Customer Reviews

Dead in Dixie (Southern Vampire Mystery, Bks. 1-3)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This Science Fiction Book Club Edition contains the first 3 volumes of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series: Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas and Club Dead.

More humor than most vampire series, with a good mystery as you would expect from Charlaine Harris. If you like Laurell K Hamilton, this has a more light-hearted touch, but many similar supernatural elements. Highly recommended!

This volume contains three novels about the waitress Sookie Stackhouse and her vampire boyfriend Bill Compton. Vampires have recently been allowed to come out in the open, living on synthesized blood; the party line is that vampirism is a severe allergy to garlic and sunlight, but as some people find out, they are really supernatural and there are many more supernatural beings around. Sookie herself is telepathic, which she mostly considers a nuisance: her attraction to Bill is partly that she can not read his thoughts, and therefore can have a "normal" relationship with him.

These stories are quite funny to read, although they contain a good amount of gore, supernatural or otherwise, and are in general well written. Sookie is a likeable character, and nowhere near as dumb as she looks, even if she is blond and has big breasts.

I guess it's natural for vampire stories to take place in Louisiana, but instead of in glamorous New Orleans, these stories play in a small town, Bon Temps, where everyone knows everyone. The locale is certainly vividly pictured.

On the whole I found this a tremendously entertaining read.

Urban fantasy usually takes place in, you know, urban areas. Cities, big towns, and places where vampires and weres creep in dank alleys. But Charlaine Harris took a slightly different approach in the Sookie Stackhouse series. And the first three books, collected in "Dead in Dixie (Southern Vampire Mystery, Bks. 1-3)," are solidly entrenched in warm Southern charm and mellow mysteries.

In "Dead Until Dark," Bon Temps waitress Sookie Stackhouse can read minds, which is more of a curse than a blessing. But when she meets and befriends vampire Bill Compton, she becomes embroiled in the world of vampires -- and when her grandmother is viciously murdered, she finds that the supernatural world is a lot more complicated (and close to home) than she ever dreamed.

"Living Dead in Dallas" has Sookie is hired by vampires over a kidnapping, and ends up mired in a disastrous situation involving werewolves, Texan vamps, and a fanatical religious cult that hates the supernatural. "Club Dead" brings Sookie some relationship problems when Bill becomes inattentive... and vanishes. Sookie sets out to find her absentee lover along with the Viking vampire Eric and the werewolf Alcide, but the result isn't what she expects.

The Sookie Stackhouse series does a great job of avoiding the usual pitfalls of urban fantasy -- it's not all doom'n'gloom, gothic pomposity and angst. Instead, it's soaked in down-home Southern charm, the pleasant little town of Bon Temps, and a generally mellow, relaxed atmosphere all throughout the series.

Of course, it doesn't stop Harris from piling on gruesome murders and nasty psychos here and there, as well as a few budding subplots. Her style is warm, steady, mildly tongue-in-cheek and quirky, and she introduces some unique ideas into the usual wolf packs and vampire bunches (such as Elvis Presley, now a vampire!).

What flaws? Well, Sookie's attractiveness has begun to creep into "everybody wants her" Anita Blake territory. That we don't need. However, Sookie is a likable character -- an unpretentious and no-nonsense waitress who doesn't go looking for trouble, but whose telepathic talents often draw it to her.

And there's plenty of other likable characters: the charming Viking vampire Eric, Sookie's flaky werepanther brother Jason, her down-to-earth werecollie boss Sam, and many others. The character that doesn't click: the boring, slightly creepy Bill.

"Dead in Dixie (Southern Vampire Mystery, Bks. 1-3)" is a solid collection of Charlaine Harris's first three Sookiecentric stories. It has some rough spots, but it's a good lighthearted read.

Dead in Dixie is the first 3 books of Charlaine Harris' "Sookie Stackhouse" series. Great urban fiction. I can't put one of her books down until I finish it! The HBO series True Blood is based on this series; however, Alan Ball has his own take on it so there are stark differences.

I LOVE the Sookie Stackhouse series. I started reading this after watching the first 3 seasons of True Blood, and while there are many differences from the TV show, I'm not disappointed by that at all. The story is still sexy, funny and serious all at the same time. All the characters are awesome. I'm now on the last book and it didn't take me long to get to it at all ... I can't put these books down!

The books are awesome and the art is better than the other covers in my opinion. Its also crazy these covers came out 5 years ago and Eric and Bill look exactly like they do on the True Blood I mean dead on besides Eric looking young.

This is a great started book for the series...one book has all 3!. Sookie is amazing and once you read this you're going to be hooked.!

It's been too long since I couldn't put a book down!! What a marvelous imagination Ms Harris has, I've never laughed so loud and long, been so turned on and spooked -all at the same time!! If this appeals, then the Sookie Stackhouse series is for you!! The all time BEST ever vampire books written!! The characters are so well defined that they quickly come alive!! Don't miss this series, -they are much MORE in every way than the HBO series!!

I suspect I'm turning into a 'fangbanger!!

I found this a great way to read the first three books and to see if l wanted to read the next batch. I'm a big fan of the TV show but the books didn't really do it for me. Not very well written. I thought the story line would appeal to women more than men. Worth buying the book to check out the series.

This book contains 3 novels.... Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead. I'm not into vampire mysteries or vampire romances but I do like this author so I decided to try this series. I'm sure glad I did because it's so full of humor that I find myself laughing out loud. Sookie Stackhouse is the main character. She works in a bar and was a virgin until she met Vampire Bill. The humans think she's strange because she can read their minds (she's a telepath). She can read human minds anyway but not vampires since they are technically dead. I mean they don't breathe for heaven's sakes. But at least that makes it easier for her to sleep with him since she's not constantly listening to him perhaps being critical of her performance in bed. Bill is kind of an old fashioned vampire since he was born in the 1800's and died right after the civil war. Soon Sookie isn't just hanging with this vampire but with some of his friends. The other vampires can see where a telepath might come in handy and are soon sending her on a mission to Dallas to solve a problem there. Well, most girls would lose their cool about being around so many vampires and there is quite a bit....since they sometimes have to kill the bad guys. Oh, yeah, if you believe in vampires, you have to believe in other supernatural beings, like shapechangers, werewolves, witches, etc and soon they are also appearing in these books. Poor Sookie helps them all but for some reason she is the one who always winds up hurt at the end. But no reason to get worried since those vampires are real good at healing her. Once they even changed out her whole blood system...uh, this was to save her life and not because they were just feeding on her. This takes place in a small town in Louisiana and the people there pretty much don't seem astonished to find so many vamps or supes in their town. They are getting used to it. It all started when the Japanese invented a synthetic blood. That is when the vamps decided to go public and mainstream with humans. Instead of killing the humans they could drink this blood. Well, they do have a few little nips off the humans once in awhile but these humans are like groupies and want it. And lo and behold if there people called drainers who suck the blood out of vampires and sell it on the streets just like a drug dealer would. It's quite valuable as it can make you glow and bouncy for weeks at a time. Although the vamps try to mainstream, everyone must be slightly scared of them since most houses in their neighborhoods have for sale signs in the yard. So...how would you feel about a vampire, werewolf, shapeshifters for a neighbor....and how about that cat next door...is she really a cat? The author has a way with words and you will love these books and cheer Sookie on to more adventures with her unusual set of new friends. There's romance, mystery, humor and I intend reading all of them!