 Official book cover | |
| Author | Stephenie Meyer |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Twilight Saga |
| Subject | Vampires |
| Genre | Young adult,Fantasy,Romance novel |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
Publication date | 4 August 2020 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 658[1] |
| ISBN | 9780316707046 |
| Preceded by | Breaking Dawn |
Midnight Sun is a 2020 companionnovel to the 2005 bookTwilight by authorStephenie Meyer. The work retells the events ofTwilight from the perspective ofEdward Cullen instead of that ofthe series' usual narrating characterBella Swan.[2] Meyer stated thatTwilight was to be the only book from the series that she planned to rewrite from Edward's perspective.[3] To give them a better feel of Edward's character, Meyer allowedCatherine Hardwicke, the director of thefilm adaptation ofTwilight, andRobert Pattinson, the actor playing Edward, to read some completed chapters of the novel while they shot the film.[4][5][6] It was released on August 4, 2020.[7][8]
On August 28, 2008, Meyer halted the writing ofMidnight Sun in response to the leak of twelve chapters of the unfinished manuscript on the Internet. She stated, "If I tried to writeMidnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind,James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working onMidnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely."[2] She made the twelve-chaptered draft available on her website in fairness to her readers, since the novel was compromised before its intended publication date.[9] Meyer also stated that she does not believe the manuscript was leaked with any malicious intent, and declined to give the names of the individuals she felt were at fault.[2]
In a November 2008 interview, Meyer said that, "It's really complicated, because everyone now is in the driver's seat, where they can make judgment calls...I do not feel alone with the manuscript. And I cannot write when I don't feel alone."[10] She said that her goal was to go for around two years without hearing aboutMidnight Sun, and she thought that she would begin working on the novel again once she was sure that "everyone's forgotten about it".[10]
In 2015, following the release ofLife and Death: Twilight Reimagined, the firstTwilight novel gender-bent, Meyer felt comfortable to pick up writing again, but as she said to a comic-con panel in 2015: "What do you think was the top story onYahoo the next morning?Grey." She was referring toGrey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian which, as the subtitle says, is a retelling of the firstFifty Shades of Grey book through the eyes ofChristian Grey. "It was a literal flip the table moment for me", Meyer reportedly said. The book remained on hold.[11] However, in May 2020, Meyer announced that the book would be released on August 4, 2020.[7]
Elle Hunt atThe Guardian wrote that the book was "chronically overwritten" and under-edited. She lamented the lack of new lore and how the strict adherence to scenes in the originalTwilight made the book boring.[12] AtThe Independent, Annie Lord also noted the large overlap withTwilight, and called the writing "laughably bad", but noted that fans would enjoy gaining new insights into Edward's relationship with his sister.[13]Kirkus Reviews posited that the "glacial pace" of the book allowed for a focus on characterization, and predicted that fans would forgive, or even enjoy, its "excesses and indulgences".[14] AtThe Washington Post, Karin Tanabe criticized the lack of diversity in the characters, describing theQuileute characters as "stereotypical B-list characters". She also noted that the sexual tension between the two main characters was hindered by having to adhere to the original storyline.[15]
Midnight Sun sold one million copies in its first week of publication.[16]
AtBooks-A-Million's virtual live event in August 2020, Meyer announced that she has plans for two moreTwilight books.[8][17] In 2024, an animated adaptation ofMidnight Sun was announced byNetflix.[18]
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