Eclipse

This was definitely the hardest Twilight book to finish. I was spellbound for the first half or so (despite laughing out loud at some parts) but after the main climax was over, there was just too much dithering dialog about Edward, or Jacob, or Jacob and Edward, and it gave me a bit of a headache to plow through it. Actually I would say there's just way too much dialog in this book, or perhaps it's because there's just been so much dithering up to this point. Stephanie Meyer doesn't trust the reader enough to refrain from rehashing the same old conversation over and over again. It's like the co-worker that has the same old problem and refuses to fix it.

I think the shining star of this series is Alice. She's my favourite character so far. I can't give two hoots about Bella and Edward. I'd love for Alice to have her own book!

How not to remake a science-fiction classic

Usually even the worst remake improves upon the original in some way, however small. The 2008 TV remake of The Andromeda Strain lacks any sort of improvement, although Benjamin Bratt was a bonus. It's like a four hour, boring X-files/CSI crossover. We just hated it as it lacked any of the intelligence, brilliance or suspense of the original.

( Cranky spoilers ahoy! )