When was dead until dark written

Someone please shoot me! Oh but wait, we also get to find out about fascinating stuff like her job at the bar or Bill's shopping habits: he gets his "khaki Dockers, green and brown striped golfing shirt, polished loafers, and thin brown socks" from Dillard's you see.

Fascinating stuff I tell you! And don't get me started about Uncle Bartlett's prostate problems. Wait wait wait! Something is finally about to happen! Oops, sorry, it's only Sookie going to work again. And it goes on and on and on and on… Now for the corny stuff. Okay, it's a bit silly but I can deal with it.

And it goes on and on and on and on… I'm sorry. Mushy is not me. And mushy is just not sexy either. What are these people made of? I don't think I've ever read such boring, unexciting, ridiculous, badly written sex scenes.

Sorry guys, I'm not done yet. Needless to say, Sookie and I got off to a bad start. And it all went downhill from there. I get that she's supposed to have been sheltered all her life but this is just too much.

The girl is supposed to be 25, not To make things worse she's as emotional as a stone. Did I say that already? Oh well. Defendant 2: Bill Most boring vampire ever? You got that right! I've never been a big vampire fan but this guy gives the word dull a whole new dimension. What with his constant pity party , corny ways, wanting to settle down, not wanting to drink blood from humans… Get a life Bill!

A real badass vampire life! To make things worse he's as emotional as a stone. To think someone sold me this series yes Shelly , it's you I'm talking about with images such as this one: And I got Boring Bill instead? I am not pleased. This is not Urban Fantasy it's Boring Fantasy. By now I think you all realize I slightly disliked this book. But I'm a nice girl, I really mean no harm. So please don't start unfriending me just yet guys!

I love you all and promise to behave from now on! View all comments. Apr 16, Shannon rated it it was amazing Shelves: vampires , , urban-fantasy , mystery-suspense. I'd never heard of these books until a few months ago, and as usual, once one person recommends them, everyone seems to be talking about them, you see them everywhere, and you get curious. They're in the fantasy section, though for some bizarre reason I was under the impression, at first, that they were YA and silly.

They are fun, but they are definitely for adults. Oh but this book is soooooo much better! After a slightly rocky start in which the writing confused me a bit something that also reminded me of Guilty Pleasures , perhaps unfairly , the story really gets going and in new and surprising ways. Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress at a bar in Bon Temps in Louisiana. She has what she calls a disability: she can read minds. She's spent her young life trying to guard against the babble of other people's thoughts, and because of the level of concentration that takes she never did particularly well at school and never went to uni.

But she likes working at Merlotte's, likes living with her Gran since her parents died, even though she can't have a relationship - it wouldn't be fun hearing what a man thought of you while being "intimate", would it? She's also fascinated by vampires and has been waiting to meet one since they "came out of the coffin", so to speak, and became legal citizens.

One night her wish comes true: a vampire called Bill! She can't hear a thing. Finally a man - an undead man, true - she can relax with. But while Sookie and Bill are trying to have a normal relationship, working class women are being murdered in the area and while at first it looks like vampire work, soon the police are looking at Sookie's womanising brother Jason. On top of that, the most powerful and dead gorgeous vampire in the area, Eric, has his eye on Sookie and her ability for his own uses.

Dead Until Dark is a great mix of urban fantasy and mystery, and the crime side of the story didn't bore me a bit. I loved Bill, he was kinda adorable while also a bit unpredictable and scary very nice , and while I didn't understand all the expressions I've seen enough movies set in southern US states that I could picture the people, places and culture fairly well.

The book could have done with better proof-reading to catch all those missing prepositions and, at one point, an interesting way of spelling "complexion". There were also a few times where Sookie, who narrates, is musing about something and then another characters replies - it threw me off because it wasn't all that clear that she'd voiced her thoughts. Sookie is a great protagonist, lively, fiesty, quirky and strong without being stubborn and bitchy, and her telepathy makes her especially interesting.

She's definitely one of the better heroines of vampire novels I've come across to date. I loved Sam too, and Dean was great! Oh and the Elvis thing was funny too, though I was a bit slow in catching on. Anyway, if vampire books aren't your usual cup of tea, you might want to try this series because it's very enjoyable and fast-paced, yet with nice slow moments where you get to enjoy and understand the characters so good character development, always important.

So I guess this means I'm joining the Sookie Stackhouse bandwagon? View all 32 comments. Jan 17, Sean Barrs rated it did not like it Shelves: darkness-horror-gothic , love-and-romance , 1-star-reads. The television show True Blood was better than this in every sense; it completely transcended it.

Well, at least, before the fourth season hit and the writing went down the toilet. So fans of the television show do owe a lot to Charlaine Harris. Her writing for me though can be summed The television show True Blood was better than this in every sense; it completely transcended it.

Her writing for me though can be summed up in one word: tepid. Where was the shock factor? Where were the cheap thrills and the melodrama?

