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Sookie Stackhouse #1-3
Dead in Dixie
Dead Until Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse can read minds, which makes people...uncomfortable. Then along comes Bill-and Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. That's because Bill is a vampire who runs with other undead. So when one of her coworkers is killed, Sookie fears she's next.... Living Dead in First, Sookie finds a body in her car. Then a beastly creature gives her a poisonous lashing. Luckily, the vampires save her life. That means she can't refuse when one of them asks her to travel to Dallas and use her telepathic abilities to find a missing bloodsucker. Club Sookie's undead boyfriend, Bill, is on a secret assignment and only his sinister and sexy boss Eric knows where to find him. Resigned, Sookie heads for Jackson, Mississippi, to mingle with the über-underworld at Club Dead. When she finally finds Bill-in an act of serious betrayal-she's not sure whether to save him...or sharpen some stakes.
612 pages, Hardcover
First published December 23, 2001
200 people are currently reading
2282 people want to read
About the author
Charlaine Harris
207 books37.1k followersCharlaine Harris has been a published writer for over forty years. Her first two books were standalones, followed by a long sabbatical when she was having children. Then she began the Aurora Teagarden book, mysteries featuring a short librarian (eventually adapted for Hallmark movies). The darker Lily Bard books came next, about a house cleaner with a dark past and considerable fighting skills.
Tired of abiding by the mystery rules, Harris wrote a novel about a telepathic barmaid that took at least two years to sell. When the book was published, it turned into a best seller, and DEAD UNTIL DARK and the subsequent Sookie books were adapted in Alan Ball's "True Blood" series. At the same time, Harris began the Harper Connelly books. Harper can find the bones of the dead and see their last minute.
When those two series wound to a close, the next three books were about a mysterious town in Texas, called Midnight.
A change in publisher and editor led to Harris's novels about a female gunslinger in an alternate America, Lizbeth Rose. The Gunnie Rose books concluded with the sixth novel.
She's thinking about what to write next.
Tired of abiding by the mystery rules, Harris wrote a novel about a telepathic barmaid that took at least two years to sell. When the book was published, it turned into a best seller, and DEAD UNTIL DARK and the subsequent Sookie books were adapted in Alan Ball's "True Blood" series. At the same time, Harris began the Harper Connelly books. Harper can find the bones of the dead and see their last minute.
When those two series wound to a close, the next three books were about a mysterious town in Texas, called Midnight.
A change in publisher and editor led to Harris's novels about a female gunslinger in an alternate America, Lizbeth Rose. The Gunnie Rose books concluded with the sixth novel.
She's thinking about what to write next.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
December 10, 2008
So I decided to read this by encouragement from a friend of whom the book was borrowed from. I am so hooked now that I asked for the rest of the series for Christmas. If you are a fan of the HBO show, be prepared as the show has added other story lines that are not in the book. The book as always is way better
July 20, 2018
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April 22, 2021
5 outta 5 for the whole darn series
So this is what I spent the majority of my free time Saturday to Saturday doing. I have to tell you, Anita Blake kicks ass (series by Laurell K Hamilton), but Sookie Stackhouse is just too cool for school. She just kind of stumbles from one thing to the next and manages to kick ass in a clumsy, funny, super duper way.
I think this series even kicks the Anita Blake series, which is unfortunate for Anita-because I really liked her (but I digress-I just finished the newest in that series & that’s on the next weeks review list). What I like best about this series is it’s naivety of the main character, the silly names throughout, I have to actually catch myself from using “southern speech” (when I get really caught up in a story and it’s characters and the language of it, I’ll start unconsciously talking that way), and the just plain funness of the stories.
So here’s the title list-if you haven’t read em and want to read them in order and all that jazz….
1-Dead Until Dark
2-Living Dead In Dallas
3-Club Dead
(the first 3 are in collection from the SciFi Book Club under Dead in Dixi)
4-Dead to the World
5-Dead as a Doornail
(4 & 5 are in a collection from SciFi Book club as Dead by Day)
6-Definetly Dead
*Many Bloody Returns (which is a collection of shorts edited by Harris & someone else, and there is a short Sookie story in here. After reading it, I think the best place to read this would actually be after book 5, but it really doesn’t matter too much.)
7-From Dead to Worse
After finishing the 6th book & the short story, I realized I did not have the newest-From Dead to Worse which just came out in May. It was Friday and I was determined to get me a copy of the seventh, which isn’t easy around here, cuz the nearest Barnes and Noble is an hour away. So I had to wait till Saturday to get over to the “big city” to get my darn copy. Which I stayed up and read till the wee hours of the morning to finish. It was good. Now I have to wait like everyone else for the next fix of Sookie-Bummer!
So this is what I spent the majority of my free time Saturday to Saturday doing. I have to tell you, Anita Blake kicks ass (series by Laurell K Hamilton), but Sookie Stackhouse is just too cool for school. She just kind of stumbles from one thing to the next and manages to kick ass in a clumsy, funny, super duper way.
I think this series even kicks the Anita Blake series, which is unfortunate for Anita-because I really liked her (but I digress-I just finished the newest in that series & that’s on the next weeks review list). What I like best about this series is it’s naivety of the main character, the silly names throughout, I have to actually catch myself from using “southern speech” (when I get really caught up in a story and it’s characters and the language of it, I’ll start unconsciously talking that way), and the just plain funness of the stories.
So here’s the title list-if you haven’t read em and want to read them in order and all that jazz….
1-Dead Until Dark
2-Living Dead In Dallas
3-Club Dead
(the first 3 are in collection from the SciFi Book Club under Dead in Dixi)
4-Dead to the World
5-Dead as a Doornail
(4 & 5 are in a collection from SciFi Book club as Dead by Day)
6-Definetly Dead
*Many Bloody Returns (which is a collection of shorts edited by Harris & someone else, and there is a short Sookie story in here. After reading it, I think the best place to read this would actually be after book 5, but it really doesn’t matter too much.)
