Dead Reckoning: A True Blood Novel (Sookie Stackhouse, #11)

by Charlaine Harris

There¿s a reckoning on the way . . .

. . . and Sookie has a knack for being in trouble's way; not least when she witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is known to be two-natured, suspicion immediately falls on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but before she can investigate something else ¿ something even more dangerous ¿ comes up.

Sookie¿s lover Eric Northman and his ¿child¿ Pam are plotting something in secret. Whatever it is, they seem determined to keep Sookie out of it; almost as determined as Sookie is to find out what¿s going on. She can¿t sit on the sidelines when both her work and her love life under threat ¿ but as she¿s gradually drawn into their plans Sookie finds the situation is deadlier than she could ever have imagined.

• ISBN10: 0575096527
• ISBN13: 9780575096523
• Publish Date: 3 May 2011 (first published 1 May 2011)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 16 September 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[celinenyx]

2.5 Stars

I used to be a huge Charlaine Harris fan. Her books have always been so comfortable to me. Our ideal relationship has reached a rocky patch now, after some not-so-great reads. Like many other people, I'm developing a love/hate relationship with Ms Harris, and the Sookie Stackhouse series in particular.

Merlotte's is firebombed, and Sookie has no idea who's behind it. All she knows is that it was a supernatural - probably a were or shifter of some kind. While trying to stay alive, she also has to juggle her relationship with Eric, and finds out more about her heritage.

When you lay out the plot like that, it looks better than it actually was. Plotting isn't the strongest point of the Sookie series, but the plot in Dead Reckoning was especially skimpy. There was no central conflict, just a few things that happened to Sookie. She takes the hits, then goes on to angst and paint her toenails.

What has drawn in thousands of readers of the Sookie books are the lovely characters. Sookie the spunky girl-next-door with a special ability, vampire Bill the mysterious but sweet guy, Eric the cool vampire viking, Pam the cold but hilarious second in command... But in Dead Reckoning, all of the characters have lost their sparkle. Sookie is dead tired with being killed and all the vampire drama. Bill barely gets any page time, but when he does, he's just weird. Eric, who was such an amazing character at the start of the series, is just brooding and lame now. Even sarcastic Pam seems to have lost her appetite for being bitchy and awesome. There have been rumours about how Ms Harris didn't really feel like writing the last few books, and it shows. There is no love, no passion in her writing for these characters we've come to adore.

About halfway through the book finally gains some speed, and the finale was decent. It just makes me sad where this story is going. I wish Ms Harris had wrapped up the series in ten books, instead of this weird extension that no one seems to enjoy.

[inlibrisveritas]

Well Sookie is back and...well she's lost a bit of momentum. It has the same comfortable pace and nearly the same flow as the past novels...but it just doesn't feel the same anymore.

The plot has the same aspects as all of the others. Some thing happens that pulls Sookie back into the danger that she wishes would go away, and then you spend the whole novel trying to figure out the who, the what, and the how. It's all very standard Sookie. I think the thing that brings this novel down is that there isn't much that goes on and there are a lot of recaps for some reason. I think the recaps are for those who don't want to read previous novels or perhaps majority of the people who read these have terrible memories and need to be reminded of the same thing every 4 chapters. I found it really irritating to be told that Dermot looks like Jason but isn't actually Jason every time the guy shows up. As for the action, it starts off strong but it just kind of dwindles down as the story goes on. It does pick up a few times but it quickly levels out after a couple of pages. I did find out some things that I've been wondering about for a few books now, so that's great...but it also opened up some more questions.

Sookie actually got on my nerves this time around, and I had to take breaks whenever she said something stupid. It wasn't often but you would think after ten books of this stuff she would be kind of on par with things. She's great when it comes to the paranormal and weird, but the simple things just seems to throw her for a loop at times. Eric and Pam are still an awesome duo and I still enjoyed their parts of the story, in fact I wish there had been more of them in this one. Dermot and Claude provide a bit of cloudiness to the plot because it's rather obvious they are keeping secrets but for the most part they are also absent. I almost hate the fact that some characters are only brought into the story to add unnecessary conflict, like Alcide and Amelia. It's just distracting and irritating, and I kept asking myself "who would do that?" because it wasn't all that thought out. It's an obvious plot device and just kind of makes everything a bit weird.

At any rate, it's a good continuation but it's not great. I think after eleven books I'm just kind of ready to put Sookie on the shelf and remember the good times, but since there are only two more books there isn't that much of a reason not to finish. I do want to find out what is going on with the Fae and I want to see the outcome of Eric's predicament with the Queen of Oklahoma, so there is a bit of desire for the next ones. I think if you are wondering if you want to continue the series I can't say I recommend this one, it's very middle of the road and only serves as a filler book.

[rakesandrogues]

Heroine: In the first few books of this series, it amazed me on how vain Sookie Stackhouse was. Never in my life have I encountered a main character who described her grooming habits so often. I thought it died down after the first few books, but in DEAD RECKONING, it seems to be the only thing that Sookie does! Shaving, bathing, brushing her hair, painting her nails. She’s like a walking, talking Barbie doll who dates a vampire. I hate to say it, but I am sick and tired of Sookie’s southern hospitality and overall cutesyness. Geeeeeez. I’m usually a fan of Sookie, but I feel like everything I don’t like about her are emphasized in this book.

Hero: Okay, I’m Team Bill, but usually I can see the appeal of Eric. Hot blond viking… okay. But as the series progresses, I see it less and less. He doesn’t really do anything but find ways to control Sookie. He didn’t do anything remotely romantic in this book. Nothing swoon-worthy. It’s a bit disappointing.

Supporting Cast: Bubba makes an appearance!!!! I love it whenever he plays a role in the book. His role is minor and towards the end, but it was better than no appearance at all. I did like Pam’s role in this book, but unfortunately, she wasn’t the same snarky character. Due to her circumstances, it was understandable.

Plot: I honestly wanted to bang my head against a wall for the first 2/3rds of the book. But the plot did pick up in the last 50 or so pages and I enjoyed it quite a bit… but not enough for me to change my overall impression of the book. This book was just down right dull compared to the

Romance: Errr… How is this book supposed to be romantic again? I used to think that this book had such an epic love triangle, but it’s fizzled to nothing but squabble.


I’m unfortunately having trouble remembering why I like this series so much. It’s been a year – maybe – since I read the previous book. The writing is really not that great. The characters – especially Sookie – grate on my nerves. I don’t know if I can continue this series.

[lizarodz]

I have been reading this series for a while now, and eagerly await my yearly visits with Sookie, but I have to say that books 10 and 11 have been kind of a disappointment to me. 'Dead Reckoning' is a relatively short book and its filled with a lot of mundane, everyday tasks, such as doing laundry or fixing a ham sandwich. Don't get me wrong, a lot of Sookie's expressions and inner thoughts are very funny, and love her 'voice.' It's just that I think Ms. Harris is kind of fluffing the book up with irrelevant things, instead of concentrating on the plot, specially since the series will end with book 13.

'Dead Reckoning' has a lot of characters that we have come to know, like Bill, Eric, Pam, Mr. Cataliades, Alcide, Claude, Amelia, Sam, Hunter and others. There are a few new characters introduced and the conspicuous absence of others, such as Jason. The characters, as always, as well developed and each one was a very distinct voice.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this novel and there is a lot going on in a short period of time. A don't know what to think about the item Sookie found (code name: 'cd') or the new development with Eric, or how out of character certain comments from Bill are, or what are the fairies planning. This book leaves many untied ends and raises more questions than answers.

For those of you who watch 'True Blood', I have to say (like in most instances,) that the books are much better than the series (even though I do watch it.) The novels are always written from Sookie's point of view and therefore we don't get a lot of insight of what is happening to other characters, unless she is told about it or she is involved in the scene, therefore the TV series makes up A LOT of things to fill in the blanks.

I do hope that the next two installments are better and that, at the end, Sookie can find her happy ending. I will still read the remaining books (I am invested in the series now!)

About the cover: I like all of the covers for the series, the art is very nice and always ties in with the title and the plot of the book.

[ibeforem]

I felt pretty good about this book. I’ve been lukewarm about a lot of the books in the latter half of this series, but here we had a little bit of an old fashioned whodunit, rather than a lot of vampire/fae politics. Of course, we can’t get away from the politics altogether. I’ve always preferred action over talk in this series, and there was plenty of action here. Sookie makes some interesting decisions in this book, and I quite enjoyed the return of Bubba. It was enough to keep me interested in the next novel.

[Kim Deister]

Dead Reckoning is the 11th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, and one I have very mixed opinions about. I love the series, as well as True Blood, but this one left me a little flat. I love the characters, the storylines, etc., but the lack of continuity in this book in relation to the stories already told was at times glaringly obvious. As a standalone book, it was fine, but taken as a continuation of an already established series, it lost a lot with the continuity issues. I almost think it is a bit of a disservice to long time fans and readers of the series. While I will definately continue the series, I just hope that the same issues won't be so obvious in the following books. I really love the series and the stories as a whole and it is a shame. I gave it a 3.5 out of 5.

[MurderByDeath]

Another great addition to the Sookie Stackhouse series. This one didn't seem as 'chaotic' as previous books in the series. The plot on this one seemed very straightforward and focused. Of course, as usual, the author leaves you with several questions unanswered until the next book. The author has stated that she might end the series at 13, and I have a suspicion that she has introduced the device to ending the series in this book. I'll look forward to reading the next two to see if I'm correct.

[Linda]

CAREFUL - FILLED WITH SPOILERS!!














What a twisted, thoroughly wild ride! Sookie got Amelia's help to get rid of her bond to Eric, and that made her both sad and happy, and it pissed Eric off for quite a while. Victor continued his ministrations to get Eric to do something stupid so he could kill him without consequences. Sandra Pelt came back with a vengeance, and Sookie found out more things about herself as part fairy, her grandma, and quite a few other things.

So many things happened in this book, and far from all of them were happy! There was a really fast rythm, and I still was very happy with the way Sookie was feeling and acting, and how she was standing up for herself.

There were a lot more violence than usual (or have I forgotten how much happened in prior books?) Sandra tried to kill Sookie several times, first by using other people, then, by trying to do it herself, and being caught by the police only to escape again.

Some other tugs tried to kill Sookie as well, and we got a very humorous moment when Sookie was able to escape to Bill's house, find his daytime sleeping place and hide there - all naked :D

Amelia did some stupid things to interfer in Sookies lovelife, and Sookie came back home from a night with Eric to find Alcide sleeping in her bed :O

Finally, Sooke came up with a plan to kill Victor, and it totally worked, after a long fight, and most of the casualties on the 'bad' side.

There was all the sweetness with Tara's baby-shower, then some explanations with Cateliades in the kitchen before he had to run off from his own potential killers.

At the very end, Sandra came back, having taken Janalynn and Sam hostage at gunpoint, but she ended up dead in a completely disgusting way at Janalynn's hands before she was disposed of through the fairy veil in the woods.

Claude is up to something for sure, but he really wasn't any more forthcoming than usual. And all the men are still in love with Sookie! Eric (though he has been promised in marriage to the Queen of Oklahoma - hello future tangles!) Bill, Alcide, and now, maybe even Sam, as he seemed really shocked with Janalynn's violence.

There were more things happening, but I won't get into them right now. And this is more than full enough of spoilers anyway!