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I don't think a single human being would behave like it - not without a massive compulsion, which Sookie does not have. First, the "Vampire=Virus" thing is too anxious, and really does not pay off to the story. Somehow all that seems. Two - "sooooooooo worn out". (You can win against one, though).
Also, the world and the characters are totally shallow. Then it is shallow as hell, but no one really notices, but Sookie. The reviews (and the HBO / Anna Paquin combination) made me give this a try. All too easy. That she's a virgin is a new touch. But it does not even add to the story. Also the story folds around Sookie, but wouldn't hold up a single real-world-check.
Imagine: Someone can read minds. Buildings get burned down, and well, nothing really happens. mind-reader. No. 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. Charlene simply does not add new value to the theme. Never gripping, mostly boring, mildly entertaining, never surprising. 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).
Okay, she does not like it, but NOTHING about the "interesting" things you could do with it. Speaking of the world. Not so anyone in this book. And then the story really get going on the last 20 pages or so, and it's over. But does she do it.
well, I really don't do the vampire theme. Which makes me ask "Why bother at all.". Nice. Here it's just.
Makes everone look stupid in the process, really. as if it would not really fit the story, or influence it. Yeah, cool, whatever. And nothing which plays with it - just an idea: Imagine a Poker game with a mind-reader.
Then the Sex. Amused me slightly and killed my time. I would be. The same as the rest, but only average. Well, I suppose each Vampire Novel Must Have Sex is a rule now.
In short I can say two things: One, "well, nice". People get killed, and other people don't do so much as notice. So wasted. Might be better than the book. there. I read Anita Blake - Vampire Hunter years ago, liked it, and stopped when the story got boring and the theme too worn out.
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. And there are NO compelling indices apart form the too obvious, and really no one reacts to that. Take it or leave it out - makes no difference. the accusation of Sookies brother takes ages to form.
Some specifics. It's no good. THAT might be an intersting scene :). But that's a flaw many books share if the world, the characters or the story is not well-thought. Like a cup of coffee.
Maybe I'll give the series a try.
AND, if you are a True Blood fan, its even more fun to get backstory about details that are left out on-screen. 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. 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.
Tells the story of Sookie, a mind reader, and her adventures in a small southern town called Bon Temps. She can sometimes be nieve, but her character is none-the-less believable and relatable. 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. 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.
I really enjoy how Charlaine Harris eases you into this time where vampires exist alongside humans. Sookie falls in love with a vampire, a Civil War veteran named Bill Compton. "Tru Blood" makes it possible for vampires to live in the open without the need to hunt humans for sustenance. Sookie wants to help her brother and asks Bill to take her to a vampire bar called Fangtasia in nearby Shreveport. Sookie is a waitress and she lives with her grandmother, Adele Stackhouse, and has an older brother,Jason.
Fangtasia is owned by Eric Northman, a vampire sheriff who is much older and more powerful than Bill. 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. There is so much action that you wont be able to put the books down.
I highly recommend reading this series. This was the first series of vampire books that I read after Twilight lured me into this world. Eric saves Sookie's life by staking Long Shadow when he attacks her. In terms of paranormal romance series this is my favorite. The Bon Temps police suspect Sookie's brother Jason and arrest him because he has been romantically linked to two of the victims. 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.
While Bill is gone, Sookie discovers that the murderer is her brother's friend Rene Lenier. In his company, she is free from the constant strain of blocking or ignoring the thoughts of the humans around her. SPOILER ALERT. 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.
Back in Bon Temps, Sookie finds her grandmother Adele slaughtered in the kitchen.
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.
He almost kills her, but she fights back.
Harris makes all of the characters likable and situations believable.
Badly injured, Sookie wakes up in the hospital and finds Bill by her side.
Bill's mind is 'silent' to 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.
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.
Bill tells Sookie that he has become his area's investigator, working under Eric.Check out my other recommendations at [.].
It's also a real block to getting a date. Just because it's a small town doesn't mean Bon Temps is a QUIET town. 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. I started to enjoy reading it then.
Some live lawless lives using and preying on humans like they've done for thousands of years. She cannot hear Bill's thoughts. 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. But I had fun with the book and will continue reading the series. Both of the girls just happen to have been waitresses at Merlotte's.just like Sookie. 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. But Bill is different. She's 25 years old and still a virgin. Sookie can read the minds of the people around her at will. He wants to stay in Bon Temps. Jason, Sookie's brother, is present, but he's much more of an jerk, even to his sis.
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. He's the first vampire she's ever met and she learns something about him that tickles her pink. I picked up this novel simply because I was such a big fan of HBO's True Blood tv series. The book is almost completely focused on Sookie and Bill's evolving relationship. 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.
It's well known that she has a "gift". And if you're looking for Tara and her addict mom, you'll search in vain in this first novel. He's come home to the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps after 200 years of wandering. Some people drain blood from vampires against their will because the blood has extraordinary healing and narcotic powers if drunk by a human. Finally, she can be around someone with whom she can experience some peace and quiet. 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 easiest way to see the difference is to imagine the True Blood tv show being cut down to only scenes where Sookie appears.
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. But Bill is different. My first reaction is to say that the tv show is the superior version, but I really can't. The same can be said of the action.
Of course, just because everyone knows about the existence of vampires doesn't mean they aren't still feared. In the world of Dead Until Dark vampires are real. Actually, Sookie calls it a "disability". There are also characters that appear only in the novel.
There is also no Jessica, the young girl that Bill had to turn into a vampire towards the end of the first season. And then there's the problem of the mysterious murders of two young townswomen. For instance Lafayette is barely mentioned. So I thought I'd start reading the books until I can see the third season. On the same night Bill shows up at Merlotte's, Sookie has to rescue him from a pair of white trash "drainers". Become part of the town. His role probably occupies about 3 paragraphs total. Everybody knows about them and they've even began to try to assimilate themselves into mainstream American society.Well, SOME of them have.
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 drainers sell the blood to buyers like dealers selling coke. Mostly because it was fun to be surprised at how different it was. 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. In fact, they've been out of the closet so to speak going on about two years. 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.
He is a very unlikeable dude. The experience is too apple and orange for a couple of reasons. 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. People fear Sookie as well. Some characters are reversed, some stay the same, some are absent entirely.
If the vampire dies in the process, well, that's just too bad. I don't have cable so I either have to watch at somebody's house or wait until they come out on video. 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.
Personally, in the end, I have to say I enjoy the tv show more.
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