7-From Dead to Worse
After finishing the 6th book & the short story, I realized I did not have the newest-From Dead to Worse which just came out in May. It was Friday and I was determined to get me a copy of the seventh, which isn’t easy around here, cuz the nearest Barnes and Noble is an hour away. So I had to wait till Saturday to get over to the “big city” to get my darn copy. Which I stayed up and read till the wee hours of the morning to finish. It was good. Now I have to wait like everyone else for the next fix of Sookie-Bummer!
February 14, 2010
I watched the first season of True Blood before reading this omnibus, which includes the first three novels in Charlaine Harris's "Sookie Stackhouse" series.
I found it a bit dull at first, but that was because I knew what was going to happen next. The TV series is relatively faithful to the book. There are a few differences but I think Alan Ball's adaptation to television kept the spirit of the books and Sookie's voice and style was very familiar. I could hear Anna Paquin narrating to me as I read. Ball changed a few things around and I think made it a bit more political (in terms of suggesting the parallels between humans treatment of vampires as second class citizens and the broader attitudes to black and gay people held by some of the characters).
I found it a bit repetitive at times, but that's because it was three novels in one, and each novel was written so that anyone could pick it up, so it had to include all the back-story once again. "So yeah, my boyfriend Bill... He's a vampire. I was attracted to him because unlike with humans, I couldn't read his mind". Yep! I know, I've read all this already!! I guess that's a pitfall of reading an omnibus edition. The other major pitfall was that it was bloody heavy! Difficult to hold up and read in bed.
I feel impelled to make a brief comparison to Twilight (of which I've read the first novel only). I much prefer True Blood. Sookie is a much better character than Bella. She's smart, sassy and strong. It helps that she has her own super powers but to me, she never felt subservient or inferior to the vampires in the way that Bella seemed. Sookie would often have arguments with Bill and she stood her ground when dealing with other vampires who appreciated her mind-reading abilities. Also, there's sex in this book. I could never understand Bella and Edward's attraction to one another, or the pining - apart from at an adolescent "oh wow, a boy likes me!" level. Sookie and Bill fuck and they enjoy it. Sookie gets bitten and she enjoys it. Far more exciting to read than Edward and Bella's abstinence.
I found it a bit dull at first, but that was because I knew what was going to happen next. The TV series is relatively faithful to the book. There are a few differences but I think Alan Ball's adaptation to television kept the spirit of the books and Sookie's voice and style was very familiar. I could hear Anna Paquin narrating to me as I read. Ball changed a few things around and I think made it a bit more political (in terms of suggesting the parallels between humans treatment of vampires as second class citizens and the broader attitudes to black and gay people held by some of the characters).
I found it a bit repetitive at times, but that's because it was three novels in one, and each novel was written so that anyone could pick it up, so it had to include all the back-story once again. "So yeah, my boyfriend Bill... He's a vampire. I was attracted to him because unlike with humans, I couldn't read his mind". Yep! I know, I've read all this already!! I guess that's a pitfall of reading an omnibus edition. The other major pitfall was that it was bloody heavy! Difficult to hold up and read in bed.
I feel impelled to make a brief comparison to Twilight (of which I've read the first novel only). I much prefer True Blood. Sookie is a much better character than Bella. She's smart, sassy and strong. It helps that she has her own super powers but to me, she never felt subservient or inferior to the vampires in the way that Bella seemed. Sookie would often have arguments with Bill and she stood her ground when dealing with other vampires who appreciated her mind-reading abilities. Also, there's sex in this book. I could never understand Bella and Edward's attraction to one another, or the pining - apart from at an adolescent "oh wow, a boy likes me!" level. Sookie and Bill fuck and they enjoy it. Sookie gets bitten and she enjoys it. Far more exciting to read than Edward and Bella's abstinence.
November 16, 2025
Sookie est considérée comme folle et bête alors qu’elle est juste différente : elle peut entendre les pensées des gens.
Les vampires se sont révélés au grand jour et vivent parmi les humains ! Mais pas de panique… du sang synthétique a été mis au point et des lois encadrent tout ça.
Le jour où le premier vampire met officiellement ses pieds dans le bar où Sookie travaille : elle est RAVIE !
Mais ça entraîne son lot de complications, de jugements, de secrets et d’événements bizarres…
Mais attention, les vampires se sont peut-être révélés au grand jour… mais ce ne sont pas les seules créatures surnaturelles des environs…
Ça se lit tout seul, c’est vraiment hyper fluide et ça nous tient en haleine. Il n’y a pas de temps mort : entre la romance, les enquêtes, les habitants de cette petite ville, le surnaturel, Sookie qui est super attachante, et les prétendants intrigants 🤣
* livre offert par Gleeph et Calix : merciii !
Les vampires se sont révélés au grand jour et vivent parmi les humains ! Mais pas de panique… du sang synthétique a été mis au point et des lois encadrent tout ça.
Le jour où le premier vampire met officiellement ses pieds dans le bar où Sookie travaille : elle est RAVIE !
Mais ça entraîne son lot de complications, de jugements, de secrets et d’événements bizarres…
Mais attention, les vampires se sont peut-être révélés au grand jour… mais ce ne sont pas les seules créatures surnaturelles des environs…
Ça se lit tout seul, c’est vraiment hyper fluide et ça nous tient en haleine. Il n’y a pas de temps mort : entre la romance, les enquêtes, les habitants de cette petite ville, le surnaturel, Sookie qui est super attachante, et les prétendants intrigants 🤣
* livre offert par Gleeph et Calix : merciii !
March 21, 2021
Reviews left on each individual book's page.
