CHARLAINE. HARRIS

C.1 COUNTY FUNDS. AMAZON. 06-30-2009. $7.99.

DEAD UNTIL DARK. BK # 1

Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1)

Rebecca C Wright

I have read this book several times and every time I enjoy it more. This series is what got me reading urban fantasy in the first place. Sookie is funny and her world is very complex and surprising. I love the setting...it is a character itself. Wonderful book and wonderful series.

Dead Until Dark

Annalissa Powner 

I picked his book up on a whim because the book I was looking for wasn't at the library, and I was hoping to find something to tide me over. I was looking for something between cozy mystery and real mystery... Boy did this fall somewhere in the middle. Before I start I want to say it's a good book, it was funny, fast pace, sexy and made you actually think. Sure their were similarities between it and twilight but not really. The mystery part really was interesting and I was pretty shocked at the end. I enjoyed the lead character more then the usual vampire lead, I didn't enjoy how many people were killed so quickly, but other then that it was good simple read. But be warned its a bit dirty from time to time.

Sarah

DNF—26%

I couldn’t even finish the second chapter 🤦‍♀️

I mean, it’s definitely not the worst book I’ve ever read, but it is definitely not My Type™️

If it weren’t for the terribly weird, gross, explicit scenes, I’d say it reads like a poorly written YA novel…

Krystyna 

I watched the television show, True Blood, before reading this book and it is quite different than the show. I actually preferred the show over the book on this one.

Michael Springer

It has been said (I would tell you by who, but that would involve actual research) that Tolkein's most important contribution to literature is the Hobbit. (The race. Not the kid's book.) That said, I will with much pomp and ostentatiousness, say Charlaine Harris's biggest contribution to modern literature will be the Fangbanger. (Yes, I just compared Harris to Tolkein, in addition to totally exploiting the parentheses.) 

I don't want to waste time telling you the storyline because you know it: steamy hot sex with bloodsucking corpses. And I DO mean sex; this ain't no Twilight shit. They gets it AAAWN, and they gets a little kinky. Other thing you should know about the plot: in this book, there IS a plot. Again, this ain't no Twilight shit. 

But, here's my thinking about Fangbangers: Harris came into this vampire-as-sweet-boyfriend movement very early on, and she 'gets it' a bit more than Meyers does. In the happy world of Stephanie Meyers, the main thing vampires do is sparkle and look sexy doing it. But, in Harris's book, vampire actually KILL people. And these Fangbangers are people sexually drawn to these dangerous vampires. As a part of sex, they will let the vampires drink from them. 

Why is this so damned relevant, you may ask. The fangbanger may be the central symbol of modern necromance novels: regular, mortal love is no longer enough of a turnon, and fangbangers need more. If we're fantasizing anyway, how about Mr./Mrs. Right can make you live forever, is stronger than ANYONE, and is a gentleman/lady of a kind they don't make anymore? 

Of course, this leaves out the whole part about blood-sucking, and the way they may kill you. . . or maybe it doesn't. By virtue of being a misunderstood vampire, a guy can be a total bad boy at the SAME TIME that he is a knight in shining armor. He can be exceedingly dangerous, yes still be a cuddle-butt, because that danger is simply part of his nature. It's your normal roustabout romantic rogue, only WAY more sinister. And thus, way more exciting. 

I don't think it's much of a coincidence that romantic vampires are a recent phenomenon. When vampires first became a part of the public consciousness, it was during the 1700's, and people believed in them. They were scary as fuck. People were dug up so it could be proved they hadn't risen from the dead. Vampires as erotic interests started pretty early, 'round about the middle of the 1700's. But vampires as a romantic lead? That is a modern American phenomena as far as I can tell. 

And, uncoincidentally, modern Americans are more detached from violence than most peoples throughout history. I don't want to get all political, but we're in two wars right now, and some high schoolers I know didn't even REALIZE we were at war with Afghanistan until I told them. A couple months ago. 

Fangbangers are naive materialists out of touch with reality. The fangbanger is fascinated by beauty and agelessness, at the expense of authenticity. The soul of a thing doesn't enter into it. 

