[Readers notes: Not only is this a critical review which may offend the (scarily easily offended) fans of Twilight, but it’s also a time-constrained post, meaning until I get to edit it, expect typos. You have been warned.]
My bi-polar romance with the ‘Twilight’ series has been well documented across these pages. The general summary of it is that I treat the books as a guilty pleasure, reluctantly admitting I can relate, that I have read them all, and even that I approve of how well she has managed to target an audience so specifically and made huge monetary gain out of it. But I’m not afraid to take a stab when the narrative is weak, if the plot is poor, or if she messes up in any other way.
So my opinions on ‘Midnight Sun’, the companion piece to Twilight written from the romantic interest Edward’s point of view, might not be entirely welcome. Especially because the book surfaced as a 12-chapter leak, leaving Meyers distraught, and many fans refuse to read it even after she posted it on her website to be ‘fair’.
Eh. I take the posting of something like that on her own site as a clear invitation – for the more cynical of you, an even clearer publicity stunt – and hold no qualms about reading it. In fact, I’m even a little irritated by her reaction – I know what it’s like to have your copyright taken advantage of, and it hurts, horrible. But I also know that when writing becomes a career, you have a responsibility to employers and fans to keep writing.
I’m far from blunt about how awkward it can feel rewriting ‘Dragon Tamers’ as ‘The Network’, but I keep doing it. I have a duty to fans and my agent to do that, even if original material would be more fun. The fact that it’s already out there in a much rougher, more basic form (the original books) doesn’t stop me.
But hey, I’m not rich from the pocket money of teenage girls, so maybe life’s different that way. :P (Take a joke please, fangirls.)
Anyway, the main focus on this post is the novel itself, Midnight Sun, and a very quick look into my opinions on it. Click below to read more…
When it starts off, Midnight Sun is a breath of fresh air – Meyers tends to stagnate when focussing on one character and whatever obsession is currently driving them. When it’s down to narrative, she writes best when switching view points – Jacob and Bella is Breaking Dawn is her best writing in the series, stylistically, even if the plot in BD is worth another post’s worth of complaints. So when she lets Edward take the wheel, with whole new viewpoint and a nice set of previously unknown side-quests, it’s refreshing.
And these side-quests help the plot, too – it’s just a retelling, so it would be expected to be pretty bland, but enough nods towards what’s learnt later on in the main quartet and nice attempts at filling in the gaps make it more than worth it.
It also starts off with some nice horror movie styling’s – Edward sees human, Edward wants humans blood. Om-nom-nom-kill. The whole ‘horror’ aspect of vampires is woefully overdone in BD, with only a brief glimpse of it in the first half of BD that is rendered useless by the second half – and despite her lack of prowess in it, I still get my hopes up whenever Meyers shows a glimmer of understanding on the fact that vampires are not just pretty-boys with pointy teeth.
It’s usually shattered, and most commonly by Meyer’s laughable way of showing it – by flat out telling you without ever giving you a hint of it being true. “THIS IS THE SKIN OF A PREDATOR”, Edward will angst while he sparkles. “I AM A KILLER” he will say, like some deluded schoolboy, as his jealousy leads to a few crushed saplings.
So we’re supposed to take his word that he is utterly, completely dangerous while he stands there glittering and growling like a puppy in a craft store.
On the subject of sparkling, I think it’s worth showcasing my all-time favourite paragraph:
“But I couldn’t ignore the rainbow sparkles that reflected onto her skin when I got closer. My jaw locked at the sight. Could I be anymore of a freak? I imaged in her terror if she opened her eyes now…”
AHHHH GLITTER AHHH
I’d be more freaked out by the fact that he’s watching her dozing in the backyard, but hey. Stalking is vogue now.
Aside from the fail at horror that exists right through this series, the bigger problem is another one you’ll see right through – Meyer’s single-person focus gets old, fast. Not because the plot is slow (but it is – in Twilight, it doesn’t exist until the second half), but because the peoples who’s heads your inside of are creepy.
They’re almost void of personality aside from a sole obsession – in Twilight, it’s EDWARDEDWARDEDWARD HE’S SO PRETTY. In Midnight Sun, it’s BELLABELLABELLA.
Seriously. The school is talking, the secret’s almost out, the family are falling apart, but none of that matters to our mentally unhealthy narrators. In Twilight, we watch Bella hate everyone that wasn’t Edward. In New Moon, we saw her do this while using Jacob for all he was worth. In Eclipse, I don’t remember what she was doing because I was distracted by doggies. In Breaking Dawn, Jacob’s obsession makes rape ok, Bella’s obsession makes stupidity ok (when doesn’t it?), Edward’s obsession makes looking eternally tortured ok (again, when doesn’t it?).
In Midnight Sun, obsession makes stupidity, stalking and maniac depression ok – but if you read Twilight, you’ll know that already.
Aside from all those flaws, though, it’s still a good retelling – Meyers improved writing is still as clear as it was in BD, and she does a refreshingly good job of fleshing out the background characters that were ignored in the original four.
So check it out for free over at stepheniemeyers.com, love it or give up halfway, and wait – like I will – for Meyers to get over her angst and finish it.
I just hope she’ll have edited it into something better by then.