Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1) in TWILIGHT HATERS

Oct 19, 2009 PurplyCookie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: book-series, horror, vampire, 1st-in-a-series

I was drawn to this series due to all of the press it's been receiving lately, and also because I'm up for a good, escapist vampire novel now and then. The book did not hold my interest at all, and believe me, I tried to like it.

I found Harris's writing to be on par with what an highschooler might produce. The characters, even the main ones, were a bit on the superficial side and weren't really fully developed.

There are so many problems with this book that I truly can't believe its popularity. I was drawn to this series due to all of the press it's been receiving lately, and also because I'm up for a good, escapist vampire novel now and then. The book did not hold my interest at all, and believe me, I tried to like it.

I found Harris's writing to be on par with what an highschooler might produce. The characters, even the main ones, were a bit on the superficial side and weren't really fully developed.

There are so many problems with this book that I truly can't believe its popularity. The characters were very poorly developed and as far as I could tell the only reason Sookie was attracted to Bill was because she couldn't read his mind.

I know nothing about Louisiana and would have appreciated a description here and there. Also I have no idea when the story takes place. There are a few cultural references that seem outdated, yet the book is supposed to take place somewhere in the future (though even in the series it is hard to pinpoint when).

"Dead Until Dark" has potential but the writing is poorly thought out and sloppy. The characters are flat and boring and towards the end, I really didn't care what happened to them. Interesting elements are mentioned once and never developed (Sino-Aids for instance) but nonsensical stuff like what characters are wearing go on for pages. You don't feel anything for anyone. The minor characters are so minor that you'll be hard pressed to remember their names let alone anything about them. Inexplicably Elvis also shows up as a half-witted vampire. It isn't even remotely funny which I think was the entire point of it.

Also, I was appalled by the lack of positive female characters in the book. Beside the grandma, who gets killed pretty quick, the entire book was populated by loose cheap uneducated women. I'm sure the South isn't full of sex craved waitresses, but in Harris's world, all women seem to be of "low skill jobs, no college, bottom of the barrel". This is actually a quote from one of the characters, but I feel it's one of the most honest sentiments in this vapid book.

Book Details:

Title Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse #1)
Author Charlaine Harris
Reviewed By Purplycookie
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Oct 22, 2009 Marykate Fink added it

Shelves: english-1

This book is a mystery/romance fiction book and the first of the Southern Vampire series. It's about Sookie Stackhouse, a telepath. Sookie never had a relationship with anyone because when ever she got close she couldn't control her telepathy. The story begins one year after the Great Revealation or when all the vampire showed themselves to the world. One night she meets Bill at Merlotte's, a local bar that she is a waitress at. She also finds that she can't read his mind because Bill is a vampi ...more

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Sep 03, 2009 Natalie Walker rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I enjoyed reading this book, it was a real change from my usual readings, of Anita Blake Series. So I enjoyed it alot.
I'm going to go read Book 2 in a moment.
Overall Great Character skills, she made sure Sookie didn't turn into a Mary-Sue ...more

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Jul 22, 2010 Marissa "one of the crazy seven" Bacon rated it it was amazing

Awesome !!! It kept me interested to the end !!

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Dec 26, 2009 Amanda rated it really liked it

My new favorite "candy" series. The writing isn"t earth-shattering, but these are so entertaining and fun. ...more

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Aug 20, 2009 Monique rated it liked it

Oh thank heavens for Charlaine Harris, just when Twilight had made me lose all faith in the vampire genre I discovered this series! So much better than the latest offerings in vampire lore!!! Will definitely have to read the rest.

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