Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

The thriving romance-with-the-undead genre is funny to me. The classic literary versions of the old vampire myths, like Dracula by Bram Stoker, definitely have a sensual component. But the sexuality is subliminal -- it seems that the Victorians found it easier to see a young virgin ravaged by a blood-sucker than to actually talk about people having, heaven forbid, sex. But it was that subliminal sexuality that gave vampires their charm and made the stories so compelling. In this enlightened age, on the other hand, we have no use for subliminal sex. We put it right out there. And vampire novels like Dead Until Dark are about, well, Doing It with a vampire, with a little blood-drinking thrown in to add sexual spice.

On that note, the thing I liked best about Dead Until Dark, the first novel in Charlaine Harris's popular Southern Vampire series, was the humor. I loved the premise. Vampires do exist, and they've come out of the closet. Now they're a recognized minority group, with the same rights and privileges as any other. And while there are occasional "unfortunate incidents," as the vampire community dubs the brutal killing of humans, the Japanese have invented synthetic blood which can be purchased in any bar, and this keeps most undead creatures on the straight and narrow.

Vampires have their own bars and even their own hotel in New Orleans, which is sort of a mecca for their kind (y'know, the whole Anne Rice thing). Curious tourists flock to these places. And some humans can't resist these creatures, even becoming sex-crazed groupies -- they're called "Fangbangers." Seriously, Fangbangers? Looking around at our contemporary culture, y'know -- I can kind of see it.

Our heroine, Sookie Stackhouse, is a cocktail waitress in a small town in Louisiana. While she's 25 and very pretty, her dating experience is almost nil. This is because of her "disability" -- she can read minds. The effort involved in shutting out the torrent of a person's thoughts makes relationships too difficult. When Bill the Vampire enters her bar, she finds, to her great relief, that she can't hear his thoughts. He's also extremely sexy and, having lived through the Civil War, has a wealth of experiences to share.

Sookie is hopelessly attracted to Bill, and she is definitely ready for romance. But when a string of killings, including several women known to be "Fangbangers," strikes the town, Bill appears to be a likely suspect.

Not as complex or as dark as Let the Right One In, this was a change of pace for me and a fun read. I didn't fall in love with the relationship between Sookie and Bill. While Bill the Vampire didn't annoy me as much as Edward (count me as a Twilight hater), that whole dark, twisted, bad-boy romance thing just doesn't do it for me.

It was a sexy book though, and a decent mystery, and Charlaine Harris drew me in with her vibrant writing and sense of humor. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading the rest of the series.


Rating: 3

5- Cherished Favorite	4 - Keep in My Library	3 - Good Read	2 - Meh	1 - Definitely Not For Me

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

 

Sookie is working at Merlotte's Bar, in a small Louisiana town, when Deputy Sheriff Andy Bellefleur staggers in, drunk as a skunk. He's in no condition to drive home, but when he comes back to pick up his car the next morning, someone has left a corpse in it. With no viable clues pointing to the perpetrator -- only the rumor that the victim had been to a "sex party" that night -- Andy is the prime suspect.

He's not the only one with problems. Working full time in a bar is not an easy life, but for 26-year-old Sookie Stackhouse, it's doubly difficult. She's a telepath, and she's spent most of her life learning to shield her mind from other people's thoughts. At moments, she lets her guard down, and she has to "hear" all the lustful and spiteful thoughts bar patrons are afraid to say aloud. That's one of the things that attracted her to her boyfriend, Bill, who is at times sexy and sweet and at other times dark and creepy. She can't read Bill's thoughts because he's not human -- he's a 150-year-old vampire.

Vampires have always existed, but they've only been out of the closet -- or out of the coffin -- for a short time. Since the Japanese invented a form of synthetic blood that can conveniently be heated in a microwave, vampires have come out of hiding. But they are still a very different race, with their own hierarchical system of rule, their own laws, and their own ways of doing things.

Sookie has agreed to use her telepathic abilities to help the vampires of Dallas, who are struggling with an unsolved mystery of their own. This leads her on a strange adventure that includes being surrounded by vengeful vampires, visiting a violent, fanatical church, and an encounter with a shapeshifter.  

Living Dead in Dallas, the second in Charlaine Harris's popular Southern Vampire series, is an unusual mix of genres. It has elements of a hot bodice-ripper romance, a genre I actively dislike. It didn't really work for me as a mystery. There weren't enough clues and intriguing possibilities strewn throughout the book -- the solutions to the mysteries just kind of presented themselves. And the vampire lore, in itself, is not all that compelling.

So why did I enjoy this novel? While none of these elements, by itself, worked for me, the combination of all of it, woven together by Charlaine Harris's gift for storytelling and edgy but good-hearted sense of humor, makes a great read. Her unique take on vampires, and their ambivalent, often salacious, relationships with humans, is hilarious. The story, with all its twists and turns, is thoroughly unique. While I never fell in love with the Bill/Sookie pairing, it does have elements of a real relationship. And this author's world, populated with vampires, shapeshifters, a maenad, and -- apparently -- werewolves, seamlessly joined to the world we know, seems believable and is a lot of fun.

 I definitely recommend this novel, for imaginative, funny light reading, to folks who enjoy supernatural creatures.  

Read More Reviews: Avid Book Reader; Rhapsody in Books; Fyrefly's Book Blog


Rating: 3

5- Cherished Favorite	4 - Keep in My Library	3 - Good Read	2 - Meh	1 - Definitely Not For Me

Southern Vampire Series Picks Up Steam

Cursed with the gift of telepathy, Sookie Stackhouse, a native of the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps, has never been accepted by normal mortals. Her abilities frighten people, so the sexy, blond 26-year-old waitress is viewed as a freak of nature. However, there is much more to the world than meets the eye, and Sookie befriends -- and is romanced by -- various supernatural creatures, including vampires, werewolves, and shape shifters.

The three sequels to Dead Until Dark and Living Dead in Dallas continue her story, adding a new mystery -- and some new supernatural twists -- in each novel. Sookie's romantic adventures, and the occasional steamy sex scene, are fun, but not enough to hold my interest. The mysteries are intriguing, but often predictable. And the characters, while quirky and delightful, would not be richly developed enough to stand on their own, without the paranormal mystery and romance. None of these elements, on its own, would make a particularly good novel. But somehow the blend of all of them, illuminated by a liberal amount of humor and local color, creates stories that are unique, imaginative, and tremendous fun, not to mention dangerously addictive.

Sookie is a warm, funny and likable character. Despite the suspension of disbelief required to become absorbed in her story, full of wild adventures and supernatural twists, she is a believable character. She's full of vitality, compassionate, brave, flawed and very "real." I think this seamless combination of a believable heroine -- along with humor and the minutiae of everyday life -- with wild paranormal adventures is part of what makes this series work. It's easy to slip into Charlaine Harris's fantasy world and go along for the ride.

 

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 3)  Bill, a 150-year-old vampire, has been Sookie's first love in every sense of the word. But he's been immersed in a major project, a computer registry for vampires, and has been distant and preoccupied. Then he leaves the state, and his boss Eric, who was a Viking in his mortal life, suspects Bill was kidnapped. Sookie has reason to believe Bill may have betrayed her, but she still feels she owes it to him to find him and bring him home safely.

This quest takes her to "Club Dead" in Jackson, Mississippi, a nightclub for supernaturals. She's accompanied by Alcide Herveaux, a kind, sexy man with a supernatural quirk of his own. There she tries to peek into people's minds, probing for information about Bill. This investigation leads her into a dangerous vampire's lair, as well as into betrayal and heartbreak.   

 

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 4) Sookie is estranged from her former boyfriend, Bill, though things are far from resolved. And her life is becoming much more complicated. She finds a man wandering at the side of the road, half-naked, disoriented and confused. It is none other than the dangerous, sexy vampire Eric. A witch has hexed him, causing him to lose his memory.

Sookie takes him under her wing, keeping him safe until his memory and personality can be restored. He amuses himself, in her house, by watching taped episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And Sookie find this Eric -- gentle, confused, and grateful -- hard to resist.

To make matters worse, Sookie's brother Jason -- her only living family member -- disappears. Jason is not particularly bright, and he's a womanizer to boot. But when he's been gone several days, Sookie starts to worry. Is his kidnapping connected to what happened to Eric? And why are these witches preying on the community?

This novel, which was my favorite in the series, introduced new elements to the story. This includes the nearby town of Hotshot, a small, in-bred community whose residents are all a little "different," which has a rather Lovecraftesque quality. And I loved the way Charlaine Harris blended facets of the rural South which I know and love, in a gently satirical way, into the story. In this passage, Bon Temps residents are searching for Jason:

The search party was the popular activity for the day in Bon Temps. Not only do people like to help in our small town -- but also rumors had inevitably begun circulating about the mysterious wild animal footprint ... most of the men had come armed -- well, actually, most of the men were always armed. Hunting is a way of life around here, the NRA provides most of the bumper stickers, and deer season is like a holy holiday.

I loved this combination of humor, the supernatural, and the quirky, familiar rhythm of small-town Southern life.   

 

Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 5) A sniper is pursuing local shape shifters, and for reasons I'd prefer to let you discover for yourself, Sookie's brother Jason is likely to be a prime suspect. Still struggling with her unresolved romantic attachments to vampires Bill and Eric, Sookie is anxious to help solve this mystery before the next full moon, when shape shifters are likely to seek revenge.

She is also worried about her friend Tara, who is involved with a dangerous vampire. And to complicate matters further, she is drawn into a campaign for leader of a werewolf pack, a brutal contest that's likely to be decided by treachery and sheer ruthlessness.

Like all the other books in this series, this novel blends wildly imaginative elements with the details of quotidian life, making it easy to slip into this author's world. And like the rest of the series, it is both disturbing and laugh out loud funny, and it's definitely not for the squeamish.


Rating: 3.5

5- Cherished Favorite	4 - Keep in My Library	3 - Good Read	2 - Meh	1 - Definitely Not For Me