On the Bookshelf

Sookie Stackhouse doesn't have that many relations, so she really hated to lose one - but of all the people to go, she didn't expect it to be her cousin Hadley, a consort of New Orleans' vampire queen - after all, Hadley was technically already dead.

But Hadley is gone, beyond recall, and she's left Sookie and inheritance, one that comes with a bit of a risk - not least because someone doesn't want Sookie digging too deep into Hadley's possessions... or her past. Sookie's life is once again on the line, and this time the suspects range from rogue weres to her first love, the vampire Bill. Sookie's got a lot to do if she's going to keep herself alive.

Definitely Dead gives you everything that we have come to expect from a Sookie Stackhouse novel. There is action, mystery, and of course, eye candy. However, a few pages in you may start wondering if you have somehow suffered a bout of amnesia and forgotten some major plot points or perhaps somehow missed a book in the series. I can assure you that amnesia is not your problem, rather it is something called One Word Answer. One Word Answer is Harris' short story contribution to Bite (and is also now published in A Touch Of Dead, a collection of Harris' Sookie Stackhouse short stories), which also contained short stories from Laurell K. Hamilton, MaryJanice Davidson, Angela Knight, and Vickie Taylor. I cannot help but feel that if an author is going to submit a short story to another publication it should not play a major role in the readers comprehension of the ongoing series. I felt let down by the fact that Harris had been foreshadowing the introduction of Sookie's cousin, Hadley, only to allow readers to miss out on it and the events that set the scene for Definitely Dead. In the very least, the publisher should have directed us to the short stories and their place in the series inside the cover if they are going to be significant to the series. To Harris' credit, she does work these details into the story well enough that you do get the overall story in the end, but it makes it no less irritating.

Quinn, Sookie's current piece of eye candy is okay but I still prefer Eric as the more interesting love interest. I was also satisfied when my ongoing dislike of Bill was further justified in this book. There is no sex in Definitely Dead which I am going to say is not a bad thing at all - despite her complaining otherwise, Sookie tends to do a little too well in the dating department - but the dry humping scene is a bit... odd.

Also, it is just a bit weird that Sookie spends most of the book on her period and has to frequently remind us of this.


Definitely Dead is certainly not the strongest addition to the series put if you strip away its oddities and get to the core plot underneath, it is still a good story and seems like it is going to be significant in the setting up of events to come. I will keep on reading the series at this point, anyway.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
True Blood Season One

Terra

Vampires have come "out of the coffin" and are now living among us. Surviving on synthetic blood, they no longer need human blood to survive. Or so it seems...

The small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana boats a wide array of colourful locals. Meet Sookie Stackhouse, a sweet and innocent waitress who hides her powerful ability to read minds; Bill Compton, a 173-year-old vampire who's just moved back to town; Sookie's brother Jason, a ladies' man who can't seem to stay out of trouble; tough-as-nails Tara, Sookie's loyal best friend; Sam, the owner of Merlotte's who tries to keep his feelings for Sookie to himself; Lafayette, a man about town who's always cooking up a something illicit and "off the menu" and a quirky cast of characters who each hide their dark secrets in the shadows of night in this series that's like no other.

Ages ago, I said that once I had the chance to watch the season through with the commentaries then I would post my thoughts on True Blood. I finally did get the chance to do so and was glad to find that I enjoyed the show a second time through just as much as I did the first.

For those who are possibly not in the know, True Blood is based on a series of novels by Charlaine Harris called The Southern Vampire Mysteries, or sometimes simply refered to as the Sookie Stackhouse series. There are currently ten books in the series with the eleventh expected to be released later this year. Season one of True Blood follows the story of the first of these books, Dead Until Dark, where telepathic waitress Sookie (Anna Paquin) meets the vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer) and realises that she cannot hear his thoughts. The two form a romantic relationship (and interestingly enough are in fact married in real life) but Sookie comes under threat when a murderer begins to target women who have been involved with vampires.

At times the acting did need to be stronger. At one instance my mother walked in and complained about Anna Paquin's underdone reaction to something instead of complaining that I was "watching more vampire rubbish" as she normally would. Nelsan Ellis, however, is consistently fantastic in the role of Lafayette. I also really enjoyed Alexander Skarsgård as Eric.

