Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)
by Stephenie Meyer
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.92 You Save: $15.07 (75%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)
Book Review: Eclipse
Summary: 5 Stars
Eclipse
It is always hard to know what to expect when the third book of a series comes out. Every one is excited, but many are disappointed when they actually read the book from the series that they fell in love with. I was scared that this might happen with the Twilight series when the third book, Eclipse, came out. However, I was in no way disappointed. Eclipse quickly became not only my favorite book in the series, but my favorite book in general. Twilight was what made me fall in love with the series, and New Moon, the second book, ruined my hopes for the rest of the books until the ending. I was terrified that Eclipse would have a silly plot because I couldn't think of much else that could happen to these characters. Stephenie Meyer proved my worries to be unnecessary.
Eclipse starts off with Edward and Bella talking about college. Bella, the stubborn person that she is, is still insistent upon the fact that college won't be a good choice because she will be a vampire by then. Not only a vampire, but also a newborn, the most dangerous kind. Edward, Bella's already vampire boyfriend, is almost as stubborn as she is and is insisting that she needs to go to school and finish her education and make her decision later. This is one of a few things that Bella and Edward just can't seem to agree on. The action begins when the newspaper features a story about deaths occurring in Seattle, not far from Forks, Washington where Bella and her father Charlie live. The police have no leads but Edward and his adopted vampire family do know what is going on. As the death's become more frequent, the Cullen family starts to get worried about how bad things are getting, but they figure that the Volturi, vampire royalty, will interfere soon.
Edward and his family are vampires, but not the kind of vampires that we all picture today. They have no fangs, they don't burn in the sunlight, they don't sleep in creepy coffins, and the Cullen's don't even drink human blood. However, this is an unusual lifestyle for even these vampires. Also unlike other vampires in their world, the Cullen's live in a house, and interact with humans often. Edward, his brothers Emmett and Jasper, and his sisters Alice and Rosalie all go to Forks High School. While their father Carlisle has learned to control himself so much that he is able to work in a hospital as a doctor. Their mother Esme doesn't have an official job, but she really enjoys decorating.
The story takes another turn when some things go missing from Bella's room. At first she doesn't really think anything of it, but later she realizes that it was other vampires that were trying to get her scent. Another more experienced vampire named Victoria, who is angry with the Cullen's for killing her mate James, leads these newborn vampires. Jacob Black, a boy from a local Native American tribe who also happens to be a werewolf, the only enemy of vampires, also gets involved with the action. The Cullen's realize that they don't have enough people to be able to kill all of the newborn vampires and Victoria, so they have to put aside their differences and work together. Jacob has no problem with this because he wants just as badly to protect Bella, who he is also in love with. The werewolves and vampires find themselves in a battle with about 20 other vampires. They are positive that they won't all make it through.
I found this book to have much more depth than the last two. There is action, a continuing love story with new conflicts, and even a comedic side. I think that the author's goal with Eclipse was to really show the strength of Edward and Bella's relationship. Jacob becomes a lot more a love interest, and Bella has her moments of low judgment, but Bella and Edward's relationship remains strong for the most part even after having gone through so much. Also, a lot more of the relationship between not only Edward and Bella but between Edward's family members is shown. Stephenie Meyer seemed to want to show more sides to the characters than were shown in the other books. Throughout the book each of the characters had a chance to personally tell their stories, which helped the reader really get to know them. She definitely accomplished her goal by making the reader feel a lot closer to the characters that they already loved.
Eclipse was an all around amazing read. With so many sides to the story and new conflicts and characters there was no room for boredom. The story is constantly taking new turns and keeps the reader wondering what will happen next. The only weakness that I found while reading Eclipse was that even though the story was changing a lot, sometimes it took a very long time for certain parts to get to the point. Lots of important discoveries aren't really made until close to the end of the book. Aside from that small point, I found the book to be fascinating.
Overall, Eclipse was definitely the best book in the entire series if not the best that I have ever read. Stephenie Meyer did an amazing job at keeping the story new and exciting. Eclipse was completely different from the last two books and that is something that I really loved about it. I felt like I knew the characters and could really understand them a lot more than I had previously. I would definitely recommend this book for anybody who enjoys an enhancing love story with an action side too.
