Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1)

by Charlaine Harris

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Usually I am a "books before movies" kinda gal, but I watched the first three seasons of True Blood plus some before picking up the first Sookie Stackhouse book. Fortunately, the long haul with the Harry Potter series has taught me to view books and film as separate entities, so I appreciate the television show while still loving the book. This is not to say that there weren't difference (boy were there differences) but I have learned not to get enraged about them.

Sometimes, reading the book after seeing the films/show allows for an added appreciation, and this was the case for me. While I enjoy the writing style and the culture Harris breathes into the pages here, I am impressed at how well the actors have brought the characters to life. My one critique here would be that I found the characters a little flat, especially Bill Compton, the dashing vampire who catches Sookie's heart. Knowing the way the story is going to end really allows for a more careful investigation of the elements that make up the story.

The detail is perfect. Some of my cherished authors (JRR Tolkien) use so much detail that scenes can get frightfully boring. Others use so little that one needs a remarkable imagination to bring the book to life. Harris is right in-between. She gives away the details that matter, but in "murder" she's dealing with a grisly subject and she manages to give the reader the idea without sickening them. Anyone who has watched the first season of True Blood knows that the first season in particular is overflowing with sex. Not this book. Well, yes. We know that Sookie is having hot, steamy sex with her handsome vamp, but Harris does us the courtesy of not describing it in detail, which gives her an extra thumbs up from me!

The cast of characters is a little different in the book (at least from my memory) and the story even swerves a bit differently. Even for those who have watched the series, I would recommend the books. They are well-written, easy reads that further open up the world of vampiric Louisiana.