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Truly, Madly, Deadly: The Unofficial True Blood Companion
Truly, Madly, The Unofficial True Blood Companion is at once an introductory guide to the first two seasons of HBO's immensely popular vampire series True Blood, and an all-in-one treasure tomb for the “truest” of fans. Created by Alan Ball, the Oscar-winning writer of American Beauty and creator of HBO's cult ensemble sensation Six Feet Under, in 2009 True Blood surpassed The Sopranos as the largest ever audience for a cable show at over 12.4 million viewers a week, relaunching the career of Oscar winner Anna Paquin, and introducing international audiences to Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgård, and Ryan Kwanten, to name only a few of the award-winning cast. This book offers in-depth biographies of each major cast member, along with pictures and fan quotes; guides to each episode along with a host of fun facts and behind-the-scenes anecdotes; sidebars providing additional cast or character info; full chapters, which tackle some of the greater underlying themes of True Blood such as the paranormal and the politics of race, sexuality, and gender; an overview of literary and cinematic vampires; an in-depth look at how social media has contributed to the success of the show, including interviews with the Twitter True Blood players; tributes to the supporting cast, including an interview with Kristin Bauer (Pam Ravenscroft); and an exclusive interview with, and introduction to, Charlaine Harris, author of the bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels, on which the series is loosely based.
- GenresVampiresNonfictionAdult
296 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2010
5 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Becca Wilcott
1 book9 followersBecca Wilcott is the author of
Truly, Madly, Deadly: the Unofficial True Blood Companion
.
Likes include: popular culture, apps, books, readers, ideas, single file, coffee, wine, good hair days, a cat who shall remain unnamed (really, it has no name), dry humour.
She lives in Toronto, ON where she works as a publishing professional.
Find her at BeccaWilcott.com and @BeccaWilcott.
Likes include: popular culture, apps, books, readers, ideas, single file, coffee, wine, good hair days, a cat who shall remain unnamed (really, it has no name), dry humour.
She lives in Toronto, ON where she works as a publishing professional.
Find her at BeccaWilcott.com and @BeccaWilcott.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 7, 2010
I'm a bit biased, but I liked it just fine.
October 17, 2010
Well, I didn't really READ it, I looked at it. There's a beautiful picture of Stephen Moyer in the middle that I'm tempted to tear out and tape onto my wall right beside my bed. Oh wait. I'm not 15 - and my husband might have a problem with it, lol.
I bought this book because I love, love, LOVE the show -- and it promised episode synopses for the first two seasons. They're not that great, and the book reads a bit like a Tiger Beat production, but what the heck. Fan-grrrls can be in their 40s, right?
It's a long wait for season 4.
I bought this book because I love, love, LOVE the show -- and it promised episode synopses for the first two seasons. They're not that great, and the book reads a bit like a Tiger Beat production, but what the heck. Fan-grrrls can be in their 40s, right?
It's a long wait for season 4.
Read
January 27, 2022I picked this one up due to my obsession with True Blood and it was definitely interesting.
The unofficial companion takes us through the entire storyline up until the published date, episode by episode, plus characters, timelines, and some great Q&A interview sessions.
I loved the section with burning questions for future episodes, plus more from Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris.
If you’re a True Blood fan you have to pick this one up!
The unofficial companion takes us through the entire storyline up until the published date, episode by episode, plus characters, timelines, and some great Q&A interview sessions.
I loved the section with burning questions for future episodes, plus more from Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris.
If you’re a True Blood fan you have to pick this one up!
September 21, 2010
With the cultural phenomenon that is True Blood, it was inevitable that episode guides, companions, and compendiums would shortly follow. People tune in every week to witness the further adventures of Sookie Stackhouse and vampires, demons and werewolves (oh my!), and people seem to fall on either side of the fence with no in-betweeners: People either love it or hate it. Becca Wilcott, it seems, is one of the former, as her new book Truly Madly Deadly: The Unofficial True Blood Companion brings insight and information about this cult series.
This companion contains much of what one would expect from such a book. Main cast biographies, interviews about the creative process involved in writing the show, a chapter devoted to Charlaine Harris (upon whose work the show is based), and episode guides to the first two seasons. For every episode, there are also notations for the highlights, creepiest moments, and little bits of trivia about the set, music and cast members.
Where the book really shines, however, is in the articles that don't specifically pertain to the series. Starting with the first article, "Immortal Love," Wilcott explores the reasons behind vampires' enduring image throughout our (and other) cultures. She also discusses several of the traditional fokloric aspects of vampirism, and the implications of whether or not vampires are sexual predators. One of the more interesting articles examines the alternative lifestyles that are attracted to the show, and what it means to them. Actually, there are two articles about this very subject, one which very closely examines the LGBT metaphor in True Blood. it also takes a good look at a few of the fans with role-players on Twitter and interviews with screenwriter Karen Walton and author Kevin Jackson, whose Bite: A Vampire's Handbook wherein the author discusses meetings with "real" vampires.
