Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

[slowfox]

Well, suddenly we get hints of an even deeper hierarchy to this vamp business.

Bill (Sookie's vampire squeeze) is working on a super secret project for the Queen of Louisiana (unbeknownst to his immediate boss, Eric, who also answers to the Queen of Louisiana). Unfortunately, Bill gets kidnapped by the King of Texas.

Sookie is teamed up with Alcide, a werewolf with connections to the regal vampire clan, and alongside some UST, some dead werewolves and some torture, we get ourselves a story. Bill's project turns out to be something like a Facebook for vamps, which even I think would be an astoundingly bad idea for a group of individuals who value privacy and mystique so much, but Bill (and his Queen) think it's just the coolest concept ever.

And for reasons never truly explained, Bill has to keep this secret from Sookie, which doesn't help their relationship much.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to like Alcide - he seems a bit like the Charlie Weasley of this world - daring, brave, rugged but not pretty pretty. I'd just have liked him to have been a little less perfect (werewolfness doesn't seem to ratea negative here)...

I was... surprised by the ending, although the book seems pretty clear how things are going to pan out from the opening chapter, maybe I shouldn't have been. Again, though, Sookie really gets knocked about a bit in this one, and I'm hoping that she gets an easier ride soon.

Somehow I doubt it though.

Still fun reads :-)

Comments

[glittertine]

And now you're getting into the nitty gritty interesting waters of the world. :D

I didn't think Alcide was really that perfect, plenty of cracks in his shiny surface. I think it's just that Sookie was so physically attracted to him that she didn't *notice* notice his faults, though she does talk about him. Like the way he's totally putty in Debbie's hands whenever she snips her fingers, urgh.

You really want an easier ride for Sookie? But all the stuff happening just makes her be more awesome! I think it was this book where I finally started liking her, before then, I thought she was just whining a lot - and in Club Dead, she just started being more self-confident and outright cool. Obviously, for me it helps that Eric/Sookie is my OTP and every time Eric was in a scene I was grinning like a madwoman.

Re your other observations, they're hard to talk about from the perspective of a few books further down the line. Are you going to keep reading them one a day? :)

An aside - it's so cool to have you around again. I'm really glad DW came along.

[slowfox]

Are you going to keep reading them one a day? :)

Alack and alas, I fear that I can't keep that pace up somehow. But I am about 1/3 through book IV as I type this, and boggled all over again by the latest set of twists (I'm thinking that you possibly liked Book IV a bit, judging by your Sookie/Eric love).

And I'm glad DW came along too - I'm enjoying posting again, and keeping up with all you lot, too :-)

[glittertine]

A "bit", yes. ^________^ You could say that. Maybe. *giggles like a teenaged girl*

[slowfox]

But... but... but it's not the real Eric! Are you sure it counts?? ;-P

[glittertine]

Sookie/any!Eric. Though I'm not fanatic about it, I just think they are really, really good together. I like the way they challenge each other.

Sookietastic

[carolanne5]

Ok just finished this one (three books in 48 hours you can tell I'm on holiday!).

The pace doesn't seem to let up and boy does Sookie get some punishment. Even neglecting the physcial suffering Bill's treatment is appalling. I'm thinking in particular of Lenora, the pensioning arrangements and the incident in the trunk. It jars on me a little that he behaves in the this way, it's seems a contrast to his previous devotion and mainstreaming.

Loved Sookie's encounter with Lenora, all the Eric moments and the rescinding at the end was awesome.

Need to find out if local tiny book shop has next crack fix in stock, fingers crossed.

Re: Sookietastic

[slowfox]

It's Dead to the World next, and that one is an absolute scream, so whichever way you can you really really need to read it.

I was disturbed by the amount of punishment meted out to the Sook: she holds up, but I was hoping for an easier ride for her - at least physically - in the subsequent instalments.

It jars on me a little that he behaves in the this way, it's seems a contrast to his previous devotion and mainstreaming.

This does get explained a little later on in the series, so although it jars oddly here it's consistent with the Sookieverse.

Re: Sookietastic

[carolanne5]

that one is an absolute scream, so whichever way you can you really really need to read it ...

My addiction needs no encouragement I assure you! It's good to hear the standard keeps up in the next installments. The law of diminishing returns is all to common in fantasy series (thinks of Dune and shudders at the horror).

Sadly I did manage to spoil myself yesterday in the book shop, I picked up one of the more recent books, to checkout the reviews, and read the words 'weretiger boyfriend'. Nearly swore out loud in the book shop at catching such a spoiler when I've been so carefully avoiding your reviews and any True Blood conversations.