Addictive, Seductive, & Potentially Dangerous

Rating: 7/10

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris is a tantalizing, simple, somewhat silly, and addictive start to a book series about vampires and other supernatural creatures. This book is both familiar and unique in its portrayal of the common sexy-vampire plot thread. If you are looking for an interesting summer or halloween-time read, then this book will likely be satisfying. If you are looking for a classic or complex reading experience, then you will no doubt find that this series lacks the depth that would be expected of such descriptors. (Note: The remainder of the review will contain spoilers, so if you want to read this book without knowing any details ahead of time, I would advise that you come back to the review after you have finished reading the book.)

The novel has a unique knack for introducing odd concepts in a very natural way. Right from the start, the novel introduces us to the ideas of vampires and mind reading, and it mentions these concepts in a manner that feels very commonplace and understandable. For example, Sookie Stackhouse tells us that her ability or “gift” is seen as a “disability” in her community. We also learn that vampires are “mainstreaming” by living in human communities, and are able to do so in part because there is a new politically correct story about why vampires are the way that they are (they are said to have been infected by a virus of some kind). These concepts fit into the erroneous and judgmental way that societies tend to confront the differences of special individuals. People often label others with terms such as “disability” or find odd and overly sensitive politically correct ways to discuss situations. Harris’ attempt at using the coping patterns of uneasy people in our world to describe the experience of supernatural people in her book makes it feel believable and helps to attain reader buy-in.

I find the characters in this book both alluring and off-putting--which may be the author’s intention. I appreciated how a seemingly normal character like Sookie Stackhouse is able to read thoughts, and I enjoyed hearing about how she can put up a “guard” to turn off this ability (even though it is difficult for her to do so). It was also cool how her immunity to vampire powers gives her an edge in a variety of situations, and allows her to both protect herself and find some mental comfort while in the presence of kind vampires. Still, I found her character to be too naive and innocent to be totally likeable. I felt badly for her because she has experienced bullying, isolation, and hardships, but her naivete was sometimes just too much for me to swallow.

As for her vampire counterpart, Bill Compton, he proves to be a caring, polite, and complex character. That is, until the seduction scenes start rolling in. Bill has a strong obsession with sex, and he uses sex as a solution to problems such as arguments, sadness, and anger. He is a very likeable character, especially at the beginning of the novel, and it is actually his sweetness rather than his vampire seductiveness which is so attractive and appealing. As the novel progresses, however, he becomes more manipulative and menacing, and he uses his vampire strength and his sexist, old-fashioned notions to exert power upon Sookie. Sookie usually allows him to have a heavy influence on her. She refers to him as “my vampire”, and she does not often protest when he offers to address problems with sex. I found it particularly repulsive when Sookie admits that she had experienced sexual abuse at the hands of her uncle and Bill addresses her sadness and trauma by having sex with her. I think that this sends a dangerous message to both sexual abuse survivors (that they won’t be heard or have full control of their bodies) as well as to the people who know sexual abuse survivors (that the best way to address the trauma is through positive sexual encounters rather than through listening and giving full body autonomy to the survivors). This sex scene is very off-putting; in this scenario Sookie discusses the abuse, cries, and asks to go to sleep. Although she needs some personal space and some time to relax, her partner’s response is to have sex with her. I do not believe that that is an appropriate or caring response considering the fact that she was very upset, and had told Bill she was tired and wanted some rest. It seems as though Bill was looking for a solution that made him feel in control and as though he was actively “fixing the problem”.

Even though the history of family sexual abuse was an interesting factor in the story--and it’s understandable that a book about seductive vampires will contain a lot of vivid sex scenes--I do not think it was wise to combine these two elements into one scene. I also did not appreciate how many connections were made between anger and sex in this novel. I think that this sends a negative message about sex and relationships. The graveyard sex scene was especially troubling; it promotes a relationship where a woman who does not want to have sex seduces a man to roughly rape her just so that she can avoid being murdered by him. If you think that that scene description sounds too inflammatory, then I would suggest you reread that part of the book and try to find a part of that statement that isn’t true. This book is full of unhealthy relationships, both romantic and otherwise. Sookie tells us, “Every now and then I felt like I was Bill’s doll” (192), which aptly demonstrates her overly submissive position in their relationship. Rene is a man who rapes and murders women, including his own sister. Jason engages in a ridiculous number of one-night stands, is constantly on the prowl for women, videotapes himself having sex with women, and even hits his own sister after the death of their grandmother. Sam follows Sookie into her home and watches her undress even though he knows that she is in a committed relationship with another man and that she is unaware that he is watching her. The list of unhealthy relationships goes on and on, but I believe I have explained enough of them to prove my point.

In general, this book was an enjoyable read because it had amusing moments of humor and it had a unique twist on the vampire horror sub-genre. Readers may notice that this series feels very much like the Twilight saga. There is a seductive, old, and dangerous vampire who falls in love with a human woman, the human woman lives in a small town and the townspeople are unhappy about their relationship, and a romantic conflict ensues when a rural, safe, familiar, and yet non-human man from the female protagonist's hometown also falls in love with her. It is eventually revealed that the rural character in this series, Sam, is a supernatural being. We learn that Sam is a shapeshifter, that he usually decides to shapeshift into a dog, and that his supernatural powers are ruled by very werewolf-like rules (he has to shapeshift during the full moon). In case all of these similarities cause you to wonder which came first--the Twilight saga or the Southern Vampire Mysteries series--I went to the trouble of looking up the release dates for you. I discovered that The Southern Vampire Mysteries began with Dead Until Dark in 2001, whereas the Twilight saga began in 2005. Therefore, if one author was copying another, it would be Stephenie Meyer who was copying Harris. Either way, even though both series have similar twists and characters, they differ in enough ways that it would be worth reading both series if you are into vampire novels. Dead Until Dark certainly draws you in and makes you want to keep reading. Its ending is authentic, and its semi-cliffhanger leaves you with some pretty important questions. Questions such as: How will Bill's new job affect his relationship with Sookie? What will Eric do now that Bill has this new job? Will anything happen between Sookie and Sam? Does Bill know about Sam's supernatural powers? If he doesn't know, will he find out about them, and how will he react? I guess we'll all have to keep reading to find out...

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