure, which combines magic and technology. The style of narrative is fairly informal, making it easier and more enjoyable to read. Although the first chapter is quite slow, the action soon speeds up and never stops. The story was absorbing, exciting and I read it straight through in a couple of hours without stopping. Where the “Goblet of Fire” was quite frightening, Artemis Fowl is full of humour and the typical fairy magic is replaced with action and wit.

I think that this book would be less appealing to younger children in the way that Harry Potter managed to be, but older kids, teenagers and adults alike should enjoy the mix of fantasy, humour and adventure. Overall: five stars, and I will definitely be reading it again. This is no copy of Harry Potter; Artemis Fowl is a completely original work but is still deserving of all the hype. I am sure I will be buying any future books in the series.

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A new age of fantasy,April 28, 2001

Undoubtedly this will be constantly compared to Harry Potter, but for crying out loud, just because a book might become as highly-liked as HP doesn’t mean that the plot has to amble along the same lines. Irish author Eoin Colfer makes an amazing debut in the US with this book.

Artemis Fowl is an astonishing criminal mastermind (he’s also twelve), the end of a line of criminals, who now plans to rob the fairies/elves of their gold. The way that he plans to do so is kidnapping of an elf and subsequent ransom. Enter Captain Holly Short, a member of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaisance–a cute touch that had me laughing out loud) and elvish Commander Root. And Holly is just perfect for the scheme.

Though there are folklore, fairies and fantasy, this is no ancient-themed tale — but wholly of the 21st century, with a bit of high-tech stuff thrown in. Forget the usual wands, cauldrons and spells: There’s a magical Book, but also powerful computers and a digital camera (dare you to find one of those in other modern juvenile fantasies…)

The characters — especially peppery Holly and intelligent, wily Artemis — are full of pizzazz and sparkle. The appearances of the otherworldly characters — done to death in conventional fantasy — were tempered by the 21st century nature of the setting, and the natures of their jobs and interactions. All are given a slightly twisted, smiling slant.

The pace is high-speed, with few lags in the plotline. Occasionally I lost track of what was going on, but a backtrack of a few pages fixed that. The writing style is a little too stark and undescriptive for my personal taste, but I suppose it would not be high-speed if there were a great deal of description.

Will Harry Potter fans like this? I truly cannot tell, they might not like the vast differences between the two — but fans of quirky, imaginative fantasy will love it for sure.

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“You are just a thief!”,August 6, 2007

Artemis Fowl was the recipient of the accusation in the title of this review, but even though he is a thief, he is also much more. The twelve-year-old genius has decided to use his intelligence to pursue a life of crime, so we find an unusual situation. A story with an evil main character is not a completely new concept; Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in the outstanding “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” or Serge A. Storms in the series of books by Tim Dorsey come to mind. If we go into a different media, then Tony Soprano is one of the most famous examples in our time. What is novel though, is using this concept in a book targeted to young adults, and this is certainly a reason for controversy. I have to say though that the final product is so good, that the good aspects of this effort more than overcome this “drawback”.

Artemis Fowl descends from a prestigious family of billionaires that a few years ago suffered a reversal of fortune. His father has disappeared and is presumed dead and her mother has gone crazy with grief. Artemis is decided to return his family to where it is supposed to be and crafts a plan designed to do just this. To try to accomplish his goal, he uses the help of Butler, a mountain of a man, expert in combat, and who as his name suggests is Artemis’ butler, and Juliet, Butler’s sister. The plan involves kidnapping a fairy and then getting a ransom in gold, which is a lot harder than it sounds.

The story involves a myriad of creatures besides fairies, such as goblins, elves, dwarves, centaurs and trolls. These variety allows the author to create several characters within each one of these groups that are interesting, peculiar and endearing. But the creative process does not stop there, since the author uses some of these peculiar characteristics, as well as some acute comments to make us laugh us loud in the middle of the action. In my opinion the funniest scene in the book involved Mulch, a dwarf, and Butler, you will know what I am talking about when you get there, you cannot miss it.

As I mentioned before, this book has many aspects worth of praise;the imagination in creating the story, the “logic” in the world in which it develops, and the finely tuned humor. But besides that, we get a glimpse at Artemis’ mind. To others he is a calculating genius, but we get to understand that he has doubts about his choices and that there is still a scared kid behind the facade.

Except for the obvious similarity in terms of the creatures included in the story, I would not think of comparing this with Harry Potter in any level. I think both efforts are excellent in their own way. I would compare the humor though, with the one presented by Lemony Snicket in “A Series of Unfortunate Events”; I think that if you like this series you will probably like “Artemis Fowl” too. I am looking forward to read the next book by Colfer, which I already ordered.

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Eat, Pray, Love – One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, by Elizabeth Gilbert

August 2, 2008 at 3:38 am · Filed under Reviews 500 - 1000 ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

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HER OWN SEARCH – HER OWN VOICE, BOTH IMPRESSIVE,February 26, 2006

Reading the subtitle of Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest book, “One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia,” one can only think well, she certainly knows where to look! Also, upon learning that this is her chosen way of recovering from a particularly acrimonious divorce and a trying-to-make-up-for-that-loss romance that didn’t work, we might think how fortunate she is to able to seek solace in such intriguing places.

Whatever our opinion of her reasons for this journey it has been established that she’s a super writer (The Last American Man), and she brings all of her wit, intellect and stylish pen to Eat Pray Love. More than that, she brought a great deal of courage to her chosen task of traveling the world alone at the age of 34. She felt she needed a dramatic change, and it may be that she has found it.

It’s a pleasure to listen to this memoir/travelogue in her voice. Many will associate with her initial confession that she’s not a very good traveler in that she suffers from various digestive interruptions. However, on the plus side she easily makes friends with anyone. As she puts it, “I can make friends with the dead.” Or, if there isn’t anyone around she claims that she could chat with a pile of Sheetrock. Whatever the case, she is a very lucky lady as her travel experiences prove.

No Viva Italia for Italy because of Messina, a port town in Sicily that she describes as “scary and suspicious.” Perhaps that’s one reason why she’s lonely and depressed there. But things definitely take a turn for the better in India and Indonesia, although her meditation needs a little more work.

Did Gilbert find what she was searching for? Listeners may not be too sure but they’ll certainly enjoy the trip!

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AMAZING!!!,April 2, 2006

This book transends genres to be a memoir, travel guide, self help, and philosophy book. For anyone that ever wanted to find their own path, this book is for you! Elizabeth Gilbert’s writing is down to earth, funny, smart, and like the cool best friend you always wanted to be like. Buy the book, Its a great journey!

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A lovely, lovely find…,October 12, 2006

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I heard this book discussed briefly earlier this year on the Today Show and decided to order it since, at the time, I was in the throws of my own divorce. Ms. Gilbert chronicles her international journey of self-discovery with such amazing detail and tenderness and humor that I recommend this book to anyone who has found him or herself in a place or state that he or she would like to change or leave (I imagine, that’s everyone!). The story is engrossing and the writing is skillful. I couldn’t put it down, and I feel more empowered to follow my own dreams and heart after finishing the book. That’s 5-star material if I’ve ever seen it.

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Wonderfully written by an incongruous person,December 9, 2006

First, let me get out of the way the fact that I thought this was an excellent book. I wouldn’t have thought that to read about a woman spending 4 months in Italy, India and Indonesia would have made for such good reading, but I was wrong. It shows that, if a writer is talented enough (and Ms. Gilbert surely is), anything can be made interesting. She comes off as funny, extroverted, thoughtful, charming and–especially–brutally honest about herself. In fact, she is so open with her readers that at times, I felt like I was reading her private diary or something that anyone else would write only to their closest confidante.

While I was reading the book however, I kept thinking about something else entirely: I wonder what it would be like to go out with this woman? (Given that this book seems to have a 99% female readership judging from the reviews, and I am not, I suspect that few others were wondering the same thing.) Anyway, here is what I thought about. On the plus side, she’s a wonderful writer which tells me that she must be very intelligent and that’s obviously a good thing. Her looks? Quite attractive … I think. I say that because the only photos I’ve seen are the one on the dust jacket (which is very flattering) and one on her website, which is pleasant enough but in which she looks like a completely different woman.

On the minus side however, she seems to have an incongruous combination of personality traits. For example, when it comes to men, she seems simultaneously incredibly independent and yet incredibly needy. I suspect that this combination may have played a role in the troubles she had with her husband and with “David”. To me, one of the most revealing paragraphs in the book is on page 65 where she talks about her “boundary issues with men”. She tells us that when she’s in love with a man, she gives herself over to him completely until she becomes so exhausted that it’s time to become infatuated with someone else. Virtually by her own admission, she seems to be what Vince Vaughn called a “stage 5 clinger” in “Wedding Crashers”. How many men would line up to be with someone like that?

She also seems like someone full of melodrama who careens back and forth between very high high’s and very low low’s with not much in between. She seems to hope (and expect) that her feelings towards her mate (and vice versa) will always be as intense as they were at the highest point, and I imagine her to be disappointed if a relationship should ever descend from that plateau. If in fact that’s her mindset, that’s a recipe for trouble. (To her credit though, she seemed to have more of an equilibrium about her by the end of the book than she did at the beginning, which is perhaps not surprising.) It was difficult to tell however whether her wanderlust and her peripatetic nature had changed by the end. I suspect that it hadn’t, which might not augur well for her future relationships unless she can find a soulmate who does nothing but travel around the world with her. (Come to think of it, maybe she did find such a person in “Felipe”.) In any event, regardless of whether she is a total catch or a total nightmare (or something in between), the fact remains that she is a hell of a writer and I highly recommend her book.

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New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) – by Stephenie Meyer

August 2, 2008 at 1:55 am · Filed under Reviews 500 - 1000 ·Tagged , , , , , ,

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A Dalliance with Wolves,September 27, 2006

4.5 stars

In my review of Twilight, I said that the book had more in common with “Catcher in the Rye” and “Pride and Prejudice” than it did with any vampire novels or stories. That still holds true, although be certain: I’m not comparing Twilight or New Moon to these books in terms of literary quality. There are few that match either.

In New Moon we miss the vampires for most of the story, and Bella spends time with her friend Jacob, an Indian fated with becoming a werewolf, and fated to hate all “bloodsuckers”, regardless of whether or not the bloodsuckers took human lives. (Btw, that little bit is cleared up at the end…what exactly their treaty entails. It’s interesting, kind of, but I have to wonder if the author thought of it as the story was being written, and that it wasn’t planned when the “treaty” was first mentioned. I suppose it doesn’t matter.)

If you’re reading this story because you like vampire stories, you will be disappointed. Edward’s only around for a bit less than 1/3 of the book. When he is around, however, his presence is appreciated. One thing that the author didn’t do this time, and it was similarly appreciated, was to have Bella writing down every single thought that she had regarding his absolute perfection (remember, this is a first person narrative).

While spending time with “the wolves”, Bella goes through some interesting growth patterns. I say interesting, because I’m not entirely certain that I followed them or that if I understood them that I agreed with them. That said, I’ve never been a teenage girl, and the author has been a teenage girl, so I have to bow to her experience in this.

Many readers will look at Bella’s behavior during her “dalliance with wolves” as bizarre and entirely unbelievable. I don’t think they were. For anyone that has had the absolute love of their life torn from them, with the *absolute* belief that this love would not return, and if you happen to be emotionally immature to top all of this off, your behavior wouldn’t be too far off from Bella’s. I’m not saying exactly like Bella’s, just not too far off.

Again, this is not a vampire story. The fact that vampires were not around in this book as often as some may have liked did not lessen the quality of the story. What was missing, though, was the urgency, and the mystery. For example, we never knew why, in Twilight, Edward recoiled upon first seeing Bella until the very end. We had a reaction, and a resolution, and during that time we had lots of questions. That type of immediacy was missing here. Everything was rather straightforward.

When Edward lies to Bella, we know that he is lying, and we know that there will be resolution. The problem is that we know he’s lying, and we know the resolution won’t be too surprising.

I did enjoy the unique take on werewolves, but I felt that since we had seen so much of the vampires in the first book, that we should have seen and felt more of the werewolves in this book.

One thing that I found particularly frustrating was the similarity of emotion that both Jake and Edward have for Bella. Yes, Bella is a clutz, and she definitely needs protecting. But to have two main characters, in two separate books, respond to her in a nearly identical manner (both fearing for, and being vocal about, her need to be less careless), is tough to buy.

There were some hints of future issues between the Cullens and Jake’s clan. I hope we see them. And I hope that this story can survive the necessary metamorphosis – at some point, it will need to be less about Bella’s intense love for Edward, and more about the actual situations surrounding them.

This may sound like a negative review. It’s not. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’ve seen others that gave Twilight 5 stars give this 1 or 2 stars, and I’ve questioned that. I think that given the nature of this story, readers need to be more aware of what this story is really about. See the first paragraph of this review for that.

