This is one of those books that I would have never read without the prodding of a girlfriend.
Don’t get me wrong, I love reading, but on its own, I don’t think I would have been interested enough to start into Meyer’s immensely popular fantasy series.
A similar prompting had me reading the Harry Potter novels a year or so ago, and Meyer’s Twilight compares favorably with its young adult fantasy kin.
Meyer’s step into the fantasy series starts out more mature than Rowling’s, though. Twilight is far closer to one of the latter Potters than the first.
Twilight follows Bella, a young girl who has moved to the dreary Pacific Northwest to be with her father while her mother is away from their home in Pheonix. But the quiet, sleepy town in Washington state where she moves has a dark secret, it’s home to a coven of vampires.
Bella’s romantic opposite, Edward, seems to be a composite of men composed by Jane Austen herself, albeit with a twist from Richard Matheson. The novel deals mostly with the unusual courtship between the two main characters and comes to an end with a fury of action that involves another group of vampires.
Meyer has done more than just recreate an older vampire novel. She’s recreated the myth to her own liking, making some minor and some major changes to the centuries old superstition.
All in all, I enjoyed the book. It’s not one of my favorites by any means, but as with the Potters, a little fluff is good from time to time. Besides, this series has tons of people reading who might not do so otherwise and that’s always a good thing. Hopefully, the book will make a good gateway drug.
