Last gasp

Dead Ever After - Charlaine Harris (Ace Books, 2013)

I feel vindicated. The series wrapped up more or less exactly how I thought it would. (See previous entries here.) Which isn't particularly the arc I would have chosen, but I'm too colored by the actors playing various characters to have any real objectivity there.

(PS - what on earth is going on in HBO's Bon Temps?! I haven't seen this past season yet, but reading about it online makes it sound insane.)

But anyway, Sookie. Characters return from the past to seek revenge, and the repercussions of her use of the cluviel dor in the last book continue to ripple. With the usual amount of insanity - jail, murder attempts, etc etc etc - eventually things tie themselves in a neat enough bow. Sookie ends up not exactly back where she started, but somewhere near there. And with some promise that even if she doesn't get a happily ever after, the era of the constant threats to live and limb is coming to a close.

Dead Tired

Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris (Ace Books, 2012)


We know who Sookie will end up with, right? It's decided. So at this point the series is just taking us down the long winding road that leads us there. Preferably with a whole bunch of new supernatural creatures, all of whom seem to feel the need either to protect Sookie or to do her harm.

But that's fine. It was pleasant enough to rejoin Sookie's world for a few days, and celebrate her birthday with her. Life in Bon Temps is moving forward, and it seems like some loose ends are tying themselves up. Which makes me wonder if the next installment of Sookie will be the last.

She's back!

Dead Reckoning - Charlaine Harris (Ace Books, 2011)

I've sorta missed my girl Sookie. This series has long since been completely out there. I mean, there's suspension of disbelief, and then there's what Sookie's Louisiana requires. But, after 9 months or whatever, I realize I've missed it. It was oddly comforting to return to vampires and werecreatures and fairies and witches and demons ... and now elves? Well, elf.

Too much going on. And everyone is out to kill Sookie or someone she loves. Or is creating plots that impact Sookie or someone she loves. Also, everyone still wants to have sex with her. It's exhausting, but it's fun.

But this installment was also sad. I'm not sure what comes next for Ms. Stackhouse. Each book has a melancholy ending, but this one hit harder for me. I guess I have to wait until next spring to find out what's next.

BACK! (Also, more cheesiness)

The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury, Dark Reunion (Vampire Diaries 1-4) - L.J. Smith (Harper Teen, 2007 - originally published 1991-2)

Nightfall andShadow Souls (Vampire Diaries - The Return 1&2) - L.J. Smith (Harper Teen, 2009 & 2010)

While I was busy being on hiatus and "not reading", I also decided that it was very important that I read a vampire book for Halloween. And then I figured I might as well read the whole series. Which is loooooong. At least the new ones. Smith, like Meyer & Harris, has let her vampire world get totally out of control. Whatever I read in Shadow Souls about demons and weird underground dimensions I still don't understand. And like Meyer, she just starts writing longer and longer books.

But they are entertaining. If you can look past all the ridiculousness and the sloppy editing, they are kind of fun. It was certainly all I was capable of taking on during the month of November.

(I like the show better though. Mainly for Damon.)

All caught up with Sookie, for now

Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris (Ace Books, 2010)

Hallelujah! I am all even with the Sookie Stackhouse books. Now I get to sit like everyone else and wait for the next one, presumably sometime next spring. (And yes, I know there are collections of stories out there. I am not that obsessed.)

So this time around: Sookie is bummed and hurt, Eric has a family - including famous Russians (!), Sookie disapproves of Sam's new love interest (just get them together already, please), Bill is going to commit incest or something, fairies get lonely, were chicks are fierce, Jason continues to be far less entertaining than his television counterpart. And the presumed major enemy really has nothing to do with this novel, so he's either a red herring or the focus of the next installment.

And the novel continues to show that True Blood will by necessity have less and less to do with the novels. No people, Godrick is not Eric's maker in the books. Lafayette gets killed off way early and is never as fabulous as he is on screen. Jessica doesn't even exist. I'm guessing that after this season - maybe next season? - there will be essentially no remaining connection between the two. And that's just fine with me.

Team Eric

Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris (Ace Books, 2009)

Just one behind! (Of course it's the brand new one, so who knows when I'll get my hands on it.) It seems fairly clear to me that Harris has a plan for Sookie's love life, and with whom her happily-ever-after (if she ever gets one) lies. I don't think I approve of this plan. But whatever, I'm not in charge. If it's so important to me, I should just go write my own wildly successful series of vampire/werecreature/witch/fairy books. But if you had any doubts where my allegiance lay, check out the title of this post again.

