The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris

A.K.A. "The Sookie Stackhouse Novels"
Genre: Fiction/Mystery/Supernatural

Ratings (for the whole series):
Ease with which to read/enjoyable narration style 4.5
Suitable ending 4.0
Personal favoritism 4.5
Poetic language 2.5
Memorable 4.5
Original, creative plot 4.5
Original, well-developed characters 3.5
Probability of recommendation 3.0
Ability to "move" emotionally 4.0
Literary value and/or educational value 1.0
Total: 36.00

Final Rating: 3 1/2 stars

4-sentence summary:
Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in a small Lousiana town, Bon Temps, in a world where vampires have just "come out of the closet" to the public. The series of ten books follows her story, along with the stories of new characters (vampires, werewolves, fairies, etc.) as they are introduced. "True Blood", a show on Showtime, is an adaptation of the novels, though they vary in some significant ways.

Critique:
Yes, I feel guilty for reading these "trashy" novels. I feel bad for even admitting that I've watched "True Blood". It's certainly not intellectual TV, or a literary classic novel. But do I care? Heck no! These books were a delightful read. But let me start at the beginning.

I watched the three seasons of True Blood after a recommendation from my sister. The show is extremely sensational: lots of drama, sex, romance, violence... everything you want in a Showtime show. And I won't lie: I was hooked. I should mention, I certainly do not read vampire novels. (I read the Twilight series for my classes, and was disappointed in the obsessive and unhealthy relationships as examples for teenagers, but that's another story entirely.) But I figured that since the TV series was pretty fun to watch, I'd give the books a try.

The books are also sensational: they are FULL of sex, drama, romance, violence. I wouldn't recommend these books to anyone under the age of 18! But as for me? I love them! It takes all the cheap ingredients of a quick, fun story, throws them into a blender, adds MORE fun ingredients, and then spits it back out as a quick, fun read.

Charlaine Harris (who lives alone with her 12 cats? just kidding) does a wonderful job of outdoing herself on each novel. She may not write classic literature, but she does a great job of portraying "everyday" people and their development over time. And perhaps I empathize with Sookie because I am also a waitress. I also enjoy the books because they differ from the show in delightful ways (though I won't give any obvious spoilers). They are a quick read; I think I read all 10 of them in under a month. They aren't worth reviewing individually, as they all follow the same pattern and style. So I figured I would review them all together. And, though it is difficult for authors to do, Charlaine Harris has done something wonderful: each book in the series is better than the last. Which sets my expectations very high for the newest book in the series, due out in May of this year.

The downsides of the books? Charlaine Harris, as much as I love her fun writing style, has a habit of sometimes doing things that I, as a reader, frown upon. For instance, she introduced Elvis as a vampire. (Sigh). Aside from being corny and tacky and just plain wrong, I was disappointed by how many times Charlaine brought this character back into the story. She also writes in some ties (easter eggs?) to the TV show, which I thought was tacky. She should not be drawing information or inspiration from the TV show, it should be vice versa. But apart from a few tacky additions to her stories, Charlaine Harris still writes a very enjoyable novel.

If you enjoy brainless reads, slightly scandalous reads, or if you enjoyed the show, I think you'd enjoy the books. I was truly surprised at how much I enjoyed them.

The books, in order:
1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead
4. Dead to the World
5. Dead as a Doornail
6. Definitely Dead
7. All Together Dead
8. From Dead to Worse
9. Dead and Gone
10. Dead in the Family
11. (May 2011) Dead Reckoning