I’m anxiously awaiting the third book. There are a lot of possibilities, and I can’t help but wonder which possibility the author will choose, and how she will resolve whatever roadblocks her choices give her.

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Can’t even wait to finish the book to write a review,August 19, 2006

I just received my book in the mail two days ago and I have been devouring it ever since.

The book begins with seeing Bella become very comfortable with Edward and his family. I was delighted to see Alice’s character take on more depth as we began to see more of her personality, but this may quickly turn into disappointment for some, when she is whisked away all too soon. Bella is given a birthday party and accidentally gets a paper cut. This leads to a tense moment when one of the family members cannot contain themselves and makes a leap for Bella. Edward is forced to protect her, but this makes it all to clear that keeping Bella close to the family puts her at risk. Edward begins to withdraw himself emotionally in order to (we readers know what is going to happen, but Bella seems to be in denial)leave her.

Naturally, Bella’s grief is heartwrenching to read. Any girl who has felt the pain of lost or unrequited love will shed a few tears during this chapter. It is hard to get over being furious at Edward’s behavior at the begining of the book, but this simply shows you how easy it is to get pulled into almost believing these characters are real.

Bella becomes seriously withdrawn from the world after his departure and considering their strange and magical relationship, this is to be expected. I do miss Edward’s presence-he was such a strong character in Twilight- but I did something I never do, I flipped to the back of the book to assure myself of his return. Ms. Meyer realizes how addicted her audience is to Edward, so he does make token appearances in a roundabout way. Bella begins to hear Edward’s voice warning her when she puts herself in harm’s way and in this way Bella begins to court danger.

Jacob, the young native American from Twilight, makes a reappearance in New Moon. He becomes a very close friend of Bella’s and helps her through her depression. His character takes the place of Edward and he becomes a major player in this story. He is also the complete opposite of Edward’s sophisticated, wordly one. Jacob is lovable, akward, attractive (in a regular way) and warm-blooded. His story is one of interest and I don’t believe any reader who has already read Twilight, will be surprised at the turn of events in which Jacob is involved.

The book is certainly excellent, as Ms. Meyer is a fabulous writer, but I do find myself impatiently turning the pages and skimming ahead to see when one of the Cullens’ family members will appear. Even with those minor faults, I still find myself staying up way too late to finish another chapter. I have read half the book in the past two days instead of working on lesson plans for my class, during the first week of school, no less. This is a real indicator of just how wonderful New Moon is.

My ultimate disappointment will be when I am finished and must wait another year for the next book to come out. I don’t believe Stephenie Meyer can whip these out fast enough to appease her growing leagues of fans. This is a very desirable position to be in for a writer and this should guarantee many Bella and Edward stories in the future.

*Update
The ending was very good and the reader finds out some interesting information concerning Bella and how special she really is. The twist adds a new dimension to the novel it ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. There is no complete closure for a few important issues and obviously this leaves it wide open for the third novel in the series.

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Sink your teeth into this worthy sequel!,September 2, 2006

New Moon picks up a few months after Twlight left off, with Edward and Bella just as in love as ever and life proceeding as normally as it can when your boyfriend is a vampire. Bella’s big problem is that with her birthday, she technically becomes older than Edward, and is still insistent on becoming a vampire so that she can be with him forever. Edward doesn’t see things her way, and disaster strikes when an accidental paper cut at her birthday party causes the Cullens to have to fight to resist the sight of her blood. With this danger on his mind, Edward convinces Bella he no longer needs her and he and his family leave Forks.

This book is big on emotion; Meyer does an incredible job of forcing us to feel Bella’s pain at losing Edward and her moments of joy when she realizes that doing dangerous stunts bring on the “sound” of his voice. We’re led to understand the growing friendship between Bella and Jake, and Meyer pulls us in with the reveal of Jake’s own problems. The relief Bella feels upon seeing Alice and then the terror of Edward’s dilemma are all events that caused my heart to jump. Rarely do I get so caught up in the lives of characters, but Meyer makes it impossible not to. The fact that she moves her stories along less on action (though there is plenty of that at times) than on emotion is the driving success of both Twlight and New Moon, and the imprint all of the characters leave on you as you close the last page makes you want to simply turn the book over and begin again.

Highly, highly recommended for all who love well-drawn characters and inventive story-telling. Just be prepared to be disappointed as you are forced to wait for the next installment!

