I’m a little disappointed in the end of this book. It had plenty of good moments but ultimately I did not enjoy this nearly asActual Rating: 2.5 Stars
I’m a little disappointed in the end of this book. It had plenty of good moments but ultimately I did not enjoy this nearly as much as my first foray into Stephen King’s horror (The Shining).
I’m glad I read this second because The Shining gave me hope that there are Stephen King novels out there that I can fall in love with, but sadly this one isn’t going on the favorites shelf. ...more
A solid read, though an interesting shift from third person to first person perspective for this last installment.
I stand by the idea that this is myA solid read, though an interesting shift from third person to first person perspective for this last installment.
I stand by the idea that this is my least favorite of Butler’s works that I’ve read thus far. But it’s still a very good series & explores some really interesting ideas about humanity, individuality, independence, and codependence. I’m glad to add the series to my shelves & I’m excited to read more from Butler. ...more
This is such a weird series, and I feel as though a 3 stars doesn’t actually do it justice? But I can’t really give it a 4 staActual Rating: 3.5 Stars
This is such a weird series, and I feel as though a 3 stars doesn’t actually do it justice? But I can’t really give it a 4 stars?
I think it’s because I am comparing it to other books by Octavia E. Butler that I have read. It’s very good! But it doesn’t quite stand up to books like Parable of the Sower/Parable of the Talents.
A lot of the same ideas are present across all of Butler’s work & that’s one of my favorite things about her as an author. She encodes a lot of social commentary that usually aligns with my personal beliefs.
Another thing keeping this from being a confident 4 or 5 star read is that I haven’t exactly connected with the characters in a personal way. I’m very interested in the story and how the plot will unfold, but I’m not emotionally invested. I feel as though I’m watching an intriguing story play out through a glass panel, and when I close the books l’m not very likely to think back on them often as I have with some of Butler’s other books.
All this could change with the final installment, we shall see. ...more
This was good, but having grown up with the film I have to say I prefer it over this book. And I’m shocked that Dahl didn’t enjoy Gene Wilder’s interpThis was good, but having grown up with the film I have to say I prefer it over this book. And I’m shocked that Dahl didn’t enjoy Gene Wilder’s interpretation of his character, it was pretty spot on in my opinion. ...more
Part of it is definitely playing on my nostalgia, but at the same time I felt as thoughActual Rating: 3.5 Stars
Sooooo I actually really enjoyed this?
Part of it is definitely playing on my nostalgia, but at the same time I felt as though I could see Meyer’s improvements a decade after her initial success with the Twilight series.
I also really appreciated the insight into Edward’s character and the tidbits we got from the rest of the Cullens. It expanded Emmett, Carlisle, Alice, and Jasper in particular. We got to see more of their relationships as a family, learn how they came together, and see Edward’s struggles as a newborn vampire from a first hand perspective.
While we’ve always known Edward to be a creepy & borderline controlling vampire boyfriend, seeing the situation from his perspective does provide some context & reasoning behind his actions. They’re not excuses per say, but I feel like I get him a bit more after reading this book.
I understand the depth of his interest in Bella too, and that’s always been a hangup for many readers of this series. Edward sees Bella as a selfless, attentive, intelligent individual & Meyer provides us with instances that Edward observes that back up those claims. I’m not saying she’s perfect, I just understand where the attraction plays a role now when it wasn’t so clear before.
However, even though I did enjoy this book quite a lot, there’s no denying it’s FAR TOO LONG. Like wow, it’s ridiculously long. Nearly double the size of Twilight! And much of the length comes from Edward hashing & rehashing his own miserable estimation of himself.
He’s constantly misinterpreting Bella’s reactions, expecting the worst, waiting for her to leave or reject him, wanting her to for her own good. Which to an extent, I understand. But boy oh boy did we do a deep dive into every tortured monologue, every sincere expectation of catastrophe & heartbreak.
Edward is a dramatic character, we all know this about him. Because of this, I don’t think that aspect of his character needed emphasized quite this much. The spiraling down into worse case scenarios could be downright depressing at times!
In some ways it shows just how difficult it is for Edward to interact with someone whose mind he cannot read, how he’s maybe overestimated his abilities to understand humans & their behavior after years of being privy to their inner most thoughts. But this was far, far too much whinging for the sake of making that point. Like I GOT IT.
Another thing affecting my rating - I could swear some of these conversations don’t line up with their original versions in Twilight? I read the series through not that long ago, but I won’t be going back to line up the convos because truthfully I don’t care THAT much. But one example, I’m almost positive Rosalie tells Bella why she doesn’t like her in Eclipse, but in Midnight Sun Edward is the one to reveal it?
I dunno, but I got the same feeling I got when watching The Hobbit films & they didn’t even try to line up the scene of Bilbo finding the One Ring with the flashback we get in the Lord of the Rings films. It’s just a little lazy.
Overall though this was a lot of fun for me despite its flaws and despite some of the glaring issues that have always been present with this series. Don’t read this and think it depicts healthy romantic relationships, don’t read this and think it accurately portrays any of the native tribes in the area.
I think Meyer would’ve seen a greater success had she released this in 2008 when she planned, and though I don’t think she intends to, if she were to release the rest of the series from Edward’s perspective I would very likely read them & enjoy them. Not a perfect book, but a fun one nonetheless!...more
I maybe didn’t find this book as terrifying as I’d hoped (though I find the imagery from the film startling even all these yeaActual Rating: 3.5 Stars
I maybe didn’t find this book as terrifying as I’d hoped (though I find the imagery from the film startling even all these years later) but it definitely has some disturbing scenes. I wasn’t a massive fan of the soliloquizing about the human condition as I found it quite dry in places & it seemed as though the author really wanted the reader to take him seriously. Scenes involving the actual possession were much more interesting to me & I enjoyed the ending! ...more
Well this book began in a very interesting way, and then had a major lag near the middle, and then picked up again. I think it’s a solidHrm. Hrm. Hrm.
Well this book began in a very interesting way, and then had a major lag near the middle, and then picked up again. I think it’s a solid entry in the ATLA spin-offs and I am definitely going to read the next installment. I wish it had kept up its quick pace the whole way through & I also wish the main antagonist had been just a pinch less mustache twirly, but definitely not a bad book....more
Mary ~Ravager of Tomes~
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Books:
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