Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide [Hardcover]

It's like reading a newer, more detailed version of the story that I already love! I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that ANYONE who has read the Twilight Saga more than twice should absolutely buy this companion book! It fills in so many details that would have made the original story too slow-paced if put in during the actual reading of events, but the details clarify things that the reader didn't even know needed clarifying! For example: there are detailed personal histories of pretty much every character in the entire saga! This includes the stories of how Renee and Charlie met and fell in and out of love; of Jacob's parents, and siblings; and the whole story of Sam-Emily-Leah and what it was like when Sam first turned alone, and why he and Jared are so close. Even more interesting, to me at least, are the detailed personal histories of all the vampires in the story, like Kate, Tanya, and Irina, their individual lives as humans, and when, why, where, and how their mother, Sasha, turned them into vampires, (also the story of when Sasha made an immortal child, Vasilli). Again, even MORE fascinating, the real story of the Voturi: when and how they came to be, (in Ancient Greece, around 250BC, if I remember correctly...) which of the three is oldest, why Marcus is so indifferent and depressed about everything, (Aro had Marcus's wife killed overe 2,000 years ago; she was also Aro's sister; which shows even more just how crazy his lust for power truly is.) It also revels who truly is THE MOST IMPORTANT MEMBER OF THE VOTURI; the whom without, they could not function as a whole, Marcus would be able to commit suicide, as he truly desires to do, and the guard would question why they follow the orders of 3 old vampires who do nothing but use them until they are no longer needed or are replaceable, (and most are killed IF they ever want/try to leave, Eleazar being a rare exception). This MVP is only mentioned once in the books, showing just how little the vampire world knows about the true inner workings of the Voturi; (in the Guide, we learn the Aro is the only one who "controls" said MVP, mainly by indulgence, subtle manipulation, bribery, and using any and all means possible to make said person very happy so he/she will use his/her extremely potent power to do as Aro wishes; hint: it's not Jane or Alec). The Guide tells us stories of the lives of the permanent members of the Volturi Guard and how they gained their positions; most were relatively "good" and decent vampires beforehand, some even fought against the Volturi or tried to hide their existence from them before they were "converted". The story of Jane and Alec is one of the better tales. It takes place during the Dark Ages, and, like Bella, the twins showed an infinity for a special vampiric ability even as small children. Aro heard about these two "Witch" toddlers who could affect things with their minds. It was not long before this time when the immortal children had been officially forbidden by Aro and his brothers, so as much as Aro wanted the twins, he knew that he would have to wait until they became old enough to be safely turned, so he left them in their home village, assuming that the humans would never harm two innocent children, (he did, of course, leave scouts of a sort behind to keep an eye on the children, just in case another vampire took notice and got the same idea that he had). A few years later, a visiting vampire told Aro that he had heard in passing of two "witch twins" in a small village who were about to be burned at the stake for witchcraft by the frightened humans of the village. Apparently, the twins powers had become quite noticeable to the human population. Aro raced to save them, but he was too late: the twins were already burning on the pyre. So, he killed all the humans in the village, and pulled the children from the flames and quickly bit each of them himself, (something The Guide says that Aro NEVER does). Aro was then faced witha dilemma of sorts: he himself had decreed that to create an immortal child was punishable by death, and I'm here, he had just created two. He managed to find a loophole, of sorts, seeing as the twins had recently turned thirteen (13), along with the fact that living through the ordeal of being burned alive at the stake had fundamentally changed Jane and Alec's view of the world, and given them both severe cases of PTSD, which is what would fuel their new vampiric psychic powers. In The Guide, Stephanie writes that, (and I'm very loosely paraphrasing, here): while they were burning on the stake, each twin had a different psycho-emotional experience. Alec reacted by trying to "escape" from the pain of the fire, so he did "created" a place in his mind where he