The Hobbit is the central symbol of Tolkein's universe: the common person who can change (and maybe save) the world. I believe the fangbanger to be an appropriate symbol for the necromance movement, and a fairly pertinent symbol for modern American decadence. (I'm not saying only the U.S. is guilty of this kind of decadence, but I suspect we are the most guilty.)* 

Did I get too heavy on this one? I actually edited out about 5 paragraphs of political comparisons before posting this. Something about ridiculously popular books makes me want to analyze them with a bit more attention than I usually give 3-star books. I could’ve just said, “Fluffy entertainment, Fairly funny with interesting characters and hot sex, plus an Elvis cameo.” But. . . you know. I read it a couple weeks ago, and things marinated. 

*: for further evidence, check out the following link:

Colleen

I did not enjoy this book. Maybe it was because I couldn't relate to the main character at all. She is a perky blond from the deep south who is telepathic and obsessed with vampires. I'm not. I was at least expecting a spunky southern belle but instead was met with a petulant piece of fluff. The writing is flat and non-descriptive. The plot is just interesting enough to get you through but is offset by raunchy, cheesy vampire sex scenes. I definitely will not bother with the rest of the series.

This book made me so nostalgic. I loved the True Blood series, and this was seeing my favorite characters in another medium. Reading this was just fun and a break from serious things.

I preferred just focusing on Sookie and none of the side characters, as distance from Jason is greatly appreciated (I detest his character in the show). 

Not a big fan of Bill, but past season 2, I wasn’t much of a fan of him in the show, either. 

I'm wondering why they needed to add Bubba in this. That is one good change from the show. I googled Bubba and photos of Elvis appeared, so apparently from all of the hints, he’s literally Elvis brought back as a vampire. I much prefer Jessica, who they apparently created as an alternative. 

Anyways, I’m going to continue the series. This wasn’t mind blowing, but it was fun and a nice addition after having not watched the show in years.

Sarah Campbell

This book made me so nostalgic. I loved the True Blood series, and this was seeing my favorite characters in another medium. Reading this was just fun and a break from serious things.

I preferred just focusing on Sookie and none of the side characters, as distance from Jason is greatly appreciated (I detest his character in the show). 

Not a big fan of Bill, but past season 2, I wasn’t much of a fan of him in the show, either. 

I'm wondering why they needed to add Bubba in this. That is one good change from the show. I googled Bubba and photos of Elvis appeared, so apparently from all of the hints, he’s literally Elvis brought back as a vampire. I much prefer Jessica, who they apparently created as an alternative. 

Anyways, I’m going to continue the series. This wasn’t mind blowing, but it was fun and a nice addition after having not watched the show in years.

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana, until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life. When one of her coworkers checks out, she decides that maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.

Dead until dark

Izza

DNF'ing at 40%. This is so bad, I can't even. I was never fan of the TV show (though I did watch the first 3 seasons) because I was never sure if I was supposed to take it seriously, but this book...Yikes.

I think Sookie is supposed to come across as quirky, but to me she just sounds, well, dumb. She has no personality and she lets people walk all over her. I kept rolling my eyes at everything she said. 

Bill is just as boring and creepy. 

This book series is definitely not for me.

Alyssa 

Really good start to the series!!!!! Don't really like Bill though. :(

Janna Niemi

The book was so easy to read it took be less than two days. You can read this book without actually thinking about anything and it was very nice to read something so light for a change. I can already tell I can't help but read all the books in the series and I will do so happily

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much. Not because she's not pretty. She is. It's just that, well, Sookie has this sort of "disability". She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. Not until she meets Bill : he's tall, dark and handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's the guy she's been waiting for all her life. But Bill has a disability of his own : he's a vampire. Worse than that, he hangs out with a seriously creepy crowd with a reputation for trouble - of the murderous kind. And when one of Sookie's colleagues is killed, she begins to fear she'll be next .. .