Book Review: Review for Parents of Young Readers
Summary: 1 Stars
***Spoilers***
I am a parent reading through this series because my 11-year-old is reading them. I am glad that we are discussing these books every night so that my child doesn't get polluted by Ms. Meyers ideas about how relationships work. Honestly, I can't believe there hasn't been more outrage from feminists about this series.
1. This is just a horribly written book:
Isn't isn't often that I find myself rolling my eyes while I read. Her language use is unoriginal and repetitive. I noticed this in the second book and decided to keep "score" while reading this, the third. She seems to think that describing Edward's physical appearance is critically important since she does it over and over with the same adjectives, so I decided to count those adjectives.
Ms. Meyers has a very small adjective repertoire. She uses the word "perfect/perfection" to describe him only 5 times in this book. That is an improvement over the first two books in this series. She describes his eyes as "liquid gold" 15 times. She describes him as "stone/marble/statue" 25 times, which you can only imagine gets pretty tedious. But her worst sin is her use of "icy/cold" 40 times to describe the temperature of his skin. I would like to see her describe more about his personality, assuming he even has one, or just about anything other than his appearance and temperature. He's a Perfect Icy Marble specimen, we get it. Oh, and I didn't count them, but Jacob is always "russet colored," whether she's talking about his skin, his fur or his lips. Really, watch for that.
2. Inability to describe authentic emotions.
This isn't real literature. This isn't even good fiction. I'm classifying this as an adolescent romance novel, but even then I'd hope that the descriptions of emotions would be interesting, at the very least. However, whenever anyone gets angry she has them do one thing, universally, no matter which character she's writing about. They make fists. She uses this image 17 times. Is there nothing else an angry person does that suggests that they are angry? Does their face change maybe? Their tone of voice? Their behavior? Does she really know this little about human behavior or is her writing really that shallow?
3. Every relationship in this series is unhealthy in some way:
When Bella is afraid to share something with her father, for example, she's afraid that, "Charlie (dad) wouldn't speak to me for months." Really? Is it respectful for children to call their parents by their first names? Do parents stop speaking to their children? What world is this author living in, or what type of world did she grow up in? Bella doesn't have one healthy relationship in this book. Her relationship with her mom is reversed. She also care-takes her father. She does not respect her parents as authority figures and in fact flagrantly disobeys house rules by sneaking her boyfriend into her bedroom every night.
4. There is no consistency of character from book to book.
I laughed out loud when Bella's assessment of her over-active imagination in book #3 results in her saying, "I needed therapy." But in book #2, after months of catatonic depression and suicidal ideation, she never considered therapy. When her dad suggested it she got angry, probably even made fists. If a character doesn't have any backstory, and Bella has virtually none, then it is easy to lose track of who she is, even if you're the author.
5. Use of cheap plot devices:
This writer is so unskilled that when Bella has secrets that need to be exposed, she conveniently talks in her sleep. Yup, every single time.
6. Lazy writing:
Newspaper reporting/writing has a formula. It's pretty straightforward and easy to look up and learn, if you're a writer. Meyer is completely unfamiliar with this writing style and didn't bother to learn it for the portions of this book that are supposed to be newspaper articles. If I didn't bother to learn a piece of my job I might get fired,
7. Bella is a vapid role-model:
Bella's sole interest and her entire future plan is to become a vampire. She doesn't ask many questions about what that will be like at the beginning, or what she'll be giving up. She spends more time justifying why her old truck is the perfect car for her than she does making the decision to become immortal, or inhuman. Eternity, honey. It's a long time. Don't you think you should do a little research first? Eternity might seem pretty long without interests, hobbies and an education.
Bella's narcissism becomes tiresome. For example, in the middle of a war, literally, she thinks this is the right time to talk about relationships and break-up with people because we all know that the sun rises and sets on Bella. It's always about her.
While my child was reading this book we spent a lot of time talking about relationships, character, and whether he would want any of these people as friends. I don't want to discourage his reading, and most of the time I think that reading garbage is better than reading nothing at his age. In the case of this series, though, I recommend that parents of young readers supplement these books with lots of conversation.