could feel absolutely nothing: no pain, but also no sight, smell, taste, or sound. This response was the raw beginning of his ability to strip others of all five of their senses with an anesthetic-type "mist" that he releases from his palms, (in actuality, it is an illusion of the psyche, but until Bella, no one knew that it wasn't real). Jane's reaction to being burned alive was almost opposite to her brother's anesthia. Jane was filled with so much rage toward the people who had done this to her and her beloved twin, that she wished with all her might (and magic) that the people responsible felt as though they were burning alive, too. After Jane had completed her transition, she learned that she could make burn where they stood just with her mind. Unlike with Alec, though, Jane figured out immediately that her power was only psychological. Too add to her frustration, she also discovered that she could only "burn" one (1) person at a time, while her twin could immobilize entire army within a minute or two (2). The Egyptian coven members have some of the greatest histories: Amun and Kebi became vampires around 2500BC. Amun is the same Amun that the Ancient Egyptians worshiped as one of their highest gods. Stephanie writes wonderful background stories for all the nomads we encounter throughout the Saga. My favorites are of Alastair, Victoria, Maggie, Charles and McKenna, Hilda - (Heidi, of the Volturi's "mother"), Chelsea and Afton (Volturi), and Laurante. I also loved reading about the Romanian coven, their glory days, their war with the Volturi, (in which, because of their ambush assignments, Stefan and Vladamir were the only survivors of the last attack), their co-existence with the Egyptian coven (which is, by 2000+ years, the oldest coven known to still exist - only because Amun refused to fight the Voturi with the rest of his coven, who were slaughtered). My favorite stories in The Guide are about the Cullen Family. The is a ton more information about each member of the family - I always loved reading Carlise's history. Stephanie writes pages of background on Esme, which we never knew before, like that she had met Carlisle as a teenager and thought of his for the next ten years as her dream man. Pages and pages on Edward and Rosalie. Only a small section on Emmett; I guess with him, what you "read" is what you get! Although, it does include a memory of aftere Emmett had been mauled by the bear, and Rosalie was running through the woods to get him to Carlisle to change him because she was scared that she would kill him if she tried; well, Emmett, in his delirium, thought that he was dead, and that Rose was an angel carrying him to God aka Carlisle. The Guide also includes how Emmett, always practical, left a good portion of Edward's family trust on his parents doorstep after his transformation, to try and make up for them losing such a strong, healthy, working son who brought in most of the money for the house. We learn all about Alice's childhood, how she had visions of the future, although to a lesser degree, as a human, the tragedy of her human life that was filled with murder, hit men, scandals, adultery, lies and deceit, and, finally, why Alice ended up in a sanatorium with all of her hair cut off which is where she received multiple ECT, lost her memories, but gained a vampire friend in an orderly who was working there because he figured it would be one of the few places that missing bodies wouldn't cause a scene. Stephanie never gives this vampire a name, but, we're begins to care for Alice, bringing her little gifts, and having her "guess" what they are, (in other words, he figures out that she has some sort of psychic ability). We learn of how James caught her months' old scent, and how she was a 'singer' to him, and how she couldn't she a future where he didn't kill her. So, the vampire orderly turned her, because and then sacrificed himself in order to give her time to complete as much of the transition as possible; enough so that Alice's blood wouldn't appeal to James anymore. Along with all the information about all the vampires, Stephanie also includes about 100-200 pages on the Quillutes as a tribe, the individual wolves, tribal history, and local history. This also includes profiles on the humans in the Twilight world, (Charlie, Renee, Angela, Jessica, Mike, Tyler, Ben, Sue and Harry Clearwater, etc.). The Guide also includes beautiful drawings of some of the settings in the books, props, jewelry, houses, and, my personal favorite, sketches of the Cullens, as pictured by Stephanie Mayer herself.I have written way too much here; given a million spoilers away. Basically, I'd give this book ten (10) stars, if I could!BUY THIS BOOK IF YOU LOVE THE TWILIGHT SAGA BOOKS!!!

Great companion to the series. Helps show some of the areas, vehicles, etc.