July 26, 2010
This is the Omnibus edition containing Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, and Club Dead. (The first three books in the series.) If you have read the series, then you know it's worth it to buy this, because once you read book 1, you'll be driving back to the book store for book 2. This series is addicting and fun to read. Usually I don't like when a series comes out with many different covers for the same book, but I do love all these covers, so if you collect the books of series you like, then this series has a great selection! Also, Like most know, this series is now made into a tv show called True Blood, which I also love. So, once you finish the book you can watch it on the screen!
May 21, 2025
Why do all vampires have to fight for the confederacy?
The plot was enjoyable I liked the murder mystery aspect of it and was surprised at the big reveal, but I think the reveal was over too quickly all this build up for a page of oh snap it was that guy and then he was arrested. Why would you name a vampire bill it’s the least vampire name of all time and sookie is just a weird name, their relationship was odd to say the least idk how I feel about it. Might not read the second book but might watch the show on HBO
The plot was enjoyable I liked the murder mystery aspect of it and was surprised at the big reveal, but I think the reveal was over too quickly all this build up for a page of oh snap it was that guy and then he was arrested. Why would you name a vampire bill it’s the least vampire name of all time and sookie is just a weird name, their relationship was odd to say the least idk how I feel about it. Might not read the second book but might watch the show on HBO
December 16, 2025
Dnf avant la fin du tome 1. Ça heurte trop mes valeurs actuelles et j'ai essayé d'en rire, mais nope.
March 26, 2011
After watching the television series and finding it entertaining, I decided to read the book which I found rather surprisingly to be quite similar to the tv series, since normally the show is totally different from the book, e.g the vampire diaries. Although I have to say, not unlike the vampire diaries, I also prefered the tv series to the book. In the tv series, I find the characters to be a lot more developed and likeable. Especially with Bill, whom I thought to be an absolute arse in the book. I found that he always tended to treat Sookie as if she were a possession or some sort of doll, i.e choosing what she wears and the constant repetition of "she is mine." Being a feminist, I would not tolerate this sort of behaviour myself, even from a vampire.
I found Sookie to be pleasant. But that's just it. Pleasant. She was cute and blonde, yes but I found her constant need to grin like a freak rather irritating. Although I understand that main characters have to be quite central and not have any extreme personality traits so that the reader can relate to them easily, I feel that Harris may have overdone this a little considering that Sookie has the personality of an inanimate object.
One character, however, I absolutely LOVED was Eric. Harris managed to develop his personality effectively and I thought his contribution to the overall book and plot was a big one. Characters I also liked were Alcide and Pam. They were pretty awesome.
If it weren't for the last two books, I would've rated this 3 stars because I the first book was just okay. The last two books, however were quite fastpaced and I liked the fact that they weren't predominantly set in Bon Temps which seems to be the most boring place ever.
I will be reading the next omnibus now that Sookie has ditched Bill, and she better end up with Eric or Alcide. Anything else would just be plain wrong.
I found Sookie to be pleasant. But that's just it. Pleasant. She was cute and blonde, yes but I found her constant need to grin like a freak rather irritating. Although I understand that main characters have to be quite central and not have any extreme personality traits so that the reader can relate to them easily, I feel that Harris may have overdone this a little considering that Sookie has the personality of an inanimate object.
One character, however, I absolutely LOVED was Eric. Harris managed to develop his personality effectively and I thought his contribution to the overall book and plot was a big one. Characters I also liked were Alcide and Pam. They were pretty awesome.
If it weren't for the last two books, I would've rated this 3 stars because I the first book was just okay. The last two books, however were quite fastpaced and I liked the fact that they weren't predominantly set in Bon Temps which seems to be the most boring place ever.
I will be reading the next omnibus now that Sookie has ditched Bill, and she better end up with Eric or Alcide. Anything else would just be plain wrong.
June 15, 2015
This book was sitting unread (not undead hehe) in my shelve for quite a while- what a mistake!
I feared another Bella sparkling vampire story, but Sookie is very unbella like: snarky, strong, knows how to use a shotgun- just your typical southern lady :)
The story is fast paced, sexy, and pretty gory- I'm in love.
I'm so glad there is more, seriously addicted!
I feared another Bella sparkling vampire story, but Sookie is very unbella like: snarky, strong, knows how to use a shotgun- just your typical southern lady :)
The story is fast paced, sexy, and pretty gory- I'm in love.
I'm so glad there is more, seriously addicted!
September 4, 2022
A little background. Two jobs ago I worked with a guy with excellent taste in books and movies and shows. He recommended an HBO show called True Blood to me. He wasn't recommending it for the usual reasons (ie. sex and violence) but because of the vampire rights movement, in particular Bill Compton, a vampire who had been human during the Civil War. My friend told me about the scene where he gives a speech to the Bon Temps historical society about what the Civil War was like. He knew I was a huge fan of history, and that this would speak to me directly. Sure enough, it did, and I became a huge fan of True Blood.
Fast forward a few years, and I found myself in a position to meet Charlaine Harris. I hadn't read the books yet, but I had a collection of the first three in the series. I thought, why not get the omnibus signed? I met her, and she's a sweet old lady in a wheelchair. Very polite and genteel. I couldn't get my head around the idea that she wrote something that a show like True Blood would be based on.
I'm here to tell you, now that I've read the book, that while she does get vulgar at times in the books, it's not as big as it is on the show. At the same time, it's still hard for me to understand that she wrote these books. That is not a bad thing, by the way. That is the highest praise I can give.
Dead Until Dark is the first in the series, and I was hooked instantly. She makes a lot of writing choices that I would never make, choices that ordinarily I wouldn't like upon reading them, but I can't overstate how overwhelmingly addictive this story is. And I'm glad that the scene with Bill at the historical society is from the book. It's my favorite scene, just as my friend thought it would be.
