Deadlocked

I’m so glad that Charlaine Harris brought the mystery back to Deadlocked, the twelfth book in the Southern Vampires/Sookie Stackhouse series.  Though, it did take a lot of pages before we got to the finding of the dead body; there was a lot of Sookie’s life, the in-between bits, that were included in this story.  I liked the book, a definite improvement on Dead Reckoning.  However, I felt like it was too long.  There were a lot of Sookie-thinking moments; it could have been maybe fifty pages shorter.  I wonder it there’s a sort of page count they aim for with these types of books.  All the Sookie books are about the same length.

I digress.  I liked it.  I’m happy I liked it.  I liked the mystery.  I liked the solution to the mystery.  I’ve gotten to really like Dermot.  I also wonder about Claude’s motivations.  I wonder if he somehow blames Niall for his sisters’ deaths.  I’m glad for Jason and Tara and all of Sookie’s friends.  I’m hoping that Sookie and Amelia mend their relationship before the end of the final book.  I always really liked Amelia and though she’s too impulsive, I think she might have been the most understanding friend Sookie ever had (except for Sam). 

Why is it always Bill or Eric?  I'm sure there are readers, who think Sookie would be better off with a non-vampire, like Sam.  I love Sam.  Sookie deserves better than what Eric has been giving her.  Bill didn’t do much better.  I do have to question Sam’s choices in women.  The next book is the last.  I hope that it tells us who Sookie will end up with, but I’d have to understand it Charlaine Harris left it a bit open.  After all, Sookie is only… 27?  I know lots of people who were/are unmarried/single at that age.

Deadlocked brought me back to loving the series.  Though not my favourite book of the series, it was an enjoyable read and has left me eager for the thirteenth and final book. 

The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

I don’t usually buy “companion” books.  Sometimes I think they’re a money grab.  Sometimes I think they’ll just be filled with fan-loved favourites without really giving us anything new to think about.  I couldn’t resist The Sookie Stackhouse Companion though, for one simple reason, I wanted to read the novella.  

Small Town Wedding is a great story.  I love Sam.  I was so glad to see him return to the forefront.  I enjoyed learning about Sam’s family.  They are loving, wonderful people (not to be confused with Sam’s terrible family on True Blood).  Sam’s brother is getting married and even though he’s not a shifter, people protest.  Much of the trouble is caused by a nasty neighbour and a long lost “friend”, of Sookie’s, Sarah Newlin.  It’s nice to find out what happened to her.  Quinn even makes an appearance.  Small Town Wedding brought me back to what I love about the series, especially after a disappointing Dead Reckoning.  

Small Town Wedding takes place before Dead Reckoning and it had a publication date that put it before Dead Reckoning’s release, so why was it pushed back?  The only thing I could think of was the interview with Alan Ball about True Blood.  It was not a feature I remember seeing in the book originally, so I’m guessing it was a late addition.  It’s a good interview, just like the one with series author, Charlaine Harris.  Part of me wishes I had the chance to read the stories in the right order, but another part of me is okay that I read it after, since I was disappointed with the last book.  I also appreciate that the interviews with Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris distinguish the television series and the book series as two separate worlds.  Ball used Harris’s books as source material, but has taken many of the characters (for example, Tara) in different directions. 

This book is definitely a “companion”, it’s really only for fans of the series.  There are some things I didn’t really need, like a summary of the entire series, though it was nice to be reminded of some of the good things and corrected on a couple of things I remembered differently.  I didn’t really like the quiz, mostly because I didn’t know any of the answers.  (I wonder if anyone could get a pass on those questions.)  There are a lot fun things in the book.  I like the character list.  I think it’ll be helpful in a series this long.  I also really like the recipes.  Not that I’ve tried any of them yet, but I enjoy cooking and I’d like to try out some of Bon Temps’s favourites.  The Sookie Stackhouse Companion is a welcome addition to the series.

Side Note:  I know that the next two books will be the end of the series.  On one hand, I’m sad to see it go; I’ve really enjoyed the Southern Vampires.  On the other hand, Dead Reckoning was not that great.  Dead in the Family was better, but I’m in the minority on that opinion.  I have hopes for Deadlocked.  However, if it is on the same level as Dead Reckoning I’m glad that Harris will be ending the series soon.

