Rent: Club Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 3)

Short and sweet. I think this book has a few failings in the story line, but other than that it is still good. As I have said before, I appreciate Harris' writing style very much and the imagination put into these books allow for a few mystical holes in the story line. All I can say is I want more Alcide!

Some spoilers follow.

I am probably having a different experience coming to this series when so many books are already done. Thus I can move from book 2 to book 3 in a day, and not have to wait a year the way the folks who have been reading the books as they come out do. With that in mind, it seems to me that Harris changed her mind about what book three was going to be. Book 2 ended with Sookie's relationship in fairly good shape and the implication that she was going to have to deal with her increasing superhuman-ness (she was worried about glowing again as the book ended).

To my mind, the change in direction was a good idea. In my review of book 2 (Dallas), I complained that the series was not enough "Urban Fantasy" and too much "Supernatural Romance". You didn't have to worry too much because no matter what, TRUE LOVE would win, and Sookie and Bill would always be together. This book reminds me a little more of Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan books. In those, Rachel fell head-over-heels for a rat and finally ended up leaving him. I'm not saying that Sookie _should_ leave Bill, but he has some heavy duty explaing to do, and I really like Harris's leaving the possibility open. Furthermore, I complained that in book 2, Sookie was very much on a "high horse" about other's moral failings. In this book, she has some "failings" of her own, especially in allowing Eric to get to third base with her.

I would probably rate the first book as five stars for introducing Sookie. I rated the second book at two stars for some plot and character problems. I would probably rate this one as four stars for the change in direction, but plot and setting problems knock it back to three. First, I simply do not buy the vampire organizational setup. They divide authority into regions which map exactly to US states? That just does not make sense, especially since the book drives home how old the vampire setup is by mentioning the Lousiana Purchase. State boundries are pretty recent. Does the vampire king of Virginia still "rule" West Virginia? If not, why not? Second, the mcguffin of Bill's list (confusingly called a "computer program" here as if the words "list" or "database" are unknown to Harris) is just not convincing. How much structure can these vampire kingdoms have if they don't even know who most of the vampires are? Why not wait until Bill was finished with it? If Bill was worried about it endangering him, why not just put it on the internet? He wouldn't make any money, but the cat would be out of the bag and the list would be out there for anyone who wanted it. Third, Harris is introducing too many supernatural species without thinking it out. In this book, there's a goblin, ergo there must be _lots_ of goblins. Same for the shapeshifters. She even raises the possibility (though she doesn't confirm it) that there might be human magic workers (witches). At some point it gets to be too much to keep quiet about. Fourth, there was that bit about her meeting her high-school friend in the vampire bar. What was that all about? It seemed to serve no plot purpose and raised a lot of unanswered questions: a) It seems to re-write the history of the disastrous 'orgy' in book two. In that one, Tara was mind-wiped. Here she seems not to have been. b) What in the world was she doing with a vampire? She should be well shy of the supernatural after the events in book two. c) She's now Sookie's "best friend"? It had been several years since Sookie had much to do with her in book two. d) She & Sookie had 'no idea' their high-school talent show dance was 'sexy'? Come on, Sookie admits to having plenty of sex drive back in book one, even if she never did the deed, and she can read minds. Right, she had no idea.

Anyway, you get the idea. It appears to me that Harris understands that the series can't _stay_ the story of a rural working-class girl dating a vampire. (Realistically, Sookie can't even keep her job through many more absences like this), and I'm glad she's growing the character and really making her think about her life, but she has some rough edges on the plotting world-building that need some more work.

Club Dead is an entincing novel in the Southern Vampire series. Truly Original! Sookie goes down to Jackson to find her vampire boyfriend Bill who has disappeared and she bleieves it was by force. With help from a studly werewolf, Alcide and from the rest of her vampire friends, Sookie is determined to bring Bill home. But there are many obstacles in her way, including Bill's vampire master. Sookie puts everything she has on the line to save Bill, but will it be enough?

Sookie's vampire friends basically rented her out to another group of vampires to find a vampire that disappeared. Sookie gets to develope her telepathic powers by reading the minds of the human employees of the vampires in Dallas. Sookie's detective work leads her right into the heart of a religous cult that has it in for vampires. She gets captured but to find out how she gets out of it please read the book. I like it and so will you.

The third installment of Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series, Club Dead, finds our Sookie facing more danger in her life with the vampires, but this time she's doing it with a broken heart. Bill, her vampire boyfriend, has suddenly taken off, reportedly with his former lover, the vampire Lorena. Bill's boss, Eric, is worried enough about Bill (and a secret project Bill's been working on), that he taps Sookie's expertise in mind-reading to help locate him when it seems that Bill may be actually be really, truly dead, or at least missing.

This episode of Sookie's life among the undead is action-packed, and we are introduced to the handsome werewolf Alcide, who is assigned to assist Sookie in her quest to find the faithless Bill. A new side of Sookie emerges in this book; though her heart is broken, she finds that she is strong enough to pursue the leads to Bill's whereabouts and even take on his erstwhile lover. There is quite a bit of violence in this novel, and things do not get sewn up neatly for Sookie, but she does learn something about herself in the process.

I quite enjoyed this installment. Sookie's rise in self-confidence is stirring, and the introduction of Alcide is quite nice as well. Eric is, as always, funny and sexy; Sookie must decide what her next move will be, and if she has the courage to turn her back on the vampire society altogether. Well written, and good fun! On to the next in the series.

The third and thus far best in the Sookie Series sees our spunky little heroine becoming slightly disillusioned with her vampire boyfriend, Bill. Lately he's seemed more interested in his secret "work" than in her...and to add insult to injury, he is leaving town on a secret "work" mission. Sookie is furious...and even more so when she is informed by Eric and Pam that Bill has become involved with his ex-love Lorena....who also happens to be the vamp who "made" Bill. But Bill has since gone missing...and who better to found out where he is but innocent little mind-reading Sookie? So Eric sends Sookie out to find Bill...undercover as the girlfriend of a Were name Alcide from the town of nearby Hotshot. Eventually it becomes clear that Bill may be in the fight of his undead life....but can Sookie save him before it's too late? Even more importantly, will she succeed in fighting ever-growing feelings for the attentive and attractive Alcide? But more frightening still...how long can she ignore the amorous overtures of the gorgeous Eric, a powerful vampire who also happens to be Bill's boss? Most importantly....how long will she want to?

Another engaging, pageturning installment of our southern vampire series. This one is my favorite thus far...too bad we can only give it 5 stars!!!


DYB