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    Dead Until Dark
    Dead Until Dark
    Dead Until Dark
    Audiobook9 hours

    Dead Until Dark

    Written by Charlaine Harris

    Narrated by Johanna Parker

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Anthony Award winner Charlaine Harris' New York Times and USA Today best-selling Sookie Stackhouse novels entice countless fans with an irresistible mixture of vampire romance, beguiling mystery, and old-fashioned Southern charm. Vampires have officially "come out of the coffin," and Miss Sookie can't wait for one to come her way.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateSep 12, 2007
    ISBN9781440780448
    Dead Until Dark
    Author

    Charlaine Harris

    Charlaine Harris is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing for over thirty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area. She has written four series, and two stand-alone novels, in addition to numerous short stories, novellas, and graphic novels (cowritten with Christopher Golden). Her Sookie Stackhouse books have appeared in twenty-five different languages and on many bestseller lists. They’re also the basis of the HBO series True Blood. Harris now lives in Texas, and when she is not writing her own books, she reads omnivorously. Her house is full of rescue dogs.

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    Reviews for Dead Until Dark

    4/5

    671 ratings263 reviews

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    • 3/5
      ** spoiler alert ** What I liked most about this book was the main character Sookie. I found her personality down to earth and realistic. She was tough and brave when she needed to be, but soft-hearted the majority of the time. I enjoyed the storyline. I found it original and enjoyed the mystery element of the murders. Charlaine does a great job building her characters and giving them each their own personality. Something I disliked about the book was the ‘instant’ love story. It felt like Bill and Sookie wer ...more What I liked most about this book was the main character Sookie. I found her personality down to earth and realistic. She was tough and brave when she needed to be, but soft-hearted the majority of the time. I enjoyed the storyline. I found it original and enjoyed the mystery element of the murders. Charlaine does a great job building her characters and giving them each their own personality. Something I disliked about the book was the ‘instant’ love story. It felt like Bill and Sookie were in love and sleeping together with barely a conversation between the two of them. I am not a big fan of instant romance… I prefer the protagonists to have to work a little before they fall in love or at least have a few decent conversations. This love seemed to come out of no where and felt way more like ‘lust’ than ‘love’. There were too many love scenes for my comfort level. Overall I enjoyed the story and will eventually continue reading the series to find out more of what happens with the vampires and more in small-town Louisiana. But it is not at the top of my list of things to do.
    • 4/5
      Dead Until Dark is a delightful romp, vampire romance and murder mystery rolled into one, with a little--just a little!--social commentary to hold it together. Sookie Stackhouse is a sassy small-town Southern girl with a disability; she's a telepath, and it takes all her powers of concentration not to be constantly overwhelmed by the thoughts of those around her. At the story's beginning she's working in a bar, living with her Grandmother, and resolutely remaining a virgin--too much mental noise involved with the prospect of sex.Then she meets Bill, the vampire. Oh, Bill's not the only vampire; for two years, now, vampires have been out of the coffin ("as they laughingly put it") and living among humans. Bill Compton has returned to his hometown of Bon Temps, Louisiana and is living in his old family home and attempting to mainstream into human society. As things will, one leads to another, and Sookie and Bill become involved.Charlaine Harris has created a charming, strong, self-aware heroine in Sookie Stackhouse. She also creates a strong sense of place in her depiction of Bon Temps and its environs
    • 3/5
      This book was enjoyable. I recommend reading this book. Just as long as you don't go in thinking it's going to be like the TV show.
    • 1/5
      Skips huge chunks of the book and when I tried to go back to where I was it’s completely different audio. I’ve spent more time trying to find where I was than I have listening.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed this book but it is a lot different then the tv series.
    • 3/5
      I like Harris' ideas in this book--the synthetic blood, vampires "coming out of the coffin," etc. But she is not a very good writer and I found her unnecessary detail really distracting. I can't tell if she was trying to be funny with her endless descriptions of Sookie's bad outfits (scrunchies, denim shirts, banana clips) and mundane day to day activities. Also, I've never been a big fan of mysteries (maybe i haven't found the right one, yet?), but I was completely bored by the unsolved murders in this novel and I thought the end, when the murderer was revealed, was rather anticlimactic. Also, the explanation for Vampire Bill's trip to New Orleans at the end of the novel: Also boring.
      I think I like my vampire stories to be opulent and outrageous. Anne Rice, even Stephanie Meyer (despite the many, many faults of that series) were more fun to read. I'm still on the lookout for fun vampires stories, though, so if you have any suggestions....
    • 3/5
      After hearing all my GR friends rave on and on about this series I decided to try it out. I was forewarned that I probably wouldn’t be hooked by the first one and this ended up being true. I thought it was okay. Interesting, entertaining and funny, but just okay. This is perfect for a quick read or when you are just in the mood for some brain candy.

