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Katharhino's review

Eclipse (Twilight Series, Book 3)
by Stephenie Meyer

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/428263.Eclipse?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Eclipse (Twilight Series, Book 3)" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1214782118m/428263.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/428263.Eclipse?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Eclipse</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/941441.Stephenie_Meyer">Stephenie Meyer</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17122744?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 4 of 5 stars Like New Moon, Eclipse started out annoying me, then managed to hook me and draw me in anyway.
 
 As the story gets started, everyone is being stupid and cliched – Bella dense and somewhat selfish, Edward controlling, and Jacob rude. Only after the action started to pick up and the conversations between the three main characters began to gain a little depth did I find myself really getting absorbed.
 
 Also like New Moon, once hooked I couldn’t put it down, and yet I finished the book feeling slightly ambiguous. Why is that? The plot is not the problem – it’s well crafted with both external and internal forces coming to a crisis with Bella at the same time, and concluding with a final decision that ought to be extremely satisfying. The werewolf/vampire interactions were really fun to read as well, with lots of delightful details about the way their minds work. Action scenes were well-written and suspenseful.
 
 Characterization is mostly good. I appreciated getting a little more depth to some of the minor characters, especially Jasper, who has the potential to be really fascinating. I think I might have a teeny crush on Jasper – only a teeny one, because my heart belongs to Jacob. Jacob is the best character of all – really well drawn, very realistic and totally charming, flaws and all. This makes it even more difficult to sympathize with Bella; but Bella has always been a bit of a Mary Sue.
 
 It’s hard to believe in someone who has vampires and werewolves falling all over her and still is remarkably clueless. I liked Bella for most of the book, but I did start to have issues towards the end when I couldn’t help agreeing with her that she was being really selfish. She was starting to acquire a rather Potter-ish savior complex, and no, she really wasn’t being fair to Jacob. Also, the conversation with Edward about sex/marriage was kind of “meh” to me. I do appreciate (as I know Alyson will agree) a man who will argue for virtue. In general, that makes me go weak at the knees. But I think Edward is using the wrong reasons in his argument, while Bella’s motivations are all confused – she’s believable and even likeable when it comes to hesitantly trying to seduce Edward, but then I find it hard to sympathize with her attitude toward Edward’s proposal. It seems selfish, again. I think one of the problems with Bella is that Meyer is trying to make her strong and independent and the next moment she’ll be fainting and dissolving in tears. Bella is a teenage girl with insecurities, which is fine and sometimes comes across quite realistically, but then don’t also try to make us believe that she is more mature than her age.
 
 Edward’s characterization is equally spotty. Good Edward moments: his joy when Bella puts on his ring; the whole conversation with Jacob in the tent, even though the setup felt contrived. Ridiculous Edward moments: that he doesn’t feel the slightest resentment toward Bella for insisting he stay behind from the fight (not how things work in real life); the idea that Bella’s really hot (literally) kiss with Jacob wouldn’t bother him in the slightest. That’s really inconsistent and unbelievable, not to mention making Edward a little too perfect – which might be part of my problem with the ending.
 
 However I think most of my uneasiness comes from the setup of Bella’s internal conflict. I realized, pondering it, what the problem is: after all the angst and struggle and indecision, not to mention my own strong belief in the idea that love is a choice, a conscious commitment – despite all this, Bella’s final decision is a non-decision. There’s no real uncertainty about what she’s going to choose. I mentioned this in my review of New Moon: when you set up the Fated Lurve that is Stronger than Death, you kind of paint yourself into a corner, as a writer. It doesn’t help that Bella’s literary comparisons have been Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights. I don’t care for Romeo and Juliet, and Wuthering Heights should never be mistaken for a romance. Not to mention the fact that both those works are tragedies and only work as tragedies. No one ever wonders what would have happened if Romeo and Juliet had been happily married for twenty years and only argued about the way Romeo would never wring out the dishcloth.
 
 This is why the Jacob/Bella relationship is in many ways much more interesting than the Edward/Bella relationship. Sweet as Edward is, there’s no real natural conflict there, and all the artificially inserted conflict (like sex, protecting Bella, the timing on making her a vampire) ends up feeling forced and therefore slightly annoying. Whereas Jacob is everything a hero should be: funny, devoted, conflicted, flawed but not too flawed. I admit to tearing up a little bit during Bella’s goodbye with Jacob: “I could have been your air and your sun.” GAH! *sob* It’s not that I minded Bella choosing Edward over Jacob – it’s sad but well-written. It’s that she doesn’t really have any reasons for choosing; in fact she doesn’t choose at all. She just accepts that “this is the way it is.” If choice is the grand theme of your novel, I think there should be some, y’know, real choice involved. Poor Jacob is just as fated as Bella/Edward.
 
 Despite all this, I did like the book. I liked it, I was interested, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s fortunate that Meyer is actually a decent writer. She’s created a fun mythology, mostly interesting and likeable characters, intense relationships, and readable plots. Did I mention being hooked whether I like it or not? I’m going to have to buy the next book, now.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/970517?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Katharhino's review
rating:
bookshelves: fantasy, romance

** spoiler alert ** Like New Moon, Eclipse started out annoying me, then managed to hook me and draw me in anyway.

As the story gets started, everyone is being stupid and cliched – Bella dense and somewhat selfish, Edward controlling, and Jacob rude. Only after the action started to pick up and the conversations between the three main characters began to gain a little depth did I find myself really getting absorbed.