The show is faithful enough to the books to please fans while at the same time creating original material and throwing in enough twists to keep those of us who are familiar with the books guessing. On the television screen the lives of characters who only existed in the background on the page are now fleshed out and become their own fully developed plot lines that are just as enjoyable to follow as that of Sookie and Bill. Tara, for example, now becomes an African-American and cousin to Lafayette. An entirely new twist is placed on her character and it works to the strength of the show.

Full of mystery, sex, blood, and fun True Blood is a must watch. Keep in mind that it is pretty graphic in terms of both sex and gore so make sure any little ones are out of the room before you put this one on.

I will be reviewing season two whenever the DVD happens to come out in Australia. *Sigh*

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Terra

So, I've been absent again for awhile. We've changed our internet plan now so hopefully it means that we won't exceed our limit (ooops!) again any time soon and I can keep up with regular updates. Now, on with the review...

It's the first full moon since Jason's abduction and rescue and Sookie knows that her brother is going to turn into a Werepanther before even he does. Her relief when Jason starts to embrace the change in himself is replaced with fear when a sniper starts to target the Bon Temps shape shifter population. Not only is Jason at risk from the shooter, but many among his new Were-bretheren suspect that he may be the shooter, acting for revenge for the change forced upon him. Sookie can't risk Jason changing at the next full moon with a bunch of angry Werepanthers but can she discover the shooter in time?

This book didn't really have much of an impact on me, to be perfectly honest. Oh, sure, it had it's moments and some good subplots but it didn't grab me as much as some of the other books in the series did. I cannot really pinpoint why. Maybe I have overdosed on Sookie books?

I did like, however, that it was rooted back in Bon Temps again. Sookie sure has become quite the little traveler lately and it was good to see something based on her home ground. Being grounded back in (almost, kind of) normal life also makes the changes in Sookie more noticeable. Even just the little things, like how she mentions that she has continued to get her nails done.

It was also great to see that Tara subplot that has been developing in the background over the past couple of books finally come to the forefront. Harris also makes it very easy to guess who the sniper is but I guess this series isn't supposed to invoke much heavy thinking anyway. There is also Jason's ongoing predicament from the previous book and how once again suspicion is cast upon him causing his new found peers to distrust him.

On the relationship front, there were some interesting developments with Eric, it looks like Bill might worm his way back onto the scene and Calvin Norris is still around with his eyes on Sookie. There was also some, ahem, interesting leg licking action and the plot about the Were leadership better showed up some of Alcides flaws (which were much needed especially after someone suggests that maybe Debbie cast a spell on him to hold his interest).

Claudine the fairy also makes a reappearance. I found it odd that even though Dead as a Doornail is set only a few weeks after Dead to the World, Sookie seems to speak of Claudine with a lot of familiarity even though they have not known each other long. Same goes for Claudine's brother Claude who we are told is really hot but off the list of dating possibilities due to his sexuality. Are the only guys who don't drool over Sookie gay?

This installment has despite some great plots and subplots. A definite treat for Sookie followers who want are fans of the shape shifters.

Terra

It's a new year and Sookie resolves that this year she will not get beaten up. Having split up with Bill, who has also now gone to Peru to continue working on his project, it might just be possible that Sookie can make that resolution come true. That is, until Sookie spots the vampire Eric running half naked down the road in the middle of the night having lost his memory. Sookie agrees to hide Eric while Pam and Chow investigate, believing that a group of witches have placed a hex on Eric. Stripped of his identity, a sweet and vulnerable side of Eric is revealed that Sookie finds hard to resist. But hiding the attractive Eric in her house isn't the only problem that Sookie has to deal with. Her brother, Jason, has gone missing and Sookie is worried that the witches may have something to do with his disappearance.

Okay, so I know that I said that I wouldn't be reviewing any more Sookie books for awhile but after bumping into a high school friend and her telling me how good a book Dead to the World is and then reading the back cover and realising that it was filled with lots of Eric then I just had to read it without delay.

Dead to the World is your usual fun romp that the Southern Vampire Mysteries usually offer. Boring, dodgy (now ex-)boyfriend Bill hardly gets a look in while the far more interesting Eric gets the chance to shine and showcase an entirely different side of his character. (In fact, sending Bill over seas was probably a convenient way to make sure that he doesn't step in on Sookie/Eric time.) It will be very interesting to see in the next book the effects of how Sookie and Eric's relationship developed while he had amnesia. (Amnesia plot lines sound so soap-opera...) We get to see Alcide again, who still gets my vote as best boyfriend material out of Sookie's potential choices. Previously I had complained about Sookie getting too many admirers too easily. She does acquire another in Dead to the World but he is not a character right up in the forefront of the storytelling all the time so it's not so bad.

