Go Ask Dallas: Are the Sookie short stories really that important to understanding the Sookie series ?

Dallas

I know that " A Touch of Dead " is going to be a book of Sookie short stories but do I need to buy it and how important are the short stories to understanding the whole series ?

Thanks, Life3

Dear Life3

The most important short story to understanding the whole Sookie series is 'One Word Answer' from Bite but I think many of them hold very interesting tidbits, maybe not as profound as 'Bite' but pretty darn important.

I think the entire body of Sookie's and Sookieverse (happen in Sookie's world but Sookie does not appear) short stories are as important as missing a whole book would be.

What I like to say is " you won't believe what you DON'T know if you haven't read the short stories"

A Touch of Dead , the anthology out in October is Sookie short stories, NOT including the Sookieverse ones (that's a copyright issue) More info here

As to how important the short stories are, for example in book 9, Dead and Gone you don't know about the reference (it's also one of the book's mistakes) to the triplet of Claude and Claudine if you haven't read 'Fairy Dust' from Powers of Detection. This is also where Sookie first learns of lemon juice and their lethal effect on fairies.

Also in book 9, you don't know how deep Eric's fascination is ( when he tells Sookie about Renfield ) with Dracula unless you've 'Dracula Night' from Many Bloody Returns

And about the insurance agency in Bon Temps where Amelia works (and it ain't your usual insurance agency -as you might imagine) unless you've read 'Lucky' from Unusual Suspects.

You also don't know when book 9 opens it's really has only been a few weeks since Sookie had a sexual liaison if you haven't read 'Gift Wrap' from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe.

These are just some things from Dead and Gone you MISSED unless you've read all the short stories.

Probably the most important for the overall storyline is 'One Word Answer' from Bite - and you are completely in the dark about all the facts really surrounding Hadley's death and her relationship to Queen Sophie-Anne unless you've read that story.

The hardest Sookieverse story to read (it's really actually a novella ) but one of the MOST beloved is called , 'Dancers in the Dark' from Night's Edge and YOU had no idea in All Together Dead what the deal was with those dancing vampires that entertained at Rhodes if you haven't read this story. Sean and Layla are the most amazing vampires and vamp couple in maybe all the Sookieverse.

We can also this year expect a Dhalia story in July from Charlaine so you better have read 'Tacky' from My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding you better get going. Strange Brew will have the story ' Bacon' with the character Dahlia that you met in 'Tacky' out July 7th Info and to pre-order here

We can expect one more Sookieverse short stories from Charlaine this year. There will also be a science fiction novella based on the Britlingens (the bodyguards from All Together Dead). It will appear in a three-in-one book called Must Love Hellhounds out in September Info and to pre-order here

Now you can wait until October comes to read some of these in the anthology A Touch of Dead or you can get busy now .

I'd say the sooner the better, because as Dallas says " you won't believe what you DON'T know if you haven't read the short stories"

More about all the Sookie short stories can be found here
You don't have to buy all these books, the best way to read them all and for free is here