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Dead Until Dark: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel |  | Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Ace
Category: eBooks
This item is no longer available
Rating:  739 reviews
Sales Rank: 134
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 292
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
ASIN: B000OCXHRW
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
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Product Description
Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 739
 nice, but sooooo worn and boring September 7, 2010
Axel Bock (Darmstadt)
well, I really don't do the vampire theme. I read Anita Blake - Vampire Hunter years ago, liked it, and stopped when the story got boring and the theme too worn out. The reviews (and the HBO / Anna Paquin combination) made me give this a try.
In short I can say two things: One, "well, nice". Never gripping, mostly boring, mildly entertaining, never surprising. Two - "sooooooooo worn out". Charlene simply does not add new value to the theme. The same as the rest, but only average.
Some specifics. First, the "Vampire=Virus" thing is too anxious, and really does not pay off to the story. Makes everone look stupid in the process, really. Also, the world and the characters are totally shallow. Imagine: Someone can read minds. But does she do it? No. Okay, she does not like it, but NOTHING about the "interesting" things you could do with it. I don't think a single human being would behave like it - not without a massive compulsion, which Sookie does not have. Also the people behave totally one-dimensional, no one really has an even somewhat complex charachter, which - for example - manifests in not a single person being nervous around a (mind: proven!) mind-reader. I would be. Not so anyone in this book. So wasted!!! And nothing which plays with it - just an idea: Imagine a Poker game with a mind-reader. THAT might be an intersting scene :) . (You can win against one, though).
Also the story folds around Sookie, but wouldn't hold up a single real-world-check. It's as if all people only act in relation to Sookie, as if life would stop if you wouldn't continue looking at her. But that's a flaw many books share if the world, the characters or the story is not well-thought. Speaking of the world ... the accusation of Sookies brother takes ages to form. Then it is shallow as hell, but no one really notices, but Sookie. And there are NO compelling indices apart form the too obvious, and really no one reacts to that. People get killed, and other people don't do so much as notice. Buildings get burned down, and well, nothing really happens. And then the story really get going on the last 20 pages or so, and it's over.
Then the Sex. Well, I suppose each Vampire Novel Must Have Sex is a rule now. Nice. Yeah, cool, whatever. That she's a virgin is a new touch. But it does not even add to the story. Somehow all that seems ... as if it would not really fit the story, or influence it. So why bother? With the Anne Rice novels it is different - there it is integral to the story, to the characters, the LIFE of them. Here it's just ... there. Like a cup of coffee. Take it or leave it out - makes no difference. Which makes me ask "Why bother at all?".
It's no good. All too easy. Amused me slightly and killed my time.
Maybe I'll give the series a try. Might be better than the book.
 Fun to Read September 7, 2010
Specreq (Washington D.C.)
If you can stand to not take yourself seriously and you enjoy a good romp through a book, then the Southern Vampire Mysteries are for you. I've explained it to friends as a trashy romance novel thats fun to read. AND, if you are a True Blood fan, its even more fun to get backstory about details that are left out on-screen. Its a fast and easy read so even if its not for you, it goes quickly. As for me, I plan on reading every one in the series!
Augments the HBO Series nicely September 2, 2010
A. Nandy (Washington, DC USA)
Tells the story of Sookie, a mind reader, and her adventures in a small southern town called Bon Temps. In Harris's world, Vampires are "mainstreaming" with society, thanks to artificial blood that keeps them alive. Sookie is a charming character with strong values but an open mind. She can sometimes be nieve, but her character is none-the-less believable and relatable. There is a mystery in Bon Temps, and Sookie is going to find out what is going on. This is a bit different than the series, making it enjoyable even to those who have seen the HBO show.
Red Wine and Vampires Book Review September 2, 2010
Red Wine and Vampires (Houston, TX)
SPOILER ALERT!!! In terms of paranormal romance series this is my favorite. This was the first series of vampire books that I read after Twilight lured me into this world. I really enjoy how Charlaine Harris eases you into this time where vampires exist alongside humans. Harris makes all of the characters likable and situations believable. I highly recommend reading this series. There is so much action that you wont be able to put the books down. Here is the wiki breakdown from the first installment in The Southern Vampire Mysteries.
In Dead Until Dark, Sookie Stackhouse is a telepath who lives in a world where vampires have recently come out to the public and become legal citizens, following the development by the Japanese of a synthetic blood. "Tru Blood" makes it possible for vampires to live in the open without the need to hunt humans for sustenance. Sookie is a waitress and she lives with her grandmother, Adele Stackhouse, and has an older brother,Jason. Sookie falls in love with a vampire, a Civil War veteran named Bill Compton. Bill's mind is 'silent' to Sookie. In his company, she is free from the constant strain of blocking or ignoring the thoughts of the humans around her. In his first visit, Sookie saves him from the Rattrays (vampire drainers), and Bill returns the favor the next night when the Rattrays attack Sookie. In the meantime, there are several murders in Bon Temps, and people believe that vampires are behind the murders because many of the bodies are of women who have been known to hang out with vampires, and most have been bitten. The Bon Temps police suspect Sookie's brother Jason and arrest him because he has been romantically linked to two of the victims. Sookie wants to help her brother and asks Bill to take her to a vampire bar called Fangtasia in nearby Shreveport. Fangtasia is owned by Eric Northman, a vampire sheriff who is much older and more powerful than Bill. Eric soon discovers that Sookie can be useful and orders Bill to have her use her telepathic ability to determine the identity of the person who has been stealing from his bar. Sookie finds out that Eric's partner, Longshadow (a vampire), has been stealing money, and she almost gets killed in the process. Eric saves Sookie's life by staking Long Shadow when he attacks her. Back in Bon Temps, Sookie finds her grandmother Adele slaughtered in the kitchen. Bill, concerned with Eric's power over him and Sookie, decides to improve his own position within their vampire hierarchy. He asks Bubba, a dim-witted vampire, to protect Sookie while he is gone. Sookie discovers that her boss Sam is a shape-shifter when she lets a stray dog sleep beside her and finds a naked Sam in the morning. While Bill is gone, Sookie discovers that the murderer is her brother's friend Rene Lenier. He almost kills her, but she fights back. Badly injured, Sookie wakes up in the hospital and finds Bill by her side. Bill tells Sookie that he has become his area's investigator, working under Eric.