      Sookie is a pretty funny girl and I loved how she just kind of took all the events that happened in stride. I thought Bill was sexy, even with his sideburns, but I wasn’t a fan of his aloofness or lack of expression in critical scenes. This reminded me of a certain sparkly vampire and it made it hard for me to really like him. I’m still interested to see how the story will progress, so I plan on continuing with the rest of the series…especially since I already bought the first five.
    • 4/5
      This is a very interesting new vampire series. My aunt gave me this book for Christmas after hearing about my love for Twilight, and I quite enjoyed it. While taking place in Louisiana, it has nothing like the feel of Anne Rice's books - this book is playful and fun, and the characters are more rural southerners than New Orleans sophisticates. I like the fact that this book has working class characters as the main leads - it's a nice thing to see someone in a book who has to go to a crappy job every day.
    • 3/5
      I know this book isn't supposed to be an epic vampire story like the Anne Rice series, but I just couldn't get into this book. I haven't read any more in the series and maybe I would like it better if I did but I felt like this first novel is sort of a set up for the later novels. At least I hope it is otherwise there seems to be a lot of extra things added into this book that don't really matter to the story. I won't spoil the ending but I felt the explanation didn't quite add up and it seemed rushed. If you are someone who is a fan of the trendier style of vampire stories like Marked you will probably like this book. It just wasn't my thing.
    • 3/5
      While this certainly wasn't the best vampire novel I've ever read, it likewise wasn't the worst. It definitely has a certain charm and a great witty take on a very dark subject. I agree that the character development wasn't superb, but sometimes you just need a light, entertaining, quick read to pass the time.
    • 5/5
      This book reminded me of Twilight, but still kept a pretty oringinal plot. Harris' world of vampires living along side humans is intriguing and exciting. The book was fast paced and I could not put it down. It's a vampire fan must-read.
    • 3/5
      I absolutely loved this book because it was hard to put down. I didn't start reading these books until after I watched a few episodes of True Blood. It is really addicting! Both the book and the show. I like the romance between Sookie and Bill, as well as the mystery among Jason's troubles. I made no assumptions of the ending which was a plus.
    • 4/5
      Harris places a totally different spin on the vampire genre. Set in Southern America, Vampires have come out of the closet (or coffin!), after Japanese scientists discovered a method for synthesising human blood. Now they live alongside humans and have been (generally) accepted by human society.Sookie is a (human) waitress with her own special abilities, after falling in love with Bill (a vampire) her abilities aren't all she has to deal with.
    • 4/5
      I picked this up as an airport book long before True Blood, and was pleasantly surprised. It's a darker book than I remembered - Harris has no problem generating a pretty substantial body count. The worldbuilding is solid, and very much grounded in real-world, small-town politics. The romance never really does much for me, but I never expect it to. It's a solid entry to an entertaining series.
    • 4/5
      Re-read in preperation for watching the new HBO True Blood series. I hadn't read this first series entry in awhile, so I really enjoyed revisiting Sookie's introduction. What Harris does really well is place her vampire story in a very specific culture - that of rural Northern Louisiana. Sookie isn't the most confident of women, she isn't the strongest, she's just a barmaid who happens to be telepathic. Considering later developments in the series, it's interesting to re-read the beginning to see how well the revelations work with what had already happened. I'm looking forward to seeing how Alan Ball adapts the story for the small screen.
    • 3/5
      While I had read this quite a few years ago (five, at the least), I decided to reread it before continuing on to the rest of the series. I've been watching True Blood, the tv show based on these books, and am curious to see how similar/different it is from the books...In rereading, I realized why I hadn't continued in the series back when I first read it - I don't really like the characters. While book-Sookie is a LOT less annoying than show-Sookie, book-Bill is downright creepy. While I understand that some of his heavy-handed 'protector' actions are meant to be a holdover from when Bill was alive (Civil War years), Sookie's acceptance of those actions is unpleasant, to say the least. I cannot remember a specific moment, but there were moments when Sookie dismissed his actions in a 'he didn't mean it" manner that I found troublesome. It's also quite a bit sexier than I remember, which explains the graphicness of the show!I do intend to read on in the series, and this certainly wasn't a boring read, but I'm not wowed in any sense... I definitely prefer her Harper Connelly Mysteries to this.
    • 5/5
