Dead Until Dark

Rating:
Summary: Small town, but not small time.
Review: It's a common story. Sookie Stackhouse is a small town girl, whose formal education is cut short, stranding her in a low-skill, deadend job. Although she enjoys being a coctail waitress (her flirtatious boss is a charmer), Sookie has grown bored serving the same people and reading minds filled with the same lame thoughts, and decides that meeting a vampire is just the thing to end her dulldrums.

Enter Bill, handsome Civil War vet and new vampire in town.

They become fast friends (and lovers) when Sookie saves his life. Of course things don't stay peaceful for long. When Sookie's friends and co-workers start turning up dead all eyes turn to Bill. Together they embark on an adventure filled with intelligence, wit and surprises enough to make Sookie long for some of that same-ole-same that she THOUGHT she'd had enough of.

Rating:
Summary: Good start
Review: Dead Until Dark tells the story of the trials and tribulations of a mind reading waitress who falls for a vampire. The most compelling aspect of this book is that, by taming the vampire element, it does not cliche the lead vampire character. C. Harris takes an every-day-life approach to tell a vampire related story. It's a well written story that kept me turning the page. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

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Summary: My Favorite Vampire Series
Review: Okay I'm a huge vampire fan. I discovered Charlaine Harris' dead series quite by accident and immediately fell in love. If you are a fan of the supernatural or romance, you will not be disappointed. Very highly recommended! Be sure to read this series in order. This novel is the first in her series. Read this one first, following with "Living Dead in Dallas" and finally "Club Dead".

I almost didn't pick up this series due to the fact it was termed "lighthearted read," and I'm not a big fan of the newest craze of "comedy vampire books" on the market. I like my vampires with a little more depth and mystery. This series gives you that.

The heroine is Sookie, a southern gal in a small town. Sookie likes her simple life. She's a waitress and has no complaints except maybe the fact that she can read minds. Now the only problem with reading minds is that she pretty much knows just what most of the men who want to date her are thinking. And the men she has dated so far are not the deepest thinkers.

Now enter new into town the vampire Bill. Sookie has been waiting to meet one of the new vampires that came out "of the closet" once bottled blood came on the market. She has been longing to meet one of these vampires but being in a small town Bill is the first. She's already fascinated with Bill and then on top of that Sookie finds out she can't read Bills mind. The story goes on from there. I don't want to give too much away. Let's just say "its wonderful."

I must make a comment on the comparison of this series with the Anita Blake series. I have read quite a few disgruntled reviews comparing this series with Laurell Hamilton's and terming this a "copycat series." I disagree completely! I am also a big Anita Blake fan (but I must be truthful - only the first four and from there it went downhill). You can say in comparison that the worlds in both storylines accept the fact of vampires and werewolves and other otherworldly creatures, but this series IS NOT the same, and stands on its own. This series truly adds a southern charm all its own. I enjoyed Sookie the down home girl with all of her Southern charm! This is no way comapares to the Anite Blake series which is pretty "dark and depressing."

This book and the entire series gets 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I expected.
Review: I picked up these books on recommendation from this site and people who had read books by Laurell K. Hamilton. After finishing the first book, I found myself disappointed.

I feel that the storyline jumped around a lot with no good reason. Many times it felt like Sookie was making decisions based on the fact that the writer had to keep the story going instead of what Sookie might actually do. Additionally, perhaps that is what Sookie would do and the character development in the book was the thing that was lacking.

The writing style was difficult to read at times, especially during the dialogue.

Overall the book was ok: the story was ok, the writing was ok and the characters were ok. Unfortunately I was expecting something better than ok.

Rating:
Summary: Homespun southern gothic, complete with fangs
Review: The first book in the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris is a fun, quick, easy read. Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in a small Louisiana town, is pretty and blonde and not dumb at all. She's perfectly normal, except for one small quirk. She has telepathy. This makes it difficult to stay sane, and impossible to get dates. Until she meets Bill, a tall, dark and handsome man whose mind she absolutely can't read. He's perfectly normal, except for one small quirk. He's a vampire.

Some things are just never easy.

