The Southern Vampire Novels by Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris’ world is almost exactly like ours except for the fact that vampires, were-creatures of all kinds, and other supernatural elements are everyday things, if not exactly normal everyday things. Her characters are complete, almost stepping from the pages of each novel. Sookie’s growth over the course of the series is natural and sometimes painful to read but essential to the plot. Another great thing about this series is a full cast of reoccurring characters, including my favorite vampire Bubba, who just happened to go by the name of Elvis when he was alive.

I would recommend you start with the first book. Each novel flows into the next, making it important that you read them in order. The author ties each together with references to the past as well as the characters in the past. Not to mention the fact that you wouldn’t want to miss one frightening and emotional moment of this great ride, as a recap may indicate.

Dead Until Dark, book one published in 2001. Sookie meets Bill, the vampire in the café she works at. Besides the fact that he is tall, dark, and handsome, what Sookie is most attracted to is the fact that she can’t read his mind. Soon the two are in the first serious relationship of Sookie’s life. But it isn’t going to be easy for the happy couple. Besides the disapproving looks Sookie starts to receive from the people in town, fingers are pointed at Bill when dead bodies start to turn up with fang marks.

Living Dead in Dallas, book two published March of 2002. Sookie gets attacked by a mythical creature and her vampire boyfriend Bill takes her to someone who can help. The help turns out to be some more vampires. Eric in particular, the owner of a bar called Fangtasia, is happy to help since this means Sookie will owe him a favor. In no time at all Eric is ready to make good on it and soon Bill and Sookie are on their way to Dallas to find a missing vampire.

Club Dead, book three published May 2003. Bill is on a secret mission for the Vampire Queen of Louisiana. But when Bill doesn’t return Sookie starts to get a little worried. When she finds out from Eric where Bill is, Sookie goes out to get her man. But things do not turn out to be as simple as that. Bill is in Mississippi with a past flame and he might not be in need of a rescue.

Dead to the World, book four published May 2004. Sookie single again. Driving home from work one night she sees a naked man running down the road. The man turns out to be none other than the vampire Eric. Someone has taken his memory and they are not just going to stop at taking that. Sookie promises to help Eric figure it all out and together they start to piece together the events. Along the way their relationship deepens and the romance that blossoms is one of the best of the series.

Dead as a Doornail, book five published May 2005. Sookie has a lot of supernatural friends. She is, if not comfortable with the world of vampires, at least able to navigate its twists and turns easily. When her brother Jason gets kidnapped and turned into a were-panther Sookie does everything she can to make sure things go smoothly. But when a killer starts targeting the were-population of their small sleepy town everyone suspects Jason, who is bitter with the direction his life has taken.

Definitely Dead, book six published May 2006. When Sookie learns that her cousin Hadley, consort to the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, died mysteriously, she decides to look into it. Sookie travels to New Orleans to settle the things that her cousin left to her and gets wrapped up in the affairs of the Vampire Queen. But Sookie doesn’t have to deal with things alone. Quinn, a were-tiger, just happens to be head over heals for Sookie and he is just too sexy to resist. He also turns out to be great support when Sookie learns how deep Bill’s, her first love, betrayal goes.

So what will book seven hold? Sookie is going with the Vampire Queen of Louisiana to a long planned vampire summit. The Queen plans to use Sookie’s mind reading power to her advantage. I for one am looking forward to the twists and turns that Charlaine Harris is going to throw at us.

Will Quinn work out? Or is Eric going to be able to sweep Sookie off her feet for a second time? I know this last one is a long shot. But as much as I like Quinn, and the closer to normal life he and Sookie could share, I’m voting for a vampire. After the mess Bill made of things we can rule him out for sure, but I still have high hopes for Eric.

Another thing to keep your eyes open for this fall is HBO’s True Blood, a TV series based on Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire novels. Not only is this one fantastic series of books, it will soon be must-see TV as well.