Book Review: Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire Mysteries, #5) by Charlaine Harris

Title: Dead as a Doornail

Series: Southern Vampire Mysteries

Book Number: 5

Author: Charlaine Harris

Genre: Fiction - Paranormal

Finished: January 24, 2009

What's the Southern mystery this time? There is a sniper on the loose who seems to be targeting only shifters (and Sookie, but she has very poor luck). Not only that, but who tried to burn down Sookie's house with her in it? In this book five of the Southern Vampire Mysteries, Dead as a Doornail, Sookie is almost burned to death, attacked by wolves during a ceremony, shot in the shoulder, harassed by Eric who desperately wants to know what happened during his period of amnesia, and faced with Bill reentering the dating world. Her friendship is also on the fritz with Alcide. Oh, and if that's not bad enough, she is a suspect in the death of shifter Debbie Pelt, which is probably the only one thing that happens that she actually deserves. Problems don't belong to only Sookie, though. Jason is a suspect in the shifter shootings (the Stackhouses must be cursed), though he is adapting nicely to his new life as a shifter and, in fact, quite likes it. Tara Thornton, Sookie's best friend, is the unwilling girlfriend to a violent and dominating vampire named Mickey. Alcide has his worries over his father becoming pack leader. I have to say that the plots are becoming predictable. That's not to say that they're not exciting because they are. It's just that you can almost predict who will be the perpetrator by the first few chapters. I had this one pegged. Of course, it didn't have me put down the book. I still find the Southern Vampire Mysteries very fun, very exciting, and very much worth my time to read. I still love them, yes. If you are looking for a shocking twist at the end, you're not going to find it here because the formula is predictable. I am also a bit disappointed in the turn that Sookie's friendship with Alcide took. I don't think it's too much that the two of them could remain friends and get over their little crush from book three. Instead, the two of them are getting to the point where they can scant stand each the company of each other. I mean, Sookie can have a friend she's not making out with... right? You can bet as soon as I can, I am going to pick up book six.

Book Review: Dead to the World (Southern Vampire Mysteries, book 4) by Charlaine Harris

Title: Dead to the World

Series: Southern Vampire Mysteries

Book Number: 4

Author: Charlaine Harris

Genre: Fiction - Paranormal

Finished: January 19, 2009

I had to dive into this one right after finishing book three. After how much I enjoyed Club Dead, I couldn't wait to read Dead to the World. In this part four of the Southern Vampire Mysteries, Sookie ends up in a whole new mess despite her New Year's Resolution to stay out of trouble. But trouble follows Sookie and is to be expected and enjoyed by now, at least for us the reader. First Sookie's brother Jason goes missing. Then she finds an amnesiac Eric running down the road (shirtless) and discovers out that he has been cursed by a lustful witch/werewolf. Defeated and fearing for her resolution, Sookie is charged to take care of Eric for an ample fee until the vampires find the witch and make her lift the curse. Due to events in Club Dead, Sookie and Bill are still on the outs and he spends most of the book collecting for his vampire directory in Peru. This book was great. I won't give away any more spoilers than my vague summary already has, but I will cheer and say that the moment I've been waiting for DID happen in chapter 6. Now, if only it could have stayed that way.

In the end, as a reader, I know that Sookie and Bill will make up and get back together and continue their great love affair. The grand bulk of this story was spent working out the relationship between Sookie and Eric, investigating Jason's disappearance, and searching for the very dangerous coven of witches that cursed Eric. The final battle scene is very tense and well played out, though not in clear drawn out detail since it is from the perspective of Sookie who is understandably out of it. We have new creatures and supernatural elements, too! As I said above, witches are introduced along with fairies. Now those can be added to the growing catalog of creatures and things Sookie has to interact with on a daily (and nightly) basis. I am almost disappointed that Eric's time may be over. I feel that he certainly shines brighter and with more character than Bill. After spending an entire book with Eric, Bill's entrance at the end was bland, at best. He just seems monotonous next to the personality that Eric exudes. If Eric could just get over himself, he would be perfect. Still, I cling to hope because surely the Eric that he was when he didn't have a memory is still in him... somewhere. I am completely addicted to this series. Anne Rice might have defined the vampire in my eyes, but Charlaine Harris makes them pretty fun. This series is just one big ball of excitement for me.

Book Review: Club Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, #3) by Charlaine Harris

