A double-note before proceeding: massive spoilers, and this is merely the first book’s review. That said, let us continue to investigate this tale born from the long underground genre of vampire romance, that suddenly behest the world recently, though the original book was published in 2005 — its three sequels following each year consecutively.

This perspective is meant for readers that have already read the first volume, and thus won’t describe the plot, (which is assumed you’re familiar with) instead skipping to my observations.

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I am a man, this I know, for the bible tells me so. Also, because of all the shaving, though I suppose that isn’t as telling. Knowing thus, and still choosing to read and review Twilight, I was breaking the market-targeted workings of Little, Brown, the publisher of the series. And perhaps the basic conventions of manliness. But I wanted to know: does Twilight have anything to offer the testosterone-fueled side of the human race? That answer boils down to a guarded yes. The same strong points of the book are present no matter the gender of the reader, or age, but its weaknesses are more apparent to  such an observer. Let’s break it down, crescendo-rock-n-roll style:

Pace: The beginning of the story I found satisfyingly brisk, introducing the characters in a timely matter of eighty pages or so, most by far less, and the stage is quickly set for the first half of the book’s main plot — Isabella developing feelings for Edward, which certainly doesn’t take long, and Edward doing the same; most of the first half of the tale is consumed by Edward’s reluctance to accept his feelings, since doing so would jeopardize Bella.

Once they have both settled into their roles as a content couple, which is done in a semi-swift 250 pages (half the tome) the book then slowly starts to shift rails into the suspense genre. I found the sudden introduction of the coven of non-veggie vamps where the pacing starts to deviate to an increased speed, wasting the interesting if overused stereotype of an intelligent and cunning villain: James.

The most blatant error in the flow of the book, one which I’m surprised the editor in question had no qualms with, was the suspense building of the last half of the book is almost utterly wasted, when Bella is rescued from James without so much as a perceivable struggle.  We’re told that James is deadly, lethal, in the words of Laurent, his clan-mate; yet Emmet and Jasper seemingly apprehend him, and kill him, without suffering any wounds to themselves. The final battle is almost as unsatisfying as the allegory of sexual tension without resolution, provided by the main characters.

Overall, the pace remains brisk, sometimes too brisk, and it truly is a page-turner thanks to an almost constant stream of events. It is easily finished in eight hours or so by an average-speeder such as myself.

Pacing Receives an 8, out of 10.

Plot: The plot is minimal, no vast interwoven storyline here, instead the focus remains fixed on Bella and Edward’s relationship, which is the core of the experience. And depending on whether you find that experience an interesting subject will be the judge of whether you leave the book with a memorable experience. An interesting variation from normal romance (one fitting the vampire genre closely however) is that the initial attraction of the two main characters is largely due to lust, instead of a more standard plot of a long friendship forming their love; which is refreshingly honest, and very human, contrasting with Edward’s vampire origin.

Their inability to have sex together is definitely a cop out, a reasonable solution to stay within the confines of young adult fiction, but it is strange how Edward dismisses it so easily, considering how their passion is such an integral part of their relationship.

The biggest twist we get here is when they start kissing regularly, instead of merely necking. And when we find out Alice was imprisoned in an insane asylum in her previous life; that was pretty cool, if confusingly presented by James. Most of the story is Edward explaining to Bella the intricacies of the vampire race, which I found mostly interesting, if sometimes less so.

Plot receives a 5, out of 10.

Characters: The biggest flaw here, in this guy’s opinion, is the lead lady herself, Bella. Though it is interesting how obsessed she quickly becomes with Edward, that seems to be the extent of her personalization beyond the every-girl stereotype she is handed from the start. And she trips a lot, perhaps having an actual condition causing a lack of coordination; it is never explicitly said, but the constant banter by a myriad of characters on her clumsiness does grow tiring. Almost as much as the constant necking. Almost.

Edward comes across annoying in several circumstances, too wishy-washy for his own good, but that’s usually fine past the point you are introduced to Jacob. You can merely start rooting for the better of the fellows — which I find quite self-evident. Yes, Team Jacob, all the way. Edward is too easily transported from Meyer’s inspirations for the first installment, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility.

