Archive for eric and sookie
The Final Sookie Stackhouse Novel – Dead Ever After
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It’s Finally Here!!
Charlaine is getting plenty of grief from her fans these days. The last book of the Sookie Stackhouse series is out and fans don’t seem to be happy with it. Well I say – grow up and get a life. I loved the final Sookie Stackhouse adventure Dead Ever After and did not feel at all disappointed in it. She went with choices I felt were identified several books ago and that were, to my mind, completely in keeping with who and what Sookie is all about. But heck, that is just my opinion and it seems to be in the minority these days, if you go by what I see online.
Sookie has always been a thoroughly southern gal to me. I’ve travelled that country, talked to its people and even had several friends who migrated north that grew up in small southern towns not that dissimilar to Bon Temps. Well, except for the vampires and werewolves that is. At least, as far as I know. They could just not be sharing that information with me.
But I digress. In this final book of the series Sookie has a lot of stuff to deal with, to put it mildly. She has some very scary situations happen that are the result of the many decisions she has been making throughout this series. She has friends literally come crawling out of the woodwork when word gets out that she needs them. And she has to make some tough decisions about love and life that would daunt anyone.
But through it all, she makes them with the kind of grit and kindness she has shown through the entire series. If you don’t believe me, you just might want to reread the whole series (I did) before embarking on this final voyage of the good ship Sookie. It has all been there folks. Charlaine is a brave lady to go ahead and make decisions about her characters that many are not happy with. She knew they may not be so. But they are all decisions that more than amply reflect the characters we have come to know and care about. And I am not just talking Sookie here.
The Viking and Ambition
We all know that Eric is ambitious. We all know he is ruthless. In the end, we all just need to face the fact that Eric is simply being truthful when he tells Sookie that he loves her as well as he can. Probably more than anyone he has known since he has turned, but the question is always – would it be enough?
Bill may still love her, but can he protect her from what she is? I actually loved the friendship between Bill and Sookie that shows in this book. That friendship may actually be something that will last her for her entire life. But Eric has some hard choices in front of him and as we saw in the last book, the cluviel dor proved to be the tool that revealed what kind of choices he would make. But what choices do they reveal for Sookie?
Friendship versus Love
We see in this book the end result of the love that Sookie has shared with so many throughout the series. She has been generous with her heart, maybe too generous some times. I hear it is a fault of many southern women, and if it is that is one more thing that makes me love Charlaine’s handling of this series.
For Sookie has many close friends, people she has known most of her life. True, her abilities have left her the outsider at times, but not completely. Time and again she has discovered who is there in her corner when she needed them. In Dead Ever After she finds out that those friendships are what keep her strong and will always be there for her. It is a good discovery to make when your life is as chaotic as hers has been lately. It will be good for her in the future as well.
Discovery and Betrayal
There are a few things that Sookie finds out about in this book as well. She not only finds out her true friends, she finds out just how much others can betray her. Even if it is someone she knew was not exactly a friend, though he is family, she never expected him to act his way. It is a disappointment to both Sookie and to us as readers. But it is also one that we both understand. Sookie has grown enough since the first book, when just the sight of Bill got her all excited, that she now understands her own feelings much better. And, of course, we do too since she shares them with us.
Final Endings and Last Farewells
I feel that this is not the true farewell for many of these characters. I am not just referring to Charlaine’s plans for the release of her “what happened after” stories in After Dead. That book, which is due to come out in October, will be fun to read. But I think that in my mind I can see some pathways for these characters on my own. We have come to know and love them over the years.
Yes, the alternate world of Sookie Stackhouse goes on in True Blood. But for those of us who came to know and love Sookie through the books, that is a parallel world with the same characters (mostly) but acting a bit out of character. The real Sookie lies here, in the books. I will miss our adventures, but I agree that it is time to let it all go. Charlaine has written a fitting end to the series, regardless of what you wanted to have happen. That discussion is for anther post at another time. After we have all had time to read this final chapter in the life of Bon Temps and to think about how we feel about it.
