I cannot emphasize how much I love a good story.
With these novels, Charlaine Harris creates a very entertaining and different style of writing where severe genres mesh and turn into a sort of 'Edward Cullen meets the wolf-man meets Cinderella meets The Brothers Grimm meets Clive Barker' kind of story. I swear that's not an exaggeration...
I was nowhere near as obsessed with this series as I was with the Twilight saga and although these books had a completely different feel and weren't quite as intense, they were still very good - sometimes making me laugh out loud, sometimes making me feel sorry for one character or another.
(Mostly Eric made me laugh, and I kept feeling sorry for Bill, even though I never thought Sookie should end up with him, despite his professed (excuse the pun) undying love for her, even tho he breaks her heart more than once. But that's for later...)
These Sookie Stackhouse novels are based on the life of Bon Temps, Louisiana barmaid and telepath, Sookie Stackhouse, whose "normal" human existence becomes interrupted when she falls for a vampire (Bill Compton) and finds herself becoming involved in not only their world but, through a series of circumstances and her unusual telepathic ability, a parallel world where all manner of creatures exist.
A story where your boss reveals himself as a shape-shifter (Collie is his favorite form), your great-grandfather magically and literally pops into your life and turns out to be one of the oldest most magical and powerful beings in existence, your love interests are a were-tiger and two vampires, a group of right wing "religious" human zealots hold you hostage and plot to have you burned alive then (on a completely separate occasion) detonate a bomb in the hotel you're staying at while in the midst of a vampire summit under the employ of the (undead vampire) queen of Louisiana, your roommate is a witch who can temporarily bring dead people back to life as ectoplasmic ghosts, your fairy godmother has to save you from a pack of werewolves trying to dismember you, and your former best friend sets you up to be crucified for simply being involved with the supernatural?
Now that's a story, people.
This isn't your kids' Disney fairy tales, but it is every bit as entertaining.
And thanks to HBO, whose original series "True Blood" is based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels, this story has been getting PLENTY of attention.
Nine books later, I am finally done with the series to date - at least until book 10 comes out next year (WTF?! HURRY UP!! ) - and am in the midst of following the HBO TV series via Netflix and partial, out of order youtube videos.
It's emotionally taxing being a fan sometimes...
A lot of people see this story as being love story between Sookie and Bill, but I don't get that entirely. I see it as being more of a story about a woman who desperately wants to feel and be normal in a world that is anything but that, and constantly tries to reconcile her feelings of what she wants with what she should do to cause as little pain as possible to herself and those around her. Plus, I think it has a lot more to do with how she feels about Eric (we'll get to him in a minute) than almost anything else.
Sookie Stackhouse is simple, small-town, and too trusting at times. But she's also bold, courageous and bound and determined to always do 'the right thing', which makes a good backdrop for some very interesting happenings.
During the course of the story, Sookie ends up romantically involved with several supernatural creatures: a were-tiger named Quinn, and two vampires: Bill Compton - the vamp who is also her closest neighbor and local area 5 vampire 'investigator', and Eric Northman - the area 5 'sheriff', owner of the vampire bar "Fangtasia", and (for all intents and purposes) Bill's boss.
Apparently, vampire politics is a complicated thing.
All three love Sookie, but find that loving her is sometimes a very dangerous feeling to have, in more ways than one. But most of all, the love triangle...well, quadrangle, I suppose...is effective is making its point on where the limits are in what you are willing to put up with in a relationship, what you can forgive and what you can't, even with those you love most, and how we all just want to feel safe, loved, important, and appreciated - quirks and all.
Personally, my favorite has always been Eric. Because...well.. he's Eric. Complicated, mysterious, powerful and charmingly addictive Eric.
Also? Somehow Sookie doesn't seem a perfect fit for Bill; he's a little too serious and possessive of her. Yes, he loves her and is willing to die for her (which he proves repeatedly), but he is a bit too old-fashioned for what she needs (Bill was 'turned' during the Civil War era). And he doesn't quite have the flare and playful sense of humor that Eric has, which makes Eric that much more appealing.
At least that's my take on it, although I'm sure many fans would disagree seeing as how Bill is such a prominent character in her life, even long after they've broken up. And I do have to say that his watching over her from a distance just to be sure she's safe at night, and the little comments or gestures he makes towards her from time to time are sweet, so points to him for that. Still, something is amiss in that relationship. Plus, she's mad at him a lot, which sort of kills the fizzle, tho Bill never stops loving Sookie.
I guess Eric isn't that much better in the sense of over-possessiveness and that whole "she is mine" thing that both he and Bill toss back and forth, but he goes about it in a slightly better thought out way. And he is always completely honest with Sookie, even if he thinks the truth may cause her pain. He is protective, yet he gives her the freedom she needs to feel independent, even tho his nature doesn't allow him to understand this entirely (he's a 1,000 year old viking, so one has to cut him some slack). In the interest of self-preservation, Eric loves Eric, but he also has Sookie's best interests at heart, even tho she doesn't always see it, and he loves her as much as he is capable of doing so...especially considering he sometimes has trouble remembering what human feelings are like (except for that time he lost his memory and stayed with Sookie for a while and fell completely in love with her. *sigh* Now THAT Eric was just too damn good to resist).
Even though at the heart of it this story revolves around love and relationships, it's also sort of a detective series...with a southern twist. Since Sookie is telepathic, that gift (or curse as she sees it) is used in many instances both with the human population and the supes (supernatural creatures and their communities) to solve crimes or find people gone missing.
There's a bunch of twists and turns throughout the story, and Sookie gets drawn into all kinds of trysts and investigations with the law due to her proximity to several violent crimes and her personal relationships with the victims or with her brother, Jason, who is nothing but a trouble magnet. But at the very least it makes her more decisive and stronger - both telepathically and emotionally (if not physically, because at the end she gets the shit worn out of her by two very baaad, un-Tinkerbell-like fairies and almost dies. Except Bill saves her. Again.)
The ending of "Dead and Gone" (book 9) is a little vague, but at least Sookie and Eric end up together. Sort of. Well, they end up married....kind of...at least in vampire terms, they're bonded (long story). Which by supernatural ruling means no other vampire or supe can have Sookie without Eric's say-so. And there ain't no way Eric's saying so. And when the strikingly beautiful and powerful viking vampire lays down the law, others listen.
That doesn't mean I'm entirely happy with the ending, tho. I mean - in what kind of story does the fairy godmother die?! Along with some really good and brave men. And what is up with Sookie just not being able to make up her mind about who she wants? It's pretty simple: Eric or Bill. Just pick already, jeezez! Although I have to say I can't blame her too much since they're both so enamored of her...and the more I think about it, the more I realize how good Bill is and how he would always put her first, without thinking twice. Unlike Quinn. And even (tho I dread saying it) Eric, though he does his best to always be there for her and protect her. It's just a little more...uh...complicated.
Crap.
Hopefully, with book 10, Niall, Sookie's fairy prince great-grandfather, makes a reappearance (because he's really cool and the fae world even more so) even tho he said he was closing the portals between worlds for good, and Sookie finally makes up her mind about whether or not she is willing to stay with and love Eric, or give Bill the second chance he's always wanted.
I just hope the were-tiger Quinn doesn't come back into the picture because I can see Sookie choosing him over the other two (undead) suitors, mostly because he would put her in the least amount of danger just by being around. But then it would be boring. And that would kind of suck. No pun intended.
Damn cats...
** NOTE **
Dear HBO: Thank you dearly for casting Alexander Skarsgard as Eric Northman.
Because even in the best of shows, gratuitous eye candy is always a welcomed and appreciated addition. And yes, I can totally be that shallow...
)