And that's about all I have to say about this installment. It's gotten totally out of control - there are about a zillion different groups of supernatural beings either trying to kill or keep an eye on Sookie pretty much simultaneously. And everyone keeps dying. And really, dying in increasingly horrific ways. When do we get the book where no one dies?

Also, whenever she has a moment of regret, I applaud. Because things were obv kinda awful before, when everyone thought she was a freak for reading minds. And being desired for that very trait is pretty cool. But being desired has an awful lot of pitfalls. Sookie's a do-er more than a philosopher, but I wouldn't mind a DFW-esque cascade of footnotes that consider this somewhat existential dilemma. Just saying.

Enough already with the vampires

From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris (Ace Books, 2008)

I know, I know. And actually, I don't have much to say here. More supernatural beings. More wars. And more chances for me to read about Eric and picture Alexander Skarsgård. (Yay!)

But honestly, as far as vampires are concerned, I'm thinking a lot more about the season finale of The Vampire Diaries, which I just finished watching. It made me sad. Intrigued, but sad.

(And yes, I am aware that this is a really sad and pitiful book review. Sorry.)

Mysteries, books, and television

Heat Wave - Richard Castle (Hyperion, 2009)

All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris (Ace Books, 2007)

This is how I spent my spring break.

One's a book from a series that created one of my favorite television shows (returning in June!) and the other was inspired from another show in my regular rotation. I'll start with Castle.

Okay, so Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) is a successful mystery author who somehow manages to get permission to shadow a NYC homicide detective, who is a beautiful, tough yet vulnerable, blah blah blah, romantic tension. Anyway, the show is funny. Heat Wave is the first in his new Nikki Heat series, based on Det. Kate Beckett. Since it's such a great plot point on the show, I was highly amused when I saw (via Twitter, natch) that they actually published the "real" Heat Wave. (It's worth noting that the physical version, at 198 pages, is significantly slimmer than the tome that appears on the show.)

Since certain family members were dying to read it, and I was amused, I picked it up from the library. (The staffer at circulation was also excited, and actually yelped when she saw the pic of "Richard Castle" on the back cover.)

Oh, but the story itself. It's cute. It's not great, but it's cute, and I was entertained, particularly by all the extra-plot flourishes, like the blurbs and the dedication. Definitely for fans of the show only, but those folks will be amused.

.... And back to Sookie Stackhouse, heroine of this blog, so it seems. This, the 7th, might be my favorite installment of the series so far. It pushes along the grand narrative, and I've come to just put up with many of the quirks which I initially found annoying. And since it's been so long since True Blood was on the air, I'm finding it easier not to compare the two. I've almost been able to separate them into totally separate entities (like Gossip Girl, although I haven't actually read the books to compare).

This one actually had a quote that I enjoyed enough to note down. Sookie's a telepath, which has mostly been a problem until she started meeting supernatural beings, but she can't read vampires. So when she's in a room just with them, she realizes she has no idea what everyone else is thinking, and that this is what most of us deal with every day. She marvels, "How did regular people stand the suspense of day-to-day living?" How, indeed.

And again, vampires

Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris (Ace Books, 2006)

I can't imagine anyone will be too sad when I catch up with this series, b/c I long ago gave up on having anything new and interesting to say about it. Even though it's kind of gotten more interesting. Less Bill Compton always good. But tigers?! And obviously there's not nearly enough Eric (can there ever really be enough Eric?). But anyway, I think I'm only 3 books back now? So just a couple months left, and then I can find other candy reading.

Damn, Sookie

Dead to the World, Charlaine Harris
New York: Ace Books, 2004

Dead as a Doornail, Charlaine Harris
New York: Ace Books, 2005

I read these at some point over the last few weeks. Which puts me about halfway through the series? I need to space out the rest until True Blood is back on the air, perhaps.

Anyway, the supernatural world grows in leaps and bounds, Sookie almost dies about a zillion times, but most importantly, EVERYONE wants to have sex with Sookie. It's kind of out of control. Also, like Gossip Girl (please stop and note the awesome tag), I think the show will have to make a pretty significant break from the books and go off on its own tangents. (I still get sad when I think of what I heard Book Chuck is like. Ugh.) The show has already deviated wildly through the first two seasons, and what gossip I've heard (thank you Anonymous Friend who visited the set) suggests Season 3 is the same.

Sookie Stackhouse, take 3

Club Dead - Charlaine Harris
New York: Ace Books, 2003

And so here is Book 3. Damn, this girl gets around. Also, lots more supernatural creatures out there. It's a little overwhelming. Nothing particularly to add to my thoughts on this series, but figured I would have it here for the record.
(Also, since there are elements here that appeared in Season 2 of True Blood, albeit in different fashion, I'm wondering exactly how they will use this book for Season 3.)

Yet another vampire post

Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris
New York: Ace Books, 2002

I read the second book in the series that has become True Blood, which I miss. A classmate has noted that Harris seems to have better editors as the series goes on, and even if this second novel I feel like I might be starting to see a difference.

What's sort of more interesting to me is how drastically the books differ from the tv show. Reading this, which is essentially season 2, you can see where the writers found their inspiration, but then they went off in all sorts of directions. And most of them, I prefer. The television characters, Sookie and Bill excepted, are pretty much all more vibrant and funny and engaging. (Harris pours her all into Sookie, so she is lively on the page, and while book Bill is fine, I find him just sooooooooo boring on the show that it's not too hard to outdo him.)

Anyway, it was a good read for finals week. Vacation reading on the way...

Vampires

Okay, I would like this vampire to be my boyfriend. But I digress. To the review...

Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris
New York: Ace Books, 2001

I would never have read this were it not for True Blood. And I don't know if I would have continued watching the show - which is entertaining enough although I'm still not sure about Anna Paquin - were it not for Eric.

But I did watch the show, and got pretty into it. So clearly that meant that I had to try reading the books. My mom gave me the copies of 2-4 that she got from a friend, but I don't like starting in the middle. So I ended up buying a copy really cheap. (And now I'm babbling. Have I mentioned that Eric is hot?)

Okay. So here is Dead Until Dark. It's difficult not to compare it to the tv show. Sookie is a strange character. She can hear people's thoughts, and that creates problems for her, even as she tries to keep out of their heads. People think she is definitely weird, and possibly a little retarded. She's hot enough, but a virgin in her mid-twenties. She handles with aplomb situations that would fell me, and then gets weirded out by other things. I don't get her. And then Bill is a vampire. That's about all there is to say there.

Wow, this is a bad review. (Have I mentioned though that Eric is hot? Although not so much in this first book. Will he get more hot later on? I guess it doesn't matter as long as he stays hot on tv.) The book is enjoyable enough, and it's got some suspense and a decent mystery. I'll keep reading the series.

Okay Twilight

So the Facebook application "Pieces of Flair" may have gotten its inspiration from Office Space, but I sometimes wonder if it would manage to keep going were it not for Twilight, Stephenie Meyer's crazy-popular young adult vampire series. (I would post some, but it kept making the margins all funny, and also some of them seem to need spoiler alerts attached. Suffice it to say, "Team Edward" "I'm in love with a fictional vampire" and "I'm sending this to you because I needed more points for Twilight flair" are popular.)

I don't remember when/why I decided I would have to get around to reading these. Maybe it had to do with my teens. Maybe it was my way of punishing myself for all the times I have mocked my mom for her vampire craze. Or some sort of cruel irony since I missed the last young adult novel phenomenon that was Harry Potter. Anyway, doesn't really matter. The point is, last Friday I came home from the library, big book in hand, and only wondering a little if the librarian was smirking at me.

Twilight is back at the library, so I don't have a copy nearby to help with this post. (On the other hand, I do have New Moon, a fact about which I am not proud.) It is a ridiculously fast read, by the way. I am sure that someone could do a better recap than this, but here we go: Bella moves from sunny Phoenix to rainy Forks, WA to live with her dad. And she falls in love with a vampire, who may or may not want to eat her. And hijinx ensue. Well, not exactly.

To my mind, clearly the best part of the novel is the "will they or won't they?" aspect to Bella and Edward's relationship. I believe that Meyer knows her Jane Austen well, and was not surprised when Bella breaks out a copy of the collected novels. Edward is very much the Austen hero: wicked smart, extremely honorable, and tortured by his own imperfections. (This may be a coincidence, but as in Austen, any declarations of love are also oddly embarrassing for this reader, who feels both as if she is intruding on something private and wanting to correct the lovers - er, are you sure you want to say it that way?) Yet, unlike legions of Facebook users, I don't feel about Edward the way I feel about Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley. (And given that the character is 17 going on 107 or whatever, that's probably not a bad thing.)

So, as far as teen girls go, I totally get it. (Do teen guys read Twilight? Anyone have statistics for me?) Since the protagonists are teens, I imagine it has limited adult appeal. Vampire buffs can get their fix from other series, and romantics will probably seek out something with more sex. But it's awfully charming, and a little addictive - hence Book 2 on my couch and Book 3 somewhere in transit between libraries. I will try to put off Book 4, since really? There has to be delayed gratification somewhere along the way.