Check out my other recommendations at [...]
 A SHOCK TO FANS OF THE SHOW August 30, 2010
Sesho (Pasadena, TX USA)
Sookie Stackhouse has been waiting for something her whole life but she didn't know exactly what it was until a vampire named Bill walks into Merlotte's, the bar where she works waiting tables. In the world of Dead Until Dark vampires are real. In fact, they've been out of the closet so to speak going on about two years. Everybody knows about them and they've even began to try to assimilate themselves into mainstream American society.Well, SOME of them have. Some live lawless lives using and preying on humans like they've done for thousands of years. But Bill is different. He's come home to the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps after 200 years of wandering. He wants to stay in Bon Temps. Become part of the town. Of course, just because everyone knows about the existence of vampires doesn't mean they aren't still feared.
People fear Sookie as well. It's well known that she has a "gift". Actually, Sookie calls it a "disability". Sookie can read the minds of the people around her at will. Over the years she's been able to sublimate those thoughts into white noise that she doesn't pay much attention to unless she wants to, but it's still a pain in the butt to always keep a shield up. It's also a real block to getting a date. She's 25 years old and still a virgin. But Bill is different. He's the first vampire she's ever met and she learns something about him that tickles her pink. She cannot hear Bill's thoughts. Finally, she can be around someone with whom she can experience some peace and quiet.
Just because it's a small town doesn't mean Bon Temps is a QUIET town. On the same night Bill shows up at Merlotte's, Sookie has to rescue him from a pair of white trash "drainers". Some people drain blood from vampires against their will because the blood has extraordinary healing and narcotic powers if drunk by a human. The drainers sell the blood to buyers like dealers selling coke. If the vampire dies in the process, well, that's just too bad. And then there's the problem of the mysterious murders of two young townswomen. Both of the girls just happen to have been waitresses at Merlotte's....just like Sookie! Sookie begins to think she might be next even as her fellow residents start to think that Bill might be responsible since the murders started just as he arrived in town.
I picked up this novel simply because I was such a big fan of HBO's True Blood tv series. I don't have cable so I either have to watch at somebody's house or wait until they come out on video. So I thought I'd start reading the books until I can see the third season. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed initially by this first book. Usually, the book is always deeper and more detailed than the live action version, but that isn't the case with Dead Until Dark. My first reaction is to say that the tv show is the superior version, but I really can't. The experience is too apple and orange for a couple of reasons.
The biggest difference between the tv show and the novel is the fact that the entire book is completely narrated from Sookie's point of view. She does read some minds when people are around her, but she has no first hand knowledge of scenes taking place outside of her direct involvement. The easiest way to see the difference is to imagine the True Blood tv show being cut down to only scenes where Sookie appears. It's a pretty drastic change and the novel is poorer for it.
Because of the limited viewpoint, the supporting characters occupy a lot less space in the book. For instance Lafayette is barely mentioned. His role probably occupies about 3 paragraphs total. And if you're looking for Tara and her addict mom, you'll search in vain in this first novel. There is also no Jessica, the young girl that Bill had to turn into a vampire towards the end of the first season. There are also characters that appear only in the novel.
The book is almost completely focused on Sookie and Bill's evolving relationship. This isn't a bad thing, it's just that True Blood has a pretty big spotlight for its ensemble cast whereas the novel shines a laser pointer almost exclusively on our two lovers. Jason, Sookie's brother, is present, but he's much more of an jerk, even to his sis. He is a very unlikeable dude. Jason's character in the tv show seems to be taken from a dumb, handsome, and loyal friend of Sookie's named JB du Rone who only appears in the book.
The aspect of the book that didn't change was the broad plotline of the serial killings of the Merlotte's waitresses and the search for their murderer. After my disappointment over the lack of continuity or comparable experience with the tv show, I began to accept that this was a totally different take on the story. I started to enjoy reading it then. Mostly because it was fun to be surprised at how different it was. Some characters are reversed, some stay the same, some are absent entirely. The same can be said of the action. So if you're gonna try these books, approach them with an open mind. See them and the the tv shows as different reflections of a prism. Personally, in the end, I have to say I enjoy the tv show more. But I had fun with the book and will continue reading the series.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 739
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