A Touch Of Dead

A Touch of Dead is Charlaine Harris’s collection of Sookie Stackhouse short stories.  There were originally published in various paranormal anthologies, but now they’re all together.  That’s good, because as much as I love Sookie, I wasn’t going to buy five different books just to get these short stories.  (I do have one of the books, but I didn’t buy for the Sookie story.)  Here are my brief thoughts on each story.

Fairy Dust

Fairy Dust is a great little mini-mystery.  I enjoyed getting a deeper look at the fairies, Claude and Claudine as well as their relationship to Sookie.  I also liked finding out what happened to their triplet, Claudette.  The only problem I have is that from the novels, I thought Sookie didn’t know what happened to Claudette.  Maybe I don’t remember correctly. 

Harris admits in the introduction that she tried, but that the stories may not completely line up with the novels.  I have a second problem, though not a timeline one.  I found the language in the first half of the story a little dry.  It lacked the usual flair I enjoy in Harris’s writing.  At least it picked up by the end.

Dracula Night

Dracula Night doesn’t really give you any new insight into the story of Sookie, but it does let you find out something about Eric.  It’s a cute little story that finds Sookie in danger (as usual) and then pulling out of it.

I want to mention that I like many of these new takes on Dracula lore from books, television and movies.  It keeps things interesting.

One Word Answer

One Word Answer confused me.  This story deals with the death of Sookie’s cousin Hadley.  The story is different from the events in Definitely Dead.  There are similar bits, but unless I’m remembering it completely wrong, it’s still surprisingly different.  Why did Harris write this?  I still liked it.  Sookie solves the mystery of her cousin’s death (again?).

Lucky

Lucky was another good story.  It involved characters that are often passed over as residents of Bon Temps and never looked at closely.  By doing this, Harris avoids discontinuity issues and gives herself new characters to play with. 

Lucky had Sookie teaming up with Amelia Broadway, who after the last couple of novels, I’m not sure we’re going to ever see again.  I’d like too.  Amelia has been the most understanding of Sookie’s human friends.  She has been there for Sookie in a way that Tara and Jason haven’t.  (The character of Tara is VERY different from the book to the television show.)  Amelia is interesting, creative and will get right into anything Sookie needs her to.  I hope to see more of Amelia in future books.

Gift Wrap

Gift Wrap was easily my favourite of the stories.  It shows how much Niall loves Sookie and how unique Fairy love is.  Gift Wrap doesn’t affect the body of work; there are no new plot points.  It also doesn’t change anything that has already been laid down.  It’s written in the style that made me fall for the Sookie books.  It was a great final story to the collection.

Dead Reckoning

Minor Spoilers. I don’t think I really give anything away, but just in case…

Dead Reckoning is the latest (eleventh!) book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. Originally, this series was called The Southern Vampire Mysteries and when I reviewed each installment, even though it had become common to call them the Sookie Stackhouse series, I kept to the first series title. Today I don’t really want to. Where was the mystery in this installment? In previous books, though there are several different storylines, the main mystery has been something like, “Who killed Lafayette?”, “Who’s shooting shifters?” or “Where is Jason?”. I thought the mystery of Dead Reckoning was going to be “Who attacked Merlotte’s?” but that was discovered pretty quickly.

The book also wasn’t sexy enough. I know that’s not a complaint I often have about books, but this is Sookie Stackhouse. They’re the basis of the HBO series True Blood. There’s a reason the show is the way it is. This book lacked that sex appeal that the previous books had. It’s an aspect of the series I’ve come to expect. With the lack of mystery, the lack of sexiness was even more apparent

Dead Reckoning was all about enemies. There were past enemies, present enemies and dead enemies all causing problems for Sookie. Some were minor, some were major, in a terribly deadly way. Sookie spent the novel trying to figure out how to get rid of her enemies. There was a lot of death, gruesome bloody death, that was telling of how Sookie’s character has changed since way back when she dated Bill Compton.

