Stephenie Meyer, Twilight (Little, Brown, 2005)
I have always been a fan of what has become known as urban fantasy; that is, fantasy set in modern times and with the characters existing and interacting with modern culture and society. In recent years, though, the paranormal romance subgenre has overlapped with urban fantasy and so most of what's been published has been forgettable. Combine this with a hesitation toward books that seem too popular for their own good. Occasionally, you get a popular book that is also quite good (like the Harry Potter series), but quite often the books are just a flash in the pan and more about hype than about quality.
Thus, I hesitated to read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Yes, this may sound snobbish, but something that popular can't be worthwhile. Then, one day, my son brought the book home because one of his good (female) friends had loaned it to him. I decided it was probably time to see what the hype was about.
The story takes place mostly in Forks, Washington. High school upperclassman Isabella (Bella) Swan has just moved to Forks from Phoenix in order to live with her father, since her mother is moving to Florida with her new husband. Bella isn't too excited about living in Forks: it's small and it's always wet. But Bella soon makes friends and feels mostly adjusted to her new life when she meets up with some enigmatic fellow high-schoolers who are just too perfect in their looks, but who keep distant and aloof from everyone else.
It isn't long, though, before Bella finds herself attracted to one of them, Edward Cullen, who seems to likewise be attracted to her. But no matter how much they seem to be about to get along, Edward pulls himself away and refuses to warm up to Bella.
Eventually, though, they do connect and Bella learns why Edward is so hesitant to develop a relationship with her. It turns out that he and his family are all vampires. But they are vampires with a twist: they are "vegetarian" vampires, as they call themselves. Unlike most other vampires, they have sworn off the drinking of human blood and sustain themselves through the blood of animals (and living in Forks, they have plenty of opportunity to go game hunting). However, it is only through their strength of will that they can keep from succumbing and giving in to their more primal instincts to drink blood. Fate may have made them vampires, but they are determined to rise above their nature and act nobly.
But what does one do when one is a blood-sucking vampire and finds himself in love with a very warm blooded human? That's the conundrum that Edward finds himself in. With the help of his family, Edward shows the strength needed to spend time and be intimate with Bella without succumbing to his more base instincts.
All seems to be leading toward happiness (except for that one little problem that Edward doesn't age and Bella does) when another group of vampires show up in Forks and they don't have the reservations toward human blood that the Cullens do. The leader of this group is also a hunter, a vampire whose special skill is to hunt someone obsessively until captured. This hunter, of course, sets his sights on Bella.
Bella, with the help of the Cullens, flees for her life. The novel concludes with a battle between the vampires that helps to further define the relationship between Bella and Edward.
The novel is obviously written toward teenage girls. I lost track of the number of times that Bella (the book's narrator) refers to Edward's good looks as being almost those of a model. Needless to say that it was often enough to become irritating. Further, I had a nagging sense that Bella is a bit of a Mary Sue, a character created a bit too much like the author: from Phoenix, loves literature, etc.
But even with these big downsides, there is still enough of a compelling story here to captivate urban fantasy readers for a good read for an hour or two. Perhaps because of the Mary Sue nature of Bella's character, Meyer is able to create realistic atmosphere and characters. The diction is straightforward and simple, making for a fast read, an dthe plot is straightforward and not too complex.
In spite of the large sales this series has garnered, this isn't truly great literature and won't stand the test of time, but it is enjoyable and fun and worth a read if you have a spare afternoon.
