Part book review, part series review
Jun. 5th, 2010 07:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseDead To the World (and the first four Southern Vampire Mysteries in general), by Charlaine Harris
I've had mixed feelings about this series from the beginning - there are elements of it I really enjoy, and the author knows how to tell a decent fast-paced supernatural mystery story. Sure, it's not Dickens, but sometimes you just want some enjoyable fluff to fill your spare time, and this fits the bill pretty perfectly.
Unfortunately, my enjoyment has been tempered somewhat by a couple of problems - specifically, some questionable characterizations and (more noticeably) a main character who has the potential to be quite interesting, but spends so much of her time whining about how she's "disabled" (she views her telepathic ability as a disability) and/or broke and/or horny and/or constantly getting beaten up in the course of her investigations...not to mention being something of a prude in the sex department, which seems remarkably out-of-place in a vampire romance. I understand that the author's trying to create a heroine who's a little more "normal" and relatable than the usual ass-kicking vamp-slayer type, but Sookie often just comes off as a passive complainer; hardly the type of person most folks would want to spend time with in real life, let alone during their reading hours.
These issues reached something of a nadir with Club Dead, and I gave some thought to giving up on it entirely. But since the books were quick reads and I had most of the set on my bookshelf, I figured I'd at least give this one a go. And I'm glad I did - there are still occasional flashes of self-pity from the heroine, but on the whole she's much more proactive (and, more importantly, sees herself as more proactive) than she was in the first few books. Rather than focusing on what she doesn't have, she actively works toward figuring out what she wants and how to achieve it. Harris' depiction of relationships also works better in this one, and the main character (believably) gets over some of her prudery. I hope the trend continues in the rest of the series, because it's turning into some fine escapist entertainment. B-
I've had mixed feelings about this series from the beginning - there are elements of it I really enjoy, and the author knows how to tell a decent fast-paced supernatural mystery story. Sure, it's not Dickens, but sometimes you just want some enjoyable fluff to fill your spare time, and this fits the bill pretty perfectly.
Unfortunately, my enjoyment has been tempered somewhat by a couple of problems - specifically, some questionable characterizations and (more noticeably) a main character who has the potential to be quite interesting, but spends so much of her time whining about how she's "disabled" (she views her telepathic ability as a disability) and/or broke and/or horny and/or constantly getting beaten up in the course of her investigations...not to mention being something of a prude in the sex department, which seems remarkably out-of-place in a vampire romance. I understand that the author's trying to create a heroine who's a little more "normal" and relatable than the usual ass-kicking vamp-slayer type, but Sookie often just comes off as a passive complainer; hardly the type of person most folks would want to spend time with in real life, let alone during their reading hours.
These issues reached something of a nadir with Club Dead, and I gave some thought to giving up on it entirely. But since the books were quick reads and I had most of the set on my bookshelf, I figured I'd at least give this one a go. And I'm glad I did - there are still occasional flashes of self-pity from the heroine, but on the whole she's much more proactive (and, more importantly, sees herself as more proactive) than she was in the first few books. Rather than focusing on what she doesn't have, she actively works toward figuring out what she wants and how to achieve it. Harris' depiction of relationships also works better in this one, and the main character (believably) gets over some of her prudery. I hope the trend continues in the rest of the series, because it's turning into some fine escapist entertainment. B-
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Date: 2010-06-05 05:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-09 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-10 09:43 pm (UTC)Good Review
Date: 2010-06-07 01:03 am (UTC)