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Date Posted: 16:15:39 02/21/05 Mon
Author: Syl
Subject: Southern Vampires

This was sent in by Lady Bluesy. I’ve read the first 3 myself and they are great books! Thanks, lass!


TITLE: Dead until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead, Dead to the World - Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampires

AUTHOR: Charlaine Harris

GENRE: Mystery/paranormal romance


Charlaine Harris, a mystery writer for the past twenty years, struck out on
a new path with her Southern Vampire Mystery series (perhaps better known as
the Sookie Stackhouse series). A delightful blend of mystery and paranormal
romance, the four books in the series are light but compelling reading.

You won't find any DG- esque meditations on love or the breathtakingly
beautiful details that bring Outlander to life. Instead, you'll find
laugh-out-loud, quirky humor; a spunky telepathic waitress for a heroine,
two vampires and a few other supernatural creatures for suitors; and Bubba,
a not-so-successful vampire who was known as Elvis while alive. (Hey, that
explains the tabloid sightings, right?)

Luckily, Harris's writing is two steps above many other paranormal romance
novelists', and she keeps the action moving at a good pace throughout the
books. Harris writes at the rate of two books per year (alternating between
this series and another series), unlike some others who churn out three or
four novels with the corresponding lack of quality. That's not to say there
isn't an occasional detail that's slightly off--the most noticeable is one
inconsistency in a character's middle name--but that the characters'
motivations are consistent and believable. Her writing is crisp and concise,
with just enough detail to anchor the stories in the current-day American
South. (For example, Sookie loves to kick back with Buffy the Vampire Slayer
tapes and a Freschetta frozen pizza when she's not busy getting beaten up.)

Each novel is a self-contained mystery, but the relationships among the
characters continue from book to book. For that reason, I recommend starting
from the beginning of the series with Dead Until Dark. (The first
three novels were also published in a book club edition titled Dead in
Dixie.) The relationships are one of the most compelling aspects of
these books, and the mysteries merely provide good places to start and stop
each novel.

Unlike Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, to which these books are most
frequently compared, both the violence and the sex are on a PG-13 level. The
violence is integral to the stories, and the sex usually is. Although Harris
does go out of her way to work sexual plotlines into the mysteries--the orgy
club in Living Dead in Dallas is the perfect example--Sookie isn't a
bed-hopper. She's always been a bit of an outcast because of her telepathic
abilities, and it is only among vampires that her mind is blissfully silent.

As a consequence, she is just beginning to dip her toes in the romance pool.
Her naivete is one of her most endearing characteristics, along with her
positive attitude and obsession with Word-a-Day calendars.

This series is one of the few that has me anxiously awaiting the next
installment, currently scheduled for May 2005. Check out Harris's website,
www.charlaineharris.com, for
more information.

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Replies:

[> I love these books and although Bill is the designated Hero Vamp, I have to say that I find Eric a lot more to my taste. LOL -- Aislinn, 20:05:45 02/21/05 Mon


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[> Sometimes I'm in the mood for light reading and I always love quirky humor! Thanks! -- GinC, 09:46:10 02/22/05 Tue


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[> Thanks for the review, Lady Bluesy. I'm not a vampire fan, unfortunately. Couldn't get into Hamilton's books, who knows about these ones. But thanks for sharing a book review on them. They SOUND great. -- Judie, 22:28:28 02/24/05 Thu


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[> I just finished this book and I loved it, I love the sense of humour of this series, I have yet to read the second book, but I am looking forward to it. If you haven't tried it do so you won't be disappointed. Sookie is such a fun quirky character!! -- Susan W, 12:46:22 02/28/05 Mon


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[> Another series-> Lily Bard, same author -- Donna, 09:32:17 03/23/05 Wed

Loved the Southern vampire series, and am a die-hard Anita Blake fan. I recommend the Lily Bard series by Charlaine Harris. I was able to find these books in the library. They're older and are available by special order (with higher than paper-back prices). Worth reading if you can find them.


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[> I love these books....they aren't real deep, but they are an enjoyable and fun read. I hope she writes more books to add to this series. -- Jan R., 14:31:30 01/05/06 Thu


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