Blogfest Be There or Be Square
What I am currently reading
Blog Anniversary
2:21 PM | 
Posted by
Book Lover
Charlaine Harris "Dead in the Family” review – the tenth Sookie Stackhouse novel.
by: Anachronist
Short intro into the series.
If you have read one of the Sookie Stackhouse novels you might want to skip this part.
Sookie Stackhouse series consists now of ten books and as far as I know the author is still on a roll. In every title you find the world “dead” because the books are simply teeming with dead, undead and barely dead. Let’s return to the main character, though – Sookie Stackhouse, a blonde waitress, who works in the Merlotte’s bar in a small town called Bon Temps in Louisiana. She could have been one of so many American waitresses if it wasn’t for her unusual gift or maybe even glitch - she can read people’s minds. This particular ability makes her life very colourful and difficult at the same time – she is not good in the presence of humans, especially prospective boyfriends (she can’t be fooled by their courtesy knowing practically everything they really think – just imagine that) so she hangs around vampires a lot because they are the only creatures which brains are closed (because…dead?) to her. Many vampires want Sookie to cooperate closely with them but she is less than willing – vampires in this series are devious and power-hungry creatures, they love domination and no atrocity is beneath their dignity – imagine having normal life in such a company. There are also other supernatural creatures, like werewolves and fairies, who would like to use (or abuse) Sookie’s mind-reading powers. Not to mention two ambitious FBI agents. To make things worse (and the reading more interesting) many sentient beings tend to crop dead around Sookie. Small wonder - some of them she has been forced to kill herself.
“Dead in the Family” synopsis
When dealing with such a big series it is almost impossible not to include any spoilers – especially that the plots of particular parts are interwoven with each other rather closely. I will try my best but I might spoil you a little bit here and there – sorry in advance!
Amelia the witch is out of Sookie’s house as she returns to New Orleans – she wants to forget the tragic death of her werewolf boyfriend, Tray Dawson. Sookie is still with Eric Northman, the vampire sheriff of her area, but she has some mental problems: shaking off the trauma after a bloody meeting with some really nasty faeries is no mean feat. Eric explains her why he failed to rescue her personally, as he intended. He has to be very careful indeed because after the death of his previous vampire superior the position of Area Five sheriff is a bit shaky. In the vampire world it usually means he and his loyal subordinates might be murdered cold-bloodedly any time soon. The new vampire king of Louisiana sends his envoy, Victor Madden, to keep a close watch on Eric. Victor seems to be only too eager to see Eric killed and disgraced – apparently he is after his position and some more independence. It doesn’t help that he also knows about Sookie’s special abilities and her bond with Eric, which , at least for the vampires, means nothing less than marriage. Meanwhile Sookie finds out that somebody buried a new body on her land. When a friendly pack of werewolves and her vampire friends dig the cadaver out, the whole problem becomes even more mysterious. She must try to solve this crime riddle because it seems somebody wants to put the whole blame on her. The fact that she has a new resident in her house makes her life even more complicated, and she simply couldn’t refuse a member of her family, could she? Additionally her cousin’s son, small Hunter, who has inherited the same powers as Sookie, is going to pay her a visit and once again she can’t say “no”. Eric might be a tiny bit busier too, having unexpected guests of his own. Will Sookie be able to multi-task with her usual astuteness after these all bad experiences so fresh in her mind? Will the bond with Eric will be an asset or a liability this time?
What I liked.
Plenty. The plot is good – not too complicated but complicated enough. Some might consider this part a bit tamer than the previous ones, but it was just rightly balanced for me. Some new characters are introduced and we learn more about others, only mentioned in previous installments. It all ends well but there’s still a lot of potential for the next part. I even appreciate the fact that the sex scenes were less detailed than previously.
What I didn’t like.
I do regret one character that ends up dead. I won’t tell you who because it would be a major spoiler but, getting to know them closer I wanted them around for longer and now I know my wish won’t come true. They’re dead. For sure.
The final verdict
A book you would love to read not only in the summer as it has it all: murder, mystery, fantastic creatures and realistic settings.
Review: The House of Night series - first four parts
by: Anachronist
P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast: The House of Night series, the first four parts: „Marked”, „Betrayed”,„Chosen”, „Untamed”.
Synopsis (without major spoilers, I hope).
Have you ever read or watched any coming-of-age story? If so, the beginning of this series won’t be a big surprise because all such books and movies are bound to start in a similar fashion. Our main heroine is a sixteen-year-old high school student, Zoey Montgomery. One day she meets unexpectedly her fate in the form of a tattooed vampyre (sic! “y” no “i” – that’s the official version in the books) Tracker – he marks her as a new vampyre fledgling and, as a result, a Mark in the form of a sapphire Crescent tattoo appears between her eyebrows. From now on she faces just one alternative – either she joins other chosen girls and boys in the House of Night – a kind of a finishing school- cum- hatchery for adolescent vampyre fledglings – or she dies. The choice is simple, isn’t it?
