Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse Book 1) by Charlaine Harris

As you can see, the winner of my poll was Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.  For all those who participated, thank you very much.  It was close but,  in the end, the numbers were clear on who won.

Ms. Harris does a wonderful job of introducing the reader to the characters of the story through the eyes of Sookie Stackhouse herself.  Being familiar with the TV show, I was familiar with Sookie and her brother Jason even though in the book Jason has a slightly different personality and Sookie's is a bit different.  The description and development of the characters was enough to get over all the differences between the two tellings of the story.

We meet Sookie and learn how she feels the whole town of Bon Tempe thinks her odd and keeps her outside of most social circles.  To be truthful, she knows they thinks that because, Sookie can read minds.  It led her to behaving strangely as a child until she could control it better. This situation is also what fueled her attraction to one Mr. Bill Compton and took her down the path that makes this story interesting.

I believe another key element to this story is the setting.  A story could be set in the creepiest of English castles and it still won't have effect that a small town surrounded by deep dark woods.   Couple that with the fact that the town is in Louisiana, legendary home to many voodoo practitioners, and the scene doesn't just draw you into a paranormal story, it swallows you whole.  At times, the setting is like another character in the story.

I always appreciate when an author can go beyond the surface with folklore and delve deep into the past to create the world of their story.  Charlaine Harris does this well in this story which gives it it's own special flair.  I look forward to the next installment if for no other reason than to see what new creature she can unearth from ancient mythology.

Sookie Stackhouse, like Jane Yellowrock or Harry Dresden, is not high fantasy but, more like blue-collar fantasy.  They are also very entertaining reads.  They can also inspire a person to examine some social issues in a different light without trying to tell people how to think (or shame them into it).  Anybody who has seen the TV shows knows, this one is not for the little ones.  It gets a definite R rating from me (the show gets a soft core X).  Language, adult conversations and a few sex scenes not to mention violence and of course, copious amounts of blood is the reasons why.

Next month will be Living Dead in Dallas Book 2 by Charlaine Harris.  Remember, we can spoil the heck out of this months book then.

Posted by Tynga at 02:00

 Charlaine Harris, Penguin, Purchased, Review, Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire, the south, Urban Fantasy, vampires  3 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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