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I've never come across the books. I'm usually in the SF/Fantasy section, and these sound like they'd be in the Horror section, which I'm kind of perusing at the moment out of desperation for something new to read.

I like telepathy books, and vampire things in general as a rule, although I've read/seen some really poor vampire stuff as well.

I also like Anna Paquin, ever since The Piano, so I'd have a peek just for that alone in combination with the telepathy/vampire thing. Buffy was a whole ball of goofy fun and fantasy angst. I'm not expecting something Buffy-esque (in fact I'd be disappointed if it was a "wannabe") but Buffy at least shows that Vampires CAN be good television.

OH! did anyone see The T.V. vampire show Ultraviolet? It was a 6 part British TV series, and I LOVED it, I thought it was so very good. A very good modernisation of the entire myth, making all very realistic and believable, yet retaining all the vampirishness of vampires. The whole "crime-scene drama" feel of it worked really well. I was extremely disappointed it wasn't any longer. I thought the some of the actors were very sexy, both the main guy, played by Jack Davenport, and the icy blonde, played by Sussanah Harker.

I think it's kind of cool that you can take such a supernatural myth like vampires, and update it and rework it so that it becomes an "explainable" medical, genetic variation.

Vampires as a fictional entity are interesting and exciting both ways: when they are a big nasty bad monster-villain all the way or alternatively when they are the misunderstood or discriminated against anti-heroes, the hearts of gold trapped with a hated condition, or the bad guy experiencing moral growth, or the fetishistic sex subject with a DEFINITE kink.

I did and loved it as well. And agreed. It could have used a longer run. I was dying to see what would happen after they ended the whole nuclear winter plot.

I have watched both episodes of True Blood and, for some strange reason, I seem to like it. I am a sucker for almost anything vampire though.

The third episode is the best so far--I think I want to read the books too.

Ok, so wanted a new book to read, couldn't get a hold of most of the Sooki Stackhouse books right now, and so I jumped into the middle of the series, with Dead to the World, and Dead as a Doornail.

This series seems to be smack bang in the middle of the modern Supernatural Genre of Vampires and Werewolves crossed with the modern western world. So far it's a good example. Not trashy, and fairly well thought out, with the plot-lines often driven by the consequences of normal humans and supernatural humans and entities grappling with living with each other.

The genre seems to have it's own standard metaplot, in the same way that fantasy has it's standard "Kitchen-boy to King" or "Journey to Save the magical artifact to save the world" metaplot.

My take on the standard is this: Good-looking human woman who undervalues her attractiveness. Has a humble career and existence or is ostracized by some reason by society or her family, often fairly alone in the world. Usually has some mystical or supernatural talent herself, which she has a reason to keep hidden or undervalue. Meets or is thrown together with a Supernatural being, often an obnoxious one. Through surviving disasters together, the two are thrown more and more into each other's company, and the woman, while recoiling from the danger and the immoralities of supernatural life, is introduced to more and more supernatural people.

Despite feeling powerless, and having low power herself, by dint of her increasing connections, and the respect they show her for her judgements, actions and bravery in risky situations, and her overall trustworthiness and moral core, the woman accumulates great power and influence. Sometimes the woman accrues and builds actual supernatural/mystical/magical power as she goes along.

Frequent to the genre are multiple love and sex interests, with the woman often accruing portfolios of handsome/attractive/charismatic love interests amongst the various races/species of supernaturals. The more serialised the books are, the more likely there's no final resolution to who she settles down with. Also usually the higher the count of love interests is.

There are always reasons she can't settle with one guy, and it's usually not to do with her being a happy and open polyamourist.

Of course very frequently the love-interests are particularly difficult men to start off with, with their supernatural natures starting things off to a particularly off-putting, revolting or daunting start, for love or lust to eventually conquer over.

The inherent "Horror" or extreme nature of Vampires and Weres often lends itself to cross-generalization with crime mysteries, or thrillers. One of the satisfactions of the genre are the many moments of adrenaline and gore.

