Teija

Ugh. Ugh. Appalling.

Having read the first three of Meyer's books, I was looking forward to this, the fourth installment in the series. Little did I know that Stephenie Meyer had gone completely insane between the third and fourth books.

The book started out as expected. Bella and Edward, about to be married, Bella clawing at Edward to sleep with her and Edward reluctantly agreeing. I wasn't surprised; Meyer had been leading up to this moment for three books already, it was about time. However, the godawful consequences of allowing it – a half-demon baby? A mutated part-vampire pregnancy that kills Bella (had Edward not turned her, she would surely have died)? And then, when the child is born and Bella becomes a vampire, all the pre-established canon flies out the window.

Turning into a vampire was difficult; was painful and hard, for every member of the Cullen family, no matter how pious or prepared for the turn, no matter how openly they welcomed the change or how reluctantly they took their new supernatural burdens. But not for Bella. No, Bella gets to frolic around hours after she's turned; days later she can hang out with her very human father with not so much as a batted eyelash. Ridiculous.

And the wrenching angst of imprinting, portrayed so beautifully in the first three books by the difficult love triangle between Sam Uley and his ex, Leah, and his imprint, Emily... gone. No, in Breaking Dawn, imprinting wipes out all love for everything you ever felt love for. No longer is it difficult and wrenching and hard. No, it's simple. Simple as pie!

I had to put the book down once Bella was turned, I was just too disgusted by the appalling deviation from a set canon, not to mention the amateurish writing. Meyer's editors must have been handed a bombshell. I don't know if I should applaud them or condemn them for being able to put it into printing condition.

Many people call the Silmarillion dense – they say it's too hard to read, they say it's clunky and slow-going – and it's true. But so is a lot of Lord of the Rings. Tolkien writes like a historian, in this sense, and with the attention to detail and passionate worldbuilding he put into his life's work, it's no wonder he would want to share as much of it as he possibly could, spilling out into multitudes of different volumes just to fit it all in.

I read the Silmarillion for the first time just after reading Lord of the Rings, and I devoured it. It describes the beginning, the early times in Middle-Earth, and it is absolutely fascinating. I would recommend it to anyone who wants more time in Middle-Earth.

This is a fantastic exploration of the Americas pre-European intervention, but it is extremely dry. I'm used to historical texts and academic readings but even with interest in the topic and a willingness to power through, I found myself spacing out and having to backtrack a bit. Persevering did reap reward, though, as the ideas explored in this book are worth examining. Well worth the effort, but it does take effort.

This is my favorite (so far) of the Twilight books. My favorite character in the entire series, due largely in part to this book, is Jacob Black.

When Edward leaves Bella in what is probably the most pathetic weepy display of “I can't live without a boy” weak girliness in recent literary history (seriously, there's a time lapse. It's like she went into a coma, and it's ridiculous), Jacob pulls her out of it, slowly but surely. Bella falls slowly in love with him, and develops a deep friendship along the way. Stephenie Meyer's writing definitely improved between Twilight and New Moon, and it shows in the way she is able to weave a realistic friendship, flesh out Jacob's character, and make him a central character to the series.

The plot of this book is driven at the surface by Bella's desire to get Edward back, but underneath by the friendship she forms with Jacob. It also dives headfirst into werewolf lore – and the natural rivalry of werewolves with vampires – upping the ante on the entirety of Forks. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Hello, guys, the plot of this book is The Stand. Just about exactly. This is why this book did not get five stars from me. It's another of Stephen King's “I've run out of new ideas so I will recycle old ones” books.

However, that aside? It's still a pretty damned good book. Again King's incredible skill for character-building shines brightly; the main character was definitely relatable and his driving need to find his son above all else was heartrending at times.

The idea behind the plot – that cellphones can be used to wipe out the “hard drives” of our brains – is definitely something to put you in a nervous mood around your own phone!

My one qualm with this is that it doesn't actually end – King leaves it up to the reader to decide if good things happen or if bad things happen. I'm such a pessimist that my own choice at the end makes it a depressing book! Haha. Kudos to King for another entertaining read.