Dead to the World

ISBN: 0-441-01167-5 Order from: Amazon.com

A fun, fast adventure, buoyed by the appealing heroine, situational humor, and the supernatural elements smoothly integrated into rural Southern life.

Reviewed by David on April 04, 2004

Genre: Fantasy (Vampires, ESP, Mystery, Alternate Reality, American South)

Synopsis: Sookie is a waitress in a small Southern town, a few years after the vampires have "come out of the closet." The vampires are officially suffering from an "unkown virus", and can feed on synthetic blood now.

Depressed by her distance from Bill—her first love despite being a vampire, Sookie concentrates on living her life on the edge of poverty, ignoring the supernatural elements apparent to her sensitive minds.

Alas, the supernatural is not easily ignored. First, Eric, the overbearing, powerful, dangerous and attractive head of local vampires is in distress and needs Sookie's help. Next, her playboy brother tangles with a woman who is not quite human. Looks like Sookie is once more drafted into a power struggle. But is she on the right side?

Full Review:

Charlaine Harris reading at Torcon 2003 The plot here is not overly innovative: a new threat to her supernatural acquintances forces Sookie to play a vital part in the struggle. But the charm of the series is that Sookie never steps out of character: she is still the low-paid, no-nonsense waitress in a small-town bar. Her mixture of courage, irritation, stark fear and occasional lust make her a solid, likable heroine, and allow an exploration of very human, charming and flawed characters surrounding her.

Sookie gains no new powers in the series, thus still relying on smarts, subborness and subterfuge to deal with the outside world—much like the rest of us.

The villains are a bit murky in this fourth installment of the series, but the rest of the characters appeal almost as much as the heroine in the very enjoyable adventure.

Copyright: 2004

Overall: 6.5; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 6.5; Style: 6.5; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 6;

Berkley Publishing Group (Ace), April 2004, Cloth

ISBN: 0-441-01167-5 Order from: Amazon.com