Book Review: Excessive teen angst gives this reader a headache
Summary: 1 Stars
Eclipse (The Twilight Saga) is the third book in Stephanie Meyer's much over hyped "Twilight Saga" after Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) and New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2). Between book one and book three, Stephanie Meyer's writing ability and course for the novels has dangerously disintegrated into a teen angst fest peppered with an inadequate plot.
Eclipse progresses the story of the excessively boring heroine Bella Swan, who falls in love with a vampire and often finds herself in the middle of heated conflicts between the Cullen family and their enemies. Eclipse continues where both the first and second book left off, with Victoria still boundlessly hunting after Bella, and the love triangle between Edward, Bella and Jacob intensifying. Add a group of serial killing newborn vampires on the loose in Seattle who appear to be out for Bella's blood, and you've got Eclipse: one hell of a big mess.
Where Twilight had passable potential for the series and New Moon left much to be desired, Eclipse was mediocre at best. This novel, at an overwritten 629 pages, was not only mind numbingly dull, it was downright painful. The plot simply was not strong enough to carry the book the entire way and the reader certainly could not depend upon the heroine to make that journey any better. With a weak plot and an even more ineffectual protagonist, Meyer bombarded the reader with a love triangle so arduous, I found myself leaving the book alone for extended periods of time before steeling myself to continue reading.
The storytelling itself just plods along, almost as though it's going through the motions, with little or no passion involved. This book read as though it was a rough draft, basically what the author pens just to get the initial story down before going back and breathing life into the narrative. Eclipse shared the back stories of some main characters to provide insight into how they became vampires, but the set ups were written awkwardly and the presentations themselves were ho-hum. More than that, they went on for what seemed like forever--indeed, the page count would be significantly less if the reader were not overwhelmed with these rather needless back stories. While I accept that Meyer wanted the reader to gain a better understanding of her characters, these stories simply didn't fit into the plot of the book itself and would have been better served and more appreciated as stand-alone short stories. As it was, they interrupted the flow of the novel, whereas it might have gone more smoothly in their absence.
The characters involved in the series have either not progressed at all since book one, or they have regressed and have become more bothersome than intriguing. Jacob, who showed up briefly in book one and became more prominent in book two, went from being a sweet, good-natured boy to a hulking brute who threatened suicide over Bella's reluctance to suck face with him. I understand that Meyer attempted to make his character more appealing as a love interest for the heroine, but his fervent ardor came on so strong, it was nearly obsessive. More than that, his overenthusiastic infatuation was too much of a contrast to his amiable nature before his change. Meyer might have attributed this shift in temperament to Jacob's becoming a werewolf, but there was little consistency. Perhaps she was looking for some contrast to Edward and Bella's relationship, which is so lackluster, I feel sorry for both parties involved. The two not only have little in the way of chemistry, but their frequent declarations of suicide if they can't be together are absolutely cringe-worthy. Although I do have to hand it to Meyer, dealing with Edward's moping over Bella as well as his incurable vampirism is infinitely more appealing than Jacob's raging hormones and irritatingly cocky attitude. But I still can't seem to figure out what either one of them see in Bella Swan, the plain-as-mud human who managed--er...somehow--to capture both their hearts. Bella's perspective reads more like an outline, a shell where their should be soul. There is so little emotion there, so little substance, there is nary a heroine in all of teen literature who could compete with her when it comes to monotonous first person. Meyer gives little reason, other than her apparently wonderful tasting blood, for why this human is so appealing to just about everyone. Enemies always want to kill her, and those who don't love her and want to be her friend. Ah, yes, this author could not have written a more textbook example of a Mary Sue. The author writes her as so overwhelmingly meritorious, it's like eating birthday cake--so sweet it makes one ill.
I hope Meyer has better luck writing Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4) and understands that substance, consistency, and the relay of emotion are even more essential than a page count.
Book Review: A huge fan but deeply troubled
Summary: 4 Stars
I have never been so troubled by a book I enjoyed so much - only J.K. Rowling and Phillip Pullman have kept me as glued to the page. I'm a bit old for Twilight, but I picked it up in the hopes that it would distract me from grieving for the end of Harry Potter, and within a few days, I'd read New Moon and was impatiently awaiting Eclipse.