Sian Wadey

Okay, deep breath everybody, because I have been saving up this rant for quite a while now.
I love vampire stories, I watched every single episode of Buffy and Angel and have read copious amounts of vampire fiction (however I feel I should mention that I have not read and have no desire to read the Twilight series).
There are some proper die hard fans of the Sookie Stackhouse series, and I'd seen trailers for True Blood and thought it looked good. Maybe I shouldn't have had any expectations going into this, but I was expecting an edgy, gory book, filled with sexy vampires, lots of action and tension. What I got was a massive let down.
For a start, Sookie, although nice must have some kind of personality disorder (on top of her little gift) because she can't make up her mind and her reactions and emotions are all over the place. One minute she's in love with Bill, the next minute she hates him. There seems to be no flow of thoughts through her head that are connected. It's more off again, on again than Ross and Rachel and at least both of those characters were likable. She also gets angry at her friends without good reason. For example, Andrea wants her to babysit the kids, but doesn't want the vampire there. Having been to 'Fangtasia' (awful name by the way), she must understand why Andrea thinks vampires are horrible and instead of storming off in a huff, she should have talked to her.
The conglomeration of other vampires we meet vary in style and substance. We meet Viking Eric, with his long blonde hair (I liked the fact that vampires couldn't change their hair once they'd been turned) who seems a bit unrealistic, but hey, he's a vampire and Long Shadow, a Native American vampire. I thought that was a fantastic idea, maybe he should have his own prequel. 
The actual plot running alongside all the vampire goingson is that girls are getting murdered for being associated with vampires. The murder mystery side is good and to be honest that was the thing that kept me going to the end of the book. In fact, I added a star back on when I found out who it was because I didn't see it coming.
I also have an issue with the style of writing as a whole, it seemed so clunky and disorganised, and did we really have to know what Sookie was wearing all the time? In fact, most of the residents of Bon Temps seemed to have a fashion issue. 
I told you this would be a rant! On the subject of fashion (sort of), my one rule when reading vampire fiction is that no matter how good the vampire is, he still has to be sexy (which is why I refuse to read Twilight, vampires don't glitter). I get that Bill is a good vampire and doesn't kill people anymore. I'm not expecting to walk around in leather, but there was one line that made me laugh out loud and I don't think it was supposed to. Bill and Sookie were just about to 'get it on' and he 'toed off his sandals'! Haha! I mean seriously men wearing sandals is never a good thing, ever, and vampires should definitely not be wearing them! 
So as I was reaching a third of the way through I wondered why people wanted to read this book, why they kept coming back, why on earth it was a bestseller. I thought, it must be the sex. Having read some reviews of the series True Blood I know that it features a lot and gathered that they had adapted that from the book. So, the first sex scene arrived and it was dreadful, as Sookie would say 'gosh darn awful'. There was no fizzle, no excitement, no chemistry between the two. And they seem to have sex at the most awkward of times. One moment their chatting, or arguing, or she's crying and then they're at it. At one point Sookie says something about Bill's 'personality' and I wonder if she's actually met him because he doesn't seem to have any.
Another reviewer said that Dead Until Dark is like a supernatural soap opera, and I definitely agree with that. Everything seems overly heightened, characters and dialogue are over the top and they even have the names to match. It's quite ironic that the vampires (who are called Bill, Liam, Eric, Pam...) seem to have the most boring names, yet they're supposed to be the interesting people. 
Overall, this book started out a guilty pleasure and just turned guilty as I read on. I may read another, but I think I'll check out the series as I've heard it's good and much better than the books!

Ariel Johnson

I decided to read this book because I had seen the True Blood TV series and had enjoyed it. Without having seen the series, having somewhat more of an understanding of what was to come, I do not think I would have enjoyed the book as much as I did.

Without that previous knowledge, the characters felt flat and underdeveloped. While the concept and foundation for a good horror/paranormal love story is there, the actual story pushed along too quickly. Always jumping from subplot to subplot without much detail or depth. 

I will continue to read to the next story only because I have heard the characters and writing do improve given more time, and as I said, because I enjoyed the tv series. 

Maggie Hepditch

This book is not good yet also good? It was a fun light read, perfect for a Sunday afternoon. A lil bit spicy, a lil bit trashy, Bill lowkey has no personality, and Sookie is kind of an annoying narrator but I had fun reading it!

Tomita Militaru

Great book for the vampire genre fans. Sookie is way funnier in the book and the way it's written the book you get to know her better. You might find it a bit boring than the TV show, more details than action.

