Monday, June 13, 2011

Adult Review: Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

Review: Dead to the World
Series: Sookie Stackhouse – Book 4
Author: Charlaine Harris
No of Pages: 321
Release Date: 3 May 2005

Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She’s pretty. She does her job well. But she has only a few close friends, because not everyone appreciates Sookie’s gift: she can read minds. That’s not exactly every man's idea of date bait - unless they’re undead; vampires and the like can be tough to read. And that’s just the kind of guy Sookie’s been looking for. Maybe that’s why, when she comes across a naked vampire on the way home from work, she doesn’t just drive on by. He hasn’t got a clue who he is, but Sookie has: Eric looks just as scary and sexy – and dead – as the day she met him. But now he has amnesia, he’s sweet, vulnerable, and in need of Sookie’s help – because whoever took his memory now wants his life.

Sookie’s investigation into what’s going on leads her into a battle between witches vampires and werewolves. But there could be even greater danger – to Sookie’s heart – because the kinder, gentler Eric is very hard to resist.

My Thoughts:

Another dive into the world of Sookie Stackhouse, and now that Bill is out of the way, it’s getting interesting.

Sookie once again is just getting better, taking Eric in after he suffers amnesia to help keep him safe to me is just so good for her and her growth in this society. Sookie still remembers her place in the supernatural society, but she also is starting to come into her own. Things aren’t quite as scary anymore and when Sookie finds out about witches actually existing she doesn’t freak out like she would have in earlier books.

Eric is just getting hotter as far as I’m concerned. Suffering from amnesia at the hands of the witches Eric has forgotten that he is a 1,000 year old Viking vampire that people bow to and cower in fear from as soon as he enters a room. Eric’s tender side in Dead to the World made me fall even more in love with him than before, because it proves that he’s not just an evil overlord, but that he may have a sliver of humanity left.

Eric is a little bit of an odd character for me, I don’t want him to be gentle; I want him to be hard hitting, evil and funny. But in Dead to the World, his tender side was just so perfect; it didn’t even seem like Eric. So although I missed witty Eric, I absolutely loved gentle Eric and although it fits him I can’t see the two sides of him ever reconciling into one being and if I had to choose it would definitely be evil Eric.

Alcide and his wolves also play a major part again in this book and with the addition of Alcide it once again adds more of a plot mover to the story.

I was so glad that Bill barely made an appearance in Dead to the World, as in Club Dead because I really don’t like him. Sookie doesn’t need the distraction that Bill causes and I am hoping that the series continues on this broader path of the extended set of characters.

Dead to the World also introduces witches, which for me wasn’t that big a deal. They seemed more like the hippy Wiccans rather than full blown cackling witches for most of the story. They made for an interesting dilemma for Sookie to deal with though.

Dead to the World was yet another excellent instalment in this fabulous series.

4/5

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