On my first reading of Eclipse, I can honestly say that I wasn't bothered by many of the concerns other reviewers have mentioned - although I wished for more development of Bella as a person, she didn't annoy me, and while Jacob was sometimes a jerk, I forgave him. Edward kept my heart aflutter, and I appreciated the development of Rosalie and Jasper. Victoria was not quite the terrifying threat I'd hoped for, but it's really the characters that have kept me coming back for me, so I didn't mind that the suspense didn't pan out.
I disagree with others who believe that Bella's lesser love for Jacob taints her relationship with Edward - I don't think it does, and I think that she needed some way to understand more thoroughly what she's giving up. When she speaks with Rosalie, she still can't (and most 18 year olds couldn't!) imagine what it will feel like not to be able to have children or grow old - she hasn't even kissed a warm-blooded boy before. In some ways, it's the opposite of the choice Arwen makes in the film of The Two Towers. And if Jacob's a manipulative, melodramatic jerk, well, he's 16! I can live with it.
On subsequent reads, I realized I was increasingly uncomfortable with some of the scenes. Why make the smart, 17-going-on-35-year-old, AP science student of Twilight need Edward's help to get into Dartmouth? Must he have a hand in all of the good things in Bella's life? And her attempted seduction of Edward fluctuated between nicely true-to-life and just plain awkward. In any other situation, I'd get Bella's reluctance to get married - I felt the same way when I considered marrying my college sweetheart/first love at 22 - not raised to be that kind of girl, my parents always encouraged us see more of life first, date other people, etc. But Bella's already committed herself to Edward for eternity - effectively, she's already accepted his proposal and, under the terms of his initial offer, she doesn't have to go public with it, wear an appallingly expensive pouffy white dress, or risk physical injury and public humiliation on the way down the aisle. Her refusal feels like a vehicle for Ms. Meyer to convey her ideas about premarital sex and nothing more. I had a similar feeling in the earlier scene with Edward's new bed - why does he buy a bed and roll around in it with Bella if he's only going to get irritated when she responds normally? It felt like just another device to show off Bella's raging hormones and Edward's mature self-control.
More difficult for me was the suggestion that premarital sex is as irrevocably damning as murder. I can accept that some people feel differently about sex and marriage than I do - I'm glad for that diversity in the world - but I can't help but be offended by the suggestion that this places me in the same category as a murderer, as well as by the unforgiving nature of Edward's (and Ms. Meyer's) God. It doesn't fit with the compassion and tolerance that Carlisle tries to impart throughout the books, clearly meant as a counterpoint to Carlisle's judgmental and unforgiving father.
The conclusion was the breaking point for me. Differences of religious and moral beliefs aside, Bella's sudden change of heart makes no sense - suddenly, she not only accepts that premarital sex could risk Edward's soul (as usual, she's not worried about her own) but also agrees that the "right" way to do things must involve an elaborate wedding celebration? This is perhaps more ridiculous that the sex-murder comparison - a small, simple wedding is not an immature choice nor is it one that the couple will regret "50 years later." Instead, it reflects the desire to reject the expectations of our increasingly materialistic society in favor of something which better expresses the love between and personalities of the marrying couple. I felt like Ms. Meyer's own fantasies took over here, supplanting Bella's wishes. For once, Jacob sees things clearly when he reads the wedding invitation and notes that "Bella'd had nothing to do with this." Earlier in the book, compromises between Edward and Bella are an important theme (as they are in real relationships), but by the end, Edward appears to be getting everything he wants. We are asked to believe that Bella is too, because she now shares his mature and sensible desires.
None of these criticisms will keep me away from the fourth book, of course, and that is a testament to power of Ms. Meyer's writing. I'll keep hoping that Bella will have a chance to build upon the natural maturity she showed in Twilight and the hard-won lessons of New Moon. But I'm not sure I'd want my daughters to read them someday, at least not as adolescents. There are too many messages, both subtle and overt, that I wouldn't want to pass on.
