Dead Reckoning

It really says something when you are in a bookstore and dont even realize a book in one of your favorite series has come out. That is what happened to me, and it is rather sad. Like many other reviewers I felt that this book was a filler book. Sure we found out some interesting things about how Sookie was given her power but the rest of the book was just a little off. SPOILERS!!!! Why in the world did Alcide think it was a good idea to show up to Sookies house? Why was there never any other conversation about the whole situation? That was very odd to me especially because I thought the two of them were at least friends but instead I guess Alcide is no longer going to be a part of the book so that was a simple way to get rid of him but the strings were not tied up at all. Overall it just seems like the book was disjointed and was really not that great of a read. I am upset at the interaction between Eric and Sookie it doesnt make any sense!!! I will continue to read the series but it will not be something I wait for with bated breath like I have done in the past.

We are now at book eleven in The Southern Vampire Series, and the momentum seems to be winding down. Upon last check, there are only two more novels planned for the series, and if books ten and eleven are any indication, we are headed for a slow and painful conclusion. In this installment, Sookie Stackhouse is on the defensive yet again. Someone is out to get her and repeatedly attacks Merlottes Bar. Eric is struggling under the oppressive Victor, the new Regent of Louisiana, who is antagonizing him into a fight so he has an excuse to kill him. Pams human lover is dying of leukemia, and she wants to turn her, but Victor refuses to give his permission. There is something Eric is not telling Sookie which is putting distance between them. This book has some major developments--the blood bond changes, Sam is promoted to best friend status, Sookie learns more about her family and where her telepathy comes from, and there is a major problem with her relationship with Eric. Unfortunately, between these major developments is a series of slow, only semi-interesting, scenes where Sookie is being victimized in one way or another. Its all feeling a little bit repetitive at this point. Harris should not have brought Sandra Pelt (Debbies vengeful sister) back. She seemed like more of a distraction than a integral part of the story. There is a scene with Sookie hiding in Bills hidey-hole with him that feels completely contrived. No one cares about Bill any more! Rather than coming across as sexy as Harris probably had intended, it seemed creepy and weird. And dont get me started about the weird scene where Sookie comes home to find a naked Alcide sleeping in her bed for no apparent reason. Speaking of not sexy...there was no chemistry at all between Sookie and Eric in this book, leading me to believe their relationship is ending. In past books, the sparks between them practically set the pages on fire (book four--hello!), but this book showed no emotion between them. When Eric finally tells Sookie the problem that hes been keeping from her, she hardly reacts at all. Were used to Eric being the stoic one, but even he seemed to be showing more heart than she did. The book is also full of continuity problems. Harriss timelines just dont add up. She reveals that Eric and Niall have been colluding for years and Eric has been reporting to him about Sookie. Supposedly, it was Erics report to Niall that caused Niall to send Claudine to her. How is that possible when Claudine showed up in book four when Eric had amnesia and he didnt know she was part fae until book seven? There is also the fact that vamps cant be around fae without wanting to drain them, making this close working relationship between the two improbable. Problems with continuity generally mean the author did not have a strongly built world to begin with and is making things up as they go along. Another sign pointing to this is that sudden appearance of the cluvial dor, a faery love charm which grants one wish. You just know that Sookie is going to use this wish on something completely ridiculous like to make Eric human or something. The cluvial dor makes things too easy for Sookie and too convenient for Harris as a writer. She basically can do any implausible thing she wants now under the guise of this faery magic. I will continue with this series because I feel I have so much invested in it already, but I cant say that Im counting down the days until the next book. Overall, I give Dead Reckoning... Plot - 2 1/2 bookmarks Character Development - 2 bookmarks Love Story - 1 bookmark Sex Scenes - 1 bookmark World Building - 2 bookmarks Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - I cant help it. All I see in my head anymore are the actors from the TV show. The show has some good casting though.

I dont understand all the negative reviews. It was really awesome! Action packed leaving you wanting more. Sure there are several cliffhangers, but we do have 2 more books to go. I trust CH to bring everything together where some are questioning her ability to do so. Maybe those fairies are affecting everyone in BT. I usually dont do reviews, but after seeing it is only receiving three stars, I figured I better put my stars to work. One thing I did reseach was how many stars the other books received. Of course Book 4 received almost 4-1/2 stars and NO ONE gave less than 3. haha So just maybe Charlaine Harris should give us more of that, uhh gracious plenty? Apparently even the hard-to-please were satisfied? :) If Im on my death bed, Im calling Charlaine Harris. I just have to know if our Sookie and Eric finally make it to the alter. (She can alway lie and let die in peace!)

Review by Cassandra from Book Talk Sookie Stackhouses life is never simple and easy. Sookie witnesses a firebombing in Merlottes one night while working. Since her boss, Sam, has been revealed to be two-natured, the assumption is that the firebombing is a shifter hate crime. Sookie knows other wise though. While trying to uncover the truth and prevent further assault and damage, Sookie also has to deal with her boyfriend, Eric Northmans, and his child Pams plot to kill the vampire who is now over them. Sookie is drawn into the plans, hoping to regain her somewhat normal life. Will Sookie find whos responsible for the attack at Merlottes? Will the motivations be deeper than they think? Will more attempts and danger abound? Will Eric and Pams plan work or will they all be held responsible for their assassination attempt? This is another wonderful book by Charlaine Harris. Its nonstop action and adventure. Sookie has to deal with the problems at Merlottes which is not only her source of income but owned by her best friend. While trying to discover the truth behind that, more trouble finds Sookie there. On the otherside of her supernatural relationships, she gets drawn into planning the murder of Victor, the regent in charge of Louisiana. Victor is out to get Eric and hurt all those connected to him. Sookie knows this has to stop and helps put the plans into motion to obtain Victors absence from their lives. There is also tension between Sookie and Eric when Sookie finds out plans Erics maker made before his final death. It leaves you wondering if there is a future for Sookie and Eric. This is a must read series and I highly recommend it. Warning: adult content and violence.

I have been an avid reader of the Sookie Stackhouse books for about 5 years now. I was late to the game and caught up with everyone right before True Blood came to TV. I fell in love with the first 8 books, but lately it seems that Mrs. Harris is just filling the books with whatever she can. I have read books 9 and 10; and will continue to read any of the books that she puts out in this series, but I cant seem to get as excited about a new book as I used to. In the 11th installment of Sookie, we see a person from her past come back, even though I had really forgotten about the Pelts, I actually had to skim through a few books to get updated on the back story there. I liked that Mrs. Harris brought back Amelia and Bob, but I was not in the least bit happy about them figuring out how to break the bond between Sookie and Eric. And dont even get me started on the whole Eric being arranged for with the Queen of Oklahoma!! I swear, Sookie just cant catch a break with the vamps in this series!!! Maybe she should actually give a were a shot! The conflict with Victor was brought into this book, but I felt the demise of Victor and his crew was too fast and way too neat. I mean really, I understand that the scene couldnt last for that long, but it wasnt even a full chapter; or so it seemed to me. I was left wondering about a lot of things through out the book, and I feel that a few things could have been cleared up in this book; like really, what was up with Claude and Dermot? I understand that Mrs. Harris needs to leave some things up in the air so that she can continue the series, but still, some things could have been either cleared up as I said earlier, or answered altogether. I felt that the book just really dragged on way too much.

I thought the book was pretty good. There was a lot of Eric, which I love. We also see some other facets of Pam and Erics personalities/characters. However you can tell Harris is building up to the last 1 or 2 books. My biggest concern now is who Sookie will end up with. After Dead in the Family I really though my wish of Eric and Sookie ending up together would come true. After reading Dead Reckoning Im a little afraid. I feel Harris has been slowing building/setting up the relationship w/Eric since book one. I have to say if Eric and Sookie dont end up together Ill be really mad; it might even ruin the series for me, especially if she ends up with Sam. Harris is only contracted for 2 more books. Unless she extends the series I do not see how she can break Eric and Sookie up, have Sookie recover from heartbreak, have Sookie discover (or rediscover) a new man, and fall in love in the 2 books left in the series. It just would not be believable and that more than anything would ruin the series for me. Harris has so many other things to wrap up before ending the series...Stick with Eric!

First I will get it out of the way and say I agree with the continuity issues that others have written about. I was reading and thinking - that is not the way I remember it!! I was excited to get this book and read it. However it was not as good as I hoped it would be. I am getting tired of Sookie waffling about the men in her life. Pick someone already!! Or just be alone for a while. It seemed like it was going to be Eric for the last couple books and that was fine with me. Now there is a problem with that relationship. Yes, this is a book about the supernatural, so I guess the relationships wont be the same as regular ones, but come on. Also, why was Alcide even in this book if it was going to be just a couple pages? What a waste of time. What is with Sookies cry baby attitude after the big fight at Erics bar? She was the one who brought up killing Victor in book 10, and now that it finally happened she is acting like she has never seen a vamp fight etc. One last thing, can we please not have to read about how big and fabulous her breasts are? That is getting old.

I have to admit to being a little disappointed in this book. The short story in Deaths Excellent Vacation was more exciting. Parts of it were good and interesting, but it felt more like a piece of a book than a real book. I was exactly 50% through the book before anything grabbed my interest and made me think this is why Im reading this book! At that point my interest was peaked, but I kept feeling like I wanted something more from the book. I love vampire politics and was so looking forward to that in this story, and instead it felt too flat, too straight-forward. I miss the Sophie Anne days. Perhaps part of the problem was that there was no real mystery in this book, which most of the previous Sookie books have had. Also there were large and small continuity problems, which made me wonder if Harris even remembers what she wrote at this point. What bothered me the most perhaps is that the characterization seemed so off to me. Characters were acting in ways that did not ring true to me, almost as if the author decided she needed the character to do something whether the character actually would or not. It really irritated me. The ending also felt very unresolved. Flat is really the only word I can use to describe it. I was waiting for the something big to happen, perhaps a cliff hanger as I got closer to the end, but that big thing never happened. I unfortunately feel that this book suffers from the author trying to set up too much for future books and not giving the reader enough to enjoy in this book. I will say it was better than the last book because at least we did get to see the action first hand, but the book still left me wanting after reading it, which is not a good thing. So why give it four stars after so many negative comments? It is still a Sookie Stackhouse book, and I do still love the world these books are written in. It inspires my imagination. And despite all the flaws, I could not put the book down.

Sookie Stackhouse # 11. I really enjoy reading the Sookie Stackhouse aka True Blood stories. This book was no different from that side. I enjoyed it very much. I am glad it went to a little different tune then the others. You get to read about Alcee and woo did he make a jack ass of his self. lol he is way to fine to be doing all that. You get some smoking hot Eric yum and Bill and his love for Sookie all in one. You know it seems to me Sookie is getting more and more out spoken, which im fine with, I like that she is, being around all them vampires all the time, She has to be. You know I could say a part about every charter in Dead Reckoning, but im not going to, it could take all day. Nevertheless, everyone is there and full of all kinds of good things or maybe bad. Depends on which way you look at it. I love the way Charlaine Harris writes her stories. I have never picked up one of her books and not liked it. Im looking forward to the next Sookie book.

This latest offering in the Sookie Stackhouse saga is not as imaginative or engaging as Harris previous books. The story line is too disjointed with rogue elves, fractured romances and hints that Bill may be sliding back into place as Sookies main man. One understands the need to keep readers guessing about who Sookie will snuggle up to, but the intervening causes--Eric is subject to control from forces beyond the border of Louisiana, etc., are weak. The early magic, where the characters were like the folks next door, but they hung around with, and sometimes bedded, vampires and werewolves has lost its luster. Perhaps the unique world that Harris so skillfully crafted in her early books has become mundane and therefore less interesting, or perhaps Harris,like a lot of authors, having become rich and madly successful is less inspired to work her imagination as hard. Cannot blame her for that I suppose.