Does Twitter Hate The New 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' Book? Users React To E.L. James' Latest Novel

grey_0 — Twitter users are not happy with E.L. James' latest book "Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian," calling the novel "lazy." Courtesy/Penguin Random House UK

E.L. James’ latest erotic novel, “Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian,” launched at midnight on Thursday, and the book is already receiving its fair share of online hate. The erotic novel has faced some serious criticism on Amazon, and Twitter users have taken to the social media site to vent their disappointment.

James’ book tells the romantic story between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele from Christian’s point of view, but many fans of the trilogy are calling the latest endeavor lazy and “stale.” It's the fourth book in the “Fifty Shades” franchise, preceded by “Fifty Shades of Grey (2011), “Fifty Shades Darker” (2012) and “Fifty Shades Freed” (2012). James’ books have sold more than 70 million copies internationally, and she was named one of Time's most influential people in 2012.

I believe the next installment of 50 Shades will be told from the perspective of a small dog turd outside Christian Grey's office.
- Tara Flynn (@TaraFlynn) June 18, 2015

Maybe by expecting literary excellence from a 50 Shades and gender equality from Top Gear we were setting ourselves up for disappointment.
- Lisa Holdsworth (@WorksWithWords) June 18, 2015

EL James is working on a new version of 50 Shades of Grey from the perspective of the elderly couple who live in a neighbouring apartment
- ohchrisburton (@ohchrisburton) June 18, 2015

Just heard about the new 50 shades of grey book... Because yes what we need now is to hear the story from the abusers side. Cool.
- Maddie (@maddie44u) June 18, 2015

New 50 Shades of Grey book is out today. Can get through it in a weekend. Or the exact amount of time it took the author to write it.
- Robin Harper (@harpersbazaar) June 18, 2015

“Christian is a complex character,” James explained on June 1 in a blog post. “And readers have always been fascinated by his desires and motivations, and his troubled past. Also, as anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows, there are two sides to every story.”

James said she wanted to focus on what exactly made Anastasia’s character so alluring to Christian. Since her first book was told from Anastasia’s perspective, she really wanted to explore Christian’s thought process and rationale in “Grey." It appears that some readers just aren’t that interested in the character’s twisted way of thinking.

“Fifty Shades of Grey” was made into a feature film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson in 2014. The film opened in theaters on Feb. 14 and pulled in $596 million worldwide. Sequels "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed" will premiere in theaters on Feb. 10, 2017, and Feb. 9, 2018.

Join the Discussion