STEPHENIE MEYER'S vampire romance phenomenon sold 1.3 million copies at its US launch on August 2. Two mornings later, Sydney schoolgirls lined up outside Kinokuniya bookshop in 6am darkness to buy the US edition, flown in. They couldn't wait. Australian copies weren't hitting bookstores until noon.
This romance is hot. Schoolyard gossip and internet websites have fuelled addiction to the four-novel Twilight series, selling 12 million copies so far.
Breaking Dawn is narrated by 18-year-old Bella. Make no mistake, though: to lovesick fans this saga's focus is not Bella but her vampire fiance, Edward.
Edward is devastatingly handsome, impossibly rich, supernaturally powerful and intellectually brilliant. He's every girl's perfect crush and yet so dedicated to Bella that he composes songs and spends nights in a silent love vigil by her bed. He routinely saves her life, stops her heart with his kisses and lusts after her body and blood with unquenchable passion.
Thanks to Meyer's rich characterisation, Edward leaps out of the pages, not so much at our throats as into our hearts. Like Bella, we're overwhelmed by his Adonis-like beauty. However, Edward has a darker side, too, and this is the secret to the series' phenomenal success. Edward's soul is noble but his instincts are evil.
He invites Bella to his meadow, unable to guarantee that she'll survive a day alone with him. He's a reformed vigilante but still seriously twitches to murder anyone who hurts her. He's also regularly tempted to tear werewolf-love-rival Jacob's head from his shoulders. Such deadly tensions are heady, compelling stuff, as are the couple's sexual tensions. A kiss is a precipice; if Edward abandons self-control he'll either crush Bella or drain her. Both angel and dark knight, Edward is dangerous.
No wonder Bella swoons. So do her readers and not just the teenagers. One motherly bookseller told me, "Want vivid dreams? Then try reading it before bed."
Breaking Dawn meets its prequel's promise of marriage and there's an idyllic honeymoon with bruising and torn pillows to excite our imaginations. Fans will have to fill in the blanks. Bella gets her wish, too, both disturbing and exhilarating as her heart stutters, thuds quietly, then stops. The novel's highlights include Bella's first-hand description of vampire sensations as she explores newborn abilities and the shift in power between her and Edward.
Here, though, the plot takes a new arc with a fresh protagonist (I won't say more) - one that probably won't fascinate teenagers, not like the Edward-Bella-Jacob love triangle of novels two and three. Meyer intends to connect all four characters intimately but it just doesn't pack the same emotional punch. This ring-in refocuses Bella's priorities, effectively sidelining Edward
This romance is hot. Schoolyard gossip and internet websites have fuelled addiction to the four-novel Twilight series, selling 12 million copies so far.
Breaking Dawn is narrated by 18-year-old Bella. Make no mistake, though: to lovesick fans this saga's focus is not Bella but her vampire fiance, Edward.
Edward is devastatingly handsome, impossibly rich, supernaturally powerful and intellectually brilliant. He's every girl's perfect crush and yet so dedicated to Bella that he composes songs and spends nights in a silent love vigil by her bed. He routinely saves her life, stops her heart with his kisses and lusts after her body and blood with unquenchable passion.
Thanks to Meyer's rich characterisation, Edward leaps out of the pages, not so much at our throats as into our hearts. Like Bella, we're overwhelmed by his Adonis-like beauty. However, Edward has a darker side, too, and this is the secret to the series' phenomenal success. Edward's soul is noble but his instincts are evil.
He invites Bella to his meadow, unable to guarantee that she'll survive a day alone with him. He's a reformed vigilante but still seriously twitches to murder anyone who hurts her. He's also regularly tempted to tear werewolf-love-rival Jacob's head from his shoulders. Such deadly tensions are heady, compelling stuff, as are the couple's sexual tensions. A kiss is a precipice; if Edward abandons self-control he'll either crush Bella or drain her. Both angel and dark knight, Edward is dangerous.
No wonder Bella swoons. So do her readers and not just the teenagers. One motherly bookseller told me, "Want vivid dreams? Then try reading it before bed."
Breaking Dawn meets its prequel's promise of marriage and there's an idyllic honeymoon with bruising and torn pillows to excite our imaginations. Fans will have to fill in the blanks. Bella gets her wish, too, both disturbing and exhilarating as her heart stutters, thuds quietly, then stops. The novel's highlights include Bella's first-hand description of vampire sensations as she explores newborn abilities and the shift in power between her and Edward.
Here, though, the plot takes a new arc with a fresh protagonist (I won't say more) - one that probably won't fascinate teenagers, not like the Edward-Bella-Jacob love triangle of novels two and three. Meyer intends to connect all four characters intimately but it just doesn't pack the same emotional punch. This ring-in refocuses Bella's priorities, effectively sidelining Edward
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