Dead Until Dark

Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery #1

By: Charlaine Harris

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much - not because she's not pretty - she's a very cute bubbly blonde - or not interested in a social life. She really is...but Sookie's got a bit of a disability. She can read minds.

And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill: he's tall, he's dark and he's handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she'sbeen waiting all her life for. But Bill has a disability of his own: he's fussy about his food, he doesn't like suntans, and he's never around during the day....Yep, Bill's a vampire.

Worse than that, he hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble - of the murderous kind. And then one of Sookie's colleagues at the bar is killed, and it's beginning to look like Sookie might be the next victim....

©2009 Charlaine Harris (P)2009 Orion Publishing Group

Critic Reviews

"An author of rare talents." ( Publishers Weekly)

Fangtastic!

Clever, funny & surprisingly well written. I hesitate to draw comparisons with other vampire/human relationship sagas, as all have value in this literary genre. However, this story, & I suspect all subsequent sequels, contains adult content that I would not necessarily recommend for the younger teenage reader/listener. Johanna Parker brings the story alive & is by far my favourite narrator so far.

Surprising

I have watched the first season of True Blood and didn't really like it all that much, it was a little too explicit for my tastes but I decided to give the book a go. I was pleasantly surprised and found it very hard to stop listening to once I started.

LOVE IT!!

I wasn't sure if I should start with the first book, since I've already seen the TV series, but I am so happy I did. The book is better than the show. I don't want to listen to anything else until I finish the series.

I'm a sucker for Sookie!

What a great, fun listen! The mythology is great, characters are very likeable and the plot keeps you interested until the end. For those who have watched True Blood, the books are quite different. Certainly too raunchy for teens but a great adult read.

Amazing!

Johanna Parker does a superb job at narrating this! Was a great listen. I will definitely listen to the entire series!

A tantalizing story read with conviction

The story just sucked me in, and the narrators slow southern kilt makes it all come alive inside my head.

hot sexy and fun

loved it and wanted more but audible does not have no2... so I have to find it elsewhere

Not to my taste

I found this a whiney story with Sookie an annoying character. I won't be buying anymore.

A fun holiday read

What did you like best about Dead Until Dark? What did you like least?

There was a little humour there which was good, and it was a quick and easy listen. It lacked detail and character depth and Sookie was needy and a bit pathetic.

Could you see Dead Until Dark being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

This is the series that True Blood is based on and for once the series is better. The series is edgy, visually appealing and actually better written than the book. It also explores the characters a little more and Sookie is a more independent woman.

Fun and enjoyable read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a light read. It is easy to listen to and Parker has a good voice for the character which made her sound believable.

Thank god and just in time!!

Fantastic...read all the books and loved them. The audio books are beautifully read and really easy to listen to. Sometimes audios just arent as enjoyable as reading the book but Johanna Parkers wonderful voice keeps you absolutely captivated all the way through!
Thoroughly recommend these audios, although would advise parents as they are a little racy, i wouldn't want my 13 year old daughter to read this series...the twilight series is better suited to the younger listener.

Additively exciting

I was looking for a book to disappear into for a couple of hours and I found it !! Not a great fan of vampires etc but got the free try it download and loved it from the start. Characters are all great and refreshing to read a fantasy book thats not gone OTT and anything and eveything magical/supernatural - its not a academic read but more importantly its a good one! Even better just discovered its a series

Very enjoyable

I first read 'Dead Until Dark' some years ago. While I didn't hate it, I didn't really love it either. In print, it's a fairly short read and I just didn't find the romance between Bill and Sookie all that compelling. Having watched the TV series, though, I decided to give the audio books a try and I'm absolutely gripped. For a start it's fascinating to see what changes have been made between book and TV show, and it certainly helps that I can now visualise all the wonderful characters from the show (partly because the novel is in the first person, some of the supporting characters are not as fully fleshed as on the TV show). But the books themselves are also richer than initially gave them credit for, and the length works well for audio. Yes, they are quite formulaic in some ways, but Harris has some neat tricks up her sleeve and can write comedy, romance and action scenes effectively.
Credit must also go to the reader of the audiobook, Johanna Parker. Sookie is quite a difficult character to give voice to I think - she has to seem moral without seeming prissy, and to resist the attention of various gorgeous men without seeming prudish - and Parker really pulls it off. A well-paced and enjoyable listen.

Sookie Stackhouse Series

Listened to all the books now, beautifully read and produced. Had no idea about the True Blood series till I read was on about book 5 but am just starting the second set of DVD's. Books a little more grown up than the Twilight series which I also loved, but will listen to over and over. Escape day to day 2010 with Sookie. Can thoroughly recommend!! Am now searching for my next series.

Sookie Stackhouse

I am really enjoying the Sookie Stackhouse series, I have had the next one lined up after each one finishes as it's totally addictive and you have to know what happens in the next book. The narrator is great, when I first tested the sample I thought I wouldn't be able to listen but after an hour or two I realised she's perfect for the books. Would recommend these stories to anyone who loves a good vampire mystery.

Truly an experience not to be missed.

Any additional comments?

Everything I read I remember, everything I hear I remember...

So as you can imagine I will consume a book and move on never to return, this series of books however are the only ones I have gone back through multiple times. This is because the characters are so intricately designed they become real, the story lines while based in fantasy from the off never fail to surprise and thoroughly delight. I have never had such an all round almost tactile experience from something that I've read to make me come back to them so often and with that first time read anticipation it's nuts because I remember every word already.

They are utterly hilarious, full of blood-pumping action and downright hot in equal measure with so many more facets that will have you also coming back time and again.
The books do not copy the T.V. Show plot line they are completely different the anchors for both being the familiarity of the main characters but both being superb in their own ways.

A definite BUY IT NOW! you certainly will not regret it

Sookie Stackhouse

Wow the Sookie Stackhouse series is excellent, all the books on the Audible site, I consumed within a week, every waking moment, was spent enthralled and delighted by the characters, so well thought out by Charlaine Harris. My anticipation for the tenth book is palpable.

loved it but loved the TV series too - True Blood

enjoyed both the book and TV series both similar but both good in there own ways and recommend both

Entertaining

Any additional comments?

I don't usually like vampire stories but I have read several other books by Charlaine Harris and decided to try listening to this. I thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that I will read the others in the series. Obviously the story line is improbable but it is well written, well read and very entertaining. True escapism.

Addictive

I bought this as i have listened to all the twilight series and read other vampire books, i haven't seen the series on tv and can't imagine it will be as good as this. it took a while to get used to the southern american accent of the narrator but now i am on the 4th book and will carry on buying all the series. very easy to listen to, hours fly by!