Living Dead in Dallas only furthers my addiction to this incredible world that Harris has built. I'm kind of surprised that she killed Lafayette in this one, considering how important a character he is on the show. That's not a spoiler, by the way. It happens within the first few pages. I'm glad the series didn't do this because he is very fascinating. I loved the social commentary with Steve Newlin and his psychopathic religious nuts in particular, because one of the things that always gets to me is how such people are devoted hypocrites who never, under any circumstances, practice what they preach.
Club Dead is also a lot of fun because it opens the world to even more supernatural creatures. Alcide is the first Were we truly get to know in the series. However, there is another character death that happens in this one that doesn't happen in the series. This one *is* a spoiler, so I won't mention who, but what happened to the character on the show is better, I think. Eric is also a very interesting character, and I'm glad we get to know him a bit more in this one.
Here's one thing I don't remember from the show, so I'm pretty sure it didn't happen on it. Bubba. I thought he was pretty funny despite his predilection for cat blood. His true identity nearly had me on the floor. Ordinarily I wouldn't like something like that, but it really works in these books, especially in Club Dead.
One more thing: the phrase "True Blood" doesn't even show up in the first book, which I thought was odd. It's mentioned maybe once in the second one, and it's a bit more prominent in the third. I just thought that was kind of funny.
So yes, in case you couldn't tell, I highly recommend this series. I know I have the next two books, and I'll probably be reading them sooner than later.
Fast forward a few years, and I found myself in a position to meet Charlaine Harris. I hadn't read the books yet, but I had a collection of the first three in the series. I thought, why not get the omnibus signed? I met her, and she's a sweet old lady in a wheelchair. Very polite and genteel. I couldn't get my head around the idea that she wrote something that a show like True Blood would be based on.
I'm here to tell you, now that I've read the book, that while she does get vulgar at times in the books, it's not as big as it is on the show. At the same time, it's still hard for me to understand that she wrote these books. That is not a bad thing, by the way. That is the highest praise I can give.
Dead Until Dark is the first in the series, and I was hooked instantly. She makes a lot of writing choices that I would never make, choices that ordinarily I wouldn't like upon reading them, but I can't overstate how overwhelmingly addictive this story is. And I'm glad that the scene with Bill at the historical society is from the book. It's my favorite scene, just as my friend thought it would be.
Living Dead in Dallas only furthers my addiction to this incredible world that Harris has built. I'm kind of surprised that she killed Lafayette in this one, considering how important a character he is on the show. That's not a spoiler, by the way. It happens within the first few pages. I'm glad the series didn't do this because he is very fascinating. I loved the social commentary with Steve Newlin and his psychopathic religious nuts in particular, because one of the things that always gets to me is how such people are devoted hypocrites who never, under any circumstances, practice what they preach.
Club Dead is also a lot of fun because it opens the world to even more supernatural creatures. Alcide is the first Were we truly get to know in the series. However, there is another character death that happens in this one that doesn't happen in the series. This one *is* a spoiler, so I won't mention who, but what happened to the character on the show is better, I think. Eric is also a very interesting character, and I'm glad we get to know him a bit more in this one.
Here's one thing I don't remember from the show, so I'm pretty sure it didn't happen on it. Bubba. I thought he was pretty funny despite his predilection for cat blood. His true identity nearly had me on the floor. Ordinarily I wouldn't like something like that, but it really works in these books, especially in Club Dead.
One more thing: the phrase "True Blood" doesn't even show up in the first book, which I thought was odd. It's mentioned maybe once in the second one, and it's a bit more prominent in the third. I just thought that was kind of funny.
So yes, in case you couldn't tell, I highly recommend this series. I know I have the next two books, and I'll probably be reading them sooner than later.
September 22, 2010
Book One: Done.
I like it. As I have seen the series I knew more or less what to expect. And it was more os less that.
More Sookie than the series, less Eric and absolutely no Tara. I heard people complaining about Lafayete and how much the appears on the series, because he dies at the beginning of the second book (that's what I heard, haven't read that one yet), but Tara isn't even on book one and nobody complained about that? (Not that I'm complaining about Tara, I don't like her but the character fits well in the series).
At some point in the book I started to think of the books and the series as 2 kind of different stories, and only marginally thinking about the what is different between them.
My pet difference: Eric killed the "Native American" vampire, not Bill. Is it just me or that simple difference makes a huge difference in how Sookie sees Eric?
Waiting to see what happens next...
Book Two:Done
Didn't do the review at the time that I finished it, and I don't remember the details anymore. There were 2 main story arcs, the Dallas vampires and the maenad.
And more of Sookie feeling attracted to Eric (I'd like to see even more of Eric in the books).
A brief pause so I don't get too addicted and then back to Sookie Stackhouse...
Book Three: Done
Classic human torn between vampire lover or werewolf lover. In Sookie's case, she is torn between 3 possible lovers, actually, Bill (the current lover), Eric (the other vampire) and Alcide (the were of this equation). Sookie spends all her time looking for her cheating boyfriend Bill, she gets staked (luckily she isn't the vampire) and makes a couple of comments about how much time she spent in the hospital since she met Bill...
Curious to see if Sookie really ditches Bill (I really hope so), and to see if she chooses Alcide or Eric (I'm kind of rooting for Alcide)
I like it. As I have seen the series I knew more or less what to expect. And it was more os less that.
More Sookie than the series, less Eric and absolutely no Tara. I heard people complaining about Lafayete and how much the appears on the series, because he dies at the beginning of the second book (that's what I heard, haven't read that one yet), but Tara isn't even on book one and nobody complained about that? (Not that I'm complaining about Tara, I don't like her but the character fits well in the series).
At some point in the book I started to think of the books and the series as 2 kind of different stories, and only marginally thinking about the what is different between them.
My pet difference: Eric killed the "Native American" vampire, not Bill. Is it just me or that simple difference makes a huge difference in how Sookie sees Eric?
