Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris HBO's very popular "True Blood" is based on this series about a roadhouse waitress in a small southern town with the unfortunate name of Sookie Stackhouse. After having read the Twilight series, I was convinced Harris must have ripped off Stephanie Meyer, but then noticed that this was published well in advance of Twilight. Needless to say, if you're interested in the controversy, there are numerous websites out there to peruse. I think that in the grand scheme of Vampire Fiction (sure, I'll capitalize that, why not?), it's really no big deal. Good reads are good reads.This book is a sexy, more humorous, less victorian in feel and less teen angsty (not that there's anything wrong with teen angst!) book. It's not great literature, but you knew that already. Compared with Meyer's books, Harris delivers on the fight scenes, sexy scenes and it's just lighter in tone. She doesn't take it too seriously.
On a side note, I've never seen the HBO series that's based on this and out of curiousity I google imaged the leads. Of course I was very disappointed in the male lead, but Anna Paquin is about right for Sookie (again, don't love the name). I would've gone for the young, hot Britney Spears for this though -- it's always fun to play casting director though, isn't it?
2 comments:
Perhaps now that they've made these books into an HBO series (albeit an Alan Ball series, so I'll reserve judgment until I see it) Harris will get her due. She stands the vampire genre on its head, straps it into a trebuchet, and sends it whirling and twisting into that great wide open. More entertaining than the Twilight books and, oh yeah, CAME FIRST! Stephanie Meyer claims to have never read any vampire books save for one Anne Rice, and yet her books have way too many (I won't give them away here) similarities to these books to be sheer coincidence. None of this, however, takes away from the fact that this initial book in the Sookie Stackhouse (ugh, that name) series is a fiendishly fun caper that is not without its share of horrific hairpin turns and mysterious madcappery. Had me racing for the final page and then full steam ahead to book two!
that's why I haven't been able to watch the show or read the book (well, one reason) ... that name. I can't even say it without cringing.
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