Dead to the World: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) [Kindle Edition]

Charlaine Harris (Author)

Book Description

"With the sure touch of a master" (Crescent Blues), Charlaine Harris delivers "the sort of vampire thrills that make Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake novels so popular" (Locus). In Sookie Stackhouse—a Southern cocktail waitress with a supernatural gift—Harris has a created a heroine like few others, and a series that puts the bite back in vampire fiction. Now the hit series launches into hardcover for Sookie's biggest twist-filled adventure yet.When cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse sees a naked man on the side of the road, she doesn't just drive on by. Turns out the poor thing hasn't a clue who he is, but Sookie does. It's Eric the vampire—but now he's a kinder, gentler Eric. And a scared Eric, because whoever took his memory now wants his life.

Watch a QuickTime trailer for the HBO original series True Blood.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From Emma Bull's War for the Oaks to Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, from The X-Files to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, creators are mixing old European myths and legends with modern American pop culture. Incorporating influences ranging from blaxploitation movies and erotic novels to tabloid staples like UFOs and Elvis, authors and directors are creating a new mythology for the strip-mall, tract-house, cell-phone America of the new millennium.

One of the best-known and best writers of the new American mythology is Charlaine Harris. Dead to the World is the fourth novel in her Anthony Award-winning Southern Vampire series. It continues the story of psychic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who has fallen out with her undead lover, Bill. Bill has no sooner departed for Peru, than Sookie finds the head vampire, Eric, running naked and terrified through the rural night. She helps Eric, and discovers his memory has been destroyed by a coven of unscrupulous, astonishingly powerful witches, newly arrived in her small Louisiana town, and offering a huge reward for Eric. Sookie tries to hide Eric, but her brother sees him--and immediately disappears. And Sookie finds herself caught in a war among witches, vampires, and werewolves. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake looking for a lighter version of the vampire huntress should cotton to Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic Louisiana gal who really wants to be normal, but suffers from a huge self-confidence problem, a case of permanent bad luck, difficult relatives and a penchant for attracting unsavory characters of the not-quite-human kind. In this fourth quirky installment in this hitherto mass-market series (after 2003's Club Dead), Sookie finds that her bad luck has taken a new turn for the worse. Sookie's love interest, Bill the vampire, runs off to Peru to do research. In his place, Sookie is stuck with Eric, Bill's boss (and head vamp for the district), who appears out of thin air buck naked with no memory of who he is or what he does. Coincidentally, Sookie's brother Jason goes missing. Less coincidentally, but more ominously, a coven of witches (who also happen to be shape-shifters and vampire blood addicts) comes rolling into the nearest big city, looking for trouble. Consistent, well-built characters and a strong, action-packed plot that will keep readers guessing to the end distinguish this frothy fusion of romance, mystery and fantasy.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 549 KB
• Print Length: 316 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0441011675
• Publisher: Ace (May 3, 2005)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000O76OOU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,771 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #2 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > United States
  • #15 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy > TV, Movie, Video Game Adaptations
  • #95 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Contemporary

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

169 of 174 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Witch Wolf Was It? August 13, 2004

By Marc Ruby™ HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

For me, Charlaine Harris represents what vampire romance stories could be if they let go of all the solemn gothic trappings that they only too often hide a lack of plot behind. Sookie Stackhouse proves that a down to earth waitress in a small town Louisiana bar can be just as effective a heroine as your basic kinky necromancer type. Sookie's not quite normal - she can read minds - but she has a straightforward approach to the weirdness within and without her that is like a breath of fresh air.

This is the fourth book in the series, and finds Sookie back in Bon Temps still fuming at the perfidy of her ex-boyfriend Bill the vampire (yes, I said Bill). In fact all that Sookie wants to do is wait on tables, watch cable, and not get beaten up by yet another supernatural creature. In fact, when Bill announces he is bound for Peru to do research, she is even a bit pleased. But nothing lasts, and while driving home one night she finds Eric, the Area 5 vampire sheriff wandering around in various states of undress, and lacking any memory of who he was.

Suddenly Sookie, who finds the new Eric much nicer than the old one, is embroiled in a war that pits a coven of extortionist witches against an every supernatural creature in the Shrevesport area. To make matters worse, Sookie's brother disappears, leaving her worried to death and depending on a mixed crew of vampires, weres, and a somewhat ditzy fairy for support and protection.

Of course, the secret of Harris's success is that Sookie is a lot tougher than you might think. Yes, she is emotional, attracted to the spookiest men, and lacks fashion sense, but underneath it all she has learned to pick up the pieces and carry on. If you don't count her taste in men, what Sookie does always makes sense. And her wry, humble style cannot fail to charm.

Harris manages to tread the line between sexiness and bad taste with surer feet than Laurell Hamilton. As a result the eroticism never distracts from the plot and the solid narrative style that Sookie uses. It you are interested in a new twist on the girl-meets-vampire genre these books are a great place to start.

