Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse Series)

I wasn't really inspired on picking up Charlaine Harris' books for a while. I would look at them, the cover wouldn't really appeal to me and then I would put it back on the shelf. It wasn't until my husband encouraged me to watch the True Blood T.V. series that I decided to pick up a copy. I did not want to watch the series not knowing the book at first. That's me, usually I would like to read the book before watching a movie or a T.V. show. So, that is how I got my first Sookie related book.

Dead Until Dark is the first of 10 books based on the life of Sookie Stackhouse. Written by Charlaine Harris and published on 2004.(One can't help but wonder how the hell does this woman manages to write so many books in such a short period of time)

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress that works at a local bar in the town of Bon Temps. She lives with her grandmother since her parents passed when she was 8 years old. She seems a common girl in a common and simple small town. However, Sookie does have an unusual talent that sets her apart from the people she knows. She reads minds, something that she wishes she wouldn't be able to do. Instead of helping her, this gift, usually gets her in trouble because she knows more than she wishes to know.

She lives in a world where vampires are "accepted" by the society which means that they have revealed their existance to the humans and began the process to fight for equal civil rights since the Japanese invented sinthetic blood therefore they do not need human blood anymore.

The story begins when Sookie gets to attend her first vampire costumer: Bill Compton. Soon she learns, after saving his life from a local couple of junkies, that the only minds she can't listen and/or read are the ones of the vampires. Obviously, she falls in love with him because she could be herself around him and not walk on eggshells trying not to listen to anyone's mind.

While Sookie and Bill are busy falling in love and fighting against those who disagree on their relationship, a bunch of local women die. All eyes seem to focus on Bill, the new vampire in town. However, the police's eyes seem to turn to Jason Stackhouse, Sookie's brother, whose "ladies man" fame and previous relationships with the victims make them believe he might have done it.

The book takes us through Sookies atttempts to clear her brother's and boyfriend's innocence and Sookie's attempts to fight off her love for Bill. It seems that for her dating a vampire is too much and quite often she needs time to digest ( he he) whatever happens in Bill's world.

My take on the book is simple. It is an entertaining book that gives you a few laughs and lets you find some interesting characters that will become more interesting as the series develops. For me it is easy to read, to understand and to like. Sookie's mind is gentle, straightforward and at times naïve. It makes you see the world through a telepath's eyes and makes you fall in love with her world.

I usually find myself a little bit more into Sookie's world than Sookie itself. Sookie is not an ordinary girl, even though she keeps on trying to make everyone believe she is the girl next door. I think Harris in the attempt of creating a character that would make all women empathize with, built a girl that sometimes I get to dislike.

Sookie describes herself as: "I'm blond and blue-eyed and twenty-five, and my legs are strong and my bosom is substantial, and I have a waspy waistline. I look good in the warm-weather waitress outfit Sam picked for us: black shorts, white T, white socks, black Nikes". That instantly lets us know that every single male character will have a crush on her and every single vampire she meets will want to get in her pants.

In my opinion authors usually write the main character according to everything they ever wanted to be, it might be that Harris always wanted to be that stunning girl with a twist. There is always a twist: you are the chosen one, you have a talent, you are an outcast,etc..

The truth is that Sookie might get you to roll your eyes from time to time but the book gives you a whole lot of entertainment and a good time.

From my point of view, this is not a book for kids or pre-teens since it might get a bit too sexual and well, I wouldn't like my 10 or 12 year old kid reading about sex among vampires or mortals.

So, I give a thumb up to this book for young adult readers that like vampires written in a more adult way.

Have a Fangtastic Tale