Waiting to see what happens next...
Book Two:Done
Didn't do the review at the time that I finished it, and I don't remember the details anymore. There were 2 main story arcs, the Dallas vampires and the maenad.
And more of Sookie feeling attracted to Eric (I'd like to see even more of Eric in the books).
A brief pause so I don't get too addicted and then back to Sookie Stackhouse...
Book Three: Done
Classic human torn between vampire lover or werewolf lover. In Sookie's case, she is torn between 3 possible lovers, actually, Bill (the current lover), Eric (the other vampire) and Alcide (the were of this equation). Sookie spends all her time looking for her cheating boyfriend Bill, she gets staked (luckily she isn't the vampire) and makes a couple of comments about how much time she spent in the hospital since she met Bill...
Curious to see if Sookie really ditches Bill (I really hope so), and to see if she chooses Alcide or Eric (I'm kind of rooting for Alcide)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2009
I've just finished all nine books and eagerly await the next in the series. These were all highly addictive and I can't really say that one was more superior than the others which oftentimes happens in series, but they did grow in characters and in story with twists and turns I wasn't expecting. The first book: Dead Until Dark I probably enjoyed the least only because I had seen the HBO series first and so with only a couple of exceptions, I pretty much knew how everything was going to turn out. After the second in the series "Living Dead in Dallas" I was hooked and literally read all nine books back to back. Rather, then telling too much about the characters in fear of giving things away, I will say that Sookie Stackhouse is a refreshingly new take of a heroine. Even though she is telepathic, she still comes across as a normal young woman unlike many of the other characters she runs across and up against. They have fantasy, romance, mystery, adventure, violence . . . think of it as the R-rated version of Twilight. The tv series is just as good and addictive!
October 30, 2022
I am really not sure how to rate this book! Usually by the end I have some kind of idea. But the writing is truly horrendous. A lot of things just don't make sense or tie together at all. There were also WAY too many typos. Really, editor?!? If I'm noticing them all (I can't say I'm the most attentive person) then it's really out of hand. Basically, this book was bad. But I was entertained. I'm going through some pretty heavy stuff right now and it was a nice, brainless distraction. I really liked Sookie for the most part, other than the fact that she willingly throws herself on every single male figure she comes in contact with and seems to have ZERO self-control. Still, she was likeable...she reminded me a bit of myself. I am thinking I will try to read the other books in the series just to find out what happens. And usually when a book is super bad...I can't be bothered to pursue the series (coughTwilightcough). So I have no explanation for this one!
March 31, 2010
Was really disappointed with this book. I'd really loved the HBO series, but by comparison this was... really lacklustre. The writing was pretty uninspired, and for the half of the book I did read I was just waiting for all the other interesting characters from the show to come into it... but they never did... This is all about Bill and Sookie, and even they're pretty boring characters.... Just goes to show how impressive a job HBO does in adapting a TV series from a rather mediocre southern mystery novel with vamps.
September 27, 2009
I read book 1: Dead Until Dark. It was very good. It's Local Southern Color meets Urban fantasy. I like Sookie and I like Bill. I have heard they don't stay together. It makes me kind of sad, but I guess that's how relationships are in real life. Jason has some serious issues to work through. Sam's pretty interesting. I definitely think he's sweet on Sookie.
I gave this to my mother to read (along with the next Omnibus). No rush. I'll get around to reading them someday.
I gave this to my mother to read (along with the next Omnibus). No rush. I'll get around to reading them someday.
July 15, 2018
Disappointing
I could not finish this book and find the style of writing boring and trite.
It may be okay for a thirteen year old girl who enjoys the Twilight series but not for me.
This is definitely a case of the tv series, True Blood, being better than the book.
All respect to Alan Ball for creating a silk purse out of a sows ear.
I could not finish this book and find the style of writing boring and trite.
It may be okay for a thirteen year old girl who enjoys the Twilight series but not for me.
This is definitely a case of the tv series, True Blood, being better than the book.
All respect to Alan Ball for creating a silk purse out of a sows ear.
January 17, 2010
Interesting reads. The books aren't really that long and involved. Fun to read and relaxing to read. You don't have to think too hard about things. I like them enough to finish up the series but I wouldn't say they're a "must read" like some other books in the paranormal genre.
April 20, 2011
1st three Sookie Stackhouse books Omnibus
November 23, 2025
J’étais plutôt curieuse de découvrir cette série. Il s’agit d’une réédition qui comprend 13 tomes à la base, contre 4 (belles briques) pour la nouvelle édition proposée par Calix.
Sur le papier il y avait de quoi me plaire : meurtres, enquêtes, vampires, bref de quoi m’emballer.
Pourtant, je dois dire que je suis vraiment déçue. Ce qui m’a le plus dérangée : la plume de l’autrice. J’ai vraiment senti que c’était une série qui avait quelques années, avec les clichés qui vont avec.
J’ai trouvé la narration longue et trop rapide à la fois. Oui je sais c’est paradoxale. L’intrigue et l’enquête concernant les meurtres traînait en longueur sans trop d’indices ou détails croustillants pour nous tenir en haleine, c’était très plat. Et a contrario j’ai trouvé que les relations entre les personnages étaient trop rapides. Sookie a une fascination pour les vampires et une obsession pour Bill dès le premier regard.
On se concentre beaucoup plus sur les émois des personnages, sur leur non communication ou leurs changements d’avis lunaires que sur le mystère et l’enquête.
J’ai été vraiment perturbée après le décès d’un des proches de Sookie, après quoi, même pas 24h elle en était remise ? S’était séparée des affaires du/de la défunt/e et se sentait prête à aller de l’avant ? J’ai ressenti une sorte de malaise, une preuve que les sentiments sont assez superficiels dans cette histoire. Chacun ressent et gère à sa façon les épreuves de la vie mais en vue du lien qui unissait l’héroïne à cette personne, je trouve ça plus que perturbant.