      Delightful. Got a little sluggish in the middle with mind reading that seemed to be of no consequence to the plot, but it ended with a bang and I felt thoroughly satisfied
    • 4/5
      I became a fan of the HBO series, True Blood. At first I didn't want to read the books because I didn't want anything given away. When I found out the first season was based on the first book of this series, I read it just as season 2 was starting. The book is a very light easy read. Perfect for summer or travel reading. The relationship between Sookie & Bill is an exciting one... dating a vampire has to be the ultimate "bad boy". I think the story line is refreshing. So different from the many other vampire books out there. It's also filled with a little suspense & mystery. Looking forward to reading the 2nd book in the series!
    • 5/5
      Original view of vampires on Charlaine Harris storytelling. She makes you experience and exciting new world
    • 4/5
      I've heard this compared a lot to Twilight. Sorry, no. This book was a lot better, because it actually had something called plot. I'd never classify it as great literature by any stretch of the imagination, but it was entertaining and funny. Bill can be annoying, but not nearly as much as Edward is; plus Bill is an adult, so he doesn't spend the book wallowing in teenage angst. Also, no matter what Stephenie Meyer says, no one will ever be able to convince me that she didn't poach a great deal from this book. There are just too many similarities for me to believe that it was coincidence that so many facets of the stories are practically identical. At least Bill doesn't sparkle in the sun (thank goodness).
    • 4/5
      I'm really glad I watched the first season of True Blood before reading Dead Until Dark. It makes it much easier to hear the characters voices in my head, and picture them. I normally like being able to make this all up myself, but I don't mind it this time around. Probably because I don't want to imagine another pathetically tragic Edward. Because this is much, much better than Twilight.I like that the book wasted no time and got straight to the point. It moves much faster than the TV series, but there's more time spent getting to know the characters and other small, invented sub-plots on the TV series. One of the things I missed in Dead Until Dark was Tara, and Lafayette. Lafayette exists in Dead Until Dark, but doesn't play much of a role.Harris has a unique writing style when it comes to the internal dialogue of Sookie. I didn't feel like it was the typical internal thoughts found in most fictional books - it was much, much more realistic and personal.One thing I feared was that it would turn into something a little too Anita Blake. Which is to say, sex, sex, and more sex. There's sex, but not too much of it, and the story remains realistic and balanced.I would recommend Dead Until Dark (and most likely the entire series) to anyone who already watches True Blood, or anyone who's a fan of vampire fiction.
    • 5/5
      I'm delighted that this is a series (with a 7th book due out in May). This novel is also set in a slightly AU world, but only really in the sense that vampires are now a legal (albeit marginalized) minority interacting with human society (artificial synthetic blood is readily available, thereby supposedly removing the danger that vampires present to humans in theory). Sookie and her grandmother are delighted when a vampire moves into their small town in northern Louisiana; her grandmother eventually coaxes him into giving a talk to her Daughters of the Confederacy group since Bill served the Confederacy before turning into a vampire in 1870. He didn't give quite the talk her group expected though, which was hysterical! Harris is very witty, and the dialogue crackles.Sookie is delightful ----- she narrates and because she has the "disability" of being able to read minds (another parallel with Meyer), we get some very entertaining synopses of what her customers or friends are thinking from time to time. Sidenote: I've noticed a very interesting pattern that the heroine in these novels is often a bookish young woman with little social life and stuck in a low-paying job that seems beneath her in many ways (Sunshine is a baker for her family's coffee house, having barely graduated from high school, and Sookie is a waitress in a bar, again having barely gotten the high school diploma ----- which seems strange to me, since in my mind bookish-ness usually translates into academic success, which in turn translates into further education and moving on up the socio-economic ladder). Similarly, Bella (of the Stephenie Meyer novels) is very intelligent and bookish and has few real friends it seems but also has no real ambitions, especially now that she's met Edward and wants to be turned into a vampire at the earliest opportunity. So, I wonder why this is a pattern of sorts in this genre?Bill is ...... I'm not quite sure what to make of him. He bears some uncanny resemblances to Edward Cullen in many ways. He's clearly intended to be sexy (as is Edward). He is also fully a vampire and clearly not entirely fault-free. He's taken human life, although like Edward, he retained enough human vestiges to choose his human prey carefully, taking