Who knows? There is no atmosphere Television Bill was a bit of an enigma, at least, he was at the start. He comes across as a brooding man, troubled by his past and his violent nature. He seemed more computer geek than vampire solider. The writers of the show, undeniably, took his character and made it better; they made him interesting and devious. Some super fans will likely disagree with me.

But ask yourself this, which Bill is more interesting to hear about? He carried with him a dark story, one the show slowly peeled back. Then there is the lack of antagonist.

But, ultimately, he was dealt with rather easily. Again, to compare this to the show, the first season shadows Eric as a sort of bad guy. It was so much more entertaining! I have read much further than this book in the series. True Blood is far from being the peak of television artistry; however, it can be enjoyed for what it is: a dark and mysterious fantasy romance that depicts weird and wonderful characters struggling though their fucked up lives.

This here is the story of just Sookie Stackhouse whereas True Blood expands on the side characters and fleshes them out; they were the ones that make it fun.

Sookie is just dull, her life is dull, and this book is dull. Even after all these years I can still taste the blandness of the writing. If my seventeen year old self, a self who had read less than twenty books in his life hated this, I dread to think how I would react to it now if I was reading it for the first time.

View all 17 comments. Nov 15, Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile rated it really liked it. I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. On to the next! View all 5 comments. Oct 09, Helen 2. I might have enjoyed this one more if Sookie was a bit more relatable. In a paranormal romance, the reader is supposed to be able to project themselves into the main character, right?

I mean, we pretend like that's not the point but that's kinda sorta really the point. But Sookie is so emotionally distant and half the time I can't even tell if she's happy or sad or angry or what. Her motivations are hard to decipher from the text. Perhaps I misjudged the intent of the book; maybe it was written I might have enjoyed this one more if Sookie was a bit more relatable.

Perhaps I misjudged the intent of the book; maybe it was written more as a murder-mystery than a PNR flick. But, having watched True Blood before starting this series, my expectations going in were of steaminess and drama with a little spicy mystery mixed in.

I was left a little disappointed. I want to get to know Charlaine's version of Eric Northman. My main life involved my nurse mother, my pharmacist legal father, and two of my three sisters, all living a suburban life just outside of Charlotte, NC.

Bon Aqua, thusly named for the water that locals lineup in their pickup-trucks to collect, with their empty milk jugs, flowing out of a rusted pipe in the ground. True story. And I am intimately acquainted with the small-minded prejudices that seem to thrive in small towns.

I bloody LOVE it. So much effort that she has nothing left to devote to things like paying attention in class. I was too when I was in school. But Sookie is not an idiot, and though she does admittedly have her less-than-stellar moments, Harris ultimately creates a highly capable woman in her. With one exception—the Japanese have created and patented synthetic blood, ending blood shortages for medical facilities, AND prompting vampires to come out of the coffin , so to speak.

Vampires could subsist on the manufactured blood, protecting humans from their thirst. Things are rarely so simple. When she follows the three of them out to the parking lot and rescues Bill the vampire , she begins the series of events that lead to her romantic involvement a vampire. So, if you didn't read that far, don't automatically make assumptions like I did when I assumed everyone knew this already!

My bad. The reason is that there was a LOT of relationship angst. I can tell that Harris was trying to be realistic, and that's admirable. Real relationships DO have problems. BUT no one wants to hear about everybody else's everyday, nit-picky relationship issues. It's dull. And obnoxious. Which is how I felt about most of Bill and Sookie's relationship. Oh, they had their good moments too, but then there were all the times Bill took "matters" into his own hands, and all the little misunderstandings, etc.

That's why only 3. Sep 23, Nicole rated it it was ok Shelves: , urban-fantasy. I haven't watched the tv show, so I have no prior knowledge of this series. I usually think that I should take a book's publication date into consideration when I rate it.

It might have been new to its time but in mine, not so much, so I need to cut it some slack. But you know what? I don't care anymore-at least no in this case. The Outsiders for example is one of the first YAs..

It's better than so many published today. So no, I won't think "oh but this was very innovative in I haven't watched the tv show, so I have no prior knowledge of this series. So no, I won't think "oh but this was very innovative in ".

But I will tell you why: Dead Until Dark is simply uninteresting. I do mind how vampires were portrayed but our main characters. Bill is so bland. I felt like Sookie threw herself in the arms of the first person she couldn't read his thoughts.

Why wasn't that person Eric? Now that it would've made the book a lot more interesting. The fact that a change of the H to another character of this book would've affected my liking of it, makes it clear that I have no problem with its old vibes. I really don't mind reading about traditional vampires. I was considering not finishing it. I kept pushing myself but it was very difficult and this book is less than pages -it should be finished in one sitting.

