Incanto
Your Benevolent Tyrant
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Project Re-Read: Night World
I'm starting re-read threads for all of the series, and I hope at least a few of you will decide to participate and rejuvenate discussions.
First-time readers, feel free to jump in too!
Possible discussion questions for re-reads:
- Have your opinions on any of the characters changed since the last time you read the books?
- Did you notice anything new this time around that you missed before?
- Which book is your favorite? Is it different than your old favorite, and why do you think your opinion changed?
- Do you like the one-book serial format better than the trilogy format? Why or why not?
- The fourth Wild Power, a retrospective: Who did you think it was before and who do you think it is now, or has it been so long that you just don't
care anymore as long as the series finally wraps up?
- Have your thoughts on the concept of soulmates changed between then and now? How and why?
Please feel free to add any other thoughts or questions that occur to you as you re-read!
The prince must be a lion, but he must also know how to play the fox.
"She pulled my hair and dragged me into the sea. I don't know why she did it. And while she did it, she sang like a violin."
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pardilia
Werewolf
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Registered: 10-6-2010
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This I have re-read recently in anticipation of Strange Fate (how foolish was I? =p).
My least favorite is Dark Angel. It was the first time around and even more so now. I've gone on about it in another thread, so I'll just state that
I didn't find Gillian to be believable and this was yet another story that was mostly about being popular than anything else which I don't find that
enjoyable. My favorite used to be Witchlight, because at the time, I was really into the idea of werecats. Now its Daughters of Darkness because
Mary-Lynnette is just too awesome. A close second is Secret Vampire, followed by Black Dawn.
I wouldn't have minded the format if the books weren't quite so short. I also would have liked it if the other characters were in the other books
much more often (sort of like Kenyon's Dark Hunter series).
I liked the series, but at the end of most of the books I often felt that it could have been better. I felt like they were missing something.
Probably just that this was a good concept, just that it could have been done better. (I've read a few series with a similar concept where they were
then facing A BIG PROBLEM that were a bit more enjoyable with more complex characters/storylines.)
I went into this series loving the soulmate idea and left it being utterly sick of it. Things always worked out so conveniently (and with the length
of the books, in a rather short time). I think more could have been done with it, too. There was never really any doubt that the soulmates would get
together and live happily ever after.
My choice is: "it[s] been so long that you just don't care anymore as long as the series finally wraps up" I don't think the fourth power is someone
we've met before, anyway, going by the way the other books were written. We hadn't met any of the others previously, so I doubt we've met this one,
either.
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Maggie
Dragon
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I don't know what it is about this entire series, but it's struck such a deep chord in me. I like every single book and I don't know if I can really
pick a favorite. I first discovered these books when I was 12 and I remember thinking the soulmate principle was SO. FREAKIN'. AWESOME. I wanted a
soulmate so bad LOL. Honestly, I don't believe in soulmates, but when I read these books, I want to believe in them. I guess it's just a wish
fulfillment thing for me. I'd like to think that maybe in some alternate universe, this could happen.
It's weird because I like ambiguous endings and even sad endings. I'm the type of person who likes a book that leaves me with a bittersweet feeling
because there is no HEA. But with the NW books, I love the HEAs. They're so satisfying. I *do* see why some people would be annoyed by this though,
and yet, for me, it just works.
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pardilia
Werewolf
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Quote: Originally posted by Maggie  |
It's weird because I like ambiguous endings and even sad endings. I'm the type of person who likes a book that leaves me with a bittersweet feeling
because there is no HEA. But with the NW books, I love the HEAs. They're so satisfying. I *do* see why some people would be annoyed by this though,
and yet, for me, it just works. |
It wasn't the HEA itself, just that sometimes the person's soulmate was just too obvious/easy. I think I would have liked some of the books a bit
more if they'd had to work a bit harder for it.
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Incanto
Your Benevolent Tyrant
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| Quote: Originally posted by pardilia | | Quote: Originally posted by Maggie |
It's weird because I like ambiguous endings and even sad endings. I'm the type of person who likes a book that leaves me with a bittersweet feeling
because there is no HEA. But with the NW books, I love the HEAs. They're so satisfying. I *do* see why some people would be annoyed by this though,
and yet, for me, it just works. |
It wasn't the HEA itself, just that sometimes the person's soulmate was just too obvious/easy. I think I would have liked some of the books a bit
more if they'd had to work a bit harder for it. |
Yeah, part of my problem was that I just don't like the one-book standalone format. It seemed like everything was just over way too quickly aaand
boom, together forever omg we're soulmates yay love. I think if each couple had had a trilogy to get together, or two books or something, with each
book leading into the next couple while finishing up the story of the first couple, it would've been a lot more satisfying for me.
The prince must be a lion, but he must also know how to play the fox.
"She pulled my hair and dragged me into the sea. I don't know why she did it. And while she did it, she sang like a violin."
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Maggie
Dragon
Posts: 634
Registered: 25-3-2009
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Mood: Witchy
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I would LOVE it if the stories were longer, or a trilogy. I could definitely spend more time with the couples getting to know each other.
I think it was easier for me to believe the couples falling madly in love as soon as they met, because I just accepted the soulmate principle, and the
idea that it was this all-encompassing thing that no one could resist. NO MATTER WHAT. Obviously, it's BS, but in the NW universe, it made sense. As
much as vampires and witches and shapeshifters make sense, anyway.
I think of it as super powerful chemistry. You know how some people say they met someone and they immediately felt something special? Even if it was
just lust or whatever? I think of the soulmate principle as that times a thousand.
I remember LJS writing recently (okay, like in the last year or so) that she was amazed at how long some new YA books were, so maybe at the time when
she was writing, books were meant to be shorter? I don't know. But even the individual VD and SC books are pretty short.
The only time the soulmate thing didn't work for me was in SC with Adam and Cassie. I think it was because it seemed to come out of the blue (there
was no universal principle that seemed to explain it), and also because Adam was with Diana first for a long time.
ANYWAY, I talk too much about this series. I will stop fangirling now. *shame*
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Poppy
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YA books being so long is a newer trend, yes. And not necessarily a good one.
I kinda like the NW books being one-offs. So many things get turned into "trilogies" because the publishers want to make money and they think people
like the format, but then think: how much wasted space is there in your average trilogy? A lot. I'n not saying NW is perfect, but I like what LJS was
attempting to do; I just think it could have been handled better.
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