But for all the great information, and there is a lot to be had, the book feels like it's missing a few things. For starters, the cast biographies are great and well detailed, but fans would like to see the character biographies as well. There are a few stories of how Bill lived through the civil war, but origins are made of much more. Further, the color photo section of the book contains a paltry eight photos, a few of which look like surprise mug-shots. While I'm sure getting the rights to stills from the series would be difficult (HBO isn't known for giving up such things cheeply), a few more photos of the cast, the set, even the crew would have been nice.
In all, this book is exactly what it says it is, a companion piece, and a damned good one at that. Don't look to it to be an "A to Z" guide or a complete True Blood compendium, but it's worth having on the shelf or by your side while watching the series.
This companion contains much of what one would expect from such a book. Main cast biographies, interviews about the creative process involved in writing the show, a chapter devoted to Charlaine Harris (upon whose work the show is based), and episode guides to the first two seasons. For every episode, there are also notations for the highlights, creepiest moments, and little bits of trivia about the set, music and cast members.
Where the book really shines, however, is in the articles that don't specifically pertain to the series. Starting with the first article, "Immortal Love," Wilcott explores the reasons behind vampires' enduring image throughout our (and other) cultures. She also discusses several of the traditional fokloric aspects of vampirism, and the implications of whether or not vampires are sexual predators. One of the more interesting articles examines the alternative lifestyles that are attracted to the show, and what it means to them. Actually, there are two articles about this very subject, one which very closely examines the LGBT metaphor in True Blood. it also takes a good look at a few of the fans with role-players on Twitter and interviews with screenwriter Karen Walton and author Kevin Jackson, whose Bite: A Vampire's Handbook wherein the author discusses meetings with "real" vampires.
But for all the great information, and there is a lot to be had, the book feels like it's missing a few things. For starters, the cast biographies are great and well detailed, but fans would like to see the character biographies as well. There are a few stories of how Bill lived through the civil war, but origins are made of much more. Further, the color photo section of the book contains a paltry eight photos, a few of which look like surprise mug-shots. While I'm sure getting the rights to stills from the series would be difficult (HBO isn't known for giving up such things cheeply), a few more photos of the cast, the set, even the crew would have been nice.
In all, this book is exactly what it says it is, a companion piece, and a damned good one at that. Don't look to it to be an "A to Z" guide or a complete True Blood compendium, but it's worth having on the shelf or by your side while watching the series.
April 21, 2010
I was so excited to read the ARC of Truly, Madly, Deadly that I dived right in and forgot to stop. Fans of True Blood will delight in reading every imaginable tidbit of information on the series and the stars. Interviews with the author of the book series the show is based off of, Charlaine Harris and the writer for the TV show, Alan Ball add to all of the information you could ever want to know.
There is an episode by episode breakdown for the first two seasons, which includes things like “Paging Dr. Creepy” which lists the most “cringe-worthy moment of each show”. True Blood fans will delight in knowing the locations where their favorite scenes were filmed and why each episode is named after a song.
Wilcott also included a lot of information about vampires, citing folklore and other favorite films, some of which even a vampire loving girl like myself has never heard of. For the many tech-savvy fans there are pages and pages about True Blood mania that is all over the web, from role playing on Twitter to all of the fan web sites. This is a book that fans will refer back to time and time again.
There is an episode by episode breakdown for the first two seasons, which includes things like “Paging Dr. Creepy” which lists the most “cringe-worthy moment of each show”. True Blood fans will delight in knowing the locations where their favorite scenes were filmed and why each episode is named after a song.
Wilcott also included a lot of information about vampires, citing folklore and other favorite films, some of which even a vampire loving girl like myself has never heard of. For the many tech-savvy fans there are pages and pages about True Blood mania that is all over the web, from role playing on Twitter to all of the fan web sites. This is a book that fans will refer back to time and time again.
September 10, 2010
Lucky me - I start watching True Blood a few months ago, and then this book lands in my lap (courtesy of a CBC twitter contest).
What this book did, was show that I don't watch True Blood closely enough. Its a great "popcorn for smart people" show, but unless I am really paying attention, I miss way too much-guess I was "glamored" by all the sex and violence. Will fix how I watch this show.
If you are interested in the behind the scenes stuff, especially the social media (viral) element of this show, it might be an interesting read for you.
What this book did, was show that I don't watch True Blood closely enough. Its a great "popcorn for smart people" show, but unless I am really paying attention, I miss way too much-guess I was "glamored" by all the sex and violence. Will fix how I watch this show.
If you are interested in the behind the scenes stuff, especially the social media (viral) element of this show, it might be an interesting read for you.
January 3, 2012
Don't judge a book by it's cover has never been so true. I got this book as a gag gift because I like the series so much. I devoured it. Despite the book's silly cover, this is a well-researched look at the series. Wilcott covered every angle imaginable. I liked that she looked at each episode's script and told us a bit about the writers. Wilcott is a true fan.
March 29, 2011
A well written historical documentation of vampires and our fascination with all of their different forms. With input from the biggest names in vampire literature and folklore, this is a great and entertaining read for the True Fan!
Read
July 26, 2010Just a sad substitute for the real books/show.
July 14, 2015
This book does true blood justice.
If you love true blood as much as I do I would suggest picking this book up. It only covers the first 2 seasons but it's amazing.
If you love true blood as much as I do I would suggest picking this book up. It only covers the first 2 seasons but it's amazing.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews