Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, #9)
Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, #9) by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Warning: Compare/contrast style review....
Being the first book I've read since the premiere of "True Blood", my first impression was: Yes, the books are clearly better. Book!Sookie, especially, is better than tv!Sookie. And while I liked that they gave tv!Jason a story, I'm sort of upset to see it diverge so far from book!Jason. Tv!Jason hates what book!Jason is, something other than human.
That said, I don't know how these books can continue to be entertaining, but constantly remind me of a poor man's "Anita Blake". The feeling hasn't gone away. I'll repeat for those who haven't heard me talk about the similarities before. Anita is big city. Sookie is small town. Anita is brunette. Sookie is blond. Anita is educated and well off. Sookie is uneducated and a waitress. Anita has a gift she was born with that makes her more than human. Sookie has a gift .... See what I mean?
The fact that Sookie has surrounded herself by non-human men again rings "let's copy Anita Blake". The fact that her special gift saves the day - again rings "copy".
Maybe it's because I picked up the first Sookie book after reading Anita Blake for the first time. Maybe it's the fact that I read this book after a massive AB re-read. I don't know.
But sitting here attempting to review the book, there is nothing I want to say about the plot line or the changes in character dynamics. Which is so unlike how I get with Anita Blake.
I like Eric, and I like the development with Sookie and Eric, but again "pale shade" of what it could be. I don't know. But, still a 4 star read in my opinion. Very ... contradictory.
Some books you read and you enjoy and you set aside. You don't think about the story till the next one in the series comes around. That's Sookie for me. Other books consume you. You want to re-read them and analyze them .... They're just more real. The characters exist in your head the way real people do. That's Anita.