Sookie Stackhouse aka Southern Vampire Mysteries

As I posted recently, I would give a recap of my thoughts on this vampire series so far. Here is my experience with it, I hope you enjoy!

* Warning: Contains spoilers!


Dead Until Dark, the first book in the series was really quite good. I liked it anyways. The main character Sookie Stackhouse is great but also kind of annoys me. She is a telepathic barmaid who is quite nice, though every human thinks she is a bit crazy. Also, much of the book seemed like I was reading another version of Twilight with more sex and Southern slang. I think this book was written first though. Maybe Stephanie Meyer read it and that is how she dreamt up Twilight. Regardless though, it is a good book. I really liked Vampire Bill. Plus, having vampires “out of the coffin” and legal was a fun twist to vampire stories. I read this book in a night.

I started reading the second book, Living Dead in Dallas after a paranormal investigation. So, I only got in about an hour or so of reading. I finished the rest of it the following day. It was good but not really as good as the first. The most memorable thing that happens in this is the escape from being held captive at the Fellowship of the Sun headquarters there.

After this book, I decided to read the back covers of the rest of the books that came in the set. I regretted doing so. Why? Well, I found out Bill cheats on Sookie! Also, somehow she might end up with Eric (Bill’s boss and the sheriff of Area 5 in Louisiana)? Then her brother becomes a shape-shifter? Then she ends up with a shape-shifter? What is going on? Why can’t my vampire reading be satiated with her just ending up with Bill and her turning into a vampire and then they live happily ever after? Oh, right for that I guess I can just re-read Breaking Dawn (again).

Also, the bookset doesn’t have all of the books. Yeah when I bought the set I thought they were all there but it is missing one that is out now and one that comes out in May. Now that I’ve started reading it, I’ll have to buy those too. Damn my OCD and getting sucked into this series!

Club Dead, the next book was actually pretty good. Club Dead is a vampire and supernatural beings bar (of course). She also ends up becoming close friends with a Were (as in werewolf). Bill is vampire-napped and being held prisoner in Mississippi and Sookie of course has to go to his rescue. Big drama with all of that, but it works out well. Why Sookie doesn’t just get over it and forgive Bill I don’t know. Also, Eric (Bill’s boss) really wants her bad too now. Such vampire drama! It is like a vampire soap opera. I love it! And Eric really doesn’t seem to be all that bad anymore.

Dead to the World, next book in the series Bill leaves for Peru (oh and Sookie and him are not dating, she never forgave him for cheating on her) Then Sookie finds Eric running along a country road (by her house) with just jeans on and no memory. She ends up taking care of him and hiding him out at her house (for a fee of course). She ends up really falling for this new sensitive and helpless Eric. They have quite a good time together, oh and the sex was really good too. Witches are also in this book that is attacking the other supernatural beings and they end up having a big fight and call it the Witch War. It was sad when Eric became his regular self again though. Her brother is found (he was missing) thanks to Sookie and now he might be a Were-panther. I hate how she ends these books.

Dead As A Doornail, the next book… Shape-shifters and Werewolves and panthers and whatever else are in danger in this one. Sam, Sookie’s boss (also a shape shifter) gets shot so Eric loans out his new bartender vampire (who is a pirate) to the bar Sookie works at. Eric still doesn’t remember what happened between him and Sookie, though he does suspect things. Finally he finds out and isn’t really all that awful about it at all. She really should give him (and Bill) more credit.

Definitely Dead, the next book Sookie is still alone. Though she ends up dating Quinn, a Were-Tiger. Yeah. I want to see her with Eric or even Bill! Ugh! So frustrating! This book was slow to amount to much of anything. I was like “come on already” for anything interesting at all. Bill turns out not to be such a nice guy or er vampire afterall and he didn’t end up in her life out of the blue or er black. Quinn is nice and Eric saves the day with some other vampire that works for the Queen of Louisiana. Yeah. Oh and her cousin left her her things when she died for the second time, she was a vampire and was also the queen’s lover. Mmmhmm. The soap opera continues!

All Together Dead the seventh book, and last book in my boxed set. Is about the big vampire summit for the southern vampires. It was actually my 2nd favorite book I read from the series so far (first being the first book). Sookie is dating Quinn, well sorta still. They don’t spend much time together. Eric is still after her and he really quite likes her but of course doesn’t know how to express himself. Then sometime while at the summit she has to exchange blood with him again (third time now) and now they are bound and more in tune with one another. Then the Fellowship of the Sun set off all these bombs in the hotel during the day to try to kill the vampires and the humans in the building they were staying in. Sookie and the other telepath Barry figure out it is happening right before it happens and manages to get most of the humans out and many of the vampires, but it is daytime! So, some die. Quinn even kills Andre (the bad vampire that is close to the Queen of Louisiana). Sookie saves Eric and Pam too, and she finds Bill in the rubble. Her main vampires just couldn’t die, ya know?

From Dead to Worse, the eighth book was quite boring in my opinion. Yes, I bought it (this series is addicting okay?). It focused way too much on recapping stuff that already happened. It also featured an immense amount of time explaining what Sookie does during daily tasks and mundane activities. Amelia, her friend now from New Orleans is staying with her. She is a witch. Sookie and Quinn end things because he can’t put her above his mom and sister. I completely agree with that move, especially since Eric is so hot for her, oh and Bill too. Speaking of Eric, his memories about their time together came flooding back to him when he was sitting on her bed. I just want to shake Sookie and have them end up together, but I guess that would make the books cut short and the author wants money. Oh, she meets her great-grandfather who is a fairy prince. There is also a takeover of the Louisiana area by the Las Vegas vampires. They end up okay though, pretty much.

Overall, I think the books are pretty good. It is worth the time to read and/or buy them. If you’re like me and skim over the parts we already know about you can have each book easily read in a few hours. They are all a fun read though. The world Charlaine Harris creates with this series is a great escape.

My biggest complaint about the series is that the author spends too much time re-stating things the reader already knows. I found this to be very annoying. A once-over on things that happened before in books is normal, but to keep bringing it up throughout the book gets old. It is like having to listen to someone say something to you ten times before they move on to something else only to bring it back up again in a few minutes.

The characters are all quite colorful and creative. I especially like the vampire Bubba. It is actually Elvis, but something went wrong when he became a vampire and can’t stand it when people call him Elvis. Pretty funny. I wonder if that character will be on True Blood.

I also really like the Sookie and Eric relationship. Eric is just a fun character to begin with. He is a very old vampire, so also very powerful. He was a Viking! So he is blonde, blue eyes, great body, great at oh everything. But somewhere through the years he forgot how to express himself properly. It makes a fun combo with Sookie. I really hope they end up together.

The next book, Dead and Gone comes out May 5, 2009. I’ll read it too when it comes out. Click here to read the first chapter from the book. From the synopsis it looks like the Weres and shape-shifters will be coming out of the closet too. There will also maybe be a war going on. I hope she gets some action with Eric, they do share that intense blood bond now and he is being really quite good (for a vampire with a lot of power) too. Why do I not like Bill anymore? Well, he is quite a tool and he did more to hurt Sookie than just cheat on her. He’d really have to do something grand to win her back now.

The DVD set for True Blood comes out on May 19th. I’m going to buy that then as well. I’ve watched a few episodes when we still had HBO and I loved it and am hooked (especially now that I’ve read all the books that are out). I’m hoping we get HBO again in June when the 2nd season airs.