Archive for Sookie Stackhouse Books
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!
Sookie Stackhouse Book 10 – Dead in the Family is Compelling Fantasy
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The Fae War has ended, and somehow Sookie has survived her kidnapping, torture and more to live another day. The question remains, does she want to? I really felt for Sookie in this book, she has gone through so much and this time around her well-known perkiness has taken a beating and called for retreat. Who can blame her?
If you have been following the series, you know that Sookie was bound to be influenced by the utter quantity of violence that surrounds the supernaturals she hangs with. This time around, it seems like it has finally left its mark on her. When she is threatened, and worse when she sees how dragged down Erik has become, she is bitter and wants the being responsible dead. This is not the Sookie we met in Dead Until Dark.
Love Among the Ruins
But don’t think that this book is all dark and doom – it isn’t. The darkness can be compelling, fantasy that it is. But it has its redeeming parts too. In fact, one of the nicer parts of it is that Sookie finally gets her Viking to admit he loves her. It is something she, and many of her readers, have been waiting to hear the long tall cold one say. I like Erik the best of all her lovers, but there were times I thought he would never give in to his feelings. When Pam lets Sookie know that she has never seen Erik this way about someone it made my little heart soar.
Ruins Among the Love
Of course, being the Sookie universe, there are dead bodies everywhere and danger around every corner. There are dead bodies not only where there shouldn’t be any, but most decidedly where someone not very conveniently placed them. There are town-folks threatening Sam’s livelihood (first time I can remember seeing Sam that angry) and there is some very creepy moments when Sookie faces one of the Fae clan who is beyond dangerous. Who would have thought the Fae could be such scary beings? But then, these are not Tinkerbelle fairies, are they?
Inner Action Trumps This Time
Some may say that nothing much happens in this book, but I think they are wrong. I think a lot happens, but it happens internally. Erik and Sookie both go through some major changes here, and although our gal is kinda quiet in much of the book compared to her usual self, it felt real. No one would go through what she did at the hands of those two murderous monsters in Dead and Gone and not have been affected by it.
One of the things I have always liked about this series is how the characters grow and change. I like that the Fae and the Vampires and yes even the wers are decidedly non-human in this series. They are not just people with fangs or fur – there are some real differences in how they think. They are not the same static predictable characters, nor are they just like the ones we met ten books ago. Truth is they shouldn’t be.
Dead in the Family is where Sookie finally admits that she may in the end be just as blood-thirsty as the vamps. It kinda scares her, but not enough to have her change her mind about who needs to be killed. Now that, of all the things that happened in Dead in the Family, was scary for me.
Family Ties
But we also get to see the strength she gets from friends and family. Jason comes through as much more together now and even her Fae “cousin” is revealed to be more than the petty self-centered being we were first introduced to. She finds that she values her connections to these different tribes, and even if she isn’t sure all the time where she fits in, these are her family now. In fact, the final scene of the book (no spoilers here) simply amplifies this rather nicely.
If you are a Sookie fan, get ready to be a bit surprised by how she handles some stuff here. Even Erik does a bit of “growing up”. If you are looking for a bit of a breather while waiting for the next season of True Blood, I can’t think of a better way than reading the series that started it all. The books are in a compelling fantasy world that holds together better than most. Dead in the Family is a good bridge between the end of the Fae War and the battle about to begin as Erik fights to save his territory. It reveals an evolution in characters and a growth in our gal Sookie as well.
You can get your copy of Dead in the Family in Kindle or paperback versions.
Dead Ever After – Sookie Stackhouse Book 13 Synopsis
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For many of us Sookie Stackhouse fans it is hard to believe that the upcoming Sookie Stackhouse Book 13, Dead Ever After is the final one in the series. With all the years of following Charlaine’s wonderful series and then getting the treat of True Blood to add to the enjoyment of our gal Sookie, it will be hard to read the final book in the series and know that this is it, the end of the story and our trips to Bon Temps.
In the last book of the series, we see that in many ways some things never change in Bon Temps. It starts off simple enough when Arlene comes around Merlotte’s trying to get her old barmaid job back. Like that would ever happen, considering that Arlene was the one that tried to kill Sookie! Turning her down was the most fun Sookie had seen for a while!
Not like the situation she has to endure with Erik suddenly being a truly ice cold Viking. It seems that not only Erik but every vamp in town is giving Sookie the cold shoulder these days. But when she finds out why they are treating her like so much bad news, she finds even her sensibilities can be shocked.
Sookie Stackhouse Book 13 Packs A Punch
Just when it seems that things can’t get much worse, they do. A horrific murder happens in town, and everyone is horrified to see that it looks like Sookie is the prime suspect! Of course, no one is more shocked than Sookie herself when they come to arrest her for murder.
When the evidence they have turns out to be so flimsy that they cannot even hold her, Sookie’s feelings of vindication are short-lived. That may be because when she decides to find out who the killer really is, she finds out some truths about Bon Temps that she may wish she had left alone. Sometimes the truth doesn’t set you free, it just frightens you.
When everything you thought was true is a lie, and the one person you thought you could count on is revealed to be something else, what can you trust anymore? In Sookie Stackhouse Book 13 our gal is in for a lot of revelations, and not many of them are pretty.
For those who aren’t great at waiting you can actually pre-order your book in either the hardcover or Kindle version now for the May release.
Hey! Why not have all your friends order the kindle version now and plan that Sookie party for May today!