the dregs of society over the innocent. In Harris's world, vampires seem to get along mostly on the synthetic blood, animal blood, and taking small amounts of human blood willingly given as a finale sex act in most cases (especially by the groupie "fang-bangers"). Bill's sense of humor definitely puts me in mind of Edward -- there were many descriptive turns of the phrase that seemed oddly similar. And yet, Edward is definitely more fully fleshed out as a character, and I think more realistic in the sense that he is ever mindful of the danger that he presents to Bella (that he is by nature a predator in other words). I suppose it's partly the way Harris has set up her world with the legal vampire minority interacting in the open with humans; the danger element is necessarily downplayed. Meyer seems alone so far in making her vampires venomous as well. In all these other novels, the vampires have blood (powerful, healing blood at that) and turning a human requires more than just injecting a bit of venom into their bloodstream (Meyer's method). The venom in Meyer's vampires, of course, sets up a barrier to sexual relations that most definitely is absent from these other novels. *grins* Harris's vampires (as well as those in Christopher Moore's novel below) also seem able to stop feeding, to stop the shark frenzy reaction. They can take a small drink of human blood as part of sex and then stop (with their partner feeling healthier, stronger, etc. in the days after).I liked Harris and her cast of characters very much, and I'll be heading out to pick up the remainder of the series soon. Harris has another non-vampire mystery series out there, and her books are shelved as mysteries. This one had a mystery, along with introducing the whole vampires as legal minority situation and setting up the relationship between Sookie and Bill. Sookie's boss Sam, who has an interesting supernatural secret of his own, also has romantic interest in Sookie, and while I naturally root for the vampires in these books, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
    • 3/5
      I've been hearing a lot about the HBO series True Blood and the novels it's based on, the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. I read the first book, Dead Until Dark, and while I liked it, I don't think it's "Twilight for adults" as I've heard it called. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely not PG like Twilight (there's a reason it's an HBO show and not a network show). But it didn't grab me like Twilight did.Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in a small bar in a small town in Louisiana, and she has the rare ability to read minds. This makes her a bit of an outcast and dating is almost impossible. But then suddenly she meets Bill, and she can't read a single thing he's thinking. The catch: Bill is a vampire.Two years ago the Japanese invented synthetic blood that provided vampires (who were now legally allowed to exist and therefore were somewhat socially acceptable) the nutrients they needed, but it doesn't entirely quench their thirst. The only problem is that not all humans accept the vampires, and vice versa. There are still plenty of "Unfortunate Incidents" and when murders start to happen in the town of Bon Temps, fingers start pointing. But who's behind the murders? Is it Bill, Sookie's handsome vampire? Or her brother? Or is there a different type of menace lurking around the town?This was definitely a good book; it kept me interested and turning the pages. It just didn't pull me into the characters as much as Twilight did, but that's more to do with writing style than the story (I mean, really, this book would be much longer if there was much more character development). So, I'd be interested in reading this again, and I will be checking out the next book in the series (which I hear is much faster-paced and intense) so I give this one 3 out of 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      Almost everyone I know has read Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Series - or are at least familiar with True Blood, the HBO Series based on the books. For that reason I will not give a synopsis of Dead Until Dark in my review. For the select few that are not aware, Dead Until Dark is the first book in a series centering on Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in a bar in a small town in northern Louisiana. Dead Until Dark is a quick and fun read - I devoured it literally in one sitting over the course of a single night. The story is interesting, and I loved the setting of Bon Temps, Louisiana, a charming small town trying desperately to hold on to its conventionality despite world events. The characters in Dead Until Dark are quirky and off-the-wall, in the best possible sense, and are decidedly different from their television counterparts. Dead Until Dark is a delightful mixture of horror, psychological thriller, humor, and romance, that will engage and entertain the reader from page one. The twists and turns of the plot leave you wondering "who done it," while the characters will have you laughing out loud out at the hilarious dialogue. Read Dead Until Dark and you will fall in love with Sookie Stackhouse and Bon Temps, Louisiana. I think I'll read the rest of the series over Spring Break!
