I have read so much about vampires in the last year, I could probably write a detailed fictional history of them. This fact has made me a bit hyper-critical of any and all vampy books. The Vampire Diaries didn't fair well with me.
I became interested in the books once I saw the show on The CW. I think the show is great, the best new show I have seen in awhile. After reading the first book, I would say that the show is loosely based off of the books. The show writers have taken a lot of liberties, and I would say, improved upon the original.
Take Elena, the main character in both the book and the show. In the book, she is quite mean and self-involved, while in the show she is down to earth and unassuming. I far prefer the show version of Elena. Needless to say, the main character being a polar opposite in the show versus the book can tell you how different the two stories are.
I did see some startling Twilight similarities in this. I know that Stephanie Meyer goes out of her way to say that she has never never never read or watched anything vampy, but I think her nose might be growing. For instance, L. J. Smith has a scene in The Awakening when Damien is demonstrating his strength by uprooting a tree, then zooming from point a to point b and showing his speed. Sound familiar? Edward Cullen does the exact same thing in Twilight. That really stood out to me in the book. It was almost as if that scene was pulled directly from The Vampire Diaries and placed into the Twilight book.
When all was said and done with this book, I was unimpressed. I think that it was a rough version of what it could have been. This book needs work, the story is hardly fleshed out at all, making the emotions the characters feel quite unbelievable.
Watch the show, skip the book.
As a promotion for the new show on The CW, Harper Teen has the entire novel on their website here, free to read if you still insist on trying this series.
Posted by Holly
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3 comments:
That is such a bummer you didn't like them. But I think everyone should try to read the books, I am really liking them.
I have to agree with the whole Twilight thing. And since these books were written first it makes you wonder.. But I still love my Twilight. :)
I have to agree with all your comments here! The books were bad, and the Elena character was awful. They've really made a lot of improvements in the show.
I have heard not so great things about this series of books, though the TV series has piqued my interest. I think I might pass on the books.
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