One thing I did like is that we get to learn more about Sookie’s family history and where her telepathic gift/curse came from. We learn about her fairy heritage in some major ways. I also really liked the evolution of Dermot as a character. Though a fairy, I think he has the potential to be one of Sookie’s closest friends.

There were so many loose end at the end of this novel; Harris listed them all at the end. Sookie has to figure out a lot of different things. There were loose ends at the end of Dead In The Family that other readers complained about, but I didn’t mind the ending. I thought it was fine. It wasn’t a complete story the way some of the previous books had been, but I liked the ending. That’s not what I found at the end of Dead Reckoning. It ended with a checklist.

Though probably least favourite of the series, I still enjoyed Dead Reckoning. It gave me what I was in the mood for, supernatural mayhem. It took me only four days to read. There was a lot of action and adventure. The book was never boring. There is no way that a tangle of loose ends is going to put me off of this series. I’m itching to know what happens next to Sookie and the people in her life.


Other Reviews:
The Phantom Paragrapher  
All The Books I Can Read

If you have a review and would like me to add it, please leave a comment below.

True Blood Covers From Entertainment Weekly

Some more fantastic True Blood pics thanks to Stargazing.

The Sweet Stuff: The Top Ten “Awww” Moments in Books

The Broke and The Bookish want to know this week, what are the Top Ten "Awww" Moments In Books (those cute lines, charming actions, kisses, or any other sentimental moment that made you say "AWWW!"

The only way to explain the “Aww” moment is to include spoilers. They’re kept to a sentence or two, but you’ve been warned. So here are my top six in no particular order.

1. When Peeta gave Katniss the pearl in Catching Fire.

2. When Luke gave Becky back the Denny and George scarf in Confessions of a Shopaholic.

3. When Gabriel hides June Beans in Rhine’s meal trays in Wither.

4. The final time Clare sees Henry when she’s an old lady at the end of The Time Traveler’s Wife.

5. When Harry, Ron, Hermione & Ginny are all sitting together in the Gryffindor common room in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and you think, this is how it should always be.

6. When Eric has Sookie’s driveway re-graveled at the end of Club Dead. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but I thought it was so thoughtful.

This one was difficult for me. I guess I don’t read a lot of sweet books. I’m sure there will be a few I’ll see as I look through the lists this week and wonder why I didn’t think of it, but this list was definitely one of the shorter ones for me.

What are your favourite sweet moments?

It’d Be A Nice Place To Visit, But I Wouldn’t Want To Live There

This week’s Top Ten from The Broke and The Bookish: Top Ten Settings In Books (All those real or imagined locations/worlds you loved reading about OR settings you think would be perfect in a book). So, not all these places are where I’d actually like to live, but it would be interesting to see them the way I imagine. Some of them are easier to visit than others. These settings, I think, are all places that really contribute to the story; they have their own character or personality. So, in no particular order, my Top Ten Settings in Books.

1. Panem, from The Hunger Games Trilogy. I’d only like to go here if I had no risk of getting hurt. Each district seems to have its own personality. The Capitol sounds like a crazily over-indulgent city.

2. The English village Samantha Sweeting ran away to in The Undomestic Goddess. I don’t remember the name of it and I can’t seem to find it on the interweb, but it sounds just lovely. This village let Samantha find herself.

3. Staples. Yup, that’s right, Staples. That big box store with all the office supplies. Staples is the setting for Douglas Coupland’s, The Gum Thief. I adored this book. Making the emotional turmoil of the two main characters take place while they work at their job at Staples is just brilliant!

4. Bon Temps from the Sookie Stackhouse Series. It’s just so hot and mysterious.

5. Middle Earth. Do I really need to explain this one?

6. Narnia. Do I need to explain this one too?

7. Mid-World is the world of Roland, the last Gunslinger from Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. I wouldn’t want to live there since it’s falling apart, but I’d have liked to see it in its prime. Now, the strangest, scariest, deadliest things happen there.

8. Faerûn is the world of Forgotten Realms. It’s all magic and legend. There is good and evil, but still the possibility of change.