112 of 114 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite one in the series! October 3, 2004

By CoffeeGurl HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover

I have loved this series since Dead Until Dark and I tried to resist reading the newest installment Dead to the World, for the next book won't be out in quite some time. This is the best Southern Vampire novel in the entire series! This is of course my favorite installment and I hated to see it end and savored the last pages with gusto. Sookie Stackhouse is still mourning her breakup with Bill when he tells her that he's off to Peru to meet with some vampires there. But Sookie isn't able to think about Bill much when, on her drive home from work, she finds vampire Eric, scared and vulnerable, wandering the streets in the middle of the night with almost no clothes on. He's lost his memory, has no idea what has happened to him, so Sookie decides to look after him. She is shocked to find that he is no longer the no-nonsense vampire trying to get into her pants that he'd once been. It appears that some witches have put a spell on Eric and are planning to wreak havoc among the supernaturals in Shreveport. To make matters worse, Sookie's brother is missing. Sookie seeks the help of the local vampires, werewolves and other shape shifters, but will they be able to fight against the most powerful witches ever encountered? There are many twists throughout the novel.

As said earlier, this is my favorite installment. There is a lot of action and Sookie is quite a tough cookie in this one. She is also reaching an uncertain future regarding her love life. She is not over Bill, but she is attracted to vampire leader Eric, werewolf Alcide and shape-shifter Sam. I have a feeling that the next installment will be quite interesting in the relationship department. I adore Eric. He sounds so scrumptious! He is what made this novel so memorable to me. He is the most interesting and sexiest of the male characters in the book, and there are quite a few hot men in this series! But that scene with Eric... I won't spoil it for the reader. Suffice it to say that it was the most delectable scene in the book. Anyway, I cannot recommend Dead to the World enough. This is the best part of Charlaine Harris's series thus far. The only bad thing is that I have read all of the books now and I will have to wait who knows how long till the next one. The good news is that Ms. Harris is releasing a novella based on this series in the Bite anthology next year. In the meantime, I strongly urge you to read this, but make sure you read the previous three installments before you do.

57 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finishing this has left me feeling ridiculously melacholy. September 16, 2004

By M. I. VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I cant believe it. I have now gone through all of the books written in this series thus far and the plot has reached a point where I feel I could burst and now I have to WAIT for the next one to be published...oh, I could just D-I-E!
First of all, if ever there was a "dream plot" that I would like to be involved in that had me running for my life every 5 minutes, well, the plot of
"Dead to the World" would be it. I can explain in one word quite simply: ERIC.
I have found him to be outrageously appealing from day one and Im only loving him more as the series progresses...just the thought of finding him along the road all vulnerable and in love with me is enough incentive to put up with Sookies unique troubles for a while. Truly, I love the man. I am so anxious to see what is going to develop and OMG I LLLLOOOVVED the ending. I loved it.... I want that coat.

More About the Author

Charlaine Harris (born November 25, 1951 in Tunica, Mississippi) is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing for over twenty years. She was raised in the Mississippi River Delta area. Though her early works consisted largely of poems about ghosts and, later, teenage angst, she wrote plays when she attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. She began to write books a few years later.
After publishing two stand-alone mysteries, Harris launched a lighthearted series "starring" Georgia librarian Aurora Teagarden, with Real Murders, a Best Novel nominee for the 1990 Agatha Awards. Harris wrote eight Aurora titles. In 1996, she released the first of the much darker Shakespeare mysteries, featuring the amateur sleuth Lily Bard, a karate student who makes her living cleaning houses. Shakespeare's Counselor, the fifth--and last-- was printed in fall 2001.
After Shakespeare, Harris created The Sookie Stackhouse urban fantasy series about a telepathic waitress who works in a bar in the fictional Northern Louisiana town of Bon Temps. The first of these, Dead Until Dark, won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Mystery in 2001. Each book follows Sookie as she tries to solve mysteries involving vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures. The series, which now numbers nine titles, has been released worldwide.
Sookie Stackhouse proved to be so popular that Alan Ball, creator of Six Feet Under, announced he would undertake the production of a new show for HBO based upon the books. He wrote and directed the pilot episode for that series, True Blood, which premiered in September of 2008. It was an instant success and was quickly picked up for a second season.
In October 2005, Harris's new mystery series about a young woman named Harper Connelly debuted with the release of Grave Sight. Harper has the ability to determine the cause of death of any body. There are now three Harper titles (GRAVE SIGHT, GRAVE SURPRISE, AN ICE COLD GRAVE) with a 4th (GRAVE SECRET) to be released in 2009.
Harris has also co-edited three very popular anthologies with her friend Toni L.P. Kelner. The anthologies feature stories with an element of the supernatural, and the submissions come from a rare mixture of mystery and urban fantasy writers.
Professionally, Harris is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the American Crime Writers League. She is a member of the board of Sisters in Crime, and alternates with Joan Hess as president of the Arkansas Mystery Writers Alliance. Personally, Harris is married and the mother of three. She lives in a small town in Southern Arkansas and when she is not writing her own books, she reads omnivorously!

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#12 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#2 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#4 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#5 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#7 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#2 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#4 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#5 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#7 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense