Dead Until Dark: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel

If you enjoy the show true blood, I'm not sure if you'll enjoy these books. There more of an easy read. If I hadn't watched the show I might be a bit confused as to what is actually going on cause the writing isn't very clear at times, but I still enjoyed the story line.

Having loved the True Blood TV series … actually, having DEVOURED the True Blood TV series … I thought I would enjoy these books.

No. Way.

From the first page, I knew I was going to be disappointed. The writing was horrible: there didn't seem to be any thought going into what was being written on paper, so the author had a tendency to write down EVERYTHING, whether it mattered or not.

The "love" scenes were horribly written. Worse than Harlequin romances.

Since I read the book, I've lent it to 3 other people to read and they've all had the same feeling - like they've been violated. By a book. I never knew that could be possible, but it sure is.

Of course, now I have the other 6 books that came in the box set and I don't think I'll get around to reading them. I think I'll stick with the TV show instead.

I am not into vampires whatsoever--it was beyond my genre of choosing. However, when a friend gave me this book to read, I couldn't put it down! I absolutely loved it.
So, if you aren't into Twilight (or anything along the lines), there is a good chance you will take on a liking for this one.

I found this story to be a refreshing take on the vampire story. The heroine is strong, independent and sassy. The book is written in a style that makes the mystery/horror/fantasy very amusing, funny and fun to read. Considering the topic you might assume that the book would be dark, but its really not.

For those who have watched True Blood, this first book is fairly similar with some prime differences you might not expect. After reading all of the books, my preference lies with the series of books rather than the series of television episodes. With that said, the books offer strong consistent characters who experience growth through life's natural (and in this series, unnatural) experiences and struggles.

"Dead Until Dark" was very entertaining. I've read the rest of the books in the series and I have to say that each book seems to top the one that came before it. It's a great series.

Great first book to the series!

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in small-town Louisiana with the unique ability of being able to read people's minds. Infact, she has trouble blocking out other's thoughts. When a vampire walks in to the bar, she knows right away and saves him from a couple trying to drain his blood to sell, putting him in her debt. Bill introduces himself and all Sookie hears is silence, she can't read his mind, which is a relief.

Sookie very quickly get sucked in (no pun intended) to the vampire world as she gets closer to Bill. However there's a murderer on the loose, killing women that have relationships with vampires and Sookie knows she could be on the hit list. Can the police catch the murderer before he gets to Sookie?

I actually picked this book up last year to read it but for some reason couldn't get in to it. This time I didn't have any problems, and found the book to be quite fun, though not as enjoyable as the Undead series by Mary Janice Davidson. About 75% of the way through the book I started getting a little tired of it and wished the story would move along a bit quicker. I'm going to try the next book in the series to see if I want to continue reading the entire series.

Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in a small town in Louisiana. She leads a quiet life because she has a disability, the ability to read minds. Bill, a vampire comes into the bar and Sookie is immediately attracted to him as she can not read his mind and therefore he is very peaceful to her.

Around the same time some young women who like to date vampires (fang-bangers) start being murdered. Sookie's brother has known all these women and is the main suspect. As Sookie's relationship with Bill grows, Sookie's grandmother is murdered and Sookie realizes she was the target and starts to get involved in finding the killer. This takes her deeper into the dark world of vampires.

As a side story, Sookie's boss is interested in her and happens to be a shape-shifter.

This mystery was just a little too easy to figure out. There were times I wanted to slap Sookie as she just didn't seem to care for her own well-being. I really don't know how I feel about the series and will wait for my daughter's reaction on the next in the series.

I must be one of the last people on the planet to read Dead After Dark. I also haven't had a chance (yet) to watch the True Blood series although because it's been all over the media I had a pretty good visual reference for the characters here without actually having to compare the two. I was able to just go along for the ride. And what a ride, I can definitely see now what all the fuss has been about.

Honestly I had a hard time putting this down. Harris has created the perfect mixture of paranormal romance, mystery and action. With intriguing, humorous characters and situations and an absorbing, fast moving plot. Her take on Vampiric society is fresh and fascinating and I appreciated how we were continually reminded that despite "coming out" vampires are still very much predators.

