Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I'd like to apologize for ditching Eragon for Twilight because I was just so excited to get my hands on it and understand Edward. I wasn't disappointed.

About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how dominant that part might be - that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
~Isabella Swan

If you haven't read the book yet, I advice you to skip reading so as not to spoil your fun.

Plot [Taken from Book Sleeve]

I'D NEVER GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO HOW I WOULD DIE - I'd had reason enough in the last few months - but even if I had, I would not have imagine it like this...Surely it was a good way to die, in the place is something else, someone I loved. Noble, even. This ought to count for something.

When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Wit his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identify hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret.

What Bella doesn't realize is the closer she gets to him, the more she is putting herself and those around her at risk. And, it might be late to turn back...

My View
I admit that I was curious when I heard about the book Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer and because I am not one to rely on what others say, I decided to go ahead and read the book.

As I've said, if you have been reading my posts, I read New Moon and Eclipse first before reading Twilight. Some of you may view it as utterly weird and that I ruined the whole story because I didn't read the book as it should have been read and my views of the book may be affected by this slight mistake.

I would beg to differ. My thoughts of the matter haven't changed much, only that I have fallen under Edward's spell in Twilight. In my review for New Moon and Eclipse, I have stated that I was a fan of Jacob and I still am, in those books because I found it callous for Edward to treat Bella that way.

Now, back to the topic at hand, Twilight opens with Bella arriving at Forks and hating the gloominess of the small town. In school, she would meet the family, the Cullen Family, that would change her life forever.

Bella cannot begin to understand why she is drawn to someone as beautiful and perfect as Edward and she is also astounded, if not puzzled, with Edward's first reaction to her. Because this book is a one-sided account of Bella's view, I couldn't quite understand what Edward was feeling but I had a clue. This was also cemented when I read Midnight Sun, Edward's version of the story.

This time, I liked how Bella and Edward's romance developed. It was not full of the lovey-dovey stuff that you would expect a young adult romance book to be like. No, it was full of a insight and angst that one would expect from a Romeo-and-Juliet kind of love sans feuding families.

The story unfolds as Edward keeps on saving Bella's life resulting in Bella suspecting that Edward and his family is inhuman. It is Bella's insight and keen observation that ruins Edward's facade to be normal. I loved how Bella started to realize that Edward was a vampire and went on the Internet to do some research about it (go figure). What fascinated me was the Meyer's inclusion of Danag a Filipino vampire. I must admit that I haven't heard about that one before. When confronted by Edward about her realization, Bella handled it very well and was not repulsed by the knowledge.

The climax of the story was building up when Bella was introduced to Edward's family. The family consisted of seven vampires; Carlisle (Edward's father and his sire), Esme (Edward's mother and Carlisle's mate), Rosalie Hale (Edward's sister) and Emmet Cullen (Edward's brother, Rosalie's mate), Alice Cullen (Edward's sister) and Jasper Hale (Edward's brother, Alice's mate). Complicated, isn't it?

I definitely didn't love the part when James, a tracker, was challenged and was out for Bella's blood. It was quite disappointing really to find out that the actual fight wasn't written in the story and only short summaries were given by Edward as an explanation. I know this was so because it was written in Bella's point of view and when the attacks started, she had already all but lost consciousness. It would have been written in Midnight Sun however, someone already leaked the draft on the Internet so I am not expecting that book to be finished.

All in all, I loved this book better than the other three (yes, I'm done reading Breaking Dawn) and I'm giving it 4 stars. This time, Bella is not the weak creature that we where led to believe she is in New Moon and Eclipse but someone with so much strength in her and I wonder why Meyer went one-eighty on her character in the succeeding books in the Twilight series.

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The Mummy by Anne Rice

"Robbers of the Dead. Look away from this tomb lest you wake its occupant, whose wrath cannot be contained.
Ramses the Damned is my name.”

Spoiler warning for those who haven’t read the book yet.

The Mummy or Ramses the Damned is a stand-alone novel. It took place during the early twentieth century. An archeologist and also a shipping magnate, Lawrence Stratford, discovers a tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh. He found some notes on the tomb claiming that the mummy is indeed Ramses II. Before Lawrence Stratford can investigate this claim, he was found dead by his nephew, Henry, inside the tomb. People believed he was a victim of the curse found on the tomb’s door.

The mummy and all the other items found on the tomb – some of them are believed to be jars of poison – are then sent to his daughter, Julie, back in London to be temporarily displayed in the Stratford house before they are taken to the British Museum.

Under Julie’s care the mummy awakens and the two seem to be instantly attracted to each other. Ramses, with superhuman intelligence, quickly learns the English language. He then hides behind the image of Dr. Reginald Ramsey, an Egyptologist. Julie brought Ramses to a museum and recognizes an unidentified mummy as his old love Cleopatra.

The plot thickens as Ramses tries to bring Cleopatra back to life by pouring the elixir to the dead body only to find out that the revived Cleopatra is a raging monster with superhuman strength and uncontrollable hunger left wandering on the streets of Egypt.

The story goes on as the protagonists try to find and destroy Cleopatra while a series of dead bodies have been found. In an attempt to escape Ramses, Cleopatra “dies” when a car she was driving was hit by a train, creating a fiery explosion. Cleopatra, without the others' knowledge, survived the crash, and awakens under the care of a British doctor in Sudan. She vows to find Ramses again someday for revenge.


My views:


I’m an avid fan of Anne Rice. As you all know I have a penchant for suspense and thrillers so naturally I would be drawn to the works of this author. I have always been interested in Egyptology, and finding a novel about mummies written by Anne Rice really got my interest. Like all the other of Rice’s books, The Mummy is a combination of horror and romance. The story deals more on the immortality and the emotional turmoil that goes with living forever. As with most of Anne Rice’s novels, the story has a bit of sexual flair on it. She is able to combine the erotic and the scary without going to the extremes in either direction.

I like how Rice portrayed Ramses. He is like the perfect man and yet so flawed in many ways that he seem to be human when the irony is, he is not. I’m a bit disappointed with the “heroine” Julie Stratford as she was basically just a weepy female. I expected a lot more from her. I enjoyed the wiles of the new Cleopatra though. A beguiling seductress with the strength of ten men – she is like an extreme version of the original Cleopatra.

The only thing that I’m disappointed in is the way Cleopatra “died”. Rice should have chosen another way – a more sensational way – in which an immortal can be somehow destroyed. It appears so lame that an immortal can be killed by an explosion caused by collision of a train.

All in all, I like the way Rice wrote this one where the events are not predictable. Also, it is not part of any series, thus making it easy for anyone who has never read any of Rice's literature before. I think the book is left open for a sequel but so far none has been forthcoming. I would really like to know what would happen to the other characters like Elliot, Alex, and Cleopatra, the most. If you’re an Anne Rice fan, this book is definitely a must read.

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