So. "Barmaid to Underground Sorcerer-Queen." Action, gore, kinky sexual thrills, and power. What's not to like?

Coming into the middle of the Sooki Stackhouse series, I feel like I'm coming into familiar, welcome territory. The two books allowed small glimpses into astounding events in past books. If I hadn't have been already used to the genre, those glimpses might have absolutely floored me in their extremity.

I have to say, that the series that the Stackhouse books remind me most of are the Anita Blake books by Laurell K Hamilton. I mean that as a compliment, as I still adore the first 8 books in that series. I kinda enjoy the rest of the Blake stories, but for different reasons than the first 8, and I would like Hamilton to stop spinning the wheels, and go back to decent thrillers with an actual resolution.

I have to warn anyone that wants to try the Anita Blakes because they like the Sookie Stackhouses that the Anita Blake stories are heavier on the gore, on the violence and on the sexual kinkiness than the two Stackhouse books I read.

Edited, Oct 3rd 2008 6:48am by Aripyanfar

Wow, thanks. I'm sure I'll get them all eventually. I got ahold of Club Dead and Definitely Dead today.

I was also reminded today that Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series that starts off with Dead Witch Walking is another excellent vampire series. It's not as extreme as the Anita Blake series, but it's plenty satisfying. Rachel Morgan is a witch and a private investigator. Her business partners and flat-mates are Ivy, a bisexual female vampire, and Jenks, a male pixie who is like a feisty and combative male Tinkerbell.

Lots of adventures, lots of friends and enemies, and people who switch in and out of those two categories. Lots of complicated love lives. Oh, and it has demons. I've lost track at the moment how much smut on her soul Rachel is carrying, for doing Black Magic occasionally in order to save her friends.

Having read Definitely dead, I'm starting to think Charlaine Harris isn't quite up to the standard of plot creation that Harrison and Hamilton are. (at least until Hamilton got so self-indulgent later)

I'm also wondering if any of these writers chose nom de plumes that would put their books next to the other author on the bookshelf, so fans of one author would find the same genre books right next door on the store bookshelves. Perhaps it's just co-incidence?

I have watched the first 8 eps, I have the last four on tap, but have decided to save them for a time when the kid isn't awake after he parroted the brother's character shouting "F**K!!" while I was watching an ep.

I read the first book of the series, but never made it to the later books. I don't know why--I enjoyed the first book perfectly well, it just didn't capture me enough to make it to my "MUST...READ...MORE!!!" list, and the books on that particular list are about the only ones that get my free time these days.

The first season of the series is pretty well following the first book to a "T", with a couple exceptions. The character of Tara was not in the first book. According to my friends who have read the series, a character named Tara shows up later, but she's a minor character and might not even be black. So the producers took the name of an existing character from the books and pretty much created a new primary character with that name.

However...I like her. I really find the character of Tara to be quite compelling, probably because her story with her mother is pretty much my own story. So that's a good change, also because it gives Sookie someone to bounce the internal monologue stuff off of, since they're not doing voiceovers of the first-person narration that takes place in the books.

The other big change is that the brother Jason, who is pretty much a dolt in the books, is not nearly as dedicatedly self-destructive as he is in the show. Also, the books are pretty PG-13, and HBO decided to make the show a definite R with regards to the sex and gore. That's really more Anita Blake style than Sookie Stackhouse.

Tara is a long running minor character in the books, and there are several plots that are moved along with her peripheral or not so peripheral involvement. Tara has about the same weighting as Arlene. Arlene's and Sookie's relationship certainly goes in different places by the 7th book.

I still haven't gotten ahold of the TV series, but I've watched a few short youtube clips. Sam is described in a younger, more attractive way than I expected of the actor they actually have playing him in the series. Sam and Sookie have a long running thread of simmering sexual tension going between them in the books right from the first pages, and I can't imagine them following those plot points with the actor I saw in the Youtube clips.