Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer is available in hardcover and categorized as YA and continues the much anticipated saga of Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Also there is the rest of the Cullen family: Dr. Carlisle and his wife, Esme, Alice and Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett. The Cullens have been living in Forks, Washington for years. They are an interesting family of vampires whose lifestyle is different from that of other covens in that they live a more “vegetarian” lifestyle in order to co-exist with humans and remain inconspicuous.
Throughout the Twilight series, Bella Swan has been our narrator and she’s the weakest character out of the bunch. The story started off simple: you had a young teenage girl in love with a vampire. Edward and Bella’s relationship does present complications since Bella is human and Edward is a vampire. Edward will always thirst after her blood but he’s learned to control it. What drew Edward to Bella as I understood it was that he couldn’t read her mind and that her blood “sings” to him. Bella represented the apple on the cover: she was the forbidden fruit that Edward could not have.
In New Moon, Bella experiences her first heartbreak. Edward and the Cullens depart after Bella’s birthday goes awry. The Cullens leave Forks and Bella is heartbroken. During her days of depression she meets and befriends Jacob Black, whose family history is full of myths and monsters. Soon Bella learns that Edward and Jacob are natural enemies. The question then becomes who will Bella choose?
In Eclipse, Bella reunites with her vampire boyfriend yet rekindles her friendship with Jacob Black. A line in the sand had been drawn at the end of New Moon, with Bella and Edward standing on the same side of that line — together. However, Bella spends most of her time hanging out with Jacob and his “pack brothers” in La Push. I didn’t agree with how Bella’s feelings for Jacob changed. It seemed forced. There was a lot of emotional manipulation being played between everybody in this book. The emotional climax of the book rang a false note with me because Jacob never “imprinted” with Bella. Imprinting is best described as finding one’s soul mate. Love has nothing to do with it either. Moving on to the suspense and tension in the novel: it was up and down. Victoria is still hunting Bella for revenge. Part of me wished that Victoria would finish Bella off to save my sanity. At the end of the story, one plot point was resolved while several others were created to be explored later. Break the Dawn is said to be the end of Bella’s story. As disgusted as I was with Bella being the narrator, I cannot help the curiosity of how this saga ends.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Ms. Meyer could easily step into JK Rowling shoes as far as bookstores are concerned. Her books are selling very well. However, will the momentum last? Twilight remains the favorite of the series for me. It had the right blend of romance and suspense for me to keep turning the pages. Eclipse was not the worst book of the year but it was a disappointment. Alas, my grade will have to be a C because despite a few good scenes, overall I just wasn’t all that impressed with this entry.
Technorati Tags: Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer, Edward and Bella, Twilight Series
Dennis Lehane's next published novel is a major publishing event. 
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The book that has readers either loving it or hating it. Where will I fall? Look for a review.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
CindyS 08.15.07 at 3:39 am
I have Twilight by my bedside which is weird because I know it’s YA but for some reason I like it where it is. I keep thinking it might be time to read it but you aren’t the only one frustrated with this third installment. I’m wondering if I should wait until the fourth book is out or if I should just get on with it.
Did you get to read the Lisa Marie Rice book? I haven’t read a bad review yet so it’s on my TBB list.
Can’t wait to see the pics of your trip! CIndyS
Avid Reader 08.15.07 at 8:11 am
Hi CindyS, yes I did read
Dangerous Lover and it should show up shortly. I’m having fun putting pics together. We stayed for such a short time that when we left I was ready to go back.
RenéeW 08.15.07 at 1:22 pm
I loved Twilight (as you know) but haven’t been interested in trying New Moon or Eclipse because of all the negative reviews. And because they sound more like a typical YA book with all the teenage angst. I still get tons of comments on my blog about my review of Twilight from the YA crowd and it makes me laugh. That book really pushed some buttons for all ages. It will be interesting to see how Meyer resolves everything in the next book. But I’m still not sure I’ll read it or the previous two.
Avid Reader 08.16.07 at 10:14 am
I am a little surprised at how popular these books have become but when you have a really hot vampire named Edward Cullen, it’s almost guaranteed success for teen girls to squee over him. Also, did you know Ms. Meyer is writing a sci-fi novel for adults, titled “Host?” I know I’ll read it. I can’t wait to read Break the Dawn just to have some closure. Maybe with that Jacob thread out of the way, she’ll focus more giving readers a really good finish. *fingers crossed*
Jane 08.16.07 at 11:36 am
I was excited about her adult book but apparently it is a weird love triangle and seeing her handle this love triangle gives me no confidence. I’ll wait to see what you think.