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Eclipse Special Edition (The Twilight Saga) – by Stephenie Meyer

August 2, 2008 at 1:49 am · Filed under Reviews 500 - 1000 ·Tagged , , , , , ,

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Eclipse brings us back to Forks and Twilight,August 7, 2007

Twilight introduced us to Bella Swan and the mysterious Cullen’s a family of vampires. New Moon pulled Bella and Edward Cullen apart, and tested their love and introduced us to Jacob and the battle between wolves and vampires. It also left us hanging with a decision about Bella and immortality: when?

Eclipse is different. We return to the town of Forks and find that nothing much has changed. Graduation is closer than ever (after which, the Cullen’s have agreed to make Bella a vampire) and a serial killer is loose in Seattle. Bella cannot see Jacob, her best friend because he is a Werewolf, and due to her ties to the vampires, it would break treaties and bonds made between them.

As the days go by, and graduation gets closer and closer, Bella must choose her fate. She wants to become immortal and be with Edward, but she must give up her family to do so. She is also worried about the change: will she be able to be “vegetarian” like the Cullen Family, and refrain from human blood? Or will her new blood lust cause her to kill innocent people?

The serial killer that is in Seattle turns out to be supernatural: newborn vampires on the loose. This brings up even more issues for Bella and her decision to become immortal. Not that anything could ever persuade her to give Edward up, but it makes the choice more difficult by showing her the realities of becoming a vampire.

Without spoiling the plot: Jacob wants more from Bella too, which makes the choice even more difficult. Must Bella choose between the love of her life and her best friend?

Eclipse is yet another installment of a series I desperately hope will continue. I want to continue watching the characters grow and change, and find out what their lives will unfold to be like. I am already anxious for the next in the series! Write more, Stephenie Meyer!

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Melts in your mouth,August 7, 2007

Reading the third installment in the Twilight series was as satisfying to me as munching through a bag of dark chocolate M&Ms. The big ones.

Because, after all, Eclipse is BIG–629 pages–and in this volume of the story about Bella Swan, a mortal teenager, and vampire Edward Cullen, several big What If questions are explored: What if Bella decides once-and-for-all to become a vampire like Edward; how can she possibly know when she’s ready? What if Edward relents and redraws his “many careful lines” for his physical relationship with Bella? What would it look like if something so evil were to terrorize the Olympic Peninsula that Bella’s good vampires and her werewolf friends had to try to unite to fight it, despite their ancient animosity? And how would Bella’s closest friend Jacob, probably the swiftest of the Quileute werewolves, compete with her supposedly true love Edward for her eternal devotion?

Once again, Stephenie Meyer has written a compelling and often humorous sequel set in the lush environment surrounding the small town of Forks, Washington. Her colorful characters feel like real people rather than types–a big thing for me. And what situations could’ve been written morosely or indelicately came off instead as, well, as a kind of sensuous elegance. Even though the more private moments of pain or pleasure were described honestly, with realistic detail, they weren’t stripped of their intimacy by such telling. That impressed me. And there are lots of these kinds of moments throughout the book. I just ate it up.

One thing that might bog down readers is the tremendous amount of backstory that must be covered in order for the action and some characters’ points of view to make sense. It makes for a lot of exposition (as opposed to plain ol’ action), even when the stories are coming out of the characters’ mouths. But at least the stories are told in varied styles, according to the characters relating them, so monotony is not an issue. It’s just a LOT of information to keep straight.

Even so, unlike a bag of M&Ms, Eclipse did not give me a bellyache once I finished it. It has left me wanting more. And so I wait for book four…

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Obsession- Preface of Breaking Dawn and First Chapter,June 1, 2008

This review is about the first chapter and preface of Breaking Dawn – sold in the special edition of Eclipse. Stephenie Meyer gives us a sneak peak into what looks to be another wonderful addition to the Twilight series. The preface is intriguing and makes us wonder who Bella is with while she is thinking such dark thoughts. Clearly, this is another book about obsession. The first chapter is awesome. We see Bella has matured and is walking toward her chosen path trying to keep her head held high. The first chapter was unexpected as well. What is great about the first chapter is that Bella is alone outside her house engaged in an activity. Bella hasn’t been alone since the middle of New Moon so this was an interesting scene.

This sneak peak also gave us the reactions of Charlie and Renee to Bella and Edward’s news and through Bella’s memories we see how Charlie reacted when Bella and Edward told him of their plans. Unexpectedly, we see a friendship has formed between Esme and Renee amidst all the planning and Seth and Edward have remained friendly.

