Twilight

In the last week, I’ve read the entire Twilight saga. All of it. Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and finally Breaking Dawn. A few thoughts.


Firstly, what a page-turner! Wow! I couldn’t put the damn thing down. The light style means it’s a fast read, and the hardback versions I was reading felt like they were large print. Large print means fewer words per page, means more pages, means more pages turned. Even so, I felt like I turned pages in an almost continuous wave of motion. It’s exciting, and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

Secondly, the proportion of crucial action that takes place ‘offscreen’ has the effect, frankly, of grinding my gears somewhat. The fight at the end of the first novel takes place whilst the narrator is out cold. The third novel sees an army descend upon our heroes, but the narrative focus is not on the cool mega-battle, rather it’s on a side-skirmish. The whole book builds up towards a fight that eventually takes place away in a place where we can’t see it? Come on! Show me the money!

Thirdly, and lastly, it’s a very cool idea that’s pulled off well, but I get the creeping sensation that I’m a bit too old for it. It’s to do with the ages of the characters – their angsty teen musings remind me of what I thought sixth-formers thought when I was about fourteen.

What are your thoughts?