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much - not because she's not pretty - she's a very cute bubbly blonde - or not interested in a social life. She really is... but Sookie's got a bit of a disability. She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill: he's tall, he's dark and he's handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting all her life for. But Bill has a disability of his own: he's fussy about his food, he doesn't like suntans and he's never around during the day... Yep, Bill's a vampire. Worse than that, he hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble - of the murderous kind. And then one of Sookie's colleagues at the bar is killed, and it's beginning to look like Sookie might be the next victim... Read by Johanna Parker

Angela Guilherme

Casey W. 

It wasn't much of a mystery since I've seen Ttue Blood, but it was still enjoyable.

Shafel McDowall

This book is like chips-you know it's bad for you, and you know it's empty calories but you still eat the entire bag. That's how I feel about this series. There are plot holes, there is implicit racism, and there is insta-love...but most importantly there are vampires. On to the next bag- I mean book.

Julia

Finished this book is just over three weeks which NEVER happens for me! An easy read but not “teen” like. Kept my interest and look forward to book two!

Isa s

Another vampire-human romance, but this time with an additional mystery.

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in a small town in Louisiana. She works as a waitress, lives with her grandmother and has a tiny "disability" that she can read other people's thoughts. Her daily routine changes when the vampire Bill, vampires are openly recognized as citizens, comes into the bar where she works and Sookie saves his life. Besides the fact that she isn't certain if her attraction to Bill is a good thing, Sookie also has cause to worry because a murderer seems to be loose in her town and Sookie's boss seems to have a secret of his own.

The book is a leisurely read for in-between with its low page-count and the not too demanding writing style.

I couldn't really get a feeling for Sookie. You certainly get enough information to picture her appearance and life, but somehow I don't grasp her personality. And this goes for every character in the book. Let's take Bill. All we really get to know about him is that he is a vampire. Wow. The only trait that gets conveyed is his protectiveness for Sookie. That's all and somehow I don't find its enough. There should be more than his love interest. This has implications for their relationship as well. It stays flat and superficial all the way through. I though it both inexplicable and too fast. They see each other, meet a handful of times and there they go.

The mystery part of the book was more to my liking, although it was a bit predictable in the end (I had the murderer figured out before he was revealed, so Sookie seemed a bit stupid at the end not having thought of it, it being really a bit obvious).

All in all I enjoyed it, especially the mystery-twist (I can forgive a bit predictability) and will probably read the other books in the series as well, hoping (probably in vain) for a bit more depth.

Emir Andrés Ibañez

Una relectura en su idioma original y en forma de audiolibro. Una experiencia sumamente gratificante. Había olvidado lo mucho que me había gustado esta serie, la única de vampiros que llegó a engancharme y solo pude leer los primeros tres. Ahora que ya conseguí los trece libros de la serie no pienso parar <3

Kerry Gibbons

Olivera Mitić

Surprisingly boring for something supposedly trashy and fun. How was this so popular back in the day?

Jade Flynn

I did enjoy it, don't get me wrong, but for me, it was too similar to the HBO series :\

But I have heard the TV series does deviate from the books, so I'm looking forward to reading the rest sometime next year!

Sink your teeth into the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series—the books that gave life to the Dead and inspired the HBO® original series True Blood. Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Bon Temps, Louisiana. She's quiet, doesn't get out much, and tends to mind her own business—except when it comes to her “disability.” Sookie can read minds. And that doesn’t make her too dateable. Then along comes Bill Compton. He’s tall, dark, handsome—and Sookie can’t hear a word he’s thinking. He’s exactly the type of guy she’s been waiting for all her life... But Bill has a disability of his own: he’s a vampire with a bad reputation. And when a string of murders hits Bon Temps—along with a gang of truly nasty bloodsuckers looking for Bill—Sookie starts to wonder if having a vampire for a boyfriend is such a bright idea.


I  forgot how much I enjoy Sookie as a character. She is so very relatable in how she acts, how genuine of a person she is.  I like that her gift is just something she basically mentions in passing. It is not who she is, just a part of her.
Every character for the most part are very likeable in this story. The writing is sort of simple in a way where you can get completely lost in the storytelling and I really quite enjoy when that happens.
Meeting the other vampires, you can tell how different they are compared to Bill. They act much more like how you would think a vampire to act. Some good tension building scenes in this first book.
Story has some expertly hidden foreshadowing in it as well. The last chapter is very tense and makes for some great thrilling moments of reading.

DEAD UNTIL DARK. BK # 1

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