Okay, I have to admit, I always thought the “Southern Vampire Series” by Charlaine Harris looked a little… well, goofy.
The covers just seemed cheesy, and really? Another vampire series? What could possibly be done that is new or interesting in popular genre?
Then True Blood debuted on HBO, and after having a marathon of watching the first season in the course of two days, I knew it was going to be me hooked.
I mean, vampires, great casting, great location, mystery, sex, and mayhem?
Count me in.
Dead Until Dark, the first novel in the series (the ninth novel is set to come out in May of this year), introduces us to Sookie Stackhouse, the heroine of the series.
Sookie is a barmaid at Merlotte’s Bar in Bon Temps, Louisiana, a typical twenty-something girl who lives with her Gran, is trying to make ends meet, and works hard at her job, and who just happens to be a telepath.
Obviously, having the ability to hear everyone’s thoughts makes life – and especially dating – a little tricky for Sookie.
However, when Bill Compton, a vampire, walks into Merlotte’s and all Sookie hears is silence, the rest is history. She and Bill begin a relationship, and the relationship pulls her into the world of the undead, and discovers there are more than just vampires that go bump in the night.
In addition to Sookie, we are introduced to a host of great supporting characters: Sam, the owner of Merlotte’s with a secret of his own; the other waitresses at the bar and friends of Sookie’s; Sookie’s Gran and her perpetually bed-hopping, trouble-making brother Jason, as well as other vampires in the area, including Eric Northman, a vampire rumored to have been around since the Viking days.
(I’m yet to find a woman who doesn’t find Eric dead *ahem* sexy in both the books and the HBO series. Just saying.)
In Dead Until Dark, someone or something is murdering people in Bon Temps, and Sookie and Bill set out to solve the murders, in between being summoned by Eric for assistance, starting a relationship together, paying the bills, and in one instance, Sookie saving Bill from certain death…
Each novel has a sort of “mystery du jour”, but the main thread is Sookie’s descent into the darker side of Bon Temps, as well as her trials and tribulations in the world of dating a vampire. The writing is snappy and at times funny, as well as being quick and easy to read. The first season of True Blood (twelve episodes) followed the plot of only the first book in the series, obviously with some deviations and fleshing out of minor characters, though it remained fairly faithful to the plot and personalities.
In addition to Dead Until Dark, the rest of the series includes the titles: Living Dead In Dallas, Club Dead, Dead to the World, Dead as a Doornail, Definitely Dead, All Together Dead, All Together Dead, From Dead to Worse, and Dead and Gone (forthcoming).
If you enjoy reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels, you may also enjoy supernatural novels by Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Katie MacAlister, Sherilyn Kenyon, or Christine Feehan.
You can find Charlaine Harris on the web at CharlaineHarris.com.
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