Book Review - Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

I decided to read this book after watching and loving the series True Blood Season 1 (HBO) [DVD] [2008] which is based on this book series, or more specifically this book.

However, the two are very different. While the show is dark in a fairly light-hearted and campy way, the books are just light-hearted, there is no real darkness of grittiness to them. But they are enjoyable, and there is a certain familiarity with them, when you've seen the show. The characters are similar, I felt Bill had been changed most for the show, he's pretty cold and dominant in the book, where on the show, he never really gets away with bossing Sookie around because she's always got something to say about it.

But, back to the book. The writing is good, if a little simple. The characters are well developed, Sookie is an especially appealing heroine, which in a lot of other urban fantasy books, is a rare find. There is a mystery running through the book, much like the first season, which is probably the only storyline which plays out in both the book and show in the same way.

If I was going to make big one criticism of the book, it would be that the two main characters, and the love interests of the book, Bill and Sookie have very little chemistry and a lot of their interaction is just Billie telling Sookie what to do. For example, whenever the two have sex, it is always on Bill's accord, never in a moment of passion or love. The whole relationship feels very routine and there is just never any time when it feels "real". I haven't read the second book in the series, Living Dead In Dallas: A True Blood Novel yet, so I don't know if Harris has has perfected the romance, but hopefully it will become less mechanical as the books progress.

So this does come highly recommended for fans of the genre, its a quick read, I read it it about three days, and its simple enough to read in large chunks. If you can get passed the light-heartedness and enjoy it for what it is then you will enjoy it, however if you go into it, expecting it to be in the same style as the TV show, you will be disappointed because this is a lot lighter and simpler. However it is a hugely enjoyable and absorbing book which you will find difficult to put down once you realise that this and the TV series are two very different entities.