Cependant j’ai trouvé le setting de base plutôt prometteur et intéressant. Sookie, qui malgré son tempérament et caractère superficiels, est assez intéressante quant à son don de télépathie. J’ai beaucoup aimé qu’elle parle de l’énergie et de la concentration que cela nécessite. Il y a un côté intrigant à ce qu’elle ne puisse pas entendre les pensées de Bill. Les explications sur son enfance, les épreuves qu’elle a traversées et les traumatismes qu’elle a pu subir nous font passer par différentes émotions et ajoutent un (vrai) côté dramatique au récit.
Les meurtres étaient aussi un bon plot, un bon fil rouge qui mènerait à quelque chose de plus grand, avec davantage de mystère.
Je n’ai pas vraiment apprécié Bill qui avait des réactions assez contradictoires. Trop de mystère dérangeant (et pas intriguant) l’entoure.
Je n’ai pas réussi à m’attacher à l’univers ni à ses personnages. Je peux comprendre que l’on apprécie cette série par nostalgie et à cause de la série si l’on a baigné dedans, pour ma part, ça ne sera pas une lecture mémorable et je ne suis pas curieuse de découvrir la suite.
Merci à Gleeph, J’ai Lu et Calix pour l’envoi de ce tome ✨️
Sur le papier il y avait de quoi me plaire : meurtres, enquêtes, vampires, bref de quoi m’emballer.
Pourtant, je dois dire que je suis vraiment déçue. Ce qui m’a le plus dérangée : la plume de l’autrice. J’ai vraiment senti que c’était une série qui avait quelques années, avec les clichés qui vont avec.
J’ai trouvé la narration longue et trop rapide à la fois. Oui je sais c’est paradoxale. L’intrigue et l’enquête concernant les meurtres traînait en longueur sans trop d’indices ou détails croustillants pour nous tenir en haleine, c’était très plat. Et a contrario j’ai trouvé que les relations entre les personnages étaient trop rapides. Sookie a une fascination pour les vampires et une obsession pour Bill dès le premier regard.
On se concentre beaucoup plus sur les émois des personnages, sur leur non communication ou leurs changements d’avis lunaires que sur le mystère et l’enquête.
J’ai été vraiment perturbée après le décès d’un des proches de Sookie, après quoi, même pas 24h elle en était remise ? S’était séparée des affaires du/de la défunt/e et se sentait prête à aller de l’avant ? J’ai ressenti une sorte de malaise, une preuve que les sentiments sont assez superficiels dans cette histoire. Chacun ressent et gère à sa façon les épreuves de la vie mais en vue du lien qui unissait l’héroïne à cette personne, je trouve ça plus que perturbant.
Cependant j’ai trouvé le setting de base plutôt prometteur et intéressant. Sookie, qui malgré son tempérament et caractère superficiels, est assez intéressante quant à son don de télépathie. J’ai beaucoup aimé qu’elle parle de l’énergie et de la concentration que cela nécessite. Il y a un côté intrigant à ce qu’elle ne puisse pas entendre les pensées de Bill. Les explications sur son enfance, les épreuves qu’elle a traversées et les traumatismes qu’elle a pu subir nous font passer par différentes émotions et ajoutent un (vrai) côté dramatique au récit.
Les meurtres étaient aussi un bon plot, un bon fil rouge qui mènerait à quelque chose de plus grand, avec davantage de mystère.
Je n’ai pas vraiment apprécié Bill qui avait des réactions assez contradictoires. Trop de mystère dérangeant (et pas intriguant) l’entoure.
Je n’ai pas réussi à m’attacher à l’univers ni à ses personnages. Je peux comprendre que l’on apprécie cette série par nostalgie et à cause de la série si l’on a baigné dedans, pour ma part, ça ne sera pas une lecture mémorable et je ne suis pas curieuse de découvrir la suite.
Merci à Gleeph, J’ai Lu et Calix pour l’envoi de ce tome ✨️
November 5, 2025
Je suis plus qu’heureuse de retrouver ce livre que j’ai découvert… attention, séquence nostalgie : à l’été 2009, sur une plage d’Espagne. 🏖️
Je m’en souviens comme si c’était hier : il faisait une chaleur à faire fondre un vampire (mauvais signe, déjà), je m’ennuyais à mourir sur le sable, et ma mère (dans un acte héroïque) est partie me chercher un bouquin dans la petite supérette du coin.
Lire ?! Moi ? À 13 ans ? Encore plus ennuyeux que de regarder les vagues…
Quelle erreur monumentale.
Ce jour-là, sans le savoir, j’ai signé pour une addiction à vie. Depuis, je dévore des livres comme d’autres enchaînent les séries Netflix. Et tout ça, c’est la faute de cette saga. ❤️
Alors quand j’ai vu passer l’annonce de Calix pour une réédition collector, j’ai littéralement hurlé de joie. (Mes voisins peuvent confirmer.)
Et quelle beauté ! ✨ Ce coffret regroupe les trois premiers tomes de la série, et franchement, rien que pour la couverture, ça vaut le détour.
Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas encore, laissez-moi vous présenter le mythe :
On suit Sookie Stackhouse, jeune serveuse un peu beaucoup naïve (mais adorable), qui vit dans un bled paumé du sud des États-Unis… et qui a la légère particularité de pouvoir lire dans les pensées. 🧠
Tout allait (à peu près) bien jusqu’à ce qu’elle rencontre Bill Compton, un vampire ténébreux tout droit sorti d’un roman gothique. Depuis que les vampires ont fait leur coming-out et survivent grâce au sang synthétique True Blood, ils ne se cachent plus. Et c’est là que les ennuis commencent : meurtres, disparitions, créatures surnaturelles, romance torride… bref, pas de quoi s’ennuyer à Bon Temps !
