Dead as a Doornail

 

Level: Explicit Lite

Genre: Fantasy/Horror > Vampires/Urban Fantasy

Obtained: Purchased at Borders

Reviewed by: Nic Echo

About the Book:

Sookie returns in the fifth rendition of Charlaine Harris' southern vampire novels. It turns out there is a sniper hunting shifters in the area, and not only are Sookie's friends in trouble, but so is her brother, who has become a werepanther. Meanwhile, Alcide is back and is involving Sookie with Were issues. After the packmaster dies, Alcide's father and another are facing to become the new head of the pack.

Rating: 7/10

 Harris has kept up her writing skills. Although no where near spectacular, the series holds for a light yet entertaining read.  This is easily my favourite book of the series so far. Harris sticks to one main plot point for most of the book this time, making the book flow much easier and keeping me wanting more. It does seem that Sookie's worry for Jason is quickly forgotten, however. He is brought up constantly during the first quarter of the book, but later Sookie seems to pay him little mind. 

Harris also ends up introducing some new characters to us, one of which I am sad to say will no longer be with us for the rest of the series. The bartender position at Fangtasia seems to be more cursed than the DADA one at Hogwarts. What little we saw of Charles was fun and delectable, even if a bit flamboyant.

There also wasn't much characterization in this book except a little emphasis on Sookie's romantic life. The tension is back between Eric and Sookie, and even Bill gets to tug on Sookie's heartstrings. Also, any Sam fans will be happy to hear that he has finally set foot onto the playing field, instead of sitting on the sidelines. 

As far as the plot, as I mentioned before, the book flowed better with Harris concentrating on one main story instead of her usual two. Although there is the subplot with the Weres, it barely takes up any part of the book and can clearly be defined as the smaller path. The main plot does branch slightly, part of which involves Sookie being gunned at. Although figuring out who was gunning for Sookie is fairly easy if you actually look at it, I couldn't help thinking it would be someone else. The main gunner, however, took me quite by surprise, and I hope Harris can keep coming at us with such surprises. 

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Dead to the World

 

Level: Explicit Lite

Genre: Fantasy/Horror > Vampires/Urban Fantasy

Obtained: Purchased at Borders

Reviewed by: Nic Echo

 About the Book:

Sookie is back in the fourth southern vampire novel. Our heroine is driving on her way home when she notices a half naked man wandering the streets, and it's none other than Eric Northman, who happens to be cursed and is unable to remember who he is.  Because the vampires are unable to keep Eric around in this state, Sookie keeps watch over him in her own home so that the witches that cursed him can't do worse. During this, Sookie's brother, Jason, ends up going missing as well.

Rating: 7/10

I have to say Ms. Harris has increased her writing skills in this book. Unlike Living Dead in Dallas, Harris was able to stitch the two plots together much better, and I have also found the characters becoming more real in this book as well. I know that at the end of the book, I am actually wondering whether a certain character was going to become a shifter or not. What's more is I actually found myself caring this time. 

As per usual, I thought the main plot was interesting, even if it is not the most original. The villain in this book in this book is the best by far: a group of werewolf witches that also drink vampire blood. Even the things that have been annoying me in the past books are better. One example would be the romance. Now, I doubt I will ever get behind Bill/Sookie ship, but Sookie's thoughts on Alcide and Eric were not near as grating as before, and even though you can see who the main romance is going to be a mile away, it was still integrated into the story quite well, and I could believe Sookie's worries about how it was going to affect her life. 

Another plot that kept coming up in the last book that was irritating to me was the Debbie Pelt plot. When it reared its head in this book, I was a bit worried that this was going to be dragged out. I will say it does get resolved (for the most part) in this book, or at least enough that it won't be the same subset of the plot. Then, even when Debbie was on stage, I could feel the tension more in this book than its prior counterpart. 

Now, the Jason part of the plot was extremely easy to figure out (and even easier if you had seen True Blood), but as I mentioned earlier, it flowed well with the overlying plot. Also, I could feel Sookie's concern for her brother at times though when the romance appeared, I did not feel it as much. 

Finally, some of the things that I disliked about the book. Sookie ends up getting another suitor. Granted, he wants her for reasons other than she's pretty, but still. The main thing that annoyed me though was the fairy. I am hoping they get cooler later on, because the glimpse of them in this book made them seem too perfect, and I honestly wanted to gag. I also find it interesting that Sookie's word of the day always ends up applying to what is going on in her life. Seriously, have you seen those things? Most of those words will hardly ever get used, much less used on the same day you read them.  

So, in general, Harris has brought more life to her characters, causing me to become more embedded in the book. She has also managed to change overused thoughts and plots enough to they don't seem as repetitive. I only hope the rest of the series stays on par (or hopefully even better)

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