I hope that you will drop us a line here and let us know once you have read it what you think of Dead Ever After. I am glad that I took the time to re-read the series first. It made the decisions and flow of the book fit better for me. But you may have a different experience.
Of course there is only one way to find out. We have the Kindle version of the Dead Ever After available for you, along with both a wonderful hardcover (don’t you love handling the hardcover editions?) and a paperback version as well. Enjoy the final chapter in the life of everyone’s favorite telepathic barmaid! Sookie forever!
True Blood Season 4 Episode 11: Soul of Fire
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The vampire Mod Squad is getting ready to blow the Moon Goddess Emporium into a parallel universe when Jason runs up and halts the action. He makes them aware that Sookie is inside the building with the other witches who are being held by Marnie. Everybody starts cussing because Sookie has ruined their plans to demolish the building but Jason points out that they could not have done anything anyway because there is a spell cast over the building that repels their bullets.
Marnie is lording it over the other witches as she enjoys her new role as the resident fascist. One of the young women, Casey, rushes at Marnie begging to be let out and she receives a knife in her chest for her audacity in challenging the uber-witch. Jesus is a nurse and he tells Marnie that Casey is still alive. He yells at Lafayette to help him pick her up and move her to the bathroom to staunch the bleeding.
Little does Marnie know, Jesus has a plan to get the spirit of Antonia out of Marnie’s body for good. Casey was truly dead – he faked Marnie out – and Jesus plans to use her body to turn the necromancer magic against Marnie. Jesus is quite smooth, he convinces her that he’s on her side and he is only trying to save Casey as he gathers up some jars of herbs .
Terry’s efforts with Andy to get him off the V have worked and Terry drove away to leave Andy to walk home through the woods as his final transition phase back to health. Noticing some lights out in the woods, he suddenly realizes there is a beautiful fairy standing in front of him. He’s amazed but she’s scared and she zaps him with the same magic that Sookie uses.
Andy wakes up and finds the fairy sitting on top of him. He likes that. She is in the mood for love and so is Andy. When he gets home that night, he tells Arlene that he met a woman in the woods and they had sex several times. Arlene’s not buying it but Andy is very happy anyway.
Sam and Alcide charge into Marcus’ motorcycle shop ready to get justice for Tommy’s death. There’s only one guy there and he’s pleading ignorance. Luna arrives desperate to find her daughter because Marcus has taken her. They’re getting nowhere when Emma calls her mom from Alcide’s house and when he sees his phone number on Luna’s cell, they all head over there.
Alcide busts into his bedroom and yells “What the hell is going on” to Debbie who’s in the bedroom with Marcus. She doesn’t have many clothes on and Alcide looks like he’s about to have a stroke. Sam challenges Marcus to fight like two men, no guns and no shifting. At first it looks like Marcus is going to win but then Sam’s rage takes over and he puts Marcus down. He leaves him alive but Marcus has to cheat – he goes for the gun and Alcide kills him. Debbie is appalled at Marcus’ death but Alcide turns on her and reneges his relationship with her, leaving her crying in despair.
Bill and Eric are outside the Emporium with all their weapons when Marnie and Sookie come out to “negotiate”. Bill asks her to let Sookie go and she agrees – but only if Eric and Bill kill themselves. Sookie is disbelieving as it looks like they’re going to do it. But Pam is having none of that, she’s not going to let her maker die over a human in a sundress. She grabs a giant gun and shoots it at Marnie but it just blows back on them because of the spell that covers the building.
Jesus is tapping into the brujo demon inside him in order to get the power to kick Antonia out of Marnie. All the others are forced into a circle to join hands with Marnie who uses her powers to force the vampires outside to walk into the spell barrier and die the final death. Sookie realizes what’s going on outside and she uses her fairy power to stop Marnie yet once again. Marnie is furious at Sookie and she places her in a circle of fire, ready to kill her for her betrayal.
Just then, Jesus’ spell comes to fruition and Sookie is released from the fire as Bill and Eric burst in the front door. Bill shoots Marnie and we are finally rid of her. Or are we? Because the end of this episode has Lafayette lying in bed and as he is about to drift off, he looks up and there’s Marnie hovering over him. Next thing we see, she takes possession of him and now you know, we have not seen the end of Marnie.
True Blood Season 4 Ep 10: Burning Down the House
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Antonia and Roy are enjoying their triumph as Eric throws Bill around the room, trying to kill him. Sookie gets in between the two of them but Eric just shoves her aside. Bill shoots him with a silver bullet but he recovers and is about to stake Bill when Sookie uses her fairy powers to break the witch’s spell, allowing Eric to recall everything.
Eric gives her this smoldering look as he realizes all the sexin’ they’ve been having while he lost his memory. She’s looking at him like she’s not sure what’s going to happen. She never liked arrogant Eric before and that’s who she has now, the arrogant vampire back with his memories of them sharing her bed, and the kitchen counter, and the woods, and the rug, and the…..well, you get it, they were having lots of sex.
Antonia vanishes with Roy back to the Moon Goddess Emporium where it looks like she’s having some kind of fit and suddenly Antonia’s spirit bursts out from Marnie’s body. Antonia wants the killing to stop but Marnie convinces her that it’s a necessary evil – yeah, right – that’s what all the good tyrants say.
Eric tries to convince Sookie that they can pick up where they left off but she’s not having it. She loves both her vampires – Eric and Bill – and she has to have them both in her life. Wow girl, selfish a little bit? Anyway, Eric’s not liking this new twist at all and he tells her that she belongs to him. No more Mister Nice Guy. You can tell that the wheels are turning on how he’s going to get Sookie back into the Eric hammock on a full time basis.
Lesson learned by Tommy – don’t do your brother a favor by fighting his fight for him, it will just kill you. And that’s exactly what happens to Tommy after Alcide helps him home to Merlotte’s where they meet Sam. He tries to talk to Tommy about the white light and seeing loved ones but Tommy’s a realist to the end, he disparages Sam’s words and simply asked not to be forgotten. Sam vows to kill Marcus for what he has done to his brother.
Marcus is at Alcide’s house putting the moves on Debbie. He’s plays up to her insecurities and like the idiot she is, she appears to be buying it. Really? Leave Alcide for Marcus? I don’t care how much you want kids, that ain’t happening. She must be seriously high on V to even consider it.
Andy got caught doing drugs by his cousin Terry. Being quite familiar with the detox process, Terry takes Andy out to their old stomping grounds in the woods and forces him to come to grips with his addiction. Terry shows a lot of personality in these scenes, more than I’ve seen from him to date. Apparently, he holed up in their tree house out in the woods when he first came back from the war to deal with his PTSD. That lets him connect with Andy but the two of them have to fight it out first over who had the hardest life growing up. It seems that Andy is one of those rich but unloved kids who had everything but really had nothing. Or so he thinks anyway. I find it hard to feel sorry for rich people who think they have it so rough.
Holly and Tara are going to try their spell casting skills and supposedly outwit Antonia. I doubt any good will come of this and they’ll probably get transformed into a mouse or something. Sookie begs Bill to not attack the Emporium because Tara is inside it. He basically says sorry, this is war and there will be causalities. Which causes her to run out and take matters into her own hands….again….and put herself in the middle of danger….again.
Sookie is joined by Lafayette, Jesus, and Jason outside the Emporium and Jesus says that if he can just get in, he can save Marnie from Antonia. Little does he know that it’s Marnie who has gone into full dictator mode. He is able to breach her protective spell by doing his demon-face thing which always freaks Lafayette out. Who really wants to see their lover wearing an ugly demon-face? That will kill the romance in a heartbeat.
Once inside, Jesus realizes that Marnie is part of the problem, not part of the solution. At this moment, Tara and Holly’s spell works and they can open the doors without burning their hands off. Running outside, they are greeted by Sookie and Lafayette just in time to be spelled back into the building. All that effort for a little run in the street only to end up back where you started.
Jason stands in the middle of the street with his mouth hanging open as everybody disappears – although I consider this a standard look for him. This episode wraps when Bill, Eric, Pam, and Jessica go all Matrix and show up at the Emporium in all black outfits ready to kill something. It’s like an undead Mod Squad.
