I’m not talking about the dead tradition of staying up all night with the corpse of a loved one. I’m talking about the Dead (or Undead) world of Sookie Stackhouse created by the brilliant mind of Charlaine Harris. For those who don’t know, all thirteen books have “Dead” in the title.
In preparation for the release of the final book in the series, I spent a few weeks re-reading the previous books and some of the shorts and novellas. That is why I was literally sittin’ up with the Dead. Once you get sucked in, the books are hard to put down.
It was like sittin’ up with old friends. Since I’ve read almost everything that Charlaine has written, it was particularly satisfying to see Lily and Jack Leeds make a couple of appearances in Sookie’s series. I highly recommend Lily Bard’s series (the Shakespeare books). They aren’t paranormal but Lily is a bad mama jama. Whereas Sookie kills her attackers by accident most of the time, Lily knows how to kick butt. Read Dead Reckoning for a sneak peak at Lily’s skills.
I wrote part of this post prior to reading Dead Ever After, the last book. (Sniff, sniff). I had certain hopes for Sookie’s future and wanted to record them before I read how Charlaine ended the series.
First, Sookie needed to kick Eric to the curb a few books back. Sayonara bloodsucker. That sounds unfair because I really liked Eric up until the Victor Madden takedown in Dead Reckoning. I never cared for Bill very much but there seemed to be a role reversal of sorts in Dead Reckoning. The once funny and engaging Eric became the backside of a mule and the once stiff Bill lightened up. “Is it Christmas?…Are you an early present?” from Dead Reckoning is where I first noticed the change in Bill.
Second, since I read somewhere that Charlaine said Sookie wouldn’t end up with a vamp, I pondered who would be a good match. (I hope I got that right but when I looked for the source, I couldn’t find where I’d seen it. It could be wishful thinking on my part but pairing her with a deader would make for a dead end relationship.)
Of the breathers, my first choice for Sookie is Sam Merlotte, the shapeshifter. He’s strong and steady and while he and Sookie have had disagreements, he never tried to manipulate her like the other males in her life. Plus, Sookie owns a piece of the bar. They’re already partners in business, why not partners in life? Sookie made the right choice in Deadlocked.
My second choice for Sookie’s HEA is John Quinn, the weretiger. While Sookie and Quinn had some issues, I always thought they could work through them if given half a chance. One of my favorite books in the series is Definitely Dead where Quinn and Sookie have adventures in New Orleans. If you haven’t read Small-Town Wedding, the novella in The Sookie Stackhouse Companion, it’s a must read and it is where Sookie and Quinn reconnect and make peace with each other.
My third choice for Sookie’s romantic interest is Remy Savoy, father of Hunter (Sookie’s telepathic second cousin). Since Remy is human, it probably wouldn’t work for Sookie but for Hunter’s sake, I put him in contention. We are first introduced to them in From Dead To Worse.
You may notice that Alcide Herveaux didn’t make the top three. He didn’t even make the long list. He was a catch in Club Dead but over the next two books, I lost respect for him. In Dead As A Doornail, I wanted to hit him in the head with a rock and my feelings for him never changed after that.
One last wish for the final book: I hope Bubba makes an appearance. He’s my favorite vampire with Pam a close second. I’m eager to see what happens.
One last wish for the final book: I hope Bubba makes an appearance. He’s my favorite vampire with Pam a close second. I’m eager to see what happens.
So, was I pleased with the grand finale? Yes! (Fist pump) Dead Ever After tied up all the loose ends. I won’t spoil it for those of you who have yet to read it but the only thing I missed was seeing my favorite vampire with the famous face. I knew there were more enemies out there but I had forgotten about them so it was particularly exciting to see what unraveled.
Congratulations to Charlaine Harris for creating such great characters and stories. I think I’m gonna go dust off my cowboy boots.
Congratulations to Charlaine Harris for creating such great characters and stories. I think I’m gonna go dust off my cowboy boots.
I would love to hear from other fans of Charlaine’s work. Do you have a favorite book by Miss Harris? A favorite scene from Sookie’s crazy life? Leave your email address along with your comments and I will draw a winner for a $10 Amazon electronic gift card on Friday morning, May 10th. If you aren’t already a fan, maybe the gift card can get you started and you too will be Sittin’ up with the Dead.
Hangs head in shame. I’ve only read the first book. I loved it. I love a great series, but the length of this series was intimidating so I kept delaying reading subsequent books. Now I have to crawl into a cave and hide from the world of spoilers so that I can devour 12 more books! Can’t wait!
Great post, Meda 🙂
Thanks Heather. I hope you get time to read them. They are very entertaining. I hope I didn’t spoil it too much for you.
Oh Meda,
I so have to talk to you about this book! 🙂
I am glad you liked it–and it was bitter sweet.
Excellent post!
M.V.
Thank you. I would love to discuss it. There are so many things to squeal over, especially my favorite shifter.
I am so excited to see how it ends, but I’m kind of sad too. I always wanted Sookie and the tiger to end up together. I mean how cool is a were tiger.
Love the blog. Keep it up!
Thanks Kelli. It was so good. I always liked Quinn too despite the betrayal in “From Dead To Worse.” He was caught between a rock and a hard place and I felt kind of bad for him when Sookie smacked him down after the takeover.
I love the southern vampire series. I wonder how it will end? Who will Sookie finally choose.
I was very happy with the end although I’ve heard not everyone is as pleased as I am. I hate it but that’s the way the telepath rolls. Three cheers for CH!
Now I feel the need to catch up on the last few books!
Hi Kristin- I’ll tell you like I told one of my other friends who has a couple of books to catch up on. Try not to get too depressed when you read Dead Reckoning. Push through. I loved the ending of Deadlocked and of course, the latest- Dead Ever After. The last one was a little different b/c of other POV’s for the first time, but it was so good to know what was going on elsewhere. Thanks for stopping by.