We also get a bit of information about what Jacob has been up to since receiving Edward’s invitation at the end of Eclipse. For Jacob fans this might be upsetting. There is enough vagueness to make one think Jacob will have a pivotal role in the fourth book in the series and the last book from Bella’s perspective.

It is disappointing that the publisher won’t allow the author to post these chapters to her website which is seemingly related to them trying to get teenagers and adults to purchase Eclipse a second time. This marketing ploy is a tad upsetting. These books have sold very well on the first round and to try and get people to buy the book a second time because “we” are obsessed with these characters is a bit over the top and it appears a bit unethical. Actually, the behavior of the publishing company is a bit predatory. Personally, I went to the book store and read the chapters there and I recommend you all do the same. Breaking Dawn will be out soon enough and why pay for the first chapter twice and Eclipse twice?

I work hard to earn my money, don’t you?

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A bizzarre love triangle; or, Bella finds her groove,August 10, 2007

My favorite moment in Eclipse occurred on page 10. Charlie says to Bella, “For a teenager, you’re amazingly non-whiney.” Given that the majority of complaints people have about Twilight and New Moon revolve around Bella being whiney and possessed by an extraordinary amount of angst, I found Ms. Meyer’s tongue-in-cheek reaction to her critics marvelous. If that’s not a perfect example of someone who doesn’t take themselves too seriously and can laugh at (perhaps) their own shortcomings, I don’t know what is. Charlie’s comment brought a smile to my face, and renewed the respect that I have for Ms. Meyer.

One thing that is very much appreciated is the conspicuous absence of Bella being a complete and utter clutz. While cute and endearing for a time, it grew old with even the staunchest fans. In this book she isn’t falling all over herself and causing flash avalanches (to speak figuratively). That said, virtually everyone still growls and glowers. That should be addressed. Not every character is going to react the same way.

In Eclipse, we are brought back to Forks, and given the events of New Moon and the return of Edward, we know immediately that we’re going to be in for some leg hiking and territory-marking. And, wouldn’t you know, there’s gobs of it.

In between the “spraying”, we get a lot of back history. We learn about how Jasper turned, how Rosalie turned, how the werewolves came to be – and much more. For the first three hundred pages the book reads more like what I’ll call “fun homework”. Some setup occurs, with regard to the eventual plot and conflict, but the setup is mentioned almost in passing and in very soft hints. If what Ms. Meyers was telling us wasn’t already information we were dying to know, we might have been bored (I assume that some people were). I wasn’t, although I did find myself snapping my fingers, saying, “OK, point made…let’s get going.”

One plot line that begins to develop isn’t so much a plot line as it is realization. Jacob is in love with Bella. We’ve known this since Twilight; it’s no secret to us. It’s also no secret to everyone in the books whose name isn’t Bella. She has chosen to pretend that the Jacob she got to know in Twilight, and the one who was there to pick up her pieces in New Moon when Edward left her, is still the Jacob of Eclipse and that’s not the case. Jacob has had time to ponder his emotions and feelings, and to probe their depths. He’s also learned how to play dirty, and is very manipulative with Bella. We spend a disproportionate amount of time examining his feelings for her, as well as – gasp – her feelings for him!

That’s where I ran into trouble. I read Twilight (more like devoured), and sped through New Moon. Like everyone else, I knew what Jacob felt. What I didn’t know – and what I still am having difficulty believing – is that Bella loved Jacob back. The Jacob in this book was a sad shadow of the immensely lovable teen we met in Twilight. The wolf has wound its tendrils into his soul, and he is changed. It’s not for the better. I’m not sure what this says about the werewolf in general, and for as much backstory that we received about how they came to be, I still felt (as I did in New Moon) that I didn’t “see” the werewolves as clearly as I did the vampires. When that occurs in fiction, it’s often the result of the author feeling much more in tune with one or the other. The vampires we know. Everything about them, from their impossible beauty (is everyone that’s bitten/turned truly model material?) to their individual talents and idiosyncrasies. Since we spent so much time with the wolves in New Moon, and again here in Eclipse, something more than their pack mentality and the different colors of their fur would have been helpful.

Realize, please, that I’m not saying that the werewolves were a failure. I’m saying that they’re not as fully realized as the vampires, and I wish they were. They come across to me as two-dimensional, whereas the vampires are multi-dimensional.