Yet, I was bored most of the time. It felt like a chore. I'm sure if I dropped it, I wouldn't have thought about it again. The other secondary characters were one dimensional and I simply could not care about anyone -but Eric. What a shame that he wasn't the love interest. Still, the ending was the best part of the book and saved it from the 1-star rating. I didn't hate this, nor even dislike it, it's just so so so unmemorable. I like a book to leave something in me, some warm feelings, some fondness, whatever, but this one was just meeeeh.

Needless to say, I won't continue with this series. Jan 14, Mary Beth rated it liked it. It just did not really excite me so much.

I guess the main reason why is because I really do not care for vampire stories too much. I thought this would be an exception since there was a mystery in the book, and that was the part that I enjoyed. Welcome to the small town of Bon Temps in Louisiana, where a mid twenty, blonde, blue-eyed waitress named Sookie 3. Welcome to the small town of Bon Temps in Louisiana, where a mid twenty, blonde, blue-eyed waitress named Sookie Stackhouse calls home.

But she's no ordinary waitress, she has a disability. She's a telepath. This makes life a little difficult for Sookie, particularly the dating part. Then one day a stranger arrives in town. He is tall, dark and handsome. And the best part is that, unlike everyone else, Sookie cannot hear his thoughts. But he is not perfect; he is pale, fanged and dead. Enter Bill Compton, vampire. What follows is a fun and entertaining story, mixing romance, mystery and vampires, as Sookie and Bill begin a relationship, attempt to solve a number of murders that have coincidently occurred with the arrival of Bill into town, not to mention land her brother in jail, and also begins for her a new, and somewhat unwanted, career with the vampires of Louisiana.

View all 46 comments. I finally got to read a book that has been on my TBR for many, many years. I own the complete series and have been thinking about starting, only every time I get distracted by something newer and shinier, thus I have to thank FBR for having a buddy read scheduled, because I have a feeling if I didn't get to it now, I never would have Sookie is a waitress in a small town Louisiana, who happens to be a telepath valiantly trying to shield her mind from all the thoughts other people project.

Of course, her "disability" makes her the weird girl of the town, and when she meets the first vampire to try to settle openly in the neighborhood, she feels she can relate to him as an outsider Bonus, he is hot and she can't read his thoughts, thus he becomes like catnip to a kitten to her.

As they get to know each other, weird murders inflict the township and anger and mistrust against the nice vamp, his name is Bill, by the way, grow, while suspicion against Sookie 's brother also find foundations. As a novice and having no expectations, I actually enjoyed it, despite its simplicity and brevity, maybe even because of them.

I did feel that Sookie could be a bit annoying with her snowflake syndrome and "purity of soul", but it was not prevalent and I guess I could fathom there being 25 years old gorgeous virgins with minimal tolerance for bad language while working in a country bar, but I have personally never known any I am told it is very different from the TV show, for those who would be interested because of it.

Now I wish you all Happy Reading and many more wonderful books to come! View all 16 comments. Nov 19, Scott Sigler rated it it was amazing. First off, paranormal fiction of any stripe really isn't my bag. My wife tricked me into watching it, because I was convinced I "couldn't possibly like yet another kissy-vampire show. Since I'm an author and have high hopes of seeing one of my own books turned into a series someday, I picked up the First off, paranormal fiction of any stripe really isn't my bag.

Dead and Gone. Charlaine Harris. Club Dead. Living Dead in Dallas. All Together Dead. Dead Reckoning. Dead in the Family. Dead as a Doornail. Definitely Dead. Dead to the World. From Dead to Worse. Night Shift. Day Shift. Midnight Crossroad.

After Dead. Deborah Harkness. Crimson Death. Laurell K. Guilty Pleasures. Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton. Kelley Armstrong. Bill returns the favor the next day when the Rattrays attack Sookie. In the meantime, there are several murders in Bon Temps, and people believe that Bill is behind the murders because many of the bodies have fang marks. The Bon Temps police suspect Sookie's brother Jason and arrest him because he has been romantically linked to two of the victims.

Sookie wants to help her brother and asks Bill to take her to a vampire bar called Fangtasia in nearby Shreveport. Fangtasia is owned by Eric Northman, a vampire sheriff who is much older and more powerful than Bill.

Eric soon discovers that Sookie can be useful and orders Bill to have her use her telepathic ability to determine the identity of the person who has been stealing from his bar.

Sookie finds out that Eric's partner, Long Shadow, a vampire, has been stealing the money and she almost gets killed in the process. Eric saves Sookie's life by staking Long Shadow when he attacks her.

Back in Bon Temps, Sookie finds her grandmother Adele slaughtered in the kitchen. Bill, concerned with Eric's power over him and Sookie, decides to improve his own position within their vampire hierarchy. He asks Bubba, a dim-witted vampire, to protect Sookie while he is gone. Sookie discovers that her boss, Sam is a shape-shifter when she lets a stray dog sleep beside her and finds a naked Sam in the morning.

While Bill is gone, Sookie discovers that the murderer is her brother's friend Rene Lenier. He almost kills her, but she fights back.