9. The Cottage that Mikael Blonkvist lived in during The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (minus the serial killer). It just seemed like a good place to read and write and get away from what’s bothering you.

10. Ancient Greece, which is the setting of so many stories. I was thinking particularly The Penelopiad, from Penelope’s point of view. Atwood’s take on it is interesting.

Where would you like to see?

Dead In The Family

Dead In The Family is Charlaine Harris’s tenth book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries.. Ten books about Sookie Stackhouse and her eventful life! I think this might be the only long series where I’ve read every novel in it.

The title of book ten is very appropriate to what the story is about, family. We get an expanded look at Sookie’s family. Sam has to deal with his family problems. New light is shone on Bill’s vampiric family. Eric opens up to Sookie about his family, then his Maker shows up, complicating their lives. Death is also a theme among a couple of these families. Someone dies or a death in the past has repercussions in the present.

In this installment, possibly more than any of the others, the reader really gets to see how Sookie has changed as a person. Sookie was, perhaps, idealistic in the first book, Dead Until Dark. So much has happened since then. Things that Sookie once thought were wrong, don’t seem so bad anymore. What she had to endure in the last book, Dead and Gone has really affected her. Her morality has shifted; she has problems calling herself a Christian. You see Sookie change throughout the series, but I think Dead In The Family underlines that change.

I know Dead In The Family has gotten mixed reviews. Some have called it just a “set-up” book and now they’re waiting for the next one. I don’t completely agree. I’m with the people who enjoyed it. Even though there are a bunch of loose ends just waiting for the next installment, I feel that Dead In The Family gives us more knowledge about our main characters than some of the other books have.

Other Reviews:
The Steel Bookshelf
Lucybird’s Book Blog
On A Pale Star
Let me know if you've reviewed it and I'll add your link.

Dead and Gone

Dead and Gone may be one of the best and saddest books in Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampires series. Sookie suffers more pain and loss than anyone should have to endure. When someone blames the vampires, (they were the ones who came out first,) Sookie is now at the point where she is inclined to agree. Sookie has loved and befriend vampires. They are frequently the only ones she can relax her telepathic block around, but if they had had remained hidden, would she be in her current position? Maybe but, maybe not. Some of her trouble has to do with who she is related to, some her inclination to help people and some because of the way she was born.

I really enjoyed Dead and Gone. I enjoyed Sookie’s separate moments with Eric, Bill and Sam. It makes you question who she’s going to end up with. The last book had a few revelations in it. This one had more and these much more shattering. Small Spoiler!: Poor Claudine. Really? Really?! Did that have to happen to her? I was so sad. I’m done.

I don’t feel like I can say too much more without giving away not only the plot of this novel, but also parts of the entire series. I don’t read many ongoing series and perhaps this one is the most addicting. I’m looking forward to Dead In The Family which is waiting patiently on my bookshelf. I really want to know who Sookie’s great-grandfather meant. Dead and Gone was a fantastic addition to a series that keeps dragging me back for more.

The Joy of Vampire Sex: 'True Blood' on Rolling Stone

The cover of Rolling Stone is hot! It's amazing what books can do these days.
The Joy of Vampire Sex: 'True Blood' on Rolling Stone's Latest Cover Rolling Stone Culture

True Blood

I just finished watching the HBO series True Blood. It was fabulous! I was initially hesitant to watch it. I’m a fan of the Charlaine Harris books and didn’t want to be disappointed with their interpretation on television. However, a friend who had read the Sookie Stackhouse books at about the same time as me, recommended True Blood. She loves Eric. After watching the series, I can see why.

True Blood is based on the Harris books, but it’s not quite the same. The vampires seem a bit meaner. In the books, I’m rooting for Eric and Sookie, but on the show, Eric might be too “evil” for me. So, I’m for Bill on the show. Season one is the first book, season two is the second, and there are more differences than just the vampires’ behaviour. What happens to Jason and his reaction to these circumstances are a significant change. Amy and Jessica are new characters. Lafayette is still alive. The maenad went from a flash in the pan to a primary pain. These changes are fantastic and fun.

