While I was away on holiday, I decided to try getting through Twilight and New Moon. I wasn't expecting much - they don't exactly have a stellar literary reputation, but I was willing to give them a chance. Plus, holiday reading is always so much more forgiving! I was surprised when I found Twilight to be really enjoyable. The first half of New Moon bored me to tears, but the Cullens made it all better in the end. I was, however, very aware of some particularly clumsy writing while I wasn't interested in the plot. I guess you just don't notice it as much when you're desperate to find out what's going to happen. (Or when you're daydreaming along about devastatingly beautiful vampires...)
Anyway, I realised that a lot of the criticism was pretty much unfounded. Meyervamps sound stupid from the outside, but when you're actually reading the books they make a lot of sense. I actually found them to be as well realised as Joss' take on vampires. They don't deviate as much from the traditional myth as you'd think from the way people go on about it. More importantly, they were actually scary. Not in a creepy way, but the sheer strength and speed they have makes even the most mundane situations they get involved in incredibly dangerous. I liked that a lot - Joss' vampires never really seemed all that tough unless they featured in the opening credits.
Of course, it has its flaws. When you think about the author while reading (especially during the very sexually charged passages about Edward) it all gets a little creepy, like you're a voyeur into some strange middle aged wish fulfilment fantasy. I was aware that by page 300 of Twilight, nothing had actually happened. Bella's reaction to...the thing that happens at the start of New Moon.... is unforgivable. There are some incredibly stupid lines, for example, Bella on her first day at her new school: "Nobody was going to bite me."... But Alice helps you forget all that by being unrepentantly awesome throughout.
So, it's onto Eclipse then. Should be fun.
