The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (Twilight, #3.5)
Opening Line: "The newspaper headline glared at me from a little vending machine: SEATTLE UNDER SEIGE--DEATH TOLL RISES AGAIN.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this, I mean Bree's character only has a tiny part in Stephanie Meyers Twilight world so she and the rest of the newborns can’t really have much of a story to tell can they? Well as it turns out the answer is Yes. At 178 pages this novella manages to also give up some new revelations regarding Jane and the dark cloaks (Volturi) -jeez, that Jane is evil! And I absolutely loved seeing Carlisle, Jasper, Bella and “the red headed mind reader” from an outsider’s perspective.
There was more violence here then I would have expected from Meyer, as the newborns pillage Seattle and dispose of their drained food sources. I was also freaked out by a scene involving the armies seizure of a passenger ferry in the Puget Sound and the insuring carnage as the dine on their human buffet (I live on an island in the pacific northwest) We are also introduced to a couple of fantastic new characters; Diego as Bree’s love interest and in particular Freaky Fred, who I really hope to read about again someday. Because we all know the outcome there is a building level of suspense throughout the story. And as the inevitable Eclipse battle approached I found myself wishing for a different ending to Bree’s short second life as I'd come to genuinely care about her which I believe was Meyer's point.
Bree Tanner can barely remember a life before the relentless burning thirst took over. Now as a newborn Vampire this 15 year old runaway lives a precarious existence, trying not to draw attention to herself while her and her fellow newborns fight amongst themselves, killing each other as often as their prey. Her only other constants would be Riley, who as their leader the army follows submissively and without question and a horrifying creator known only as "her".
After 3 months Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego when the pair discover that they can in fact go out in the daylight without turning into a pile of ash (a stake through the heart is pretty useless too) They quickly begin to wonder what else Riley’s been lying about and question his agenda as a whole. However as their friendship blossoms Bree and Diego soon realize that they’re nothing but pawns in a war that has little to do with them. But when everything you know about yourself as a vampire is based on a lie how do you find out the truth, who do you trust and how do you get yourself free?
With such an insignificant character like Bree getting her story told I realized that the novella possibilities here are endless. Now if we could only convince Stephanie Meyer to finally finish Midnight Sun. *sigh*
"Don't watch" the redheaded mind reader whispered. I closed my eyes."
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this, I mean Bree's character only has a tiny part in Stephanie Meyers Twilight world so she and the rest of the newborns can’t really have much of a story to tell can they? Well as it turns out the answer is Yes. At 178 pages this novella manages to also give up some new revelations regarding Jane and the dark cloaks (Volturi) -jeez, that Jane is evil! And I absolutely loved seeing Carlisle, Jasper, Bella and “the red headed mind reader” from an outsider’s perspective.
There was more violence here then I would have expected from Meyer, as the newborns pillage Seattle and dispose of their drained food sources. I was also freaked out by a scene involving the armies seizure of a passenger ferry in the Puget Sound and the insuring carnage as the dine on their human buffet (I live on an island in the pacific northwest) We are also introduced to a couple of fantastic new characters; Diego as Bree’s love interest and in particular Freaky Fred, who I really hope to read about again someday. Because we all know the outcome there is a building level of suspense throughout the story. And as the inevitable Eclipse battle approached I found myself wishing for a different ending to Bree’s short second life as I'd come to genuinely care about her which I believe was Meyer's point.
After 3 months Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego when the pair discover that they can in fact go out in the daylight without turning into a pile of ash (a stake through the heart is pretty useless too) They quickly begin to wonder what else Riley’s been lying about and question his agenda as a whole. However as their friendship blossoms Bree and Diego soon realize that they’re nothing but pawns in a war that has little to do with them. But when everything you know about yourself as a vampire is based on a lie how do you find out the truth, who do you trust and how do you get yourself free?
With such an insignificant character like Bree getting her story told I realized that the novella possibilities here are endless. Now if we could only convince Stephanie Meyer to finally finish Midnight Sun. *sigh*
"Don't watch" the redheaded mind reader whispered. I closed my eyes."
Great review Buggy. I just love the last phrase when you put it in context with the movie.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rohg, This was surprisingly good.
ReplyDeleteOh and that last picture of the ferry, thats the boat that goes to my little island.