I found myself genuinely concerned about the fate of Jason but to be perfectly honest I don't know if my investment in the character is due to Harris's writing of him and his loss or because we got to see so much more of him in the televised version of the novels, True Blood...

The way Charlaine Harris chose to represent Wiccans was also extremely disappointing. I read the acknowledgements at the beginning of the book before I began to read the actual story. She goes on about thanking the Wiccans who helped her to do her research and names a few specifically so my interest was definitely piqued and I hoped for a well informed portrayal. What I got instead was a character who suddenly became anorexic, decided to spike her hair and die it black, and get multiple piercing in her ears to fit a supposed Wiccan image who goes on to give an awkward and ill informed definition of the religion of Wicca. Sigh. If Harris wanted to include witches in her supernatural entourage then that is perfectly fine by me but if this is the result of her supposed research then she should have left the religion aspect out of it. Maybe her intentions were good. She may have have been trying to use Wicca to introduce nice witches so that she couldn't be interpreted as labelling witches as bad people as there are people who practice witchcraft in real life but this just came out terribly by making them look like wanna-be goths instead. (Not meaning to insult any goths who may happen to be reading this.)

After meeting our supposedly Wiccan friend, Holly, Sookie comes out with this little doozy of a line:


I also sometimes feel that Harris let's the whole telepath thing fall too far to the wayside. It's a constant part of Sookie and she has to consciously keep it in check but she didn't mention much. Here it mostly came up as a device to involve Sookie in the battle at the end where she otherwise had no place attending. Sookie did once again refer to it as her disability which might be credited as the result of no Bill around to talk it up as being her gift.

The book was still enjoyable but I don't think it was too well thought out. You may want to switch your brain off while reading this one lest the little details start to annoy you.

Terra

Lately Sookie's vampire boyfriend, Bill Compton, has been acting pretty distant. He has been completely absorbed in a secret project and things are starting to get tense between the couple. Then he gives a vague explanation about some trip he needs to take and Sookie know's that he is telling her lies. It's only a matter of time before his boss, Eric, shows up on Sookie's doorstep telling her that not only has Bill betrayed her but that he is missing and has probably been kidnapped.

Sookie heads off to Jackson, Mississipi. With the aid of a Were named Alcide Herveaux she mingles at Josephine's, or Club Dead as the non-vampire part of it's clientele call it, hoping to pick up on some clues on the whereabouts of Bill.

In this third installment in the Southern Vampire Mysteries, Bill most certainly did not earn himself any brownie points in my book. He also spends a large part of the book absent, being kidnapped and all, but I never find myself missing his presence in. I did, however, enjoy the moments when Eric got to step up into the spotlight. Then there is Alcide. Sookie's list of admirers sure does seem to be growing. Sure, we have been told that she is attractive, but it can get annoying when nearly every male character that the female main character encounters is interested in her. I wasn't really all that irritated though because I ended up really liking Alcide and found the way that their relationship played out to be quite interesting.

While still entertaining, the mysteries in Club Dead are not too hard to figure out. I thought this book to be more driven by the characters and their relationships, which, considering that I am quite a big fan of authors being sure to develop those, isn't at all a bad thing.

There were also some good moments of humour. Notably, El- I mean Bubba (he doesn't like being called you-know-what). It helps that Harris isn't afraid to make fun of her own work. Consider, for example, her take on vampire politics as we get to learn a little more about the vampire political and social structure in this book. The queen of Louisiana. Sound kind of funny? Sookie thought so too even though the vampires take it dead seriously. (No pun intended.)

Oh, and I finally managed to get my hands on the dvds of True Blood season one. I will post my thoughts and feelings on the television adaption at some stage but won't get into it in this review.

It may be a little while before I get around to the fourth book in the series, Dead to the World, as I have a considerably large pile of books stacked on my bedside table and overflowing down to the floor to read before I go and spend any more money on getting more books.