I also found Sookie to be incredibly relatable despite her "disability" and supernatural circumstances. Harris just has a way of making her feel all girl next door so that we discover everything right along with her. I also loved Harris's portrait of small town America and in this case it's unique bar patrons whom I felt like I knew. This could be in part because I'm from a small town and I also cocktailed for years so the characters seemed familiar to me. Whatever the case I'm glad I finally got around to reading this series.

Sookie lives in the real world of small town Louisiana. She is a pretty cocktail waitress, lives with her grandmother and because of her telepathic "disability" keeps to herself. The people in Bon Temps tend to think that Sookie's a little crazy because she knows things she shouldn't and acts strange while her mental "guard" is up.

Everything changes the day Bill walks into her bar and orders a bottle of synthetic blood. Bill is a vampire and ever since they entered mainstream society she's wanted to meet one. To make things even more interesting Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking, Bill might just be her perfect match, except of course for the fact that he's dead. Unfortunately soon after Bill arrives people start turning up dead, in particular waitresses. After an attack at her grandmother's house Sookie fears she might be next. Then there's Bill's creepy group of friends, the recent Elvis sightings, her brothers illicit behaviour and all of a sudden her boss isn`t quite who he appears to be either.

So like I said I really enjoyed this, the love scenes are steamy and dirty (think outdoors, mud, and covered in blood dirty) and Bill well he is just delicious in a dangerous bad boy wanting to brush your hair kinda way. The romance aspect here was very good. I also really liked Sam's character and appreciated how his true self wasn't revealed right away. Bubba was another awesome little addition and the many townsfolk and their idiosyncrasies were fantastic. There are some surprising moments here and I never really knew where things were going to go next. Although I'll be honest I had a tough time keeping straight who was who. Getting many of (the many) secondary characters mixed up so that even at the end when the killer was revealed I had to back track to figure out who it was. Can't recommend this one enough

So, no disrespect to Twilight, I find those books entertaining too, but if you're looking for something a little more grown up, give the Sookie Stackhouse series a try. There's an intelligence to Harris' writing, and it's an interesting spin on the vampire genre. In Harris' world, the existence of vampires is acknowledged (although how they came to be isn't exactly accurate) and there is an attempt by some to "mainstream" themselves, that is, live among the humans. In Dead Until Dark, there's a murderer running around killing women similar in profile to our Sookie, and due to her power (mind reading) she gets drawn into the investigation.The climax was very well done, I didn't guess who did it.

My only complaint would be that there are a couple very graphic depictions of sex. I'm not a prude and yet I still feel the need to warn about them, if that gives you an idea of what they're like. However, once you get past them, it's smooth sailing from them on.

This is a really great book to jump into with both feet. It has a little bit of everything, suspense, murder, mystery, fantasy... and yes dating a vampire as well. This read is anything but predictable. If you were a fan of the Twilight saga this is a definite, more adult must read. This is a refreshing twist on the typical teenage vampire love story. Set in small-town Louisiana this novel sets up a one of a kind atmosphere, Charlaine Harris writes so if you can picture yourself sitting in the bar that the main character Sookie Stackhouse works at. You are thrown into a world where vampires have just come out into the public eye, people are still wary and distrustful and murders surrounding people that associate with vampires are on the rise. This book will not do anything to educate or inspire, but let the unconventional romance between a telepathic barmaid and her boyfriend born over 100 years prior, simply entertain you.
Just be prepared to start an addiction that will last for the entire series. This talented author has written another nine books to compliment this first. With each book getting better and adding another element to intrigue. Although I would not suggest reading these books if you have already started watching the HBO television series called True Blood, as it differs greatly from the storyline of the novels and would provide for some confusion.

DEAD UNTIL DARK by Charlaine Harris

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK! I've loved vampires since I was very young, I read my first Anne Rice novel when I was around 12 years old and fell in love with it, but I've never read any of the "new" kind of vamps, so this book was something new for me. (Yes, that means I haven't read Twilight, gasp!) Well, I adore this book. It had the supernatural aspect of the vampires mixed perfectly with a wide array of characters, from the naive to the flamboyant. DEAD UNTIL DARK was thrilling, funny, sexy, and just plain wonderful. I did have to get used to the first person writing, which I don't think I've ever come across before, but once I did I ended up really liking the storytelling effect it had. I enjoyed all the characters immensely, they drawn you in completely. Before I had even finished this book I had already decided to read more of the series. I highly recommend it for vampire lovers (or should I say "fangbangers"? lol) as well as those new to the whole vampire novels scene. I mean, c'mon, who wouldn't want to read about a telepathic waitress and a vampire named Bill? ;)

Overall Opinion: A+

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I am a fan of the TV show True Blood and the books but I treat them like two seperate entities because it is not fair to either to compare them. I am re-reading the books right now to try and refreash my memory before I read the newest book and to try and guess what they might include or leave out of the show. It is a really fun read.