Et puis, soyons honnêtes : Eric Northman.
La fameuse scène de la douche, vous voyez ? 🫠 Dix-sept ans plus tard, je ne m’en suis toujours pas remise.
Pour les fans de la série True Blood : oui, elle est inspirée de ces romans, mais ne comparez pas. Les livres sont bien plus riches, drôles, sensuels, et complètement déjantés.
Alors si vous cherchez une romance vampirique qui change des classiques du bit-lit, avec de l’action, des rebondissements et des créatures en pagaille (sorciers vaudous, loups-garous, métamorphes et compagnie), foncez !
Ce livre n’a pas pris une ride, contrairement à moi depuis 2009 😅
Je m’en souviens comme si c’était hier : il faisait une chaleur à faire fondre un vampire (mauvais signe, déjà), je m’ennuyais à mourir sur le sable, et ma mère (dans un acte héroïque) est partie me chercher un bouquin dans la petite supérette du coin.
Lire ?! Moi ? À 13 ans ? Encore plus ennuyeux que de regarder les vagues…
Quelle erreur monumentale.
Ce jour-là, sans le savoir, j’ai signé pour une addiction à vie. Depuis, je dévore des livres comme d’autres enchaînent les séries Netflix. Et tout ça, c’est la faute de cette saga. ❤️
Alors quand j’ai vu passer l’annonce de Calix pour une réédition collector, j’ai littéralement hurlé de joie. (Mes voisins peuvent confirmer.)
Et quelle beauté ! ✨ Ce coffret regroupe les trois premiers tomes de la série, et franchement, rien que pour la couverture, ça vaut le détour.
Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas encore, laissez-moi vous présenter le mythe :
On suit Sookie Stackhouse, jeune serveuse un peu beaucoup naïve (mais adorable), qui vit dans un bled paumé du sud des États-Unis… et qui a la légère particularité de pouvoir lire dans les pensées. 🧠
Tout allait (à peu près) bien jusqu’à ce qu’elle rencontre Bill Compton, un vampire ténébreux tout droit sorti d’un roman gothique. Depuis que les vampires ont fait leur coming-out et survivent grâce au sang synthétique True Blood, ils ne se cachent plus. Et c’est là que les ennuis commencent : meurtres, disparitions, créatures surnaturelles, romance torride… bref, pas de quoi s’ennuyer à Bon Temps !
Et puis, soyons honnêtes : Eric Northman.
La fameuse scène de la douche, vous voyez ? 🫠 Dix-sept ans plus tard, je ne m’en suis toujours pas remise.
Pour les fans de la série True Blood : oui, elle est inspirée de ces romans, mais ne comparez pas. Les livres sont bien plus riches, drôles, sensuels, et complètement déjantés.
Alors si vous cherchez une romance vampirique qui change des classiques du bit-lit, avec de l’action, des rebondissements et des créatures en pagaille (sorciers vaudous, loups-garous, métamorphes et compagnie), foncez !
Ce livre n’a pas pris une ride, contrairement à moi depuis 2009 😅
December 26, 2025
J’avoue que j’étais complètement passée à côté de cette saga ainsi que de son adaptation en série télévisée. Cette réédition en intégrale était donc l’occasion parfaite pour enfin la découvrir, surtout que la série avait rencontré un immense succès à sa sortie. Je me suis donc plongée dans le premier tome de La Communauté du Sud avec une vraie curiosité.
Avant toute chose, si vous décidez de vous lancer dans cette lecture, attendez-vous à une ribambelle de clichés et à des thématiques parfois maladroites. Il faut absolument recontextualiser cette œuvre : elle a été écrite au début des années 2000, et certains propos ou traitements narratifs ont assez mal vieilli. Gardez-le en tête pour éviter toute mauvaise surprise. Pour ma part, ce côté “bit-lit à l’ancienne” m’a plutôt plu : j’y ai retrouvé l’ambiance des romans que je dévorais adolescente, ce qui a ajouté une petite touche de nostalgie très agréable.
Sookie, notre héroïne, est un personnage intéressant, notamment grâce à son don de télépathie qui la place en marge des autres. J’ai aimé la voir apprivoiser ce pouvoir au fil des pages. Les épreuves qu’elle traverse la rendent attachante, et on ressent naturellement l’envie de la soutenir. En revanche, j’ai parfois été frustrée par sa résilience presque trop solide : elle vit des événements particulièrement durs, mais leur impact psychologique semble souvent minimisé, voire évacué trop vite.
Autour d’elle gravitent de nombreux personnages masculins… et c’est là que j’ai décroché. Nous ne sommes pas officiellement dans un harem inversé, mais l’effet est vraiment le même, et c’est un trope avec lequel j’ai beaucoup de mal. J’ai donc eu du mal à m’attacher à ces personnages et à la manière dont ils interagissent avec Sookie — que ce soit consenti ou non. Ce point a réellement freiné mon plaisir de lecture et m’a poussée à m’arrêter au deuxième tome. J’ai trop souvent soufflé et levé les yeux au ciel… ce qui est particulièrement frustrant.
En revanche, je pense que cette saga saura ravir les amateurs de bit-lit des années 2000, ceux qui cherchent une lecture nostalgique, pleine de codes familiers et de clichés assumés. Si vous aimez ce genre d’ambiance, vous y trouverez certainement votre compte.
Avant toute chose, si vous décidez de vous lancer dans cette lecture, attendez-vous à une ribambelle de clichés et à des thématiques parfois maladroites. Il faut absolument recontextualiser cette œuvre : elle a été écrite au début des années 2000, et certains propos ou traitements narratifs ont assez mal vieilli. Gardez-le en tête pour éviter toute mauvaise surprise. Pour ma part, ce côté “bit-lit à l’ancienne” m’a plutôt plu : j’y ai retrouvé l’ambiance des romans que je dévorais adolescente, ce qui a ajouté une petite touche de nostalgie très agréable.
