Book Review: Dead Until Dark

So, I took a wee break from Karen Miller's Empress because books effect my mood in very powerful ways and I am already angsty enough this month without reading about torture and killing, thank you very much. (I will finish it, I promise.) So I wanted a nice, fluff read. I REALLY wanted a YA read, but didn't have enough dinero for a hardback so I moseyed over to the adult section.

I spotted Charlaine Harris' newest release and then backtracked until I found her first book, Dead Until Dark . I picked it up with some reservations, despite the frantic ravings of some of my friends. Mainly because it was about vampires and, really, they made that movie Vampires Suck with me in mind.

And, honestly, even though I found the character to be interesting and the voice to be engaging, I couldn't help but compare to Twilight, so I saw a lot of things coming.

1. Where there be vampires, a werewolf/shapeshifter is sure to follow. (Check)

2. The MC will be found to be freakishly attractive at some point in this novel. (Check)

3. There will be a love triangle. (Check, check, check)

4. Someone will be out to murder our MC because of her affiliations with the supernatural. (Check)

But what made me snort a little bit (half in laughter, half in disbelief) is the complete reversal of the MC's and her vampire's "gifts." In Twilight, Edward can read minds, except for Bella's. In Dead Until Dark, Sookie can read minds, except for Bill's. At this point I'm starting to ask myself if this is a Twilight spin-off?

But, never fear, it's not.

Whew.

Dead Until Dark, for one, has no sparkling. Thank God for that. The vampires are actual VAMPIRES with bloodthirsty urges and can be pretty freaking scary (even the "nice" ones). Thumbs up for you, Ms. Harris. And there were dark moments, moments of REALITY (like dealing with lust, loss, grief, stereotypes and even child molestation) that Twilight completely overlooked. Plus, it's set in Louisiana. Can't get much further away from Washington than that. And while I felt like the plot took a backseat to Sookie's relationships (not that I minded, since her relationships were a lot more interesting than the murders for some reason), I was still engaged throughout the book and finished it fairly quickly.

Harris approaches the vampire craze with a tongue in cheek approach that I found to be refreshing after so much vampire-mooning. Sookie is able to see Bill (and all the other vampires she meets) with an eye that's not bedazzled by sparkles, though she still finds them fascinating. She really gave me a chuckle when she ponders whether vampires could "do it." And, if so, how it worked. I know that Twilight and Dead Until Dark were created for different audiences, but how come Bella never actually wonders if vampires can still do it? Especially when all she thinks about it jumping Edward's bones? She takes it for granted that he can, I guess. But that's what makes Ms. Harris' work so refreshing and so palatable to someone who was just sick to death (har har) of vampires: it's the nitty gritty of vampire-human relationships, sparkles not included.

Recommended read? Yes.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars