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Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1)
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Manufacturer: Ace Books
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Ace Books
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $7.99
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Ace Books
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Ace Books
Average Customer Rating:
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Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1) Description
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780441008537
ISBN: 0441008534
Label: Ace Books
Manufacturer: Ace Books
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 292
Publication Date: 2001-05-01
Publisher: Ace Books
Product Release Date: 2001-05-01
Studio: Ace Books
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780441008537
ISBN: 0441008534
Label: Ace Books
Manufacturer: Ace Books
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 292
Publication Date: 2001-05-01
Publisher: Ace Books
Product Release Date: 2001-05-01
Studio: Ace Books
Editorial Review of Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1)
Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....
Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.
A fun, fast, funny, and wonderfully intriguing blend of vampire and mystery that's hard to put down, and should not be missed. (Susan Sizemore)
Praise for Charlaine Harris:
Harris writes neatly and with assurance. (New York Times Book Review)
An author of rare talents. (Publishers Weekly)
Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.
A fun, fast, funny, and wonderfully intriguing blend of vampire and mystery that's hard to put down, and should not be missed. (Susan Sizemore)
Praise for Charlaine Harris:
Harris writes neatly and with assurance. (New York Times Book Review)
An author of rare talents. (Publishers Weekly)
Customer Reviews of Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A paranormal romance in disguise...
Review: I had very high expectations coming into this one. I had just finished reading Harrison's Dead Witch Walking and was blown away, so I eagerly looked around for another paranormal fiction author. I settled on Dead Until Dark. The covers and titles seemed fun with a promising underlying plot. My last criteria that I researched through other readers of paranormal fiction was if it was a paranormal romance, and I was assured it was not.
Boy did I miss sorely on all accounts. Right away you realize Harris's writing style is not as deep or well constructed. She writes very simply, which in and of itself is not necessarily bad, not being able to describe anything with enough detail to evoke the imagination. When a vampire dies the only way she could describe his blood is by calling it "gunk". When Sookie gets mad she storms around (and for no apparent reason) and decides to, uh, dig a hole? I can't remember the last time I got upset and went to the backyard and dug a hole. Oh, yeah, that would be never. But this is how Harris writes, attempting to add character and doing nothing more than making you scratch your head and wonder what she was thinking in writing that. Oftentimes Harris didn't seem like she knew how her characters should react or respond, so their reactions always seemed out of place and unbelievable, making the story very disjointed.
And the worst part is that this did turn out to be a paranormal romance. The plot is nothing more than a loosely connected string of murders that aren't really talked about too much. What is written about, and quite extensively, is Sookie's romance with Bill! Every story can benefit from a romantic interest thrown in, but Harris decided to suddenly make it the main theme. She attempted to write about these steamy sex sequences that always resulted in Sookie and Bill in bed, and it seemed to always be happening! On a date? Get in bed. Someone attempts to kill you? Get in bed. Someone kills your friends? Get in bed. Doing nothing at all? Get in bed. Alright already, we get the point!
All in all, I was not impressed at all. I do not like Harris's writing style. Very simplistic, nothing in depth. She writes like writers who just write and write and write and do nothing more than churn out books. Danielle Steele? James Patterson? Janet Evanovich? They can write a story, but there isn't anything in depth or really interesting about their books usually, because their emphasis is on quantity, not quality. Harris does just this as she also writes mystery books as well. Slow down, focus on a particular book with its plots and characters, and Harris might actually be able to turn something out that is worth while. As is, I would not recommend this series or author.
2 stars.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Good concept, bad everything else.
Review: I don't think I have to rehash all of the storyline, starts with a well endowed blonde waitress named Sookie who meets the dream Vampire..Bill. (Snicker.)
Anyway straight to the point, as a beginning of a series it started off pretty interesting. The concept of vampires who are introduced into mainstream society. How they fit in, the reactions from the live social circles, and not to mention lots fights scenes and blood abound.
It started to get a bit fast paced and uneven plot wise during the ending. People started dropping off (for a small town they sure took multiple murders in stride), and a lot of the scenarios with her boss were a bit unbelievable. An okay beginning, but I'll be honest in saying this only got 3 starts because the next book was even worse.
It's skippable, and maybe with hope the t.v. series will come out more even.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Sneaky entry into the romance genre
Review: I'd read an article about Alan Ball (the creator of "Six Feet Under") who's creating a series for HBO based on these novels. The concept of the vampires being mainstreamed into society and a protagonist who struggles with a telepathic disability (she can read minds but wishes she couldn't) was very intriguing, so I downloaded the book to my Kindle. The writing is certainly not literature, but it grabs you and pulls you along and makes for a very fast and amusing read.
I'm giving it only three stars because it turns into a romance novel and it's a bit trashy. There are quite a few sex scenes and they are prolonged and quite descriptive. I wouldn't quite call it porn, but it certainly made me uncomfortable. It's funny, too, because I think the main character, Sookie, would be embarrassed herself by the descriptions of what she would consider "private." It's also interesting that the author looks like the plump, fun, middle-aged woman at church who brings the best lemon meringue pie to the pot luck.
If you don't mind such scenes and like the romance genre where the spunky woman loves being dominated by the men, and can get into a little mystery and fantasy, then this book is for you. It is an intriguing mix. But If you like more elevated prose, prefer mysteries in the vein of Agatha Christie, and despise the romance genre, then give this one a skip.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: First Book of this kind I've read!!
