Tue 7 Sep 2010
A Review by Tina Karelson: CHARLAINE HARRIS – Dead to the World.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[4] Comments
CHARLAINE HARRIS – Dead to the World. Ace Books, hardcover, May 2004; paperback: May 2005.
Not the first in the Sookie Stackhouse series, but the first I’ve read. The premise of the series, on which the TV show True Blood is based, is that affordable synthetic blood has been developed, and vampires have taken the opportunity to “come out” and integrate into larger society, since they can now survive without presenting a threat to humans.
The premise of the book is that Sookie’s brother has gone missing, and his disappearance seems be related to the efforts of a powerful gang of shapeshifter witches to take over businesses owned by vampires. Sookie tries to unravel all this using her ability to read minds and her connections to the vampire community.
By the way, werewolves are real, too.
I enjoyed reading the book, I appreciated the spectacular human-vampire sex scene, I was happy to sample the series, but I probably won’t read any more. Apparently my suspension of disbelief is not quite willing enough.
Editorial Comments: L. J. Roberts reviewed Dead in the Family, the 10th in the series, here on this blog earlier this month. (Dead to the World is the fourth.)
I don’t suppose that Tina’s review will change anyone’s mind, as expressed in the comments that followed L.J.’s, but at least I now have a better idea of what the books are about. And, no, now that my curiosity is satisfied, between the two reviews, I don’t think I’ll read any of them myself.
Incidentally, there is an “in” joke in Tina’s last line. The name of her zine in DAPA-Em, from which she has given me permission to reprint her reviews, is called The Willing Suspension of Disbelief, currently up to issue #34 (July 2010).
September 8th, 2010 at 12:34 am
I won’t be reading anymore of these unless I get trapped into it (nothing else to read and I’m desperate), but then I’m well outside the demographic they are aimed at, which is largely women in their thirties and forties (and a bit younger in some cases). That said, the writing isn’t bad, I’m just not interested.
But, much as I love the supernatural and even horror, these strained my willing suspension of disbelief to the breaking point.
The bookshelves are so loaded with vampires these days I feel the need of a transfusion every time I walk into a bookstore.
I swear, if TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD came out today Boo Radley would turn out to be a vampire.
September 8th, 2010 at 6:42 am
David, you might like Charlaine’s more hard-edged (while not totally out of the cozy range) “Shakespeare” series.
Or not.
September 8th, 2010 at 11:01 am
My feelings about her Lily Bard-Shakespeare series are pretty much the same as yours, Jeff. See my review of SHAKESPEARE’S CHAMPION, which you can find here:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=657
“Hard-edged (while not totally out of the cozy range)” sums it up well, I think. And in a lot fewer words than I used!
— Steve
September 9th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
And then there’s her Aurora Teagarden series—probably entirely too cozy for all of us!
Pardon me for not joining the conversation sooner. I only just realized that some of my reviews are drawing comments. Thanks for the opportunity, Steve.