Wednesday, April 18, 2012

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris


My rating: 3 of 5 stars







From Dead the Worse is book #8 in the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris. In this novel, Sookie finds herself back at home after the catastrophic events of the Vampire Summit (book #7), but all is not peaceful and quiet for the Bon Temps barmaid and telepath extraordinaire. The supernatural world is in an uproar and her boyfriend, Quinn, has gone awol.

In each novel Sookie is the narrator. The reader experiences everything that she experiences: Thoughts, actions, emotions. Once-upon-a-time Sookie was clear, unambiguous and coherent, but From Dead to Worse finds her a little confused, thinking/saying one thing and then saying/thinking something completely different. She has become unsure about, well, everything. Perhaps all that vamp blood has started to frazzle her brain?

Rather than having one plot dominate this novel, the author has elected to piece it together using a number of different sub-plots: There's an attempted coup d'etat amongst the Weres; a Vampire war; a relationship meltdown; and the introduction of some shiny new family members that Sookie must keep secret, even from her brother, Jason. Even though the novel is, as a whole, enjoyable, the sub-plots do not mesh or overlap all that well. Of course, Sookie is knee-deep involved in each and every one of them, but that's their only linking factor. However, in writing the novel this way the author has been able to tie up a number of loose ends from earlier novels and introduce new, potential storylines for future ones.

A lot happens in this book. A lot of characters die or disappear, seemingly never to return. Pay close attention, otherwise you may find yourself lost and confused (much like Sookie) amongst it all.

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