|
This book was very exciting and it was fun to read the details that are missing from the series. The books are really good. I really am not that in to vampires but this story is just charming,new, and just addicting. I have been watching True Blood and LOVE it so I decided to read the books as well. I was very impressed.
The series, having gotten its start in 2001, has experienced a surge in popularity due to its adaptation into an HBO series titled "True Blood" (starring Anna Paquin as the inimitable Sookie). Will her characters live and breathe or will they stay strictly within the confines of their pages.After reading this book in less than two days (a lofty goal for me, considering I stay home with two young children), I have my answer. When she rescues Bill one evening from a duo of Drainers (people who steal and sell vampire blood for its regenerative and Viagra-like properties), she finds that she cannot read his mind, a relief to her and a source of attraction.
Will she make it readable, believable. Until then, my friends, sink your fangs into this delicious tidbit of supernatural Southern gothic. I just love vampire novels. "Twilight" was a hit with me (as it was with many), so when I stumbled upon Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries, I was tickled beyond belief. Harris had me at her first sentence: "I'd been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar." It was at that point that I realized with utter certainty that I'm going to DEVOUR this series."Dead Until Dark", the first publication in Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries which has spawned nine books thus far (the tenth will be released in October), follows the travails of telepathic bar waitress Sookie Stackhouse (a memorable name, no doubt) and her subsequent romance with a vampire named Bill Compton. On top of that, vampires and other creatures that go bump in the night have become commonplace in Bon Temps, the sleepy Louisiana town where Sookie resides.
If you want a quick cinematic overview of the first novel with a charismatic and talented cast, point yourself in the direction of True Blood's first season, now available on DVD.Bottom line: A playful and exciting vampire series that just might have Stephenie Meyer biting her nails a bit, "Dead Until Dark" is the start of something good and though Harris seems to be spitting out the travails of Sookie Stackhouse year after year (there's an impressively short reprieve between each book), it will be nonetheless disappointing when it all ends. Bill appears aloof at first but is deeply entranced by Sookie and it doesn't take long for the sexual tension between them to build, as well as the element of danger. Unlike the ultra-serious "Twilight" novels, "Dead Until Dark" is loosy-goosey, playful and oft tongue-in-cheek; readers will get a kick out of Harris's offbeat terminology ("fang-bangers", "mainstreaming") and a wry humor that makes itself evident in Sookie's responses to people as well as her inner thoughts. If you have a pre-teen interested in this series (though this is not classified as Young Adult Fiction) and you're concerned about content, this might not be a good choice (Twilight was cited for this reason by more conservative readers). A blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty in her mid-20's, Sookie eschews the dating scene due to her self-described "disability" - the cacophony of people's thoughts drives her mad and she has avoided taking a lover for that very reason ("Can you imagine knowing everything your sex partner is thinking. There are also a considerable amount of steamy sexual situations in the book, Bill's and Sookie's romance heating up rather quickly as well as some characters' bedroom proclivities discussed in somewhat unflattering detail. Of course, being introduced to a new author always has its risks.
Someone is offing some of the town's more promiscuous female citizens but when the perpetrator begins to target Sookie as well as her family, she begins utilizing her mind-reading abilities to solve the mystery, making of herself a rare brand of detective for the supernatural population as well as her fellow humans. Along the order of `Gosh, look at that mole.her butt is a little big.wish she'd move to the right a little.why doesn't she take the hint and.' You get the idea."). Will she keep me interested. Right.
She's a quirky, confident woman who works in a bar as a waitress. A friend recommended the True Blood series to me and when I read that it came from a book series, I just had to get the book. Although I still haven't watched TB, I have finished reading Charlaine Harris' first novel in the series. I'm looking forward to watching it on DVD, although I know that novels rarely translate well to TV.
It's fun, and refreshing, yet has enough tension and sadness weaved in to complete it. I enjoyed reading about Sookie and seeing the way she viewed the world. Naturally, suspicion falls on the new being in town and Sookie has to use her disability to try to help her beau, her brother and herself.Overall, a great story. Suddenly danger and tragedy seem to follow her.
Normally, when I think about characters with supernatural powers, I think about cocky or arrogant people who flaunt what makes them special. Then she meets her vampire (as vampires are now an accepted part of society) and her world changes. I wasn't disappointed. She has learned to block out most voices, but some still come through.
She considers her ability to read peoples' thoughts a disability. I was immediately hooked. Not with Sookie.
In this novel, vampires are allowed to live among humans, and everyone is aware that they are vampires (something different from the Twilight series). Shortly after Sookie and Bill meet, several murders happen around the town to women who have been known to associate with vampires, and have been found with bite marks, making it slightly more difficult for Bill to blend in.There is a great mix of romance and mystery in this book, and I did not figure out the mystery bit until it was revealed to me in the manuscript (which I love, as some mystery novels have rather obvious outcomes). I had heard of individuals raving about True Blood, a show on HBO, but was not much interested because I'm not big into fantasy/vampires (I did read the Twilight series and found it enjoyable, but had no desire to seek other vampire fiction). Bill has been trying to "mainstream," or drink artificial blood and actually be a part of a community. I am very much looking forward to reading the remaining books in this series - I find myself wondering how Bill and Sookie are doing as I am in between books, so I am glad there are several others for me to read. The television series eventually got book enthusiasts talking about the writing the television show was based on, which prompted me to give it a try.In the beginning of the book I thought I had perhaps made a mistake - the vampire theme was still slightly sketchy to me, and lots of characters were being introduced, making it more of a complicated read. Eventually I got everything straight and found myself loving the plot - Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in a bar, meets a vampire (Bill).
The book is a very light easy read. So different from the many other vampire books out there. At first I didn't want to read the books because I didn't want anything given away.
dating a vampire has to be the ultimate "bad boy". It's also filled with a little suspense & mystery. I think the story line is refreshing.
I became a fan of the HBO series, True Blood. The relationship between Sookie & Bill is an exciting one. Looking forward to reading the 2nd book in the series.
When I found out the first season was based on the first book of this series, I read it just as season 2 was starting. Perfect for summer or travel reading.
|
