The author of the popular “Twilight” vampire series announced that the new book, told from the vampire Edward Cullen’s perspective, will go on sale Aug. 4.
Fans of Edward Cullen, the brooding vampire hero from Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling “Twilight” series, will have something fresh to bite into this summer.
Ms. Meyer announced on Monday that “Midnight Sun,” the new novel in her vampire romance series, will be published on Aug. 4, more than a decade after the original story concluded.
“I thought seriously about delaying this announcement until things were back to normal,” Ms. Meyer said in a statement. “However, that felt wrong, considering how long those who are eager for this book have already waited.”
She added: “I know how much I personally need distractions right now, how much I need something to look forward to, and most of all, how much I need more books to read. So, I hope this book gives my readers a little pleasure to anticipate and, after it arrives, a chance to live in an imaginary world for a while.”
The supernatural series followed the romance between a handsome vampire, Edward Cullen, and his human (and then vampire) love interest, Bella Swan, as well as the stories of their family and friends — a circle that includes humans, vampires, werewolves and even a vampire-human hybrid in the Pacific Northwest. In contrast to earlier books, which were told from Bella’s perspective, the new book will look back on Edward’s life and be told from his view.
“Meeting beautiful, mysterious Bella is both the most intriguing and unnerving event he has experienced in his long life as a vampire,” the publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, said in its listing for the book. “As we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle on his life. How can he let himself fall in love with Bella when he knows that he is endangering her life?”
Since the release of the first book, “Twilight,” in 2005, the series has cultivated millions of fans worldwide and generated five major movies, starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. The first was “Twilight” in 2008, followed by “New Moon,” “Eclipse,” “Breaking Dawn — Part I” and 2012’s “Breaking Dawn — Part 2” which was the last chapter in the multimillion-dollar series.
For over a week, “Twilight” fans had speculated that Ms. Meyer would soon announce a new book in the series: Her personal website had a countdown ticking toward 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning, set against a starry sky and a forest background reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest. When the countdown reached zero, fans flocking to learn the news apparently crashed her site.
The publisher announced a first printing of 750,000 for “Midnight Sun” in hardcover, large print, e-book and audio editions.
