Book review: Dead Until Dark sucks (literally)

February 7, 11:44 AMSeattle Books ExaminerDanielle Dreger-Babbitt

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I absolutely love the HBO original series True Blood.  The characters are well cast (Anna Paquin won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Sookie Stackhouse), the dialog is tight and funny, and the location shots are amazing.  It only took one episode for my husband and I to get hooked.

True Blood is based on the Sookie Stackhouse mystery series by Charlene Harris.  Naturally after the series ended this fall I went looking for the books, after all I needed my fix.  There was a massive waiting list for the first few books in the series at my local library, so I actually went out and bought a new copy of the first book in the series, Dead Until Dark.  I am now kicking myself for not waiting for my name to come up in the hold queue and wasting my money.

This book sucks.  Seriously.  It is hard to see how it translated so well from book to screen.  All twelve episodes of the series follow the first book pretty closely, with the exception that True Blood added a few more characters to the mix.  Everything else is the same:  evil vampires, synthetic blood, Sookie's telepathy.

If you are unfamiliar with the series, allow me to catch you up.  The book (and the show) follow Sookie Stackhouse, a twenty-something waitress in Bon Tempe, Louisiana who has the ability to read people's minds.  Vampires have recently "come out of the coffin" and are mainstreaming with humans.  These aren't your normal vampires.  Sure they love the taste of human blood, but they are content to drink the synthetic blood the Japanese have invented to keep them from feeding on humans.  Sookie's life changes when vampire Bill (who was turned into a Vamp during the Civil War) walks into her bar and orders a bottle of the synthetic blood.  Sookie and Bill soon become an item, much to the dismay of the locals.  Shortly after Bill's arrival, several waitresses in town known for cavorting with vampires turn up dead.  Sookie fears that she may be next, so she uses to her telepathy to try and solve the murders.

I'll be frank:  the writing is pretty awful (and I have a high tolerance for crap).  It was so bad I could barely finish the book.  The only reason I finished so that I could post this review.  I had high hopes for the series, but I won't be reading anymore.  After I complained about the book to a friend, they told me the books just get worse.  Please take my advice and avoid this book at all costs (eat garlic and wear extra silver if necessary).

If you are looking for a good vampire mystery or love story, check out my vampire booklist.