Michele 08.28.07 at 4:32 am
**This is a copy of the review I wrote under my husband’s name for Amazon.com
Eclipse, for those not yet acquainted with the teen romance saga, is the third instalment in the Twilight series centred around Bella, a human girl, and her relationships with Edward, the unearthly beautiful and gifted vampire who is also the love of her life, and Jacob, brooding rebel and recently turned werewolf who comforts Bella when Edward abandons her. At the end of Book Two (New Moon) it transpires that Edward left Bella in an attempt to protect her from himself and his vampire family, but later returned, re-uniting the pair. Jacob, by now deeply in love with Bella despite her assertion of being “just friends”, is left vengeful and broken-hearted by the idea that Bella wishes to become a vampire herself.
The series already boasts an impressively large fanbase and the release of Eclipse was anticipated with feverish excitement - comparisons were even being made, in hushed tones, to the famed Harry Potter.
It is with some surprise, then, that the reception of above-mentioned tome can only be described as lukewarm. Even previously loyal fans have expressed disappointment. One ponders the question: What went wrong?
Whilst Stephenie Meyer is certainly no Jane Austen, her writing style bears testimony to a literary background and is fueled by a rich imagination; I don’t believe this is what let her down.
Part of the answer lies in the comparison thrust, perhaps unfairly, upon the shoulders of Bella and her beaus, with the Boy Who Lived. Unlike JK Rowling’s creations, the inhabitants of Forks, Washington, have not matured or evolved in any noticeable way. Bella appears to have regressed, if anything at all. Much of the narrative is dedicated to her internal struggles, becoming frankly tiresome at times. Her ambivalence to the idea of marriage, her uncertainty regarding the trade of her mortal life for the undead, fretting over Jacob’s hurt feelings and the resulting downward spiral of guilt and self-loathing entirely overshadows the thinly veiled suspense plot, which hardly deserves a mention. For all her introspection, she appears no wiser. Her actions remain rash, her behaviour petulant and her judgement poor.
Edward, formerly darkly dangerous beneath his gentlemanly veneer, always torn between his love for Bella and his vampiric nature, seems to have been stripped of all depth. Apart from his ever-expressive eyebrows, he shows hardly any emotion or passion. As for his issues regarding physical intimacy: he and Bella have always maintained a chaste relationship, made necessary by the obvious risks to her. This was beautifully symbolic in its own right and needed nothing more. Sadly, in Eclipse this has been cast aside. Following what can only be described as foreplay, Edward refuses to take her virtue on grounds of his moral beliefs. The scene could have been taken from a sex education video. Furthermore, his preoccupation with her safety and meek acceptance of her “love” for Jacob portrays him more as a father figure than a boyfriend.
As for the werewolf man-boy Jacob, he is a likeable enough supporting character, who has added an interesting dimension to the tale, but has outgrown his place like an unruly ficus. Here, I believe, lies the answer as to What Went Wrong: the unexpected success of Twilight, forcing Meyer to push the story further than she first intended. If we are honest, we must admit that boy-meets-girl-love-forever-after cannot support a series of three, let alone four volumes. So the skewed love triangle is inserted, after the fact and so obviously not part of the original plan, like bunny ears pinned to a cat.
A lost cause, then? This will be determined by the fourth and, hopefully, last book in the series. Breaking Dawn is due for release next year. Perhaps Bella will surprise us with some powers of her own, be they supernatural or not, and earn her spot on centre-stage. Perhaps Edward will return to his former smouldering glory, causing us to forgive everything else.
I am ever the optimist.
Sabrina 09.21.07 at 10:57 am
Please, help me, I have a huge problem!
My copy of Eclipse ends at the page 628 and the last sentence is “I pushed my legs faster, letting Jacob Black disappear behind me”, is that the end???
mila 08.07.08 at 3:34 pm
hey. i loved the book twilight! i stayed up all night reading it… it was the best ever. then i ordered new moon on the walmart website and it’s supposed to come in a week. i’ve been obsessed with reading everyone, but when i started reading the reviews i don’t think i’m going to. i think i;d rather skip it and read breaking dawn. should i do it? i loved reading twilight, but only because of the chemistry between bella and edward. pretty much when edward wasn’t around i just skipped through. now i read that there isn’t going to be much about them. damn! i’m pissed!