I liked the background provided in this book for the main supporting characters, Edward's family (especially Alice), and the evil vampire James. The background on the Volturi also flushed out a few details for me about the importance of the wives and the dynamics and role each of the three leaders plays.I enjoyed the interview with Shannon Hale, who is another author speaking with Stephanie Meyers, the author of the Twilight Saga. Some of it I knew from the director's cut of the Twilight movie, but some was new.I wasn't so impressed with overall description it gave of vampires in general, if you've read the books, you already know all of this. There were way too many pages describing all the other vampire covens for my taste, and I got bored and skipped ahead.I was glad to read about the Black Pack and finally discover why Billy Black is in a wheelchair (I don't want to spoil it for you if you don't know).There is a timeline that is interesting, and a whole chapter on their vehicles with illustrations included. On the subject of the illustrations, they didn't do much for me. The illustrations of the characters all sort of looked the same, thin people with triangular faces, they sort of reminded me of the Pokémon cartoons. The one of Edward, well it looked feminine to me.There's a playlist from the soundtracks from the movies, where they've assigned a quote from the movie to each song.Then there were several things that conflicted with established elements in the Saga:* Page 75 "...vampires tend not to hunt in packs." They did in the movies,* Page 99 Carlisle "... carried the unconscious boy (Edward) to his home." It implies he was changed at his home not the hospital as was the case in the movie* Page 148 the illustration of the Cullen home is nothing like what I imagined or was depicted in the movies* Page 181 "There are several entrances to the Volturi castle. The front door is located at street level. It opens to a reception area where there is always a very polite human to receive visitors..." Not so in the movie.And there are other examples, these are just a few. It's possible these are accurate according to the books, I've read them all, but it was a while ago. But if these sorts of inconstancies are accurately from the book, I would have pointed that fact out.Overall I would say the book is worth purchasing. I look at as a reference book, where you would look something, not something you would read cover to cover in one sitting. The Table of Contents goes on forever, I tried to condense it as much as possible.IntroductionConversation with Stephanie HaleVampires'- Physical Characteristics,'Abilities and Limitations,'Supernatural Abilities,'Newborn Vampires,'The Transformation Process,'Vampire History,'Vampire Law,'Vampire Myths,'Vampire Lifestyles and Psychology,'Vampire HybridsCovens -The Cullen Coven - Carlisle Cullen'Edward Anthony Masen Cullen'Esme Anne Platt Evenson Cullen'Rosalie Lillian Hale'Emmett McCarty Cullen'Mary Alice Brandon Cullen'Jasper Whitlock Hale'Isabella Marie Swan Cullen'Renesmee Carlie Cullen - The Cullen HomeThe Volturi Coven -'Aro'Caius'Marcus'Other member of the Volturi Coven'Athendora'Didyme'SulpiciaThe Volturi Guard -'Alec'Chelsea'Demetri'Felix'Heidi'Jane'Renata'Other members of the Volturi Guard'Afton'Corin'Santiago'Others Who Served The Volturi'GiannaThe Volturi LairThe Amazon Coven'- Kachiri'Senna'ZafrinaThe Denali Coven'- Carmen, Eleazer, Garrett, Irina, Katrina, Tanya'Other Members Of The Denali Coven'Sasha, VasilliThe Egyptian Coven -'Amun, Benjamin, Kebi, TiaThe Irish Coven -Liam, Maggie, SiobhanJames' Coven -James, Laurent, VictoriaThe Mexican Coven - Lucy, Maria, NettieRiley's Coven - Riley Biers, Diego, Fred ,Raoul, BreeTanner'Other Members of Riley's Coven'- Adam, Casey,Doug,Jen,Kevin,Kristie,Sarah, Shelly and SteveThe Romainan Coven'- Stefan,VladimirThe Nomads'-Alistair,Charles,Charlotte,Makenna,Peter'Other Nomads'Mary, RandelllJoham and the Vampire hybrids '-Huilen,Joham,NahuelWerewolves'-The Children Of The moon'The Quileute Werewolves'-Inheritance,'Physical Characteristics,'Abilities,'Lifestyle and Behavior,'Ancient Quileute History,'History With The CullensThe Quileute Pack and Tribe -The Black Pack'- Jacob Black, Leah Clearwater, Embry Call, Seth Clearwater, Quil Atera VThe Uley Pack'-Sam Uley, Jared Cameron, Paul Lahote, Brady Fuller, Collin LittleseaThe Tribe'- Billy Black, Quil Atera III, Sue