Ms. Meyer tells a terrific story here. It’s a carryover from New Moon with a fascinating twist that gives further depth to the vampires: someone is creating *new* vampires in Seattle, and they are going on a killing spree to rival the Green River Killer. Bella plays an interesting role, although it leads to expressions of angst that some may find off-putting. (I didn’t.) Eventually the realization is made that in order to quell the problem in Seattle before the Volturi become involved, the Cullens need to take action. But they won’t be enough. They’ll need the help of the wolves.

That’s where the true genius of this story lies. Vampires and werewolves are often (if not always) depicted as blood enemies, so to force them to work together, even if it is against a common enemy, takes quite a bit of doing. Thankfully, Bella is able to supply the motivation. Seems that everybody wants a piece of her. Figuratively and literally. The resultant action sequences are tense and well told.

And during this action, there’s quite the love triangle. Imagine Bella sleeping in a tent with Edward and Jacob, and in this tent is a sleeping bag. Put Jacob and Bella in that sleeping bag. Put Edward outside of it. Something he does willingly. Tricky stuff, yet deftly and well handled by Ms. Meyer. Frankly, I can’t say enough good about how she handled the varied love interests (even if I don’t buy the reasoning behind it).

So, what’s wrong with Bella loving Jacob? Well, she loves Edward. And that’s pretty much all we’ve heard for the last two books. Edward is her heart, her soul, her eternity – and I have a hard time buying into the belief that there would be room for anyone else inside of her heart, other than a very good friend. But, that’s just my opinion.

Bella’s angst in the later chapters have to deal with her decision to become a vampire. I think that Ms. Meyer is handling this extremely well. Other writers, impatient to move their story in a direction that perhaps it isn’t ready to go in yet, would have had Bella turned in the first 300 pages. Ms. Meyer proved to be a true storyteller, true and honest to her craft.

I can’t WAIT to see what she has for us next.

The Epilogue was a brave departure from a series that so far has been told from the inside of Bella’s head. I’ll leave it at that, though I will note that there are some serious issues that could arise from what happens there.

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eclipse,August 18, 2007

“Eclipse” doesn’t quite live up to “Twilight” & “New Moon,” but I still give it 5 stars because it is far superior to many books out there right now (in this genre). My main problem with “Eclipse” is that the magic between Edward & Bell seems to be gone. She has all but decided to become a vampire, so the tension isn’t as thick as it was in the 2 previous books. I’m also very disappointed in Bella’s treatment of Jacob. She is downright selfish in her motivations with him. Bella is also pretty selfish in her motivations to become a vampire; she should spend a little more time thinking about the effect her turning will have on Charlie & Renee.

**Spoiler Alert**

Though there are some flaws in “Eclipse,” the good far outweighs the bad in my opinion. Meyer has created a love triangle that I see no way out of. I am very interested to find out how she resolves Bella’s love for Edward & Jacob in the next book. Also, the question of Bella’s turning into a vampire is one that will likely divide readers. I’m literally waiting on pins & needles for the answer. Another high point was the back stories of some of the Cullens & the werewolves.

I did feel that “Eclipse” was a little sluggish, and the reason for that could be that there is one more book in the series. Meyer honestly could have ended Bella’s story in 3 books, so some of “Eclipe” felt like a filler just to get a certain number of pages out of the book. Overall, “Eclipse” was satisfying, & I will be first in line to buy “Breaking Dawn” new year.

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Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3) – by Stephenie Meyer

August 2, 2008 at 1:38 am · Filed under Reviews 500 - 1000 ·Tagged , , , , ,

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Eclipse brings us back to Forks and Twilight,August 7, 2007

Twilight introduced us to Bella Swan and the mysterious Cullen’s a family of vampires. New Moon pulled Bella and Edward Cullen apart, and tested their love and introduced us to Jacob and the battle between wolves and vampires. It also left us hanging with a decision about Bella and immortality: when?

Eclipse is different. We return to the town of Forks and find that nothing much has changed. Graduation is closer than ever (after which, the Cullen’s have agreed to make Bella a vampire) and a serial killer is loose in Seattle. Bella cannot see Jacob, her best friend because he is a Werewolf, and due to her ties to the vampires, it would break treaties and bonds made between them.