Terra

Life sure has gotten interesting for Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse ever since she started dating Bill Compton, a vampire. Most recently one of her co-workers is murdered and the body dumped in the car of local cop, Andy Bellefleur. As if that isn't enough, Sookie gets a nasty dose of poison from a Maenad. Lucky for her the Area 5 vampires are able to suck the poisoned blood from her veins. Considering that they saved her life and she had made a deal with Eric, Sookie is no one to say no when they want to loan her and her telepathic abilities to the vampires over in Area 6. Soon enough Sookie is in Dallas helping to find a missing vampire which is easier said than done when it looks like an anti-vampire group are involved and with the aid of another vampire at that.

Compared to the previous book in the series, the second instalment to the Southern Vampire Mysteries is packed with action. Not that Dead Until Dark was at all dull, but now that the groundwork has been set, things certainly took a step up in Living Dead in Dallas.

While I still enjoyed this book as much, if not more, than the first, there is one little thing that I would like to nitpick at. Now, I do not read these books for the romance but all the same I really do feel that the relationship between Bill and Sookie needs some better developing. It seemed like Bill only really managed to be around for the arguments and the sex. In scenes with a larger cast he has a tendency to often make like wall paper. Also, wanting sex when Sookie was injured far from endeared him to me and I would much rather that Harris had used that together time for something more substantial to help flesh out their relationship. At least we are not being asked to pretend that this is twu wuv and Sookie at least considers that while she loves Bill, she doesn't know if she is in love love with him. I did like their final scene together very much though, seeing as Bill did open up there and we did get to learn a little more about him.

Eric, however, is definitely growing on me. Should Sookie ditch Bill for Eric though? I don't know if Eric would make a better boyfriend at all but at least he is a more interesting character at the moment.

Another relationship that kind of bugged me, just a little, was that between Sookie and Arlene. I kind of expected some sort of tension there or at least some mention of what had happened in Dead Until Dark. Some sort of aftermath.

What I did like was meeting the shapeshifters and it was particularly interesting to learn that not all Supes (Supernaturals) want to be made public like the vampires. The Fellowship of the Sun, a religiously orientated anti-Vampire group, was a pretty exciting addition too. Sookie is also growing more comfortable with her telepathic abilities, referring to them less as her "disability" and being more open with using them to achieve her goals. I would like to see if Barry pops again in the future as well and I thought that the Meanad was pretty original too. How many of those do you see popping up in fiction at the moment? Not many.

The pacing of the story was also pretty good, so I did not mind so much that the Bon Temps murder story line was left behind for a good while so that Sookie could go off to Dallas. Aside from my nitpicking at the need for some more relationship development, Living Dead in Dallas is still just as fun as the first book and I will be picking up the next book in the series.

Terra

Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress living in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps. Although she's pretty, Sookie doesn't date. In fact, Sookie has a "disability" which makes dating pretty much impossible. She can read minds. Then one night Bill arrives in town. Sookie can't hear his thoughts at all and she soon finds herself falling for him. There's just one hitch: Bill is a vampire. Then women start showing up dead. Women with old bite marks on them. Someone is targeting "fangbangers" and it looks like Sookie is on their hit list. Is dating a vampire such a bright idea?

The Southern Vampire Mysteries has been enjoying a boom in popularity thanks to True Blood, the television show based on the series. I decided to jump onto the bandwagon with Dead Until Dark, the first book in the series, originally published in 2001.

I really enjoyed Sookie's perspective. Maybe it's just because I'm Australian and haven't had much exposure to it, but I found the Southern setting absolutely quirky and charming. I also liked Harris' portrayal of vampires. As a fan of the good old classics, I couldn't help but love the bit where Bill levitated. I also liked that, even though he was trying to "mainstream" (live a life among humans), Bill wasn't all apolagetic about the fact that he was a vampire. He has drunk human blood and even killed people. "Deal with it."

The word that I would use to describe this book would have to be fun. I am somewhat reminded of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series but this book is much lighter in content. It's perfect if you are looking for an entertaining, light read and my only real complaint would be that it was over too soon. Lucky for me the books were on sale down at my local Big W and I was able to zipp down and grab the next two, Living Dead in Dallas and Club Dead. I still haven't seen True Blood yet. I've been hunting for the dvds but it seems to be sold out everywhere so in the meanwhile I intend to keep working my way through the books.

Terra