Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer

[keilexandra]

Eclipse
by Stephenie Meyer
629 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy/Romance/YA

I heard a lot of not-so-good things about this book early on, but I still jumped at the chance to borrow it from a friend (way faster than waiting for the library to finish cataloging). So let me say the non-spoilery things first. The story is told through tight prose, though the frequent inner monologues sometimes stumble. Meyer shines in the character development catagory like always--reader wish-fulfillment, certainly a good way to sell books.

I absolutely adore Alice, particularly the scene when she first learns about the wedding. Even Jacob, who I personally dislike, was portrayed as so real that the love triangle almost worked for me. Almost. I knew going in that Bella's change wasn't going to happen yet, so that wasn't much of a disappointment. Various plotholes would pop up, and then two hundred pages later they'd be explained--that was cool, almost like Meyer reading my mind.

Probably the weakest point is the semi-Idiot Decision that occur several times to different characters. Also, the Preface annoyed me. It was totally unnecessary and didn't serve any purpose other than a "hook." I think Meyer did this with her previous novels too, but I'm complaining about it now because now's when my writer's brain noticed. Really, it's almost cheating to stick something out-of-order in the beginning to hook the reader.

Overall, an engrossing read if one ignores the flaws and switches into fluff mode. It didn't pass the tears test though, so Twilight and New Moon are ranked ahead (in that order). Recommended if you've been keeping up with the series.

Comments

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

Meyer's fondness of the present-tense out of order preface hook has always annoyed me. Totally serves no purpose other than to be a gimmick.

I still haven't picked up this one. I am following the series but I kind of have a love/hate relationship with it.