16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lackluster, October 27, 2011
This review is from: The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Phantom (Hardcover)
***Spoilers***...not to many but some!! Im really pretty disappointed, even a bit depressed about where this is going. Like a majority of you I was and still am very upset about L.J. being fired from her series. The way she was treated was horribly and completely wrong, but I couldnt just leave it at Midnight I still wanted to see where they would take these books, to see if maybe they could do the series a little bit of justice even after what they did to L.J Smith, but I don't think they did. The plot of the book was pretty good overall, a little dull though. The most important thing to me in a book is the characters. And no matter what side of the fence your on (team Bamon, Stelena, or Delena) when L.J. was writing you could tell that she LOVES ALL of her characters with a passion, and that passion really brings them to life & makes them vibrant and wonderful. Most of the characters seemed to be fairly different in this one. Meredith was good, I liked her, she didnt change to much and Alaric too, we get to see more of him! Matt was fine & good ole' Mrs. Flowers was as wonderful as ever. But everyone else seemed to be a bit different in ways that were unnerving at times. That is the plot though a Jealousy Phantom is messing with there emotions and thriving off them. So by the end Stefan was pretty much back to his old self and Damon grew some and changed a little. But Elena and Bonnie's characters seemed to be back tracking rather than growing. If your a Delena fan, well there is some delena moments but it looks as if they are going to turn that into a friendship only. If your a Bamon fan your going to be very disappointed, there was no Bamon what so ever. It almost seemed like they were trying to make Bonnie and Matt a thing, which I disagree with. I don't really understand what the publisher/ghost writers plans are for Damons character if he isnt going to be with Elena or Bonnie or trying to pursue them. Its not like they can just write his character out of the books, that certainly wouldnt be good for book sales. They didnt really try to turn it into the tv series, if anyone was worried about that. There were some disappointments, but I dont regret reading it, the book was alright and I will probably read the next one and see where they go with it, without any help from L.J.'s manuscript.
Something I do think the ghost writer should do, is go back and read all the books again. Did anyone else notice that apparently she thinks Meredith's last name is Suarez? Haha she changed Meredith's name from Sulez to Suarez....yeah major oops there. It would be great if she could manage to get all the characters a little more spot on. I think that L.J. Smith certainly messed up some things in The Return series, with the whole love quadrangle, and the dynamic in the relationship between Elena, Stefan, and Damon...but as far as all the individual characters go, in my opinion L.J. Smith wrote them a little better.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed Read, November 18, 2011
This review is from: The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Phantom (Hardcover)
Unlike other reviews on this site, I have actually purchased and read the book. L. J. Smith /did not/ write this book, but she has encouraged her readership not to boycott the book, and I think that was a pretty classy move on her part; and because of that, I did buy it to compare the writing styles.
At first glance, the book maintains the core story, a girl with a passionate love for two boys, and her love for the town, her family and her friends. So, the core story is there. But that's pretty much all it's got going for it.
To summarize the plot: A new big bad comes into town, that plagues the main characters and the town they live in. The big bad started showing itself early in the series, when the group goes to pick up Alaric and Celia from the train station. Bonnie pricks her finger, and the name Celia is written in blood. They don't know what this means until Celia's scarf is caught in the train, and spells out the name of the next victim after they manage to save her. They must work together to find out what's going on, in order to save themselves, and the town.
While the plot is a sound one, the story itself was stilted, and it felt unfinished. It was as if the writer rushed through the book and didn't take the time to sit back and really consider or get to know the characters. The characters shown in this book are two dimensional and largely superficial. I don't relate to them, I couldn't get close to them, and I didn't really care about them ` and this is a big failing in a book where you want readers to care about the characters. This is a character driven story, where the plot revolves around them and what happens to them. The characters lacked strength, and purpose. They existed simply because there was a plot that needed to be written.
In comparison, L. J. Smith's writing is rich with detail, and the motivations between the characters; their inner desires are fully fleshed out and they seem like real people, rather than cardboard cut-outs. However, this book is missing all of this detail, the meat and the heart of the characters, and I strongly feel that the story itself suffers from this lacking. In short, I was hugely disappointed in the book. But, others might find enjoyment in it. I will likely buy the other books in the series, because I hate not finishing series ` but I certainly hope the caliber of writing and character content goes way up, and that the Ghostwriter, or at least Alloy, really considers making the characters three dimensional once more, and truly integrating them into the story again.
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21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
2 because it is missing some spark but reads well, October 26, 2011
-First its a good read. Hats off to the ghost writer. LACK of passion aside chapt 1 though
-second it doesn't have the LJ spark that made me love it. I read for Delena thats why I loved it. Take that away, and no real passion for me. We've been over and over with Stelena. No more twilight endings please.
-Third it has a good plot but its its own series now don't expect the old
Having a few friends, we all chipped in and will pass this amongst us. I figured I'd review the book based on itself, how it compares to the original and return series and then add spoilers for those who won't read it.