And so Sookie's adventures begin. Over the course of the book, she begins dating and perhaps loving Bill, adjusts to small town prejudice, and even becomes involved in a freakish murder mystery. Someone is killing 'fang bangers', women who sleep with vampires and allow themselves to become willing prey. Since Sookie is currently involved with a creature of the night, she's naturally drawn into the grisly proceedings. And then there's her boss, a sweet sandy haired man who happens to be a lycanthrope and smitten with her. Her life just gets progressively weirder.

First and foremost, be prepared, if you are a Laurell K Hamilton fan or are acquainted with her writings, for a very watered-down version of Anita Blake, vampire hunter. We've got the supernaturally gifted heroine, the human-vampire-werewolf love triangle, the undead as legal citizens, and the occult murder mystery. Sookie, of course, is no Anita, neither as complex nor as strong as Hamilton's feisty protagonist. While this makes her proceedings more realistic and a little more accessible, you just won't fall in love with her like you would with Anita. She actually becomes a bit trying and boring near the end, though you'll still want to finish the book.

This book has its enjoyable elements. We find out that there is a black market for vampire blood, werewolves can become little collie dogs, and an undead Elvis Presley, who now calls himself Bubba, is Sookie's bodyguard. While nothing is truly exciting and original (we've seen most of it in the Anita Blake series), it is fun, and a good, light read for when Hamilton's books get a little melodramatic. If you're unacquainted with Hamilton, you'll probably be bowled over by the story's inventiveness. If you read Anita, you won't find anything new, but you'll at least get a homier version of the tales you know and love.

This gets three stars for combining charming style and mostly sturdy writing with a story that has been done before.

Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining
Review: This author has a VERY interesting imagination. This isn't a typical vampire/horror novel. If you're looking for Anne Rice, you won't find it here. What you WILL find, is a very hilarious story that happens to include vampires. I am a huge fan of dark, scary books about vampires (including Anne Rice's), but I also really enjoyed this change of pace. Some things were so completely goofy but the book was fun anyway. If you appreciate dark humor, grab this book right away!

Rating:
Summary: a good start
Review: I give it to Harris, she has orginality, well a little bit. Sookie is expecting the vampire to be an "Antoine" "Francois" and all those lovely french names, who could ever think u can also have a Vampire Bill? Harris continued to create a heroine who is a cry-baby, a little bit nutty, and a weakling instead of the usual Buffy/Anita Blake "tough-as-nails-vampire slayers". I'm not against this part; it's very refreshing to have a more realistic woman who's not afraid to show her emotions or accept help from the opposite sex. But she still kept on with the typical love triangle with a shapeshifter, two vampires, and probably a human on the coming series just like the other vampire series out there. Continuing with the imitations, Sookie is gifted, not just an ordinary human, no-no, that wouldn't be interesting and I have a huge hunch her powers will grow immensely on the 3rd book or 4th book. Nevertheless, I like how she write, it's light, not so heavy and emotional with a faint attempt on humour. It's not laugh out loud funny but she has potential. The mystery is a put-down. You'll figure out the whole thing half-way through the book. BUt I know she'll improve on it. I'll give this 3 stars because Ive read better ones, but I encourage everybody to start the series. I know the characters and the author will become dear to me as I continue to read and learn about their emotions, principles, conflicts, etc..

Rating:
Summary: Quirky, Sexy, Mystery and Horror - LOVE IT
Review: Charlaine Harris has a great eye for light yet engaging mysteries/sci-fi. Sookie is so great! The characters are interesting, funny, serious. Makes a twenty-something wish her life were as interesting and animated as hers! Love the storyline between Sookie and Bill the vampire set against the backdrop of ordinary life in Louisiana.

Rating:
Summary: Not What I Expected
Review: It might have been a mistake to read this book after reading the Anita Blake series. I bought all three Charlaine Harris books and read them all in a row. I was more than a little disappointed. Some people may have found the books amusing....I didn't. I enjoy a good vampire book and found these books silly and well.........boring. Pretty much a waste of time. Sorry.

Rating:
Summary: Great Reading!!!!
Review: Okay, if you are a Laurell K. Hamilton fan, you should like this book. It is very different from Laurell but it is still a similar plot & very well written. I went thru the whole series in a couple of days, I couldn't put it down. Sookie rocks!