SYNOPSIS: Sookie Stackhouse is a small-town Louisiana waitress who’s lived her whole life with a “disability”: telepathic powers that let her read minds whether she wants to or not, which have put a major crimp on her social life. She’s not the only supernatural being hanging around town, though: thanks to the invention of synthetic bottled blood, vampires have recently made themselves known to the public. When one comes into the bar where Sookie works, she think’s he’s handsome, and thoroughly intriguing… she can’t hear his thoughts, no matter how hard she tries. Bill finds her equally attractive, but dating a vampire is not without its problems – there are other vampires who are much less willing to “mainstream” into mortal life intent on stirring up trouble for Bill, and their small town also seems to have itself a serial killer… one who’s preying on women who associate with vampires.GENRE: Paranormal Romance - this book has a little bit of it all: humor, romance, a murder mystery, and vampires...what's not to love!
PLOT: First of all, kudos to Charlaine Harris for developing a brilliant scenario that have our vampires "coming out of the coffin", so to speak. By doing this, we get a much more interesting interpretation of vampire culture: instead of them hiding from society, they have come out and are dealing with many issues [bigotry and prejudices] that many minorities face in real life. I also love how the romance is set up between Sookie and Bill. As a telepathic waitress, Bill is the first man she can date because she can't hear his thoughts. I also enjoyed how the mystery is introduced and subsequently unraveled as women known for associating with vampires [and labeled "fang-bangers" which I find hilarious] start turning up dead in the small town of Bon Temps. What was interesting to me was that finding out who the killer was is almost secondary to the actual relationships between Sookie and others [such as Bill and Sam].
CHARACTERS: This is where I feel the book really excels. As you read the character development of Sookie and Bill and other residents of Bon Temps, you feel like you have been there. In fact, I think I have met some of these people in my small hometown! Obviously, with the book told in first-person, Sookie is the most developed character. I love some of the phrases and dialogue she uses, and the details on the small things [like what to wear to a vampire bar] were great. Sookie worries about real-life problems: she is a simple waitress with a selfish brother and barely enough money to make ends meet. She worries about property taxes and paying bills and you really find yourself drawn in her story and rooting for her throughout the series because she is so relatable.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BOOK AND SHOW:
Honestly there were not a whole lot of major changes from Book 1 to the Season 1 of True Blood. In the TV show the main Sookie plot, the victims, identity of the killer, and even some of the dialogue is almost direct from the books. However, there are a few differences that are listed below:
- Book is entirely first-person so you only see things from Sookie's POV [a.k.a. no naked Jason sexcapades in the book, although it is implied that he is definitely a womanizer]
- Tara Thorton is not introduced until Book 2 [and she is white in the books]
- Obviously if there is no Tara in Book 1, then there is no crush on Jason, hookup with Sam, or exorcisms.
- There is no "V" storyline in the book - it is only mentioned in passing. In the show Jason becomes addicted to V and he and Amy kidnap vampire Eddie for his blood
- In the books Eric is the one that stakes Long Shadow; in the TV show it is Bill
- There is no Jessica character in the Books; in the TV show Bill must turn Jessica into a vampire as punishment for staking Long Shadow
- Bubba [a.k.a. vampire Elvis] although introduced in Book 1, per Alan Ball he will not be introduced in the TV show.
My Rating: 8.5/10
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