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| Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1) |
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List Price: $7.99
Our Price: $7.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Ace Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780441008537
ISBN: 0441008534
Label: Ace Books
Manufacturer: Ace Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 292
Publication Date: 2001-05-01
Publisher: Ace Books
Release Date: 2001-05-01
Studio: Ace Books
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Editorial Reviews:
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Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....
Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.
A fun, fast, funny, and wonderfully intriguing blend of vampire and mystery that's hard to put down, and should not be missed. (Susan Sizemore)
Praise for Charlaine Harris:
Harris writes neatly and with assurance. (New York Times Book Review)
An author of rare talents. (Publishers Weekly)
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| Spotlight customer reviews: |
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Customer Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Comment: I thought this book was great. It was funny, romantic and a bit scary. I read this and just had to read the rest of Charlene Harris' Southern Vampire books. Highly recommend all of these books.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Can't get past the banana clips...
Comment: Warning, Spoilers below...
This might sound silly, but I cannot get past the fact Sookie wears a banana clip in her hair - a yellow one, no less. At first I thought the author might have been being funny, but Sookie wore the thing twice, and made some other questionable fashion choices. (Plastic earrings?) Sorry, but this is what I took away from the book. Says something about the story, huh?
It's not that the story is awful, but compared with others in the PNR genre (Kresley Cole), it's not up to snuff. It wasn't full of passion and the way Sookie and Bill kept "breaking up" annoyed me.
And speaking of Bill, I just didn't find him all that sexy. He was questionable as a leading man... "Cheated" on Sookie by drinking elsewhere, took off a lot, contemplated sharing her with other vampires...
I dunno, this just didn't do it for me. Maybe not being from the South was a hinderance - all the characters seemed to foreign. The one sexy guy was Eric - he should have been the hero of the story!
Customer Rating:
Summary: oK
Comment: Well it is not bad, however it didnt keep me at the edge of my seat wanting more. I did like the sex scenes. But other than that it was just ok for me.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Long book with little personality...
Comment:
I've read many books about vampires, I really thought this one would be good. When I read it, I was proved wrong, the characters are flat and all seem to be the exact same. The main character, Sookie StackHouse, reminds me of a 16 year old whose trying out for a cheerleading squad. She works as a waitress and is certain everyone thinks she is crazy, her self esteem seems to be very low and the way the book is written Sookie seems to constantly whine. Sookie thinks her lack of a man in her life is also to blame on her "disability," however at the same time she thinks her boss and a few other men are attracted to her; Sookie is a very skippy character and an unreliable narrator. The vampire, William Dufris doesn't stand out in the story, he sounds like the rest of the male characters in the book. The only character that stood out in the story and made the book somewhat interesting was Sookie's grandmother, an eccentric, strong, and independent woman.
The story is written very flatly and almost all of the characters lack personality; the way the story is written is: to do list meets character list and plot line.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A HIT, and A MISS!
Comment: I'm generally drawn to darker, more brooding PNR's e.g., J.R.Ward, Kresley Cole and Larissa Ione. But, after continually reading rave reviews about the Southern Vampire Series, I had to give it a try.
Initially, I was sold, because it was refreshing to meet Sookie and the small town characters, interspersed with laugh-out-loud humor. It just looked like it would be a lot of fun and a nice change.
The concept of Vampires that were trying to integrate into society had its appeal, as well, and it even touched on some relevant social issues such as prejudice and intolerance. However, the more that I visited with these characters, the more implausible the situations became.
At first, I loved Sookie (the thought reader), but I kept feeling like I was reading about a teenager who wanted to grow up, too, soon. As naive as she was depicted initially, I simply could not see her wielding chains and placing her own life in harm's way to save the first Vampire she had ever met, no matter how fascinated she was by him. Then to handle the escalating violence with a rather nonchalant attitude. No way! I would have liked to see her develop a little more slowly into her role of Vampire advocate.
About halfway through the book, what she finds on her kitchen floor is enough to make a hardened Detective have PTSD, yet she did not appear to have any real depth to her grieving. Again, her behaviors appeared self focused and immature.
Bill, the Vampire, is interesting, but somewhat of a wimp for a Vampire. In some respects, Sookie is more gutsy. I just couldn't see what she saw in him. The secondary characters don't have a lot of meat to them and one that did, for me (no I won't give it away), was sorely missed when murdered.
Toward the end of the book I was shaking my head in disbelief. I almost threw the book across the room, when 'Elvis' arrived on the scene. Yes, friends...Elvis. I'm quite sure it was intended to be humorous, but for me it wasn't. There had been too much blood and guts spilled by that time to appreciate this diversion. I won't say why, but the appearance of the Collie dog provoked the same negative response---like, what silliness is next.
Now I've piqued your interest, huh. You probably can't wait to read about Sookie, the thought reading, sophomoric chick, who is infatuated with Bill, the Vampire, with Elvis thrown in and a Collie dog with a secret. Who could blame you :-).
All said, I thought it was rather fun, but just not my taste. Actually, if the sex scenes were toned down, I think it would make a great read for adolescents. I think this is the primary problem with this novel. It really can't decide what demographic it is trying to appeal to. It is heavy on intimate details, blood and gore and other adult themes, but then so very humorous and juvenile in other regards. Think Buffy! It is basically in-congruent.
I'm glad I read it, but I will move on to other PNR's and don't intend to finish this series, but I can see the appeal that it might have for some.
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