Uley Clearwater, Emily Young,Other Tribe Members'- Quil Atera IV, Sarah Black, Rachel Black, Rebecca Black,'Harry Clearwater, Kim, Joshua Uley, Claire YoungThe Humans -'Family and Friends of Bella'- Charlie Swan, Renne Higginbotham Dwyer, Angela Webber, Mike Newton,'Jessica Stanley, Ben Cheney,Tyler Crowley, Lauren Mallory, Eric Yorkie'Teachers at Forks High School'Mr. Banner,Mr. Berty,Coach Clapp,Mrs. Cope,Mr. Greene,Mr. Jefferson,Mr. Varner'Other Students at Forks High School'Conner, Lee, Austin Marks, Katie Marshall, Samantha'Other Residents Of Forks'Beth Crowley, Dr. Gerandy, Karen Newton, Mr. Newton, Mrs. Stanley, Mrs. Weber, Mr. Weber'Residents Of Seattle'J. Jenks, Max'Residents Of Brazil'Gustavo, KaureOrigins and Inspirations - Timeline - Key Plot Points - Twilight'New Moon'Eclipse'Breaking DawnCars (Pics and descriptions) Carlisle, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Bella, Jacob, Jacob & BellaInspirations (Stephanie's playlists and quotes from the saga)'The Twilight Saga Playlist'- Twilight,'New Moon,'Eclipse,'Breaking Dawn,'The Short Second Life Of Bree TannerFan Art GalleryInternational Cover GalleryOuttakesFrequently asked questions

If you look very carefully on the back jacket, you will see the cover image of the original announced book. It reads, "#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Stephenie Meyer" as the byline. The byline on the cover that was printed reads "A companion to the #1 Bestselling Series by Stephenie Meyer." That should tell you everything you need to know about this book. The title page doesn't credit the author, it credits Alphie and Pel from the Twilight Lexicon website and it's evident from the number of things that are marked 'unkown' or 'sometime between time x and time y' that very little new information was given to them in this writing. The book is a hodge-podge of information of varying newness and quality, and while it's an interesting addition for those who'd like a pretty book, it doesn't provide much meat for fans who've paid close attention to information about the series all along.Wonderful and interesting backstories have been included for some characters, such as James, Victoria, Laurent, and Alice. As became usual for SM starting in Eclipse, far more attention has been paid to the wolves and their history than to the vampires and theirs. There is some new information about the Volturi, but what she imagines for their past is generally out of line with ancient European history. The backstories vary immensely, however, in quality and new information, with some lifting word-for-word the tiny backstory given for that character in the books. (This is unfortunately especially true of the Cullen bios, which are arguably the ones fans were most interested in.) Some bios give pages of information about characters we didn't know, others are a few lines long and reveal that very little new info has been added. If you were expecting maybe a portrait of each character and a right-facing page of information, you'll be disappointed--at times with the minor characters, the bios are so short that three sets of info are included on facing pages. Even Edward's bio is only three full pages, mostly detailing what happens to him in the books.There's an interview with SM for the first 60 pages, and I'm convinced this was more or less the extent of her involvement with the assembly of this book. [EDIT: I've since found that this interview was conducted shortly after the release of Breaking Dawn in 2008. So she didn't even put forth that little effort.] In it, she provides a little more information that explains how she writes, and maybe gives some of us who were annoyed with the way she ended her series a glimpse into the erratic style that made that happen--most importantly her burning desire to have us hear Jacob's voice the way she did which resulted in the jarring and unprofessional inclusion of a first-person POV shift in books 3 and 4.The rest of the book is filled with mostly meaningless information--Young Kim did excellent illustrations for the Cullens, but illustrations are missing for even many of the other major vampire characters, like the Volturi. Despite lots of info on the wolves, how the gene works, their geneology, and their backstories, the only wolf drawn is Jacob. (There's an interesting watercolor of Rialto Beach, La Push, however). There is a section with an illustration of