Breaking Dawn
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(herein be spoilers)
With most book or movies series, I like the first one best: The Fellowship of the Ring, the original Star Wars, and definitely Twilight. The first installments have freshness on their side, and the characters and plot are vivid. Also, they seem crafted with a completeness, a kind of full arc, that later installments don't have.
As the Twilight saga went on, I missed the modesty of the first volume. When James, Laurent, and Victoria enter the ballfield in the original Twilight novel, it's a very simple event, but incredibly fraught with tension and danger. No flash, no crazy powers, no black robes or pomp, yet crackling with menace. I'm not a huge fan of the whole Volturi angle, which introduces a Harry Potter feel of fantasy to what had been a very grounded narrative.
Breaking Dawn is definitely my least favorite of the Twilight books. After two books (New Moon and Eclipse) that focused heavily on Jacob Black, I was ready for the last book to return to a strong focus on Edward and Bella. Jacob features too prominently in Breaking Dawn for my taste, and there are other plot developments that muddy the waters. The repetition is still there (Alice and Jasper take off, and they secretly wonder if they've bailed? I don't think so; and Jacob once again gets ready to kill Edward when he thinks Bella has been hurt? Again?).
That said, Breaking Dawn was a good conclusion to the series. Most of all, I love the way it ended. Very unexpected and very brave of Stephenie Meyer to end with diffusion rather than a bang. And so in keeping with her philosophy.
-
(herein be spoilers)
With most book or movies series, I like the first one best: The Fellowship of the Ring, the original Star Wars, and definitely Twilight. The first installments have freshness on their side, and the characters and plot are vivid. Also, they seem crafted with a completeness, a kind of full arc, that later installments don't have.
As the Twilight saga went on, I missed the modesty of the first volume. When James, Laurent, and Victoria enter the ballfield in the original Twilight novel, it's a very simple event, but incredibly fraught with tension and danger. No flash, no crazy powers, no black robes or pomp, yet crackling with menace. I'm not a huge fan of the whole Volturi angle, which introduces a Harry Potter feel of fantasy to what had been a very grounded narrative.
Breaking Dawn is definitely my least favorite of the Twilight books. After two books (New Moon and Eclipse) that focused heavily on Jacob Black, I was ready for the last book to return to a strong focus on Edward and Bella. Jacob features too prominently in Breaking Dawn for my taste, and there are other plot developments that muddy the waters. The repetition is still there (Alice and Jasper take off, and they secretly wonder if they've bailed? I don't think so; and Jacob once again gets ready to kill Edward when he thinks Bella has been hurt? Again?).
That said, Breaking Dawn was a good conclusion to the series. Most of all, I love the way it ended. Very unexpected and very brave of Stephenie Meyer to end with diffusion rather than a bang. And so in keeping with her philosophy.
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posted by Anonymous at
8:22 PM
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