Dead Until Dark

This is pretty much what I remembered it to be from reading it in high school. Even better now that I’ve watched the show again as an adult and enjoyed it even more the second time around.

This is easy to read and boy do I just love Sookie Stackhouse. I know a lot of people find her annoying, but I've always adored her. Maybe I just wish I was a beautiful fairy girl, so I project and protect lmao.
I’m a Bill Compton hater though through and through, and I often found him manipulative and annoying.
Sam Merlotte was pleasant and I really can’t tell if I like him more in the show or in the book… I like his dynamic with Sookie a lot more in the book somehow.
I wish that more time had been spent on Sookie grieving her gran, a lovely show more character in film and on page.
Jason is such a detached character in the book, I’m really glad the show chooses to spend a lot of time on his story.
I really missed Tara, I’m so glad the show ties her in so well to the first season. I often view the show as having 3 main characters- Sookie, of course, but also Jason and Tara. They are siblings to me and the main focal point, at least in the first seasons. Bill is not an mc however.
Overall, there was depth missing in the book.

I’m glad I decided to reread this, I had a lot of fun. I kept wanting to come back to it and I’m looking forward to rereading the next installment of the series. It’s giving me the itch to watch the show again too. I miss on-screen Eric.

There certainly is casual racism and glorification of the Confederacy. There really is no excuse for it. I definitely get a vibe of her trying to be progressive in her writing but still backslides into the cultural othering I'm assuming she's surrounded by in Arkansas. The show does the exact same, but at times there definitely feels to be more of a Point and Angle to it (which I think Tara's storyline adds a lot to on screen) but I would argue the glorification of the Confederacy is still just as prominent from page to screen.

Also, I think it's important for me to question the use of consent in the book. Sookie seems downright unwilling at times when Bill nearly forces himself on her. I could explain a lot of it away; vampires are not humans and therefor sex, desire, and consent are far more animalistic - Sookie is a pretty Southern woman who was sexually abused as a child and continued to be sexually harassed at her job as a waitress (culturally, the South certainly struggles to see women as more than objects which is why I bring that up, and waitresses are sexually harassed as a whole around the world) so she is not as likely to really fight for her consent, though she does voice discomfort in her thoughts - this is a 2000s dark romance and the 00s really struggled to give us good consent standards in media, especially in vampire media. I'm just glad everyone is adults here considering just how many vampire stories are obsessed with high school girls.

Also, what the fuck does this cover have to do with this storyline? show less

Perhaps I am in a minority -- at least it is rare for me -- but I like the TV series quite a lot better than the book.

The writing wasn't that sharp in the book. The plotting was actually cleaner in the TV series version -- like a good editor had worked over the story to make it better, eliminating unnecessary verbiage and plot points.

The characterization isn't great in the book -- bog-standard "spunky" female protagonist, mysterious-but-good vampire male, assorted other side characters. Sookie's perspective gets pretty boring in the book; she is one-note and not very exciting. But the acting in the series brings all these characters to life, much more convincingly. You end up liking Rene in the TV series; you never even notice him in show more the book, because there is simply no character development.

Basically, Harris developed an interesting concept -- social integration of vampires who had recently come out of the closet -- and placed it in a relatively novel setting -- small-town South with a working-class protagonist. I guess along with popular elements (spunky protagonist, brooding love interest, sex scenes) that was enough for it to become popular and eventually become adapted to TV.

Which is great, because the TV series goes way beyond the book. It develops the characters and fleshes out Charlaine Harris' fictional world, and in so doing, it actually contributes to the world in the way that art does: It explores the problems of human relationships, tracks characters as they grow or get stuck or change, and provides social commentary.

In short, the TV series is saying something -- while the book was just another entry in the paranormal romance market. So, bravo to Charlaine Harris for creating something that provided a convenient vehicle for Alan Bell to create something great. show less

This was a quick and fun read, not to mention addictive... I read this in one day, and halfway through decided that, like a Lay's potato chip, I couldn't stop at just one. So, I bought the next 3 in the series.

The characters were real and believable. The relationships were unforced and natural. The romance wasn't cheesy. The humor was dry, the way I like it. And, best of all, I had the wrong killer pegged, which is always a plus in my book!

So after watching one episode of "True Blood" and being absolutely gob-freaking-smacked by how terrible it was, I decided to pick up some of the books on which it was based. (What, that's not your thought process?)

Well, I'll give the book that it's better than the show, primarily because in a book there's no bad acting and you can imagine that everyone has a consistent accent. However, the writing is unimpressive, and if you're not really into slut-shaming I'd give this one a pass. Every woman except Sookie is described as a total skank, and as such deserves to be murdered and/or generally treated badly. Sookie narrates, and half of that narration is deeming other women "trash" because they are sexually emancipated or dressed scantily show more (although Sookie also talks endlessly about how hot she herself is, and how she wears clothes intended to flaunt her fabulous body). At one point Sookie haughtily informs someone that she deserves to be treated with respect because she is "not a slut". Unlike the dead woman present at the scene, who was, and can therefore be written off as someone asking for it.

Also, every time the vampire touches Sookie there's some infantilizing metaphor - "he rubbed my back as if I were a kitten"; "he patted my back as if I were a puppy who had whimpered". When he's not fondling her back, he's picking her up and moving her around as if she were a doll, and she loves this. I might as well be reading Twilight.

