Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1)

I picked this book up after watching the HBO series, True Blood, based on this book. I figured as with so many books made into television, the book would be so much better, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The book was very poorly written & differed so much from the series that I just couldn't get into it. One of the main characters in the HBO series, Sookies best friend Tara, isn't even in the books! The dialogue was horrible, Sookie was portrayed as rather uneducated in the book & seemed very shallow (after all she seemed more upset by the demise of her cat than her grandmother). I've heard that the rest of the series of books does improve, however, I'm not wasting any more money on this series. If you do decide to try this book out, do yourself a favor & borrow it from a friend or the library. DO NOT waste money on this book!

I had not read any of the series, but started watching True Blood on HBO and got hooked on the show and looked forward to each new episode, so I decided to try the books.

Long story short is that if you like the show you will really love the book. All the things that are started in the show are developed more here and we get to know more about the charactors. Sookie is the centerpiece, the naive (but not really that naive) person who can read people's minds, which is something that can be quite a task in her small town and the various people that live there.

This is a perfect belnd of storytelling, humor, vampires and the occult all coming together to somehow also having a sense of normalacy among all of this.

Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

I was very impressed by the series, and the development of Sookie's character. I feel that some people were put off by her 'pleased as punch' dialogue. I'd like to point out that Sookie has lived with her grandmother most of her life and it acutually makes a lot of sense that she would pick up such expressions from her. Again, describing Bill as 'vampirey' is just part of who Sookie is, and how she would see fit to describe someone.
I really enjoyed the 'mundane' tasks in Sookie's life. This is truly a first person's point of view and I feel Charlaine wrote this very faithfully in Sookie's perspective. To some people knowing Sookie is shaving, brushing her hair, or checking her word of the day calendar may seem unnecessary but I feel it's just a part of who she is.
I really, really enjoyed the fact that she has a job...and goes to it. And during all the insanity that transpires in her life she still needs to ocassionally plan around her work. A lot of authors either have their story based around their characters job (cop, PI etc.) or they never mention the fact that the character goes to work. Maybe all the action convienently happens after hours? Maybe they doesn't need the money?

in a sentence or two: Sookie is a cute, charismatic, mind-reading barmaid in small town Louisiana. she desperately wants to meet a vampire - and then wouldn't you know it, she meets Bill. about that time, murders start happening in the little town of Bon Temps and vampires are the prime suspects.

Sookie lives with her grandma and works at the local bar. she's a bit envious that all the vampires like to hangout around New Orleans (how can small-town Bon Temps compete with that?). lucky for her, Bill walks in and tosses her world upside down. not that it wasn't already a bit topsy-turvy, her being a mind reader and all. when she discovers that two of her less-than-desirable patrons are going to lure Bill outside for his priceless vampire blood, she decides to do something about it. but don't worry - Bill returns the favor by saving her life too.

i was super intrigued by the idea of vampires being an accepted reality in the book. which gave room to more creative and thoughtful story lines other than "wehavetokeepeverythingsecret" being rehashed over and over, and was pretty refreshing. there is a good reason this book claims to be a mystery series and not merely a vampire book - there are murders happening in Bon Temps and no one can figure it out. the only clues are that the victims are women (fang-bangers [LOVE THAT]) and had an...ahem...sexual history. so along with the mystery, there is the Bill/Sookie budding relationship which adds some romance to the mix quite nicely.

overall, i was really impressed. Sookie's 'gift' as a telepathic isolated her from the world (which she explains pretty well), which i thought to be an accurate prediction of what that would really be like to hear everyone's thoughts all the time. Bill is trying to 'mainstream', that is, be among the living and lead a normal life. so we get to see how other vampires choose to live, how 'fang-bangers' choose to live, and how the rest of the world views the whole thing. there are even laws as to what vampires can and can't do, and what humans can and can't do to vampires.

i love a good mystery. i love a good romance. i love a good vampire book. this is all three in a steady balance with a quaint southern narration that wasn't hokey or dripping with southern drawl, but small-townish and southern enough to make you feel right at home with the characters, sipping some sweet tea on the front porch. and since is the first in a series, you can bet that i'll be visiting Bon Temps again real soon!

fave quote: "This was pretty exotic stuff for a telepathic barmaid from northern Louisiana" (197)

fix er up: not a fix er up exactly, but more a caution for young adult readers/adults who are recommending this to young adults. the book does contain some erotic sex scenes with Bill and Sookie. not that teens don't know about sex or shouldn't read about sex or whatever - but just a warning that there are some pretty intimate scenes. the good news is they are both consenting adults in a committed relationship blahblahblah - plus it's well written and not smutty. just a heads up.

I'm not going to go over what the book was about I'm just going to tell you reviewers my take on "Dead Until Dark". I loved it!! At first I didn't think that I was going to like it but after a couple of chapters I really got into it & I couldn't put it down. I absolutly love Sookies country way of doing & saying thing. So if you are like me and love YA Fantasy then you will love this series too!!