Sookie, notre héroïne, est un personnage intéressant, notamment grâce à son don de télépathie qui la place en marge des autres. J’ai aimé la voir apprivoiser ce pouvoir au fil des pages. Les épreuves qu’elle traverse la rendent attachante, et on ressent naturellement l’envie de la soutenir. En revanche, j’ai parfois été frustrée par sa résilience presque trop solide : elle vit des événements particulièrement durs, mais leur impact psychologique semble souvent minimisé, voire évacué trop vite.
Autour d’elle gravitent de nombreux personnages masculins… et c’est là que j’ai décroché. Nous ne sommes pas officiellement dans un harem inversé, mais l’effet est vraiment le même, et c’est un trope avec lequel j’ai beaucoup de mal. J’ai donc eu du mal à m’attacher à ces personnages et à la manière dont ils interagissent avec Sookie — que ce soit consenti ou non. Ce point a réellement freiné mon plaisir de lecture et m’a poussée à m’arrêter au deuxième tome. J’ai trop souvent soufflé et levé les yeux au ciel… ce qui est particulièrement frustrant.
En revanche, je pense que cette saga saura ravir les amateurs de bit-lit des années 2000, ceux qui cherchent une lecture nostalgique, pleine de codes familiers et de clichés assumés. Si vous aimez ce genre d’ambiance, vous y trouverez certainement votre compte.
January 27, 2019
I don't think I would've liked the Sookie Stackhouse series, had I not already seen the TV series. If I look at it from a detached perspective, there's so much to dislike: lots of racism and homophobia. The books are pulpy. There are so many parts of the plot that seem a bit too convenient. The heroine is a bimbo, despite telling us otherwise repeatedly. And yet every man and half the women lust after her. I'm, frankly, quite sick of hearing about men getting erections just helping her get in a car or whatever else. Her love interest Bill is such a creep and so clearly only interested in her body and her blood. And in book three, he her. But her anguish is about the ? And then she thinks about having sex with him? What the fuck.
All that said, I did actually enjoy the read but I did so because it was fun to look at a story I know and characters I liked (all secondary ones, unfortunately) through another lens. A bit like I liked Snow White & the Huntsman. Neither is brilliant writing, but they both fleshed out a story I enjoyed.
June 13, 2017
It took me a while to work through this three-in-one novel that I borrowed from a friend. Early on, the writing was clunky and distracting but improved with time. I'm afraid I never took to the naive Sookie though - she hooks up with some vampires, with her gift, should know plenty about human nature, and yet plays a simple fool at every turn. Girl finally grows a little spine towards the end of the third book, but still behaved like a sulky teenager. I've never read a human-vamp romance novel before, but I do find it hard to swallow that a thousand year old fella could be taken in by such a child.
July 17, 2024
3.5⭐️
A bit of a slog to get through this one as it’s 3 books in one: I flew through the first, struggled with the second and enjoyed the third more.
Not usually a lover of supernatural fantasies (bar Twilight which I can definitely say I prefer to this), but it made a nice change from my usual romances and thrillers. There are some great characters - Sookie is a good protagonist and I loved Eric and Alcide. A big gripe I had whilst reading was the sheer volume of unnecessary filler sentences and almost too many descriptions.
Wouldn’t carry on with the True Blood series, whilst it was an enjoyable enough read it just didn’t grip me enough to read any more of Harris’s work.
A bit of a slog to get through this one as it’s 3 books in one: I flew through the first, struggled with the second and enjoyed the third more.
Not usually a lover of supernatural fantasies (bar Twilight which I can definitely say I prefer to this), but it made a nice change from my usual romances and thrillers. There are some great characters - Sookie is a good protagonist and I loved Eric and Alcide. A big gripe I had whilst reading was the sheer volume of unnecessary filler sentences and almost too many descriptions.
Wouldn’t carry on with the True Blood series, whilst it was an enjoyable enough read it just didn’t grip me enough to read any more of Harris’s work.
March 13, 2025
This was a re listen. Honestly this series is not a change your life or your way of thinking kinda good. It’s just an “I will listen to this whole series repeatedly” kinda good.
It’s narrated by Johanna Parker and she does such a great job.
It’s such a ride. Sookie is a little spitfire but also scared to death constantly like any of us would be getting thrust into the world of the supernatural in basically one big dunk. It’s funny and exciting and pretty racy in parts but that’s not the entire crux of the book. I’m sure this won’t be my last re listen.
It’s narrated by Johanna Parker and she does such a great job.
It’s such a ride. Sookie is a little spitfire but also scared to death constantly like any of us would be getting thrust into the world of the supernatural in basically one big dunk. It’s funny and exciting and pretty racy in parts but that’s not the entire crux of the book. I’m sure this won’t be my last re listen.
March 6, 2019
I loved this series! I originally began reading it after watching the HBO series but quickly became hooked by Harris' witty dialogue and endearing characters.
I am no exception and am totally taken by the enigmatic character of Eric Northman but also love many of the other characters. I wont go into detail due to spoilers but id say it is well worth the read. I will say I was a little disappointed by the end of the series but i also understand why Harris made this literary decision.
I am no exception and am totally taken by the enigmatic character of Eric Northman but also love many of the other characters. I wont go into detail due to spoilers but id say it is well worth the read. I will say I was a little disappointed by the end of the series but i also understand why Harris made this literary decision.
August 11, 2020
This book and the first season of the show are very similar. However I do like the book a bit better and I saw the show first so I'm not being biased. I think that the way she writes is very easy to read and that the story is one of those that you get lost in even if it seems far fetched. I have most of the series and just ordered the rest so I will be reading them all in order. I can't wait to dive into the rest of the series and see what happens.
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