    • 4/5
      I love this series by Charlaine Harris.I won't go over the descriptive landscape that previous reviewers have tilled...I will just say that reading this in conjunction with watching HBO's True Blood is exciting. For me, the show really brings Sookie, Bill, and the other characters to life in a good way. The show is superb and compliments Ms. Harris' colorful storytelling. Speaking of the storytelling, it is light, fun, and addictive. It's the perfect summer read. Before you know it, you'll be craving the next book, Living Dead in Dallas.
    • 4/5
      It took me a while to get around to it, but I have finally been introduced to Sookie Stackhouse. I think I like her, whether or not I like her “world” remains to be seen. In contrast to Anita Blake and Rachel M organ, Sookie Stackhouse is a small town girl with small town ambitions. The word has changed somewhat, but small town America has been left mostly untouched. Enter Bill the vampire, who is not from England or France, but from Sookie’s hometown. This in itself is an interesting component to the story as vampires seem to always be from a land far, far away. Harris has managed to have a lot of original (to me anyway) ideas, in a series that could have been yet another Anita Blake knockoff. Anita’s oversexed world is becoming tiresome to me, and I look forward to reading the next Sookie book (which is already on my desk at work, waiting to come home).
    • 4/5
      I really didnt think i would like it because i usually dont get into the vampire books, but it was pretty good. The characters were very likeable. The story reads pretty fast. I was finished in one day. I thought it was very interesting and full of action and adventure and a little romance. I will probably read more from the series.
    • 4/5
      Gimme book 2! I'm excited to be starting a new vampire series, and one that is darker.
    • 3/5
      If anyone would have told me I would enjoy a book about a small town Louisiana waitress who falls in love with a vampire, I would have doubted their judgment. And, I would have been wrong!This is a delightful book. It is a quick, easy, breezy read that is fun. Sookie Stackhouse is bored with her life until she meets Bill. Her infatuation with vampire Bill leads to a very interesting set of circumstances. Possessed of what she terms "a disability", Stookie can read the thoughts of others. When she cannot read Bill, she knows he is the one and only for her.When murders occur, Sookie finds herself smack in the middle of some rather creepy unworldly characters.This is the first book of the series and, much to my surprise, I can't wait to read more!
    • 3/5
      25-year-old bar waitress Sookie Stackhouse doesn’t date. It’s not because she isn’t pretty, or doesn’t have any prospects in their small Southern town. Sookie has what she affectionately calls a “disability”: she can read minds. Her whole life she has been unable to relax her guard around others—until the night the vampire Bill Compton walks into the bar.Bill is one of the vampires trying their hands at integrating back into society, now that vampires have been legally accepted into society. But old prejudices and new fears always abound. As Sookie and Bill grow closer, young women begin showing up dead in their town, and Bill’s near the top of the suspects list. Will Sookie be able to figure out who’s murdering these women, before either she or anyone she loves becomes the next victim?There’s honestly nothing exceptionally literary about DEAD UNTIL DARK: it reads like many other poorly written pulp fiction mystery series. What makes it so popular, however, is its appeal to the secret dark sides of ourselves—the part of our minds that longs to read about vampires, stalker-like brooding male love interests, and heaps of lust and romance.The characters are rather unbelievable in their predicaments, static until they are suddenly declared in a particular state of mind for the sake of plot and entertainment. There is an uneven development of romantic interest between Sookie and Bill, and much is left unexplained in Sookie’s relationships with various people in her life. Sookie herself is only as appealing as the next bland, flat heroine.However, I enjoyed DEAD UNTIL DARK much the same way I enjoy stupid, brain-numbing movies about characters I’ll never be able to empathize with: because I can’t relate to them, and instead am able to sit back and observe them through a microscope without their being able to object. I didn’t feel close to any of the characters, and so I was able to secretly enjoy their dramas and love triangles and whirlwind emotions. And when you think about it that way, it’s actually quite an enjoyable story. Despite the lackluster writing, I was unable to put it down, and had to read it straight through.I’d recommend jumping into this series with low expectations—especially those of you who watch and like True Blood—so that you will be able to enjoy Sookie’s story as guilty-pleasure fantasy with no connection to anything except the story idea. Definitely not quality vampire literature—turn to authors like Richelle Mead for that—but as pleasurable as watching MTV with a bowl of the most fattening ice cream in your lap.