The Sookie Stackhouse novels

[MrsCatHead]

wow. This book was bad, wasn't it? Harris just does not care anymore, does she?

[Deleted]

I really don't think she does. There's only two left, she says she already knows how it ends and it's probably enough to keep HBO money flowing in for a while. When I saw her last year at a signing for the last one, she seemed a little too into being part of HBO's big thing and not caring about continuity.

Well, I finished it a couple of days ago and I was so underwhelmed I didn't write down how things wrapped up but I will go by memory.

To conclude:

In the expected big battle, they trap Victor (please tell me that's his name because I have already forgotten- the king's sidekick running the show) by having Bubba sing as Elvis again. No one who has read will be surprised I thought she made some rather interesting choices as to the songs he got to sing. "In the Ghetto?" Serious? As far as I recall, no one of name died on Eric's side and all the baddies died.

The two guys who were sent to kidnap Sookie, which leads to the aforementioned naked hideout w/ Bill are decapitated by Dermot and an elf.

Sandra Pelt is killed by Janalynn and her body is disposed of by throwing into the interdimensional portal still open between here and Fairyland. Yup. I know.

Turns out the fairy souvenir is a wish granting stone that can be used to make your life better. She thinks for half a page about using it to remove the telepathy from either herself or her nephew Hunter, but Mr. Cataliades, who it turns out gave her the gift in some sort of Sleeping Beauty christening present type of thing, says that can't be done so it's still in play for next book.

The big development at the end turns out that Eric's maker made a deal to promise Eric to the Queen of Oklahoma before he died, and since it's the will of his maker and apparently more importantly, paperwork has been created, it would be very difficult for Eric to back out of this and he would not be allowed to have both a vampire wife and a human wife. Going with the theme of the book, while neither Eric or Sookie are happy about this, neither sound heartbroken either.

So it looks like the playing field is back down to where it was at the start, with Bill dropping by to announce he still loves Sookie when there's a lull in the action and Sam, involved with the wrong type of woman for him so of course he' can't be happy. Sookie gets some jabs about never having kids if she stays with a vamp.

My money's on Sam in the end. That's the closest to "normal" and that's what she seems to want in the end. But the way things are going we'll see if anyone cares by then.

[Deleted]

I think I actually liked this book a little bit better than the last one. That's not to say that either book was good, but I managed to get through this one in two or three sittings, so it at least held my attention.

Yes, the U-shaped neckline dress was a classic. And... "yahoo palace" Really, Charlaine?! Also, I was loving the oh-so-current pop culture references like "Hips Don't Lie," Jeopardy, and Gnarls Barkley. Heh.

Of course, everyone is still in love with Sookie. I almost liked Victor just because it was stated that he definitely wasn't sexually interested in her. Someone, finally.

[Deleted]

May 13, 2011 21:23:42 GMT -4 @madefortv said:

Yes, the U-shaped neckline dress was a classic. And... "yahoo palace" Really, Charlaine?! Also, I was loving the oh-so-current pop culture references like "Hips Don't Lie," Jeopardy, and Gnarls Barkley. Heh.

I was just coming to post about the yahoo palace! And yes, Sookie, a 28-year-old in 2011, not only watches Jeopardy but records it and totally has Jeopardy marathons as part of her recreation time. LIKE YA DO. Also, I am seriously boggled by the U-dress. Like, I can't even picture it. I was assuming the U was just an embellished neckline, something like this or this. But then...the rest of the dress is made from shiny bronze ribbons, and pleated, but also so tight that she has to wear a thong to avoid panty lines? Is it like a bandage dress, or are the "pleats" vertical? Is the U-neck actually some kind of plunging halter? Imagine if you'd never seen a platypus and someone tried to describe it to you using words alone (it's a beaver, but a duck, but with claws!); that is my level of confusion with this weird misbegotten piece of fashion right now. Charlaine Harris, bless your heart.

I did think that more actual stuff happened in this book than in the last one (which I scarcely remember), but it still didn't happen in a very plot-like fashion. And I only made it to page 3 before the WTFing began. When Sookie remarks that cleaning out her attic was made more interesting because she got to watch Claude and Dermot move furniture shirtless? Dude, you're RELATED. And one of them looks just like your brother. Gross.

Further WTF:

>>>Sookie suddenly using terms like "twoeys," "fangers" and "breathers" that not only has she never used before, but that we've barely heard anyone in the books use.

Sookie and Eric have supposedly mindblowing sex, after which Sookie PUTS AN ICEPACK ON HER VAGINA. What.

Alcide randomly showing up naked in Sookie's bed. Stupid, pointless and out of character.

Speaking of which, since when does Bill say things like "you'd win the Miss America Tit Competition"?

So tired of EVERY other woman still being evil or inferior in some way. I still don't really see what's so wrong with Jannalynn, honestly, other than that Sookie thinks she's a bitch and not good enough for Sam. Given what we, and Sookie, know about the way the supernatural world does business, I don't see a little ruthlessness on her part as all that horrible. It's not like she can opt out of being a werewolf. Which brings me to the other thing I'm tired of:

Sookie's continuing hypocrisy about violence. How many times is she going to be horrified anew at the realization that vampires like to kill things? She's been doing the "I looove him but OMG vampires/supernaturals don't have human morals!" thing with various guys since the very first book. And she spent the whole book wanting to kill Victor, lectured Pam and Eric on the necessity of killing Victor and basically told them to get off their asses and do it, and then when they kill Victor she's all appalled and upset and cries. Ditto with Sandra Pelt posing a clear and present (and repeated) danger to her life and Sam's, Sookie firing a gun at her, then getting upset and crying when Jannalynn finishes her off. I'm not saying she should gleefully bathe in her enemies' blood or anything, but enough of hanging out with dangerous creatures who resolve their disputes with physical and usually lethal battles, acknowledging the necessity of killing to save your own life, then getting all angsty and resentful at other people when killing happens and your ass is saved.

And of course, those weird little judgmental asides from Sookie, like the mention of what her grandmother would think about the Merlotte's waitress wearing white at her wedding even though she already has a kid. Of course Sookie doesn't care and white dresses don't really mean virginity anymore...yep, so why even bring it up? Also, your grandmother had an affair and you have plenty of premarital sex yourself, so let's just stop the ruminations on how other people do and do not conform to old-fashioned standards of propriety. (And interesting that she's blase about Claude, her opposite-gender cousin, being naked in front of her in her house, but flipped shit when her female roommate was naked in their hotel room in book number whatever.) <<<

[Yossarian]

I finished re-reading the book and on second glance it's not as bad as I thought. Sure there are some WTF moments (the Alcide bit, the nekkid bit, the U-shaped dress) but I think the story is set up really quite well to end the series. What will Sookie wish for with the Cluviel Dor? For Eric not to have to marry the Queen of Oklahoma? For a normal human man to love? Hmmmm ... Could be interesting!

[eclair]

She'll wish for something stupid, like a whole closet full of awful, dated, WTF outfits.

[Deleted]

Or for her driveway to be graveled again.

[Yossarian]

Or to have a perpetual tan!

[Dharma]

Not to get melanoma from all the tanning she's done in the past.

[SGleason]

I've been ignoring this thread because I never heard of Sookie Stackhouse, although of course I'd heard of True Blood. I don't have HBO.

But today I found Dead Until Dark for 99 cents at Goodwill -- so, a general thanks to all of you IF I like it! And even if I don't.