Paranormal fiction seems to be the last literary refuge of incredibly dated gender roles. Even most halfway decent romance novels these days avoid the "spirited kitten" description of the heroine. If your hero's a vampire / werewolf / etc, however, it's green-light-go with the overpowering and controlling and "I know what's best for you, so don't worry your sweet little helpless head" and "every other woman I've met in 200 years has been unashamed of having sexual desires, which is SO GROSS, so your judgmental priggishness has thawed my frozen heart". Where's Faith when you need her? show less

This is one of my all time favorite book series. I have reread the entire series more than a few times.....something I rarely do, with all of the new books I have waiting to be explored, I usually can't summons the motivation to read an already known story. This series is the exception, I long to immerse myself back into the world Sookie Stackhouse.

I have lived my entire life in the South and Louisiana is a place near and dear to my heart. We own a business that covers 5 Southern States and are in Louisiana at least a few times a year. Writers often fail to capture the true essence and feel of the South. It's often bad stereotypes and way overdone southern slang. Louisiana is a special place that is even more difficult to bring to life show more in written word. Harris, being a Mississippi native herself, manages to capture, not only the true Southern vibe, but the essence of Louisiana. Bon Temps feels like a genuine bayou town.

I was super excited when the show came out.....only to be sorely disappointed. The show doesn't hold a candle to the books. The entire feel and vibe of this series is lost on the show... I'm not a fan to say the least.

Charlian Harris is very hit or miss for me, while I adore this series and the Midnight Crossroads books, I'm not a fan of her other series. If you like supernatural fantasy series, ie; Kim Harrisons THE HOLLOWS.....another fave....I would highly recommend checking this out. show less

Dead Until Dark was such a fun and surprising start to the Sookie Stackhouse series! I went into it knowing it had inspired True Blood, but the book had such a distinct charm of its own that I quickly stopped comparing and just let myself get pulled into Charlaine Harris’s world. It’s quirky, atmospheric, a little campy, and full of that small-town-meets-supernatural drama that I can’t resist.

The biggest highlight for me was Sookie herself. She’s such a unique heroine—sweet and a little naïve on the surface, but stronger and more complicated than she first appears. I loved her voice, her sass, and the way she tries to navigate being “different” in a world that doesn’t always accept her. Her telepathy could have been show more written as just a gimmick, but Harris made it such an integral part of her character and her struggles that I really felt for her.

And then, of course, there’s Bill. Their romance was intriguing and gave me all those first-love butterflies, even if it wasn’t perfect. The mystery and tension that came with their relationship kept me turning pages. I also loved the way Harris wove in the larger supernatural world—vampires trying to live openly among humans, the clash of cultures, and the danger simmering underneath it all. It felt fresh, even years after the book was first released.

The murder mystery running through the plot was another fun element. It gave the story a solid backbone and made the stakes feel real. The twists weren’t overly complex, but they kept me guessing and added just enough grit to balance the romance and humor. And the Southern setting was such a character in itself—hot nights, gossiping neighbors, and that cozy-yet-dangerous small-town vibe that worked perfectly with the supernatural elements.

The reason this is a 4-star read for me instead of 5 is that at times the pacing dragged, and some of the side characters felt more like caricatures than fully fleshed-out people. I wanted a little more nuance in certain places, especially with the supporting cast, and sometimes the writing style felt a bit uneven. But honestly, those things didn’t take away from how much fun I had reading it.

Overall, Dead Until Dark was a fantastic series starter—quirky, atmospheric, a little sexy, and totally addictive. I closed the book already excited to continue with the series and see how Sookie’s story unfolds. If you love small-town mysteries with a paranormal twist, a witty heroine, and plenty of vampire drama, this is definitely worth picking up. Four stars and a big thumbs-up from me! show less

I'm always last on the bandwagon, but the whole 'glowing vampire' craze has never really appealed to me. However, I rented the first series of 'True Blood' on DVD, and really enjoyed the characters and the southern gothic twist to the Twilight theme, so of course I had to try the novels by Charlaine Harris. My motto in life is that the book is always better than the film, but there are notable exceptions, and Miss Harris is the author of one such anomaly. Granted, she created the same characters that I liked on screen - 'Sookeh' Stackhouse and Vampire Bill - and her books are set in Louisiana, but Dead Until Dark is basically a screenplay with padding. The series is a vast improvement because the actors bring the characters to life and show more Harris' published drivel has been edited and tweaked to sound halfway intelligent. 'Chick lit' doesn't quite capture the inanity of her writing, and even employing euphemisms like 'easy to read' is being generously vague.

First person narration is difficult to pull off, especially when your heroine is a romance novel stereotype who likes to describe how blonde, tanned and pretty she is on a regular basis, and has the intelligence of a glamour model. Sookie is surrounded by good-looking men - especially the vampires - and rough women. Everybody loves her, naturally, even though she has a 'disability', which is her annoying term for being telepathic. She's a good southern girl, orphaned at a young age, who lives with her grandmother and works part time as a waitress. She also has a 'beautiful' brother, Justin, whose brains are in his pants, but that's not a problem, because everyone in town is obsessed with sex. Everyone. And when Sookie meets Bill and finally ends her lifelong ban on dating, she degenerates into a nymphomaniac bimbette faster than a vampire can move, setting feminism back a decade or two.

To be fair, I didn't really object to Sookie's disturbing relationship with Bill, or the flat characters, trite dialogue and lack of depth. Adding shapeshifters to the mix was probably going too far, but vampires need a bit of promotion. If Harris could write for toffee, I might have taken the subculture of Bon Temps as a wry social commentary, maybe, or an adult version of the Bella and Edward saga, but I can't read any more of these books. Life is too short. show less