As the days go by, and graduation gets closer and closer, Bella must choose her fate. She wants to become immortal and be with Edward, but she must give up her family to do so. She is also worried about the change: will she be able to be “vegetarian” like the Cullen Family, and refrain from human blood? Or will her new blood lust cause her to kill innocent people?

The serial killer that is in Seattle turns out to be supernatural: newborn vampires on the loose. This brings up even more issues for Bella and her decision to become immortal. Not that anything could ever persuade her to give Edward up, but it makes the choice more difficult by showing her the realities of becoming a vampire.

Without spoiling the plot: Jacob wants more from Bella too, which makes the choice even more difficult. Must Bella choose between the love of her life and her best friend?

Eclipse is yet another installment of a series I desperately hope will continue. I want to continue watching the characters grow and change, and find out what their lives will unfold to be like. I am already anxious for the next in the series! Write more, Stephenie Meyer!

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Melts in your mouth,August 7, 2007

Reading the third installment in the Twilight series was as satisfying to me as munching through a bag of dark chocolate M&Ms. The big ones.

Because, after all, Eclipse is BIG–629 pages–and in this volume of the story about Bella Swan, a mortal teenager, and vampire Edward Cullen, several big What If questions are explored: What if Bella decides once-and-for-all to become a vampire like Edward; how can she possibly know when she’s ready? What if Edward relents and redraws his “many careful lines” for his physical relationship with Bella? What would it look like if something so evil were to terrorize the Olympic Peninsula that Bella’s good vampires and her werewolf friends had to try to unite to fight it, despite their ancient animosity? And how would Bella’s closest friend Jacob, probably the swiftest of the Quileute werewolves, compete with her supposedly true love Edward for her eternal devotion?

Once again, Stephenie Meyer has written a compelling and often humorous sequel set in the lush environment surrounding the small town of Forks, Washington. Her colorful characters feel like real people rather than types–a big thing for me. And what situations could’ve been written morosely or indelicately came off instead as, well, as a kind of sensuous elegance. Even though the more private moments of pain or pleasure were described honestly, with realistic detail, they weren’t stripped of their intimacy by such telling. That impressed me. And there are lots of these kinds of moments throughout the book. I just ate it up.

One thing that might bog down readers is the tremendous amount of backstory that must be covered in order for the action and some characters’ points of view to make sense. It makes for a lot of exposition (as opposed to plain ol’ action), even when the stories are coming out of the characters’ mouths. But at least the stories are told in varied styles, according to the characters relating them, so monotony is not an issue. It’s just a LOT of information to keep straight.

Even so, unlike a bag of M&Ms, Eclipse did not give me a bellyache once I finished it. It has left me wanting more. And so I wait for book four…

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Obsession- Preface of Breaking Dawn and First Chapter,June 1, 2008

This review is about the first chapter and preface of Breaking Dawn – sold in the special edition of Eclipse. Stephenie Meyer gives us a sneak peak into what looks to be another wonderful addition to the Twilight series. The preface is intriguing and makes us wonder who Bella is with while she is thinking such dark thoughts. Clearly, this is another book about obsession. The first chapter is awesome. We see Bella has matured and is walking toward her chosen path trying to keep her head held high. The first chapter was unexpected as well. What is great about the first chapter is that Bella is alone outside her house engaged in an activity. Bella hasn’t been alone since the middle of New Moon so this was an interesting scene.

This sneak peak also gave us the reactions of Charlie and Renee to Bella and Edward’s news and through Bella’s memories we see how Charlie reacted when Bella and Edward told him of their plans. Unexpectedly, we see a friendship has formed between Esme and Renee amidst all the planning and Seth and Edward have remained friendly.

We also get a bit of information about what Jacob has been up to since receiving Edward’s invitation at the end of Eclipse. For Jacob fans this might be upsetting. There is enough vagueness to make one think Jacob will have a pivotal role in the fourth book in the series and the last book from Bella’s perspective.

It is disappointing that the publisher won’t allow the author to post these chapters to her website which is seemingly related to them trying to get teenagers and adults to purchase Eclipse a second time. This marketing ploy is a tad upsetting. These books have sold very well on the first round and to try and get people to buy the book a second time because “we” are obsessed with these characters is a bit over the top and it appears a bit unethical. Actually, the behavior of the publishing company is a bit predatory. Personally, I went to the book store and read the chapters there and I recommend you all do the same. Breaking Dawn will be out soon enough and why pay for the first chapter twice and Eclipse twice?

I work hard to earn my money, don’t you?

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