The book itself was pretty decent and easy to read. it flowed and didn't overly repeat itself and smoothed out previous points with much needed clarity. As you all know this was writen by a ghost writer who I believe was the old editor. When reading I found that the book retained its old feel from the first three books. It seemed to lack some of the fire that LJ wrote though. The characters were more like their old selves, and yet, seemed odd and empty. Like they were coated over. I believe the author did a pretty good job of retaining the sense of the story, the characters of old, but I cant help but feel we went backwards some. Elena is more hesitant which is good, and yet seems so very odd in certain places. Everyone played a good role...Alaric was good, Merideth had a nice part, matt reflect and not much with bonnie. Bonnie herself will begin more witchy stuff and there seemed to be no Bamon. ALOT of jealousy but this is a main feature of the story I will not spoil till later. Many of Damon's fans will be happy and yet sad at the same time.
Overall the series is much more straight forward, not overly descriptive and yet lacks something intense and deep. Fans of the old will find the read more to their content as far as the format. Its tone is much similar. As compared to the return series, it lacks a shine or power. Overall i liked it and wish the company would add the new author on the book (even if they keep created by lj smith). now on to spoilers
***Spoiler zone****
Ok it was well written, but the steam wasn't there for me. I do confess to being a Delena fan more than any other but not limited to. This is why I felt it went backward. If they undo all that...I dunno. Its part of why I stayed with the series so long. Elena needed to have a sense of control and she does still need to address it. She addresses that she feels love for both, and guilt. The guilt makes me feel like she wants to tell stefan she loves him more, first, or is her one true love. It makes for a good read as she works though it and won't dodge it so much. BUT It makes no sense...you can't deeply love two people equally. As wrong as it may be they are related, your heart sometimes dictates love. or in that you will always love one more than the other. I see a chance that she can love damon that he has changed, but I don't want this to go backwards after all their development. IT will not make sense nor work for me personally. But i felt glad that she knows and seems to try whereas before she just gave in all the time. Push and Pull is great.
In the least, let them have their time even if Alloy doesn't want to pair them in the end. it works this way for both groups of shippers to have it end in a way that closes the door. Of course I love who I love, and I do hope they make their way there. It will definitely be a chore. Stefan really does love Elena and you really feel that beyond words. And that is sweet to see and really feel. So is the fact that Elena was able to step back. I have to say delena makes me want to read, and without them its kinda meh. But as long as the plot stays good and we work through the issues I think some may keep reading. I read it in 4 hours.
Hardly any bamon, a bunch of stelena but with grief and much questioning and heart aching. YES DAMON IS BACK. Sad part is that Elena seems to pull away and remark to Stefan how she loves him tinkering on "more". Damon makes a startling good change so we see our guy really becoming all friendly and caring with the group.
The phantom is a being that elena set free when she blew up the moon. while returning there is getting old, it was well done and not so detailed that it bothered me. the reason they re all jealous is because the being is feeding off their emotions. Bonnie is very jealous, damon is, stefan is severely, and elena is feeling guilty.
My sense was that Elena and Stefan felt like they had been through more, and i was kind of glad to get this feel and to see his jealousy. of course our boys fight in there. I sensed elena unsure of stefan's darker side, and of herself, and kind of awed by the change in damon. The only part that bugged me was her dreaming of him...its never mentioned whether he remembers it or not. It does feel like there is an added connection because of it. Damon does call bonnie his red bird but i don't feel he means it the bamon way. he does mention that she is his girl, but i got the impression that it was like his human that he cared and watched over for. There is no reminiscent kissing or adoring with them. Perhaps a Bamon fan will interpret it differently though. not much romance, but she is very jealous in this book. If you are a bamon fan this may be a big thing. The girls are jealous of one another when concerning Damon for sure so glad to see it come out. as a Stelena fan you feel their connection and wonder how they will work through it, and feel the love and its cracks now. As a delena fan you are happy he is back, but sad because elena pushes him away. also loved how they feel about one another. She is less like return elena and more controlled like first series elena.
As a delena fan, yes she is still with stefan but she is wondering in several parts. As a bamon fan, not much there in this book, stelena's dunno if the couple is strong but you def feel the pining of stefan knowing he is aware how much elena loved damon, and how she keeps that part from him.
It was just so much easier to follow and understand like the old books it felt like home. but LJ still has the creative spark over all. I hope she does get a better editor for her future endeavors. I do not think these characters are but 80% of who they were in the first books and even less of the return. There is extreme lack of passion. The ghost writer did a very nice job generally speaking but it still seems like a fog which is not her fault. It just happens with two separate writers. I was sad, and let down some. I suppose if my couple goes bye bye so will I. Plot alone is not enough after all that. I feel stelena is tossed down my throat as other shippers may feel opposite about their team. Together, suffering, near death, after death....
I did buy via amazon kindle
i tried the ghost writer and think its good but it lacks
will be passing the copy around several people who will not pay for book
thanks for your time guys hope u enjoyed and got some answers
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