While this book won't enlighten you or change the way you view the world, it will entertain you. Looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series. As a fan of True Blood, the HBO series, there are some differences between the tv show and the books, but I am a fan of both.

The first book in the southern vampire series, while a great jumping off point is certainly not the strongest. I bought it as part of the box set and about halfway through i began wondering if i had made a mistake. Here we meet Sookie and Bill and the whole cast of characters and in this first story it comes off more cheesy love/lust (?) fest with a murder thrown in than the fun tongue in cheek stuff the series has become. Also as the first in a series it spends a lot of time with introductions and descriptions which are never Ms Harris' strong point. My advice, if you didn't love it don't give up on Sookie I was much more interested and invested after reading Living Dead in Dallas

I held off reading this series for quite a while because the TV show just didn't do it for me. Must ssay it took a bit to get through the book, only becuase the show crept its way in :) I much prefer the books and will now read the series to get ahead of the show and avoid the taint

The book started off with action and it kept me hooked till the ending. One thing I must say is this book it's anything but predictable, you may think you know what's coming but never underestimate the element of surprise. Thank god when I did decided to pick this book up it was summer vacation or else I would recommend taking sometime because you will not be able to wait time to start the second one. I'm proud to say that after the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series I'm in love with this series.
I think anyone who appreciates a love story some action and vampires should pick up a copy.

Yet another author trying to jump on the supernatural bandwagon and failing. I picked up this book because I am a huge fan of Kim Harrison and I know she has done work with Charlaine Harris.

This book is TERRIBLE. When I reach the point where the blatant racism of the author began to emerge, I just had to stop. Of course, racism is a common theme, but this wasn't written as this character is racist or that's just the way it is, it comes across as the author saying 'I am racist'. It's offensive and I don't like it. The Southern States have seriously got to drop segregation already! The people in this book are all disgusting. They all sleep around with everyone else, except for the main character of course, who is apparently the only virgin in Louisiana. Seriously, who sits around and talks about sex with their grandmother?

Now to the technical stuff that drove me nuts from page one and on. Words were used incorrectly so many times it's not even funny. For example; imperative, crucial and eloquent. There were continuity mistakes on the same page. Charlaine's internal editor can be heard the whole time. Everything she puts in brackets you can tell is her talking and not the character. She couldn't be bothered to find another way to word the sentence and so stuck the extra thought in brackets.

And lastly, but likely most importantly, the characters were BORING! So boring! I wasn't interested in anything any of them had to say. They were all surface and no depth. I mean Bill the Vampire goes to talk to a group about the Civil War and all he could think to say was there wasn't much food and never enough blankets??? At 150 pages in I still didn't care about a single character. I didn't care that anyone was dead and I was not even remotely interested in finding out who killed them.

Dead Until Dark = DUD. Coincidence? I think not.

I have watched the first two seasons of the tv series first before reading the books, and while the book was very good, the show has a lot more detail while still keeping very close to the book. There was one notable exception, Tara, she's not in the first book, but I'm told she appears later. I find it amazing that there was enough in one book to make an entire season of tv, and I will definitely be reading ahead to see what happens, especially with Eric, Bill's boring. 38/1000

As a fan of HBO's True Blood I didn't know what to expect when I picked up the first title in the True Blood series. They always say that you shouldn't read the book after you've seen the movie but in this case you can put aside that advice. The TV series stayed true to the book so there weren't too many surprises story wise but I found that reading the book was almost like encountering the story for the first time. The twists and turns were more compelling and there was more storytelling in the book than in the TV series. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the True Blood series.

Very very boring-The Vampire boyfriend anyway. I read the book before I saw the show and I like the show much better.