The Negative Reader

Genre is important. Readers have expectations for their genre, and genres have certain conventions. While authors will play with conventions and tropes on occasion, there are still certain things that they will hold to. Fantasy needs an element of the fantastic. Be it high fantasy, urban fantasy or any other form of fantasy. Science fiction needs to take an element of science, or at least something that sounds like science. Historical fiction must take place at some point in the past and be accurate to that time.

The problem of genre is when the writer isn’t completely certain what kind story that they’re even writing. Then you get some of the more annoying elements of the Twilight Saga:

It’s Not a Romance (But It’s Trying to Be)

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Secondary characters are important. Secondary characters are often ones that the audience really tends to like and theorize about. A story with loads of secondary characters that can be tracked and have their own arcs is usually well loved and remembered and also tends to make a large fandom.

Not only that, but it’s more realistic to have lots of secondary characters who do their own thing, impacting the story in their own ways make the world more real than otherwise. A world where it seems that the only people who do anything or talk are the main characters is flat, dull and colorless.

There is no set of characters who are more important in this regard than the rest of the Cullen family. They are the most important of the secondary characters in the novel, and thus they should be the ones getting the most screen time.

Too bad that, while Meyer seems to dislike the idea of fleshing them out.

The Cullens

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The character of Jacob Black is a hard one for me. For one thing, half of his problem was what I talked about in the love triangle section of this series. However, there is enough wrong with him that I think that I can justify a rant.

So, as a statement before we start, I’m not going to talk about the representation issue in this section. As far as I’m concerned, that needs its own thing to talk about, so the way that the Cullens actually treated Jacob isn’t going to be talked about much.

Let’s start.

Part 7: Jacob Black

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A series can only be as good as its antagonists.

While we don’t really like to think about this, it’s the truth. At some level, it doesn’t matter how good or interesting your protagonists are if there is nothing much for them to rail against. Even in standard romances, there is always something or someone, some kind of natural occurrence or a rival or something that acts to give tension to the work.

This should be very much the case in Paranormal Romance. As it is a hybrid of fantasy, often dark fantasy or even horror, with romance, it carries a legacy of threatening villains.

Twilight doesn’t seem to understand this, and so, I’m going to discuss, as far as the plot and set up of this series goes, one of the biggest flaws that goes into the basic narrative.

Part 6: The Volturi

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So, the Twilight Saga is responsible for a lot of current trends in YA, and its influence isn’t completely gone yet, no matter how much we like to think that it is. Paranormal Romance is likely going to be around for a long time, though it’s starting to do new things and break away from Twilight’s mold.

There is, however, one part of the Saga that is hanging on, and I wish wouldn’t. One of, in my opinion, the very worst elements of the books.

Part 5: The Love Triangle

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This took ten times longer than it should have.

So, I’m going to take a break from whining about characters. If only because there is one major, major issue that I’m going to need to get out of the way before tackling the character of Jacob Black. An issue that, ever since Eclipse has haunted the series. An idea that was so very wrong, that I have to wonder if an editor actually read it or if they just decided that Meyer could, at that point, vomit rainbows on paper and everyone would buy it.

The thing that is somehow managing to bleed into other, even less intelligent works such as House of Night.

Imprinting.

This stinking concept.

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Romance is a funny genre. While it’s one that is written almost completely for and to women, it’s a genre that depends a lot on the male lead. If you look at really well known romances, they character who tends to stand out is the guy. After all, this is the person who the women are fantasizing about, therefore, they’re going to want to fantasize about someone who is appealing.

And that’s where Edward Cullen comes in.

Edward Cullen is a vile toerag of a man. He is a smarmy, smirking effeminately fluttering dandy who only manages to survive this series because the author is in love with him, yet, somehow, while many fans of the series are willing to admit that Bella isn’t a very good character, Edward is nearer and dearer to their hearts.

So, I’m ripping into him next.

Part 3: Edward Cullen

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You know, funny thing about this series, even after ten years, people still love to watch hate for it. I suppose that it doesn’t help that Meyer just keeps on dishing out lols.

So, now that I’ve briefly touched on the problem with this behemoth’s very conception, it’s time to move on to bigger fish. This will be the first of a good number of character centered rants.

Bella Swan

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