I wonder how True Blood interprets Club Dead in season three. Who are they going to cast as Alcide Herveaux? Are Sophie-Anne and Hadley going to make another appearance? How will Eric and Sookie get closer when she’s so disgusted with him now? With the end of season two, they’ve already changed the kidnapping. I’m eager for season three.

From Dead To Worse

What just happened?! That was maybe the best ending of the whole series. More than any of the other books, it makes me want to get the next one right now! This is a book of surprises and change. When something happened and I thought it ought to be the end of the book, there was so much more. story to tell. This book was filled with excitement and mystery; you really didn’t know what was going to happen next. I can’t really say much without giving the story away. If you’re a fan of Sookie Stackhouse, From Dead To Worse does not disappoint.

Dead As A Doornail, Definitely Dead, All Together Dead

In Dead as a Doornail there’s the packmaster contest, a sniper and Tara’s new beau. It’s all twisted. Sookie gets sucked into these situations by being a caring person.

Definitely Dead has
Sookie dating a new man, trying to
figure out who is attacking her and cleaning out her dead cousin’s apartment. I actually wish there was a story that looked at Sookie and Hadley’s relationship, maybe with some sort of resolution. It’s still another great and frightening adventure for Sookie.

The vampire summit is the centre of All Together Dead. There are some hot scenes, bonding and Barry. Barry the Bellboy telepath from Living Dead In Dallas returns and it’s an interesting reunion. I hope he make appearances in future books.

Each book finds Sookie in peril. Most of it stems from her falling for Bill Compton. Though they aren’t a couple, his presence still ripples through her life. The sniper, however, is not Bill’s fault. With each book, Sookie learns not only more about the magical world around her, but more about herself. There are aspects of who she is that Sookie is proud of, parts she doesn’t understand and things she doesn’t like. I like that each book isn’t a flat story with a flat lead character. The supernatural world has depth and so does Sookie Stackhouse.

Dead to the World

I am definitely on Team Eric after Dead to the World. Charlaine Harris delivers again. With each book, I’m loving Sookie Stackhouse more and more. She’s inventive, tough and self-educated. She’s not a damsel in distress. She can think her way out of dangerous situations. Her bravery, however, can land her in a lot of trouble. At least Sookie is able to handle everything thrown at her. Harris has created a great lead character, of whom we can be proud.

Club Dead

I think that I am now officially on Team Eric. How can Bill think Sookie would stay with him after what he did? I was hoping that Eric and Pam were wrong about what Bill was doing in Mississippi. I suppose there wasn’t really a need for them to lie to her. The truth pushed her more towards Eric anyway.

With each novel, I get more and more involved. I want to know what happens to Sookie. How will her life become more tangled with supernatural beings? Will she ever be able to have a normal relationship? Could she date a regular human guy even if she found one she liked? Harris does a great job keeping Sookie and all the characters fresh and interesting. There seems to be more to discover with every story.

PS: I knew who killed Falcon the whole time.

Living Dead In Dallas

Living Dead In Dallas is the second of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels. I couldn’t put it down. Sookie found herself involved in another vampire mystery. She also found herself in a human one as well. In both instances, it was the humans who hurt her most, not the feared undead. There are fanatics and fangs, shapeshifters and werewolves. There are mythical creatures you don’t expect. This story was a ton of fun and I’m eager to read about what happens to Sookie next.

Dead Until Dark

I can definitely see why they turned Charlaine Harris’s books into a series. It’s not just some gothic, vampire romance. There’s a mystery to be solved. Sookie Stackhouse is a character who grows. She’s a shy waitress who has spent a lifetime hiding her “disability” and because of it, most of the people in her small town either think she’s slow or crazy. No one takes her seriously. She’s pretty, but doesn’t date. Then a handsome vampire moves to town and her whole life changes.

I love how strong and intelligent Sookie is. She isn’t stuck in the same place through the story. She learns and adapts; she changes. Something I find missing in the MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead books. Confidence is something she gains. Bill is the love interest of this first novel, but from the story, you can tell he might not be her only one. Harris creates possibilities for Sookie. Dead Until Dark isn’t about Sookie being saved by the vampires or other supernatural beings in her life. She saves herself.