One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you

[debitha]

Disclaimer: I keep having to fight the urge to compare this with the Anita Blake books, so I’m just going to get this out of the way. Most of the things that really grab me about these books are things that Harris gets right that LKH got wrong, IMO. Now, onward.

This is the 6th book of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, which are the basis of the TV series, True Blood. (Which, apparently, my father really enjoys. O_o

It is, as these things are wont to be, a load of brain candy. That said, it’s very good brain candy. In terms of the series, the writer is holding up well. Although each book has its own arc, there is a clear sense of over-arching storyline extending both back and forwards.

Sookie, for all that she becomes more deeply embroiled in supernatural politics in every book, remains awkward and possessed of an ability that she dislikes intensely. The romantic relationships have interestingly varied dynamics, and the writer makes some good use of the first person perspective. All is not always as it seems!

There’s a revelation at the end of this book that I feel a bit ambiguous about. I think it might be one of those things that could be good if handled right, but which could also go horribly wrong. But I’m willing to wait and see.

As is often the case with reviewing books that belong to a series, this is all pretty vague, but basically I give the Sookie Stackhouse novels a thumbs up.


Books I have finished but need to write up are:
- Dogs and Goddesses - Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, Lani Diane Rich
- Red Seas Under Red Skies - Scott Lynch
- The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
- A Snowball in Hell - Christopher Brookmyre
- Freakonomics - Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner

Still To Be Read:
The Prince - Machiavelli
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling
The Seven Words You Can't Say on Television - Stephen Pinker
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino
First Among Sequels - Jasper Fforde
Histories - Heroditus
The Unicorn Hunt - Dorothy Dunnett
Sword at Sunset - Rosemary Sutcliffe
The Rider of the White Horse - Rosemary Sutcliffe
The House That Jack Built - Guy Adams
The Demon's Lexicon - Sarah Rees Brennan
Fearless Fourteen - Janet Evanovich
The Portable Door - Tom Holt
A Fraction of the Whole - Steve Toltz
Pandaemonium - Christopher Brookmyre
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling
Turn Coat - Jim Butcher
Inkheart - Cornelia Funke
Azincourt - Bernard Cornwall
The Book of Unholy Mischief - Elle Newmark
The Time Traveller's Guide to Mediaeval England - Ian Mortimer
Nation - Terry Pratchett
Case Histories - Kate Atkinson
Fruits Basket - Natsuki Takaya (my first foray into manga!)
Living With The Dead - Kelley Armstrong
Warrior Scarlet - Rosemary Sutcliffe