Sookie Stackhouse books: If Edward Cullen could dream, he’d dream of being Eric Northman

Red rocker writes an excellent overview of Sookie books for Hoghead Blog

If Edward Cullen could dream, he’d dream of being Eric Northman. Or so they say on the Internet.

Started reading Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire books in July because I needed some light reading for the cottage. Up to #7 now, and I’m hooked. Hooked on the parallel world Harris has created, the pantheon of supernatural creatures, the uneasy interface between our world and the world of the “supes” and Sookie Stackhouse herself – one of the most winning fictional heroines to come along since Eliza Bennett. And like any other lover of books, it’s not enough for me to enjoy the books: I want to share them with others. So what better time than Hallowe’en month for me to tell you a bit about the story of Sookie Stackhouse and the Confederate soldier Bill Compton, the weretiger Quinn, and yes, the 1,000 year old Viking warrior Eric Northman.
Sookie works as a waitress at a bar in a small town in northern Louisiana, called Bon Temps. She avoids people – especially men – because of her gift – or curse: she can read minds. Turns out telepathy isn’t an unmixed blessing when you always know what people want from you. Into Sookie’s world comes Bill Compton. Bill’s a vampire. In Sookie’s world the vampires outed themselves to the human world about six years ago. This followed the Japanese discovery of a synthetic blood substitute, True Blood, which means that vampires no longer have to prey on humans to survive. Nowadays they can pick up a case of True Blood at the local Wal-Mart, pop a bottle of O positive in the microwave, and they’re set. So vampires walk amongst us now: they own businesses, they pay taxes, they go to bars, they’ve joined the police force. Bill is the first vampire Sookie’s ever met, and to her delight she realizes that she can’t read his mind. She falls for him hard, starts meeting other vampires, and eventually they start making love and are a couple. Most stories would end there. Sookie’s story has barely started.

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