Book Review: Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer - General Review
Summary: 4 Stars
It was a great piece of literature, especially for the genre. Teen vampire fantasies are a dime a dozen these days, but I was thoroughly as absorbed in this story as I was in Twilight and New Moon. If I didn't have a few minor (well, major, actually) scruples with it, then I would have categorized it in the same throwing, but not reaching, distance of the perfection that was the final Harry Potter volume.
I'll set the nagging scruples aside and start on the extremely well-done parts of the book. I've always been a huge fan of the romance between Edward and Bella, but the skirmish and fight scenes were by far my favorite parts. I was surprised, actually, because I'm always more mush than action, but wow! Pretty exciting and nicely written stuff there. When I'd read that Bella would be sheltered from the big, climactic battle of good vs. evil, I instantly assumed Meyer had taken the easy way out. We readers weren't getting anything beyond the practice scenes where Jasper teaches the others, but I am infinitely grateful I was proved wrong. The imagery was beautiful and the detail nearly faultless.
The background information, on the vampire wars and the other members of the Cullen family, seduced me as much as, if not more than, the battles. The peek into the Cullens' lives as humans really put them into perspective and gave greater understanding of why these vampires act as they do. We now understand why Rosalie never takes a liking to Bella and why Jasper doesn't have the implacable control of the others. All in all, Meyer satisfies with how she characterizes her more minor characters.
So on to the minor major parts of the story that I had problems with. Firstly, there's the change in Jacob. I didn't really care about him in Twilight; he didn't have an important part, anyway. I fell in love with him in New Moon, because he is such a comfort to the Bella that Edward ruthlessly runs away from. It absolutely broke my heart when Edward returns and Jacob withdraws his friendship. But here, in Eclipse, Jacob is nothing like what I loved in the second book. Sure, he is still warm in temperature, but he practically pushes and shoves himself into Bella's life. I felt he was much too forward about his wants and needs and his desire for Bella, throwing himself at her without considering how she has to deal. It didn't feel like the same Jake. It felt like an annoying brat who couldn't take a clue.
And then, my greatest irritation with the book was how Meyer deals with Bella's feelings toward Jake. I didn't mind too much that she realizes her love for him, but I did mind that Meyer doesn't develop these feelings at all! It was almost like Meyer was trying to make the choice more difficult for Bella, but couldn't find a better way to do it. It would have been enough angst to have Bella choose between best friend and lover, but now lover and lover? A little over the top. For the entire series up to this point, Bella has been blindly, hopelessly devoted to Edward and doesn't show any sort of interest toward Jacob other than friendship. Meyer should have at least tried to build something along the lines of romantic affection so that readers can fall in love as Bella does. I don't want to unknowingly familiarize myself with Jake as a brother to be suddenly thrown awry with a passionate kiss. Surprises are nice, but not this kind and definitely not in first-person prose!
My last annoyance (And now it's starting to sound like I dislike more than like, but truly, I'm just ranting here. I did enjoy the book immensely.) is that Bella is more clingy in this book than in the past books. The parts about her dying and being in pain without Edward get real old real fast. It was just fine, and even extremely realistic, in New Moon, but now that both accept their love for each other, it has become slightly out of circumstance (I'm even apprehensive of a whiney, clingy Bella in the next installment who won't let go of her "love" for Jacob). It would have benefited so much if Meyer had spent the time describing Bella's death without Edward on Bella's supposedly growing romantic affection for Jacob. Then things wouldn't have been so awkwardly developed! No, I'm never going to get over how Meyer kept insisting on Bella's brotherly feelings, and then popped the bubble.
Everything aside, I was, and still am, very pleased with Eclipse. I have to applaud and maybe even stand for an ovation. I'm sure most people are anticipating Breaking Dawn as I am, and I hope for all things delightful that Bella would grow a spine and stop vacillating back and forth even after her decisions. While it's true that I really look forward to seeing the vampire transformation and effects in Bella, it's also true that part of me doubts it will ever happen. Because I'm still a tiny bit biased towards vampires (and because Meyer flopped with the Jacob relationship), I do also hope that Bella sticks with Edward in the end.