What would you do if suddenly it was revealed that vampires are real and living among us? That’s exactly what happens to the world in Dead Until Dark, the first novel in the Sookie Stackhouse series (formally called The Southern Vampire Mysteries). The Japanese have come up with a synthetic blood so the vamps no longer “need” to feed on the human race. They can now work and socialize with humans. Not everyone is ready to except the fact that some of the monster stories are true. Sookie can’t wait to meet her first vampire however. Sookie is a sweet, blonde, southern gal who has spent most of her life on the outside looking in. Sookie is a telepath. It’s taken her years to learn how to block out the thoughts of others. When she was younger she would often say things that others were thinking. As you can imagine, this made it hard to make and keep friends.
Charlaine Harris does a fantastic job of bringing you right into Bon Temps, Louisiana where Sookie lives and works. Even without seeing the HBO series True Blood, which is based on this book series, I could easily draw pictures of all the places and people Sookie encounters. In the first novel of this 13 book series, we follow along as Sookie gets her first taste of vampires and their world. Vampire Bill Compton comes into the bar where Sookie works. She’s thrilled to see her first vampire. The excitement builds when Sookie realizes she can’t hear Bill’s thoughts. All she can feel is kind of a dead space. She’s never had such peace before and is looking forward to spending more time with him. Using her telepathic powers she realizes Bill is in danger of being drained of his blood by two low class people. Vampire blood has an interesting affect on humans. It can make them stronger, trip out, look younger among other things. It affects each person differently. It’s illegal to sell or use vampire blood so of course it’s sweeping the streets and black market. Sookie rescues Bill from being drained. This clinches the bond between Sookie and Bill. As their relationship grows, Sookie is drawn into the world of vampires. It’s much more dangerous and secretive than she expected. The vampire politics are old and strict. Sookie is happy as she seems to fit in with the supernatural folks more than the humans. There is a price to pay for this companionship however. Vampires that have lived in this world for hundreds of years have very little of their humanity left. Sookie brings her human morals and ways of life to the vampires. The vampires bring to Sookie danger and the sexual tension that we associate with the vampire race.
I don’t want to go into any more because I don’t want to give too much away. If you like vampires or the supernatural universe this series is for you. It’s got everything. Family, friends, relationships. Small town southern living. Danger and sex. Oh the sex. I will give you one more spoiler. Vampires are not the only supernatural beings that are among us.
The Sookie Stackhouse novels are part of The Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris.