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Eclipse (Meyer novel)

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For other uses, see Eclipse (disambiguation).
Eclipse
Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse
First edition cover of Eclipse
AuthorStephenie Meyer
LanguageEnglish
SeriesTwilight series
GenreYoung adult, Fantasy, Romance
PublisherLittle, Brown
Publication date
August 7, 2007
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages629
ISBN978-0316160209
Preceded byNew Moon 
Followed byBreaking Dawn 

Eclipse is the third book in the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer. It continues the story of 18-year-old Bella Swan and her vampire love, Edward Cullen. Eclipse is preceded by New Moon and followed by Breaking Dawn. The book was released on August 7, 2007 with an initial print run of 1 million copies,[1] and sold more than 150,000 copies in the first 24 hours alone.[2]

Plot summary

The story begins with the revelation that Seattle is being plagued by a string of unsolved murders, which Edward suspects are being caused by a newborn vampire that is unable to control its thirst. Edward and Bella fill out college applications, while Bella explains to Edward her desire to see Jacob Black, her werewolf friend, again. Although Edward fears for her safety, Bella insists that Jacob and the rest of the werewolf pack would never harm her, and she begins to visit him once in a while. Meanwhile, Alice Cullen has a vision that Victoria, a vampire who is hunting Bella for revenge, is back in town. A few days later, Edward proposes to Bella and, despite having an aversion to marriage, she accepts.

Bella and the Cullens realize that the murders in Seattle are being committed by an "army" of newborn vampires, controlled by Victoria. The Cullen family joins forces with the werewolf pack in order to combat this threat. As everyone else prepares for battle, Edward, Bella, and Jacob camp up in the mountains, hidden during the battle, where they are later joined by Seth Clearwater, a young member of the werewolf pack, to wait out the fight.

In the morning, Jacob overhears Edward and Bella discussing their engagement and becomes very upset. He threatens to join the fight and get himself killed. To stop him, Bella kisses Jacob and realizes that she is in love with him. Victoria tracks Edward's scent to Bella, and Edward is forced to fight. After Victoria and her army are successfully destroyed, Bella explains to Jacob that while she loves him, her love for Edward is greater. After receiving a wedding invitation from Edward, Jacob runs away in his wolf form to escape the pain he feels, angry at Bella's decision to become a vampire.

Marketing campaigns

A few months prior to the release of Eclipse, Meyer hosted an "Eclipse Prom" event at Arizona State University with the help of a local bookstore and ASU's English department. The tickets sold out in seven hours, resulting in Meyer holding a second prom on the same day for which tickets sold out within four hours.[3] At the event, Meyer read the first chapter of Eclipse, which was released in the special edition of New Moon that same day. Meyer also released the first chapter on her website and posted a "quote of the day" from the novel on each of the 37 days leading up to its release.[4]

Cover

The book jacket features a torn red ribbon. Although it was supposed to be disclosed to the public in May 2007 at the Eclipse Prom, Barnes & Noble and Stephenie Meyer's official website premiered the newly released cover in March 2007, along with a preview summary of the book's plot.[5] The broken ribbon represents choice, as in the book Bella must choose between her love for the vampire Edward Cullen, and her friendship/love with the werewolf Jacob Black. Meyer also stated that the ribbon represents the idea that Bella can't break away completely from her human life.[6]

Early release

On July 25, an incident similar to the early release of the seventh Harry Potter book occurred with shipments of Eclipse. Barnes and Noble booksellers accidentally shipped advance copies of Eclipse to some of the customers who had pre-ordered. Barnes and Noble said that it was a computer error, as their entire online store is computerized.

To prevent any spoilers from popping up online, many fansite forums for the Twilight series were shut down, such as the Twilight Lexicon. Stephenie Meyer also locked her MySpace comments in an attempt to avoid spoilers. In an open letter to the fansite the Twilight Lexicon, Stephenie Meyer pleaded with these "lucky readers" to please keep the ending to themselves until the rest of the Twilight fans had the chance to read and enjoy Eclipse as well.

An early book release also occurred with Stephenie Meyer's release of the Eclipse special edition, which included the first chapter and cover art of the subsequent novel Breaking Dawn. The special edition was to hit store shelves on May 31, 2008, but multiple copies were released up to a whole week early. Meyer knew that some copies had been leaked, and released the following quote:

"There is a lot of speculation on the internet about possible covers, content and text of Breaking Dawn. I hope everybody knows that you shouldn't believe everything you see on the internet. The only way you will know what is real is when you have the book in your hands. Until then, people should really take everything they see with a grain of salt."[7]

Critical reception

Anne Rouyer of School Library Journal said that, "Meyer knows what her fans want: thrills, chills, and a lot of romance, and she delivers on all counts."[8] Selby Gibson-Boyce of Tulsa World wrote, "I read without stopping until I finished. Meyer's book would not detach itself from my hand. Exactly the same thing happened with Twilight and New Moon."[9]

However, Kellan Rice of Blast Magazine criticized the book as being sexist, saying, "Not only does Meyer give her two characters an obviously unhealthy—even abusive—relationship, but she romanticizes and idealizes it, and not only with Bella and Edward, but with Bella and Jacob as well."[10]

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of Eclipse is tentatively scheduled for release on June 30, 2010.[11] It will be the third installment of the Twilight film series, following 2008's Twilight and 2009's New Moon. Summit Entertainment greenlit the film in February 2009.[11] Since New Moon director Chris Weitz will be in post-production for New Moon when Eclipse begins shooting, he will not be directing the third film.[12][13] Instead, Eclipse will be helmed by director David Slade, with Melissa Rosenberg returning as screenwriter.[14] Filming is expected to begin in August 2009.[15]

Premise

Summit Entertainment released a plot summary of Eclipse on February 20, 2009, which says,

"As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob — knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death."[11]

References

  1. ^ Bob Minzesheimer (2007-08-15). "Vampire tale takes bite out of 'Potter'". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  2. ^ Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg (2007-08-10). "Booksellers Find Life After Harry In a Vampire Novel". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  3. ^ Megan Irwin (2007-07-12). "Charmed". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  4. ^ StephenieMeyer.com | Eclipse | Quotes of the Day
  5. ^ StephenieMeyer.com | Twilight Series | Eclipse
  6. ^ http://stepheniesays.livejournal.com/20266.html Stephenie Says - Q+A at Fairless Hills
  7. ^ http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/index.html Stephenie Meyer's quote on the early release of Eclipse Special Edition
  8. ^ Anne Rouyer (2007-09-05). "Eclipse". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  9. ^ Shelby Gibson-Boyce (2007-08-10). "Free radical: J.K. who? Hottest new series is vamp fantasy". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  10. ^ Kellan Rice (2008-08-16). "'Twilight' Sucks... And Not In A Good Way". Blast Magazine. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  11. ^ a b c Joshua Rich (2009-02-20). "'Twilight': Third film in series, 'Eclipse,' set for June 2010". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  12. ^ Joshua Rich (2009-02-20). "'Twilight' exclusive: Chris Weitz will not direct third film, 'Eclipse'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  13. ^ Brandon Gray (2009-02-20). "Third 'Twilight' Dawns Summer 2010". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  14. ^ "David Slade to Direct Summit Entertainment's The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" (Press release). Summit Entertainment. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  15. ^ Eric Ditzian (2009-04-27). "'Twilight' Star Robert Pattinson Lands Lead Role In 'Remember Me'". MTV. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
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