Monday, September 15, 2008

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris



First in the Southern Vampire series and I really don’t know why I didn’t pick this series up before. I absolutely fell in love with Sookie!!! I can’t even explain her. She is a good girl that won't take your sh*t. She’s a country thang that tries to find good in everyone even when it’s obvious that that the person is a cesspool of evil.

Sookie is a small town girl that has a difficult disability to live with. She can hear people's thoughts. She works as a waitress in a bar (Merlotte's ) in a universe where Vampires have come out of the coffin so to say. They have spread to the world that being a Vampire is not an undead thing but a virus thing. The virus that makes people vampires cause sensibility to light and allergic reactions to silver. People have accepted this and cautiously accepted the vamps into society, although a lot of discrimination exists.

One day Bill Compton (a vampire who recently relocated to Bon Temps) walks into Merlotte's and she is instantly intrigued. This curiosity leads her to discover that a local couple plans to kidnap Bill and drain him of his blood (which is very sought after for it's healing affects and it's addictive nature). Sookie saves the day and rescues Bill earning her his gratitude. During the process of rescuing Bill, Sookie discovers that she cannot hear Bill's thoughts, which is a great relief and she becomes attracted to him.

Besides Sookie's romance with Bill (which is not the main focus in the book) there are other happening in the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Someone has been going out of their way to murder some of the women that have enjoyed vampiric companionship. The problem is that all fingers point to Sookie's witless brother Jason. Jason is a dumb mutt of a man, screwing everything in his sight but he is not a serial killer and Sookie sets out to find out who is the real killer.

It's hard to see how Sookie keeps her moral compass when she has such a 'disability'. Hearing so much evil going around can make you lose faith in humanity but that is what is so charming about Sookie, she keeps her head on straight and is always clear on what is right and what is wrong. The cast of characters that Harris introduces brings to life this little town and allows us to root for them, feel their pain and their joy.

I never suspected the killer and that in itself made this book a thrill to read. I recently finished the second book in the series and the fun continues there (Review to follow)

If you haven't made Harris a must read on your TBR pile, do it. You won't regret it.

The books have actually been picked up by HBO to be made a series staring Anna Paquin (Oscar winning actress for 'The Piano'). Look for it listed as True Blood.

Grade: A
Format: Audiobook

1 comments:

samantha.1020 said...

I read this one and really enjoyed it as well. I've got the next 2 books but haven't gotten to them yet. Nice review!

 
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