each CAR featured in the book, but really, since there were photos of all the vehicles on SM's website, I think I would've preferred an illustration of Aro to Jasper's motorcycle.The timeline printed in the book is the one available for free on TwilightLexicon.com, as are the provided chapter summaries (incidentally, this fan-created timeline is inconsistent with some of the new backstories provided for this volume). Other information such as the Frequently Asked Questions and outtakes are things that have been available for internet fans for years. Big fans will have even likely seen most of the gallery of the fanart and foreign covers which take up the last 25 pages or so. There is precious little new information that could not be obviously inferred from the books and interviews SM has given in the past.Meyer has shown herself repeatedly to not be interested in the true world-building, consistency, historical and geographic accuracy that was necessary to take her series from just a light read to something as rich as a HARRY POTTER or PERCY JACKSON. This book underscores her lack of attention to detail and reveals the shallow depth to which secondary characters were thought through in the books. To top that, THE GUIDE, because it was written by others than the author herself, introduces more historical and story-internal inaccuracies than existed in the original books, while basic questions that fans have always had about some of the series' mysteries go unanswered.The 4-color pages and illustrations make this a beautiful book, and the authors who did put time into it, Lori Joffs and Laura Byrne-Cristiano, should be congratulated. The artwork from Bradley, Carey, Kim, McMenemy, and Palmer Preiss should be commended as well. For the price, if you're a Twihard, you'll want this one in your library. If nothing else, it's nice to have all the info at hand in one volume instead of having to scour the 'net.But don't expect to read this and feel any less like the series author abandoned this story a long time ago.

While some people have put some bad marks on this book I can't think of any other that wishing to have illustrations of some of the minor characters talk about in order to see how Stephenie viewed them.To start off with I live how the guide book is divided into its individual sections of importance. Starting off with a delightful conversation between Shannon Hale and Stephenie Meyer that talks about each of the four books separately and the success she gain because of them.The book then move right on the focus of the Twilight Saga- the vampires. Talking about the different elements of the Twilight vampires and even how they compare to traditional story vampires. Sections like Singers, Vampire history and Vampire law I especially enjoyed reading.When we get into Covens we start getting maps of Forks, stats and history of the Cullens. With Rosalie background covered so well in Eclipse book and movie I didn't expect much more to be said about her or Bella but was surprise at the extras that was given such as with Bella's parents and when Jasper was training new born. While just introduce in Breaking Dawn nice that Renesmee is included in this area too. While the Volturi was as big in Twilight as the Cullens it was nice to learn what I didn't already know of some of the other coven groups. Though it a shame that Stephenie couldn't include illustrations of what the Amazon or Egyptian vampires looked like to her.When we get to the werewolf section we compared the true Children of the moon were wolves to the Twilight shape shifting werewolves. We get a clearer idea of how their related with the family trees provided. Again Illustrations of Leah and other characters as viewed from the writer's point of view would of been nice. There are a whole lot of information here that I won't spoil that I didn't know from just the normal books.The section of humans cover many minor characters many of who I have trouble recalling from the books because of the minor roles they played in it.Its great that the time line provided for Twilight universe doesn't start with first book but going back to ancient Greece and its early Saga vampire and werewolves.The Key points of the books are marked with what chapters of the books you can find the events or quotes where they take place.The international fan art and European covers were wonderful additions to this guide book.