Also like New Moon, once hooked I couldn’t put it down, and yet I finished the book feeling slightly ambiguous. Why is that? The plot is not the problem – it’s well crafted with both external and internal forces coming to a crisis with Bella at the same time, and concluding with a final decision that ought to be extremely satisfying. The werewolf/vampire interactions were really fun to read as well, with lots of delightful details about the way their minds work. Action scenes were well-written and suspenseful.

Characterization is mostly good. I appreciated getting a little mor...more Like New Moon, Eclipse started out annoying me, then managed to hook me and draw me in anyway.

As the story gets started, everyone is being stupid and cliched – Bella dense and somewhat selfish, Edward controlling, and Jacob rude. Only after the action started to pick up and the conversations between the three main characters began to gain a little depth did I find myself really getting absorbed.

Also like New Moon, once hooked I couldn’t put it down, and yet I finished the book feeling slightly ambiguous. Why is that? The plot is not the problem – it’s well crafted with both external and internal forces coming to a crisis with Bella at the same time, and concluding with a final decision that ought to be extremely satisfying. The werewolf/vampire interactions were really fun to read as well, with lots of delightful details about the way their minds work. Action scenes were well-written and suspenseful.

Characterization is mostly good. I appreciated getting a little more depth to some of the minor characters, especially Jasper, who has the potential to be really fascinating. I think I might have a teeny crush on Jasper – only a teeny one, because my heart belongs to Jacob. Jacob is the best character of all – really well drawn, very realistic and totally charming, flaws and all. This makes it even more difficult to sympathize with Bella; but Bella has always been a bit of a Mary Sue.

It’s hard to believe in someone who has vampires and werewolves falling all over her and still is remarkably clueless. I liked Bella for most of the book, but I did start to have issues towards the end when I couldn’t help agreeing with her that she was being really selfish. She was starting to acquire a rather Potter-ish savior complex, and no, she really wasn’t being fair to Jacob. Also, the conversation with Edward about sex/marriage was kind of “meh” to me. I do appreciate (as I know Alyson will agree) a man who will argue for virtue. In general, that makes me go weak at the knees. But I think Edward is using the wrong reasons in his argument, while Bella’s motivations are all confused – she’s believable and even likeable when it comes to hesitantly trying to seduce Edward, but then I find it hard to sympathize with her attitude toward Edward’s proposal. It seems selfish, again. I think one of the problems with Bella is that Meyer is trying to make her strong and independent and the next moment she’ll be fainting and dissolving in tears. Bella is a teenage girl with insecurities, which is fine and sometimes comes across quite realistically, but then don’t also try to make us believe that she is more mature than her age.

Edward’s characterization is equally spotty. Good Edward moments: his joy when Bella puts on his ring; the whole conversation with Jacob in the tent, even though the setup felt contrived. Ridiculous Edward moments: that he doesn’t feel the slightest resentment toward Bella for insisting he stay behind from the fight (not how things work in real life); the idea that Bella’s really hot (literally) kiss with Jacob wouldn’t bother him in the slightest. That’s really inconsistent and unbelievable, not to mention making Edward a little too perfect – which might be part of my problem with the ending.

However I think most of my uneasiness comes from the setup of Bella’s internal conflict. I realized, pondering it, what the problem is: after all the angst and struggle and indecision, not to mention my own strong belief in the idea that love is a choice, a conscious commitment – despite all this, Bella’s final decision is a non-decision. There’s no real uncertainty about what she’s going to choose. I mentioned this in my review of New Moon: when you set up the Fated Lurve that is Stronger than Death, you kind of paint yourself into a corner, as a writer. It doesn’t help that Bella’s literary comparisons have been Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights. I don’t care for Romeo and Juliet, and Wuthering Heights should never be mistaken for a romance. Not to mention the fact that both those works are tragedies and only work as tragedies. No one ever wonders what would have happened if Romeo and Juliet had been happily married for twenty years and only argued about the way Romeo would never wring out the dishcloth.

This is why the Jacob/Bella relationship is in many ways much more interesting than the Edward/Bella relationship. Sweet as Edward is, there’s no real natural conflict there, and all the artificially inserted conflict (like sex, protecting Bella, the timing on making her a vampire) ends up feeling forced and therefore slightly annoying. Whereas Jacob is everything a hero should be: funny, devoted, conflicted, flawed but not too flawed. I admit to tearing up a little bit during Bella’s goodbye with Jacob: “I could have been your air and your sun.” GAH! *sob* It’s not that I minded Bella choosing Edward over Jacob – it’s sad but well-written. It’s that she doesn’t really have any reasons for choosing; in fact she doesn’t choose at all. She just accepts that “this is the way it is.” If choice is the grand theme of your novel, I think there should be some, y’know, real choice involved. Poor Jacob is just as fated as Bella/Edward.

Despite all this, I did like the book. I liked it, I was interested, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s fortunate that Meyer is actually a decent writer. She’s created a fun mythology, mostly interesting and likeable characters, intense relationships, and readable plots. Did I mention being hooked whether I like it or not? I’m going to have to buy the next book, now....less

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