The side characters are all given their niche, and they mostly work, with no glaring exceptions. Alice is perhaps the only standout, however. Carlisle is the Xavier of vampires, but with better looks I imagine.

And Emmet is Wolverine. But enough with the X-men comparisons. James is Sabertooth. Which leaves Edward as Iceman? Okay, I’m done for real now.

Characters receive a 7, out of 10.

Dialogue: Pretty good. Mostly believable, mostly interesting; some murky spots with Bella at the very beginning, and throughout with her conversations with Charlie. When Edward compared Bella’s mind to the AM frequency on a radio, I could almost smell the contrived nature of the words. But otherwise, minus the constant idol-worship by Bella of her “Adonis,” it is solid, and one of the stronger points of the book. The banter between Bella and Edward never feels forced, mainly because most of it revolves around revealing Edward’s abilities and condition, as previously stated, and such discussions are in the majority, interesting.

Obviously if you took out Edward being a vampire you’d be yanking the guts out of this story, but I can’t help but wonder if they’d have achieved such a reciprocating relationship had they been reduced to mundane discusses, such as the failed relationship of Mike and Jessica.

Returning a bit to characterization of Bella, I believe she isn’t as sympathetic mainly because of her often pouting in her conversations with Edward. And her inability to let her well-perceived flaws in Edward influence her actions.

James tries out some tired villain lines, working them fresh and adding a bit of texture to the conversations near the end.

Nevertheless the faults, dialogue carries the book; both Bella’s internal monologues and her conversations with Edward ‘n gang.

Dialogue receives an 8, out of 10.

Prose: Meyer’s often returns to slightly rephrased versions of her descriptions, especially of Edward, and you’ll be described his features time and time again, and yet somehow it isn’t so tedious while reading: only when looking back does the monotony shows itself. Thus the fault is rather mute, but still visible.

The book is written in a style lent to page-turning, as mentioned, and thus more than a single paragraph descriptions are scrapped in favor of pace, to Meyer’s credit. An exception to this is the detailed settings of Forks’ ancient forests, and Phoenix’s rolling deserts; both of which get a some time to impress themselves upon the reader, the former admittedly much more.

The point of view (first person limited) works for the story on several levels, giving you a much needed look into Bella’s thoughts, necessary to understand her actions, and obsession, with Edward.  It also adds a general intimacy and expedience to the story, which helps the feel and flow, respectively.

Several times the writing reaches a crescendo of superb ability, otherwise it wobbles above average, with an occasional dip below the line for good measure.

Prose receives 7, out of 10.

Overall: Worth a read, for sure, just be warned, there is a serious amount of petting that grows tiresome to slog through for those of the male gender. Maybe even for the female as well.

The series lore is well-constructed, and perhaps some of the most interesting elements are only hinted at in book 1, since it remains so closely fixed on Bella and Edward’s relationship.

I look forward to reading, and then reviewing, the other three books in the series. Recap and overall score time!

Pace: 8 of 10, brisk and moves swiftly, but omits the conclusion of the second half’s tension building.

Plot: 5 of 10, consisting solely of Bella’s and Edward’s relationship, hinting at further involvement in the series by Jacob.

Characters: 7 0f 10, not extremely deep, but each carries the weight of their assigned tasks well. Bella and Edward, having the most presence in the book, are the only ones which flaws are readily apparent.

Dialogue: 8 of 10, lots of it and mostly interesting, if heavy on the adjectives and light on the super-verbs. The best of it is in the good banter between the main characters, the worst is the bad.

Prose: 7 of 10, achieves what it needs to, doesn’t ascend much beyond that, but still better then most run-of-the-mill suspense tales, and certainly most romances.

Overall: 7 of 10, Very Good.

Thanks for reading, and interwebz in next Tuesday as I examine the much more archaic tale: “The Pit and the Pendulum,” by Edgar Allan Poe. Does it continue to stand the test of time?

~The Swamp Celt

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