Title: Club Dead

Series: Southern Vampire Mysteries

Book Number: 3

Author: Charlaine Harris

Genre: Fiction - Paranormal

Finished: January 14, 2009

Club Dead is my favorite of the series so far. When the book begins, Bill, who has been working on a "secret" project, has been kidnapped and is being held hostage in Mississippi for his secrets. Much to Sookie's dislike, Bill had also been recently shacked up with his maker, who he subsequently planned on leaving Sookie for before he was betrayed by said maker. What a mess, right? But what else could or would a fan of the Southern Vampire Mysteries expect? Despite Bill's betrayal, Sookie, with the help of a werewolf, heads off to Mississippi to find Bill. There's a lot of drama, a lot of arguing, a lot of mystery and a lot passion. Bodies pile up and violence increases as the story goes on. Werewolves and shapeshifters are very important in this third book, which is great in making the Southern Vampire Mysteries about more than just vampires. Sookie's world is indeed full of the paranormal and supernatural. It's a wonder a girl can get any peace, which doesn't seem to bless Sookie often. The mystery that unfolds Bill and his kidnapping isn't that intricate or hard to solve. It almost seems to happen too easy, which is forgivable because the book is just so entertaining. In the end, I didn't mind that Sookie was all but able to just ease Bill out from under his captors and rescue him because there was drama and tension everywhere else. The build-up was not in her rescuing Bill, but in her finding him. The climax of tension was in her getting to the house and finding a way to save him, not the rescue. Eric makes a much larger appearance in this third book, which I feel really adds to it. You can't deny that there is some great chemistry between Eric and Sookie. Then again, it just could be because I think the two of them would make an excellent couple and have a more interesting dynamic than other couplings in the books. This book has solidified my respect for Eric. Sure, he comes on strong and hard, often times a bit cold, but he's actually quite charming and funny. If anything in this book made me laugh, it was some of what came out of his mouth.

Book Review: Living Dead in Dallas (Southern Vampire Mysteries, #2) by Charliane Harris

Title: Living Dead in Dallas

Series: Southern Vampire Mysteries

Book Number: 2

Author: Charlaine Harris

Genre: Fiction-Supernatural

Finished: November 15, 2008

I enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed the first one. It was more violent and full of more sexiness, but that just made it better! Sometimes you have to wonder how one girl can get into so much mess, but then you have to suspend reality when reading these books anyway because of the whole vampire/shapeshifter/etc thing. Moreso than the first one, you come to see as a reader just the sort of discrimination that vampires face. It's strikingly familiar to anyone who watches the news today, which is full of people declaring hatred for lifestyles and people that they understand little about. Sookie first investigates the murder of a friend, which leads her to an interesting sex party. It's not for people with delicate natures, but I found it a lot of fun. But be warned, this one is extra bloody and extra violent. After solving one mystery, Sookie is sent out on loan to help a vampire coven in Dallas find a missing member. This storyline makes clear that vampires, while making many mistakes in line with their nature, also make very human mistakes. I found the idea of a vampire wanting to die very... sweet. But, I do have a history of Anne Rice and her vampires are the most angst-filled in the genre, by far. Did I like this second installment in the Southern Vampire Mysteries? I LOVED it.

Book Review: Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, #1) by Charlaine Harris

Title: Dead Until Dark

Series: Southern Vampire Mysteries

Book Number: 1

Author: Charlaine Harris

Genre: Fiction-Supernatural

Finished: October 30, 2008

It's been a long time since I've read a good vampire story. In fact, I don't read many vampire stories at all. I have high expectations... to high, I guess. But, I really enjoyed this one. And joy, none of the characters pissed me off or annoyed me. Dead Until Dark was funny, sexy, and interesting. I enjoyed the plot and really liked some of the characters. I overlooked my expectations for vampires to read this book and I found it worth my while. Though the Southern Vampires sort of defied some of what I think vampire should be, I liked the books enough to get past that superficial issue. I thought that the dialogue was especially good. Nothing can turn me off of a book faster than dialogue that seems forced or insincere... or just NOT the way that people talk. I am utterly charmed with the Southern Vampire Mysteries now. I finally found a series about vampires worth reading since Anne Rice. You want exciting and sexy? Read this series. In ways, it's even better than anything Anne Rice created since hers remain shrouded in mystery and lore. The Southern Vampire Mysteries make vampires part of this world; it rips from them a preternatural sense of otherness and puts them directly in the human world shamelessly. Simply wonderful.

Book Review: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Title: The Handmaid's Tale 

Author: Margaret Atwood 

Genre: Fiction 

Finished: August 8, 2008

In the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States, far-right Schlafly/Falwell-type ideals have been carried to extremes in the monotheocratic government. The resulting society is a feminist's nightmare: women are strictly controlled, unable to have jobs or money and assigned to various classes: the chaste, childless Wives; the housekeeping Marthas; and the reproductive Handmaids, who turn their offspring over to the "morally fit" Wives. The tale is told by Offred (read: "of Fred"), a Handmaid who recalls the past and tells how the chilling society came to be. This is without a doubt one of the best books of all time. The US government has been crippled by nuclear war and overthrown by a Christian Theocracy, which subjugates women and persecutes anyone who does not subscribe to the stated belief system. It's strict and secluded. The theocracy claims to protect its people, its women from how the world used to abuse them through rape and sexualization, by blaming the women and then perpetuating a worse sort of lifestyle. This book focuses on the story of one Handmaid, Offred (a name given to her after becoming a Handmaid). You can tell that Atwood is coming out of the feminist movement, as well as the backlash against feminism... Serena Joy was a lot like Phyllis Schlafly, who was quite vocal in her sense of traditionalism for women (and popularly, her stop ERA movement). Offred wasn't born a Handmaid; she remembers what life was like before and how the US changed. Much like the political apathy of today, most people in the US just slept or shrugged their shoulders, convinced that their world would go back to normal soon enough. By then, it was too late. Atwood's way of drawing out Offred's emotions, of putting visuals and sensations captivated me. I couldn't put this book down it was that addictive. I really felt what Offred was feeling and I understood why and how she came to be what she was. I only hope that the ending is what I believe.