Living Dead In Dallas: Charlaine Harris

The second book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, Living Dead In Dallas refers to the nest of vampires living in Dallas, Texas where Sookie and Bill are sent to investigate the disappearance of a vampire. While staying in Dallas, Sookie encounters some new supernatural beings as well The Fellowship of The Sun—a group of anti-vampire extremists who want to see the entire race of vampires and their supporters eradicated.

Charlaine Harris is a brilliant writer, in that she has created characters that readers latch on to. Sookie and Bill, as well as the less significant characters are all very real and relatable, despite their being vampires and shape shifters. I have now read two of the Sookie Stackhouse books, and I admit that I am hooked! I want to know what happens to Sookie in the same way that I would want to know what happens to my friends. Will she become a vampire and get to live all of eternity with Bill? Is she really in love with him, or does she just love that she can’t read his mind? And now that the oldest vampire around—Eric—has taken a shine to Sookie, will she enter into a relationship with him?

Living Dead In Dallas is not a wonderful story; in fact I think I preferred the first Sookie Stackhouse novel (though that may just be my own personal aversion to all things Texan). However, this book is filled with new characters and Harris has expanded her vampire-friendly society, which makes it kind of exciting. There isn’t a lot of deep thought required for these novels; they’re just for fun, and that’s exactly what I’m getting from them!

Dead Until Dark: Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris is the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series—the books on which HBO’s True Blood is based. As a resident of the deep south, Harris writes the Stackhouse novels with authority, bringing Bon Temps, Louisiana alive with dark, foreign descriptions. While her story and descriptions are vivid, her characters sometimes lack dimension. I find Sookie Stackhouse to be the weakest of all Harris’ characters; she is a telepathic waitress who falls in love with a vampire (and has all the personality of Twilight’s Bella Swan).

Harris’ greatest achievement in Dead Until Dark is not the descriptions of Louisiana, or the lackluster characters, but the society she has created in her books. In her world, vampires have “come out of the coffin” (a charming turn of phrase that reminds the reader that vampires are a minority), and are living amongst general population. They feed off of “fang-bangers” who are essentially blood prostitutes who allow themselves to be bitten, but not drained. Vampires who choose to “mainstream” may choose to live on the synthetic bottled blood, made available in most bars and restaurants (the stuff even comes in flavors—A negative, O positive, etc).

Dead Until Dark introduces the reader to the protagonist, Sookie Stackhouse—a pretty young woman who is uneducated, but not stupid. She was born telepathic and that talent has caused her no end of grief all her life, so she has chosen to live as simple a life as possible. She has learned, over time, to control her mind. She is able to put up her guard and block everyone’s thoughts, but it takes a lot of energy. Sookie lives with her Gran, and has ever since her parents died. Her older brother, the charming (and fairly sleazy) Jason, lives in their old house and works at a non-descript hillbilly job. He spends his time chasing skirts and getting drunk. Overall, the characters and town of Bon Temps are about as interesting as any four-way stop called a town.

In walks Bill. Bill Compton, also known as Bill the Vampire. After the vampires gained public freedom, he chose to return to his old homestead in Bon Temps. In about 24 hours, he meets and falls in love with Sookie, who finds herself equally enamored. However, as with any small town, bigotry still exists in Bon Temps, and when people start showing up dead, all eyes turn to Bill. Just because vampires have been given rights, doesn’t mean everyone likes them. This is where Harris reeled me in. She has taken a fairly innocuous fad—vampires—and created a beautiful analogy for bigotry. We live in a society that claims to accept all people and wants to give all people fair and equal rights. But the reality is that fear exists, and that fear turns into hatred. That’s when the lynch mobs show up. Which is exactly what happens in Bon Temps.

The real murderer is not a vampire at all. Harris wraps up her story by solving the mystery and allowing Sookie and her vampire to ride off into the sunset. Well, into the next book, anyway. I have to mention that the first season of True Blood is taken almost exactly from this first book, save a few minor characters and unimportant events.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Alexander McCall Smith

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is now an acclaimed tv series, based on this textured novel about Mma Ramotswe and her life as a lady detective in Botswana. A little slice of Africa, this novel illustrates all of the beautiful and warm things about an ancient country, as well as some of the culturally significant differences that make Africa so foreign.

Mma Ramotswe is the daughter of a wealthy cattleman. The story starts out with the death of her father, leaving his wealth to Mma Ramotswe to buy a shop. She opens a detective agency as the only female private detective in Botswana. It's quite charming how she faces anyone who challenges her qualifications. In a male-dominated society, a female detective is suspect, but Mma Ramotswe knows what she's good at! She opens her doors and encounters all types of mysteries, from the disappearance of a young boy, to the wandering off of a husband, to the fraud of a lost finger.

Mma Ramotswe is a fantastic, warm, real-life character who is an instant friend to the reader. The people she encounters are all so colorful and interesting. This is not a fast-paced detective novel; just an entertaining group of stories about some Botswana people. It's fun and clever, and if you pay attention, you'll learn a little about African culture.