Dead Until Dark is the first in the Southern Vampire/ Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. In the fictional Louisiana town of Bon Temps, vampires are now "legally allowed" to exist. Sookie Stackhouse lives with her grandmother and works as a waitress at a local diner. She has a "disability" in which she can hear the thoughts of everyone around her. This "disability" makes it difficult for her to date people, since she doesn't want to know all their thoughts. Then she meets "her" vampire, Bill Compton, and realizes she can't hear his thoughts. Bill is intrigued by Sookie when he realizes she is immune to his "glamour" which all vampires can use to bend people to their will.

Then a string of murders happen in the town and initially all eyes point towards Bill since he is the only vampire in town, and the people haven't yet gotten used to having vampires around. Sookie has to learn how to manage being in a relationship with a vampire, along with all the inconveniences this entails, as well as convince people that Bill is harmless.

This book wasn't what I was expecting and I was a little disappointed. There was very little plot movement throughout. I also found the relationship weird at first because it just sort of happened right away. This was similar with Twilight too, though... maybe it's a vampire thing. My main problem with the book was the lack of movement and it felt like nothing happened. There were also some fairly graphic sexual acts that caught me off guard. But I guess in the end it was an interesting take on the vampire and human interaction. I, personally, feel I'll enjoy the show, True Blood, which is based on this book, better. I will probably read the second one still though, especially if I like the show. I still want to know what all the hype is. ;) ( )

I'm really glad I watched the first season of True Blood before reading Dead Until Dark. It makes it much easier to hear the characters voices in my head, and picture them. I normally like being able to make this all up myself, but I don't mind it this time around. Probably because I don't want to imagine another pathetically tragic Edward. Because this is much, much better than Twilight.

I like that the book wasted no time and got straight to the point. It moves much faster than the TV series, but there's more time spent getting to know the characters and other small, invented sub-plots on the TV series. One of the things I missed in Dead Until Dark was Tara, and Lafayette. Lafayette exists in Dead Until Dark, but doesn't play much of a role.

Harris has a unique writing style when it comes to the internal dialogue of Sookie. I didn't feel like it was the typical internal thoughts found in most fictional books - it was much, much more realistic and personal.

One thing I feared was that it would turn into something a little too Anita Blake. Which is to say, sex, sex, and more sex. There's sex, but not too much of it, and the story remains realistic and balanced.

I would recommend Dead Until Dark (and most likely the entire series) to anyone who already watches True Blood, or anyone who's a fan of vampire fiction. ( )

This is the story of Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She has a special gift (or disability as she calls it) of being able to read people's minds. This catches the attention of an attractive vampire who wanders into her bar, the first one in Bon Temps, since the vampires "came out of the coffin" two years prior.

I was predisposed to liking this book as I'd watched (and purchased) HBO's True Blood series on DVD.

It stayed very true to the book and even though a lot of the suspense was gone since I'd seen the TV series, I enjoyed it. It was different enough from the series to keep my interest, and it was nice getting a closer look into the heads of the characters. I am sure I will read the rest of the series. ( )

I became a fan of the HBO series, True Blood. At first I didn't want to read the books because I didn't want anything given away. When I found out the first season was based on the first book of this series, I read it just as season 2 was starting. The book is a very light easy read. Perfect for summer or travel reading. The relationship between Sookie & Bill is an exciting one... dating a vampire has to be the ultimate "bad boy". I think the story line is refreshing. So different from the many other vampire books out there. It's also filled with a little suspense & mystery. Looking forward to reading the 2nd book in the series! ( )

Dead Until Dark is the first book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris.

Sookie Stackhouse is a quiet girl who works as a waitress in her hometown, Bon Temps, Louisiana. She mainly keeps to herself because of her "disability" - she can read minds. Sookie is thrilled when a vampire, Bill, comes in to the bar where she works. She wanted to meet a vampire ever since they had come "out of the coffin." She is even more excited when she realizes that she can't read Bill's mind. The silence is heavenly! She soon develops feelings for Bill, but when girls around town start dying, she's not sure what to think...

I saw the first two episodes of True Blood on HBO before I realized that it was based on this series. I have yet to watch the rest of the episodes (I'm waiting to see them on DVD) but now I can't wait to see them! I enjoyed this book a lot. It was cute and not too predictable (at least I didn't think so). Bill seems pretty sweet, kind of like Edward from Twilight. From what I saw of the TV show, it didn't look like they were following the book very well. Maybe I'm just not remembering it correctly. Anyway, I really liked all of the characters in this book; I thought they were pretty interesting. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in the series. ( )