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Need better vampires.
Aug. 11th, 2009 06:33 pmI finished the second Sookie Stackhouse novel Living Dead in Dallas today. I'm...underwhelmed.
It was a 291 page book that should have probably ended about page 200. In chapter one there's a murder, and it's a Big Deal to Sookie, but then she's shipped off to Dallas to deal help find a missing vampire who was kidnapped by humans. By the time everything happens (and it's all resolved in a very "meh" fashion for my tastes), I was ready for the book to end, but no, there were several more pages to solve the murder that happened way back in chapter one - after so many chapters of it not even surfacing in Sookie's thoughts. Honestly? I think both plots could have been split into two books, or this book was made significantly longer with much more detail. I guess I felt cheated with the resolution of the missing vampire plot, and what was essentially Deus Ex Machina for the murder plot's resolution. I honestly felt like Harris got to a point in her writing, got stuck, and then rushed to get it over with. It's not a good feeling to come away with as a reader.
Another issue is that her characterizations were all over the place. Sookie remained true to her character, and Bill mostly seemed to be acting as expected. However, Eric and Stan? I found myself re-reading dialogue and paragraphs of their actions to be sure I had the right character in mind. I was really taken out of the book in those moments, especially Stan's reaction to learning about Godfrey from Sookie. And then Eric is supposed to be playing mind games (he's a manipulative borderline-evil bastard, and that's okay in my book), but on more than one occasion he started to appear more desperate than in control of himself. He's a vampire that might have been a Viking, which means he's really, really damn old. Sure, Sookie is going to be hard for him to manipulate, but he shouldn't come off as a horny teenager. (I might go back through the book and quote actual examples later. We'll see.)
Oh well, at least "Bubba" wasn't in this one, nor were any other dead celebrities.
I might read the third book if I ever get around to buying it, but if I'm left feeling like this again, I certainly won't be reading another one.
And before Sam has a proverbial farm, I have to start in on the next set of Vlad Taltos novels by Stephen Brust. I am promised there is significantly less angst from now on, and the books I complained about so much are considered the worst in the series. So, at least I wasn't alone in my dislike of them.
It was a 291 page book that should have probably ended about page 200. In chapter one there's a murder, and it's a Big Deal to Sookie, but then she's shipped off to Dallas to deal help find a missing vampire who was kidnapped by humans. By the time everything happens (and it's all resolved in a very "meh" fashion for my tastes), I was ready for the book to end, but no, there were several more pages to solve the murder that happened way back in chapter one - after so many chapters of it not even surfacing in Sookie's thoughts. Honestly? I think both plots could have been split into two books, or this book was made significantly longer with much more detail. I guess I felt cheated with the resolution of the missing vampire plot, and what was essentially Deus Ex Machina for the murder plot's resolution. I honestly felt like Harris got to a point in her writing, got stuck, and then rushed to get it over with. It's not a good feeling to come away with as a reader.
Another issue is that her characterizations were all over the place. Sookie remained true to her character, and Bill mostly seemed to be acting as expected. However, Eric and Stan? I found myself re-reading dialogue and paragraphs of their actions to be sure I had the right character in mind. I was really taken out of the book in those moments, especially Stan's reaction to learning about Godfrey from Sookie. And then Eric is supposed to be playing mind games (he's a manipulative borderline-evil bastard, and that's okay in my book), but on more than one occasion he started to appear more desperate than in control of himself. He's a vampire that might have been a Viking, which means he's really, really damn old. Sure, Sookie is going to be hard for him to manipulate, but he shouldn't come off as a horny teenager. (I might go back through the book and quote actual examples later. We'll see.)
Oh well, at least "Bubba" wasn't in this one, nor were any other dead celebrities.
I might read the third book if I ever get around to buying it, but if I'm left feeling like this again, I certainly won't be reading another one.
And before Sam has a proverbial farm, I have to start in on the next set of Vlad Taltos novels by Stephen Brust. I am promised there is significantly less angst from now on, and the books I complained about so much are considered the worst in the series. So, at least I wasn't alone in my dislike of them.
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