Zoey’s parents are less than happy with her daughter. Her mother remarried three years ago and she chose a man who is clearly a Christian fundamentalist and belongs to a group called “People of Faith”. Although the name of the group is fictional you can recognize his type immediately: he is very pious in an ostentatious manner, knows everything best and wants to control everybody and everything around. Small wonder Zoey hates her step-father’s guts and even more she hates the fact that after the marriage her mom bent totally to her husband’s will and doesn’t really care about her and her siblings any more. The only solace is Zoey’s Cherokee maternal grandmother who understands the girl and helps her as much as she can.
The House of Night proves to be a perfect opportunity to escape such a household. The school is really nicely located and the profs are as hot as you want a vampyre to be (think Edward Cullen and his family) – Zoey feels she found a new, better home and her place in life. She befriends many other fledglings, finding a boyfriend and some enemies too. There’s just one catch – at this school either you graduate or you die. Literally. Averagely one out of ten fledglings falls ill and bleeds to death as their body rejects the Change and apparently there is no cure or a second chance. Will Zoey and her friends make it? Nobody can guarantee that .Zoey is not an ordinary prospective vampyre, though – Nyx, the goddess of Night, has given her some awesome powers. That’s why Zoey’s Mark became coloured-in even before she starts her new school. Also she gets magically her own sapphire tattoos very soon and, as they characterize only a fully-grown vampyre, people start to treat her differently than other fledglings. She is immediately pronounced the school’s rising star but fame comes always at a cost - to get the drift think about Harry Potter and how he was sometimes annoyed by his tell-tale scar.
The headmistress of this school is called Neferet – she is also the High Priestess of Nyx and from the very beginning she takes poor Zoey under her wings. Neferet seems to be an epitome of a woman of success, a clever vampyre and a cool but caring mother; Zoey wishes several times her real mom was like her. After some time, though, she is forced to change her mind about a lot of things at school and also about Neferet herself. Of course evil never sleeps and even if it does, some power-crazy but intelligent creature always finds a way to awake it. It is one part of the fun, after all. Zoey, her friends and her enemies too, will soon have to decide what side they want to support and they have a lot at stake – more than some of them realize.
What I liked:
The plot is well-though and there are some twists and turns which can surprise even an experienced reader. The narration keeps you interested – as soon as you finish one part you want to start the next. Zoey the vampire-fledgling is still very close to Zoey the teen girl so I suppose many young readers will identify with her problems and dilemmas, especially concerning her love life. Zoey’s circle of friends provides a lot of comic relief and they are really a colourful bunch, including a cute gay boy and two girls which think and act the same although they are not and could not be siblings. The vampyre society is a nice example of matriarchy – let’s women rule, I like it even if it is only a fiction. What’s makes it better, not all good people are beautiful and not all baddies are ugly – it is a much-welcome change, defying plenty of clichés met even in those supposedly more ambitious books (think “Lord of the Rings”). The use of Cherokee mythology, not so widely known as the Greek or Roman equivalent, refreshes the plot and the two authoresses teach a great lesson on tolerance, exposing the hypocrisy of some so-called Christians (but the good and the evil sides are nicely balanced so nobody should complain I suppose).
What I didn’t like:
I would like to be given a more detailed description of how exactly the House of Night is organized. I am one of these nerds – I love to know how the things are done even in a fictional world full of fantastic creatures. After all, in every circumstances it is important who cleans the place, who cooks, who shops for food, who keeps the greenery in perfect order and so on. I lack such details here - we have been shown beautiful rooms and some tasty food but only one measly vampyre waiter so far…where’s the rest of the staff? An enquiring mind wants to know more.
There’s one more thing: I haven’t read the other books of the series (there are three more parts available as far as I know – “Hunted”, “Tempted” and “Burned”) but I’m afraid the outcome seems to be very predictable – Zoey and her friends are simply doomed to succeed. All of them. Of course following their struggles is one part of fun but still…I wish I was less certain about the end of the story and somehow I can’t. Perhaps Zoey has been made too powerful and too successful too soon? True, the girl is far from perfect and she does make mistakes - even rather huge mistakes, especially when it comes to her personal life –somehow, however, it doesn’t make the reader less sure about the outcome of the final evil vs. good fight. On the other hand, though, maybe such a certainty is the right thing in a series like this one.
The final verdict:
Nice recreational reading for the summer – neither too ambitious nor too shallow and trite. As a bonus you might catch some original vocabulary!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Summer Lovin' Giveaway
Grab My Button
Book Rating System
Pump Up Your Books