Review: Grabs you from the beginning and you can't put it down! I have since ordered the rest of the series! Shared the first one with my friend and she is pushing me to finish the next book in the series because she can't wait to get her hands on it. Never read this venue before but this is a great book! Escapism I call it. Just poor fiction and gets your mind of the troubles of today! If you need a good read and plain old escape from life....this is your book!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Couldn't finish it - just too boring
Review: I bought this book because of all the 5 star reviews. Those people must have read a different book. If there are those out there who thought this book was that good they'd be blown away by a good author's vampire stories...like J.R. Ward for example.
I kept thinking it was going to pick up but it never did. The vampire was the most boring of all the characters. Everything was so....flat.
I honestly do not understand how something like this can get published. I finally gave up on it before half way.
Review Summary: A paranormal romance in disguise...
Review: I had very high expectations coming into this one. I had just finished reading Harrison's Dead Witch Walking and was blown away, so I eagerly looked around for another paranormal fiction author. I settled on Dead Until Dark. The covers and titles seemed fun with a promising underlying plot. My last criteria that I researched through other readers of paranormal fiction was if it was a paranormal romance, and I was assured it was not.
Boy did I miss sorely on all accounts. Right away you realize Harris's writing style is not as deep or well constructed. She writes very simply, which in and of itself is not necessarily bad, not being able to describe anything with enough detail to evoke the imagination. When a vampire dies the only way she could describe his blood is by calling it "gunk". When Sookie gets mad she storms around (and for no apparent reason) and decides to, uh, dig a hole? I can't remember the last time I got upset and went to the backyard and dug a hole. Oh, yeah, that would be never. But this is how Harris writes, attempting to add character and doing nothing more than making you scratch your head and wonder what she was thinking in writing that. Oftentimes Harris didn't seem like she knew how her characters should react or respond, so their reactions always seemed out of place and unbelievable, making the story very disjointed.
And the worst part is that this did turn out to be a paranormal romance. The plot is nothing more than a loosely connected string of murders that aren't really talked about too much. What is written about, and quite extensively, is Sookie's romance with Bill! Every story can benefit from a romantic interest thrown in, but Harris decided to suddenly make it the main theme. She attempted to write about these steamy sex sequences that always resulted in Sookie and Bill in bed, and it seemed to always be happening! On a date? Get in bed. Someone attempts to kill you? Get in bed. Someone kills your friends? Get in bed. Doing nothing at all? Get in bed. Alright already, we get the point!
All in all, I was not impressed at all. I do not like Harris's writing style. Very simplistic, nothing in depth. She writes like writers who just write and write and write and do nothing more than churn out books. Danielle Steele? James Patterson? Janet Evanovich? They can write a story, but there isn't anything in depth or really interesting about their books usually, because their emphasis is on quantity, not quality. Harris does just this as she also writes mystery books as well. Slow down, focus on a particular book with its plots and characters, and Harris might actually be able to turn something out that is worth while. As is, I would not recommend this series or author.
2 stars.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Good concept, bad everything else.
Review: I don't think I have to rehash all of the storyline, starts with a well endowed blonde waitress named Sookie who meets the dream Vampire..Bill. (Snicker.)
Anyway straight to the point, as a beginning of a series it started off pretty interesting. The concept of vampires who are introduced into mainstream society. How they fit in, the reactions from the live social circles, and not to mention lots fights scenes and blood abound.
It started to get a bit fast paced and uneven plot wise during the ending. People started dropping off (for a small town they sure took multiple murders in stride), and a lot of the scenarios with her boss were a bit unbelievable. An okay beginning, but I'll be honest in saying this only got 3 starts because the next book was even worse.
It's skippable, and maybe with hope the t.v. series will come out more even.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Sneaky entry into the romance genre
Review: I'd read an article about Alan Ball (the creator of "Six Feet Under") who's creating a series for HBO based on these novels. The concept of the vampires being mainstreamed into society and a protagonist who struggles with a telepathic disability (she can read minds but wishes she couldn't) was very intriguing, so I downloaded the book to my Kindle. The writing is certainly not literature, but it grabs you and pulls you along and makes for a very fast and amusing read.
I'm giving it only three stars because it turns into a romance novel and it's a bit trashy. There are quite a few sex scenes and they are prolonged and quite descriptive. I wouldn't quite call it porn, but it certainly made me uncomfortable. It's funny, too, because I think the main character, Sookie, would be embarrassed herself by the descriptions of what she would consider "private." It's also interesting that the author looks like the plump, fun, middle-aged woman at church who brings the best lemon meringue pie to the pot luck.
If you don't mind such scenes and like the romance genre where the spunky woman loves being dominated by the men, and can get into a little mystery and fantasy, then this book is for you. It is an intriguing mix. But If you like more elevated prose, prefer mysteries in the vein of Agatha Christie, and despise the romance genre, then give this one a skip.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: First Book of this kind I've read!!
Review: Grabs you from the beginning and you can't put it down! I have since ordered the rest of the series! Shared the first one with my friend and she is pushing me to finish the next book in the series because she can't wait to get her hands on it. Never read this venue before but this is a great book! Escapism I call it. Just poor fiction and gets your mind of the troubles of today! If you need a good read and plain old escape from life....this is your book!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Couldn't finish it - just too boring
Review: I bought this book because of all the 5 star reviews. Those people must have read a different book. If there are those out there who thought this book was that good they'd be blown away by a good author's vampire stories...like J.R. Ward for example.
I kept thinking it was going to pick up but it never did. The vampire was the most boring of all the characters. Everything was so....flat.
I honestly do not understand how something like this can get published. I finally gave up on it before half way.