Dead and Gone: Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery #9

By: Charlaine Harris

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Charlaine Harris' Anthony Award-winning Sookie Stackhouse mysteries have become a fixture on the New York Times best-seller list and have inspired the acclaimed HBO series True Blood.

In her ninth adventure, Sookie has just tied on her cocktail waitress apron for a night's work when a special report comes on the television. The time has come. The wereanimals have revealed themselves.

But there's an even greater danger threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings - older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves - is preparing for war. And Sookie finds herself an all-too human pawn in their battle.

Listen to more titles in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

©2009 Charlaine Schultz Harris (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Waste of a credit

I tried this book based on the NY Times list. What a waste. The narration was fine, the story was boring and I didn't fine the characters engaging. Maybe if I started the series at the beginning...

Looking for love...in all the wrong places.

Dark and depressing, and not in a good way. This book was so graphically violent I had to skip whole pages. Where is the plucky, innovative Sookie we have come to love? Either Miss Harris was having a very bad year while writing this installment and took it out on her readers, she was so busy with the television series she couldn't find enough time to write, or she's sick to death of vampires. The gratuitous offing of important characters did nothing to drive the story line, and made no sense. I'm sorry, but I was so looking forward to book #9. Unless Charlaine pulls it out in book #10, I think the Southern Vampire series is "Dead and Gone."

Series sale

Would you try another book from Charlaine Harris and/or Johanna Parker?

Yes.

If you’ve listened to books by Charlaine Harris before, how does this one compare?

Not as good as the previous couple of books in the series.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Johanna Parker?

Not sure. Didn't like her voice in the beginning but seems to be getting better.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No, but then I'm not a movie person

Any additional comments?

No.

Change it up, please!

Would you recommend Dead and Gone: Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery #9 to your friends? Why or why not?

Eh, yes. I was so sucked in by this series at the beginning. I have listened to the first 9 books in the series in just over 2 weeks. But, I'm getting sick of the same thing over and over and over. **SPOILER** Why is there ALWAYS someone dying around her? Why isn't the story focusing more on the relationships with at least one of the guys? Why doesn't she sleep with Sam already!? I'm frustrated with hearing about someone dying every single day of this story. I get it, this isn't real and she's caught up in chaos among the undead and alternative forms, but for Pete's sake, it's getting old. I'd love more relationship stories and less of people dying all the time. I feel like the books are progressively getting less and less interesting. If I wasn't determined to give the rest of the series a listen, I'd stop now and let the series sit. If book 10 isn't any better, that's what I'll end up doing.

Have you listened to any of Johanna Parker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, as the series progresses, she has either gotten less annoying in her performance or I have grown more used to her. When I first heard her performance in Book #1, I thought she sounded really whiny and as if she had a 'fake' southern accent. It seemed like she was trying too hard and it was really bothersome. Though, I don't seem to be as annoyed with her more recently.

Good addition to the series :)

3-3.5 stars

This was a good addition to the story. Sookie and Eric finally get together but because of the feelings tied up in their blood bond, Sookie feels like she should hold back from getting too deep. Jason's wife does get killed and Sookie feels the need to try to help find her killer. On top of that, the fairy issues brought into her life by her great-great-grandfather come to a head. Niall's enemies end up going after Sookie and she goes through some really bad crap before the end. There's a couple of losses so expect some mixed feelings.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. I liked Eric and Sookie finally getting together in a relationship but some of their encounters/conversations seemed...awkward. Still pretty good but sometime there were small points or sentences that just didn't seem to fit. And Bill...he has to go and basically get hurt really bad for Sookie and now she seems to be thinking about him a bit too much IMO. Regardless on any issue though, I thought this was a good story and enjoyed it overall and will be continuing on with the series. :)

FYI, the last 30 minutes of the audio version is actually a preview of the next book.

plodding, depressing and masochistic at best.

Charlene Harris must be burnt out on writing SVM. All she seems to do here is rip up the tapestry of her long developed story arch we all wait upon. In the style of a bad bad movie sequel - Charlene kills off a lot of main characters, and really seems to not be having fun. Gone is the exploration, excitement and humor of her previous books. This book was plodding, depressing and masochistic at best. I think she needs a vacation away from this series for a while before she goes and drives a stake through its heart.

Loved 1-8, but it's losing interest

Johanna Parker is a great narrator. Usually, the narration spoils an otherwise good book, but this is one of those cases where the narrator has carried on just as she always did, but the author is apparently losing interest in her own series. I won't be buying the rest of the books... they just don't hold my attention the way they did, mostly because they've become less like "good mysteries" and more like "internal monologues" with very little actual plot. It's like reading DH Lawrence--all about the relationships and nothing about the story.

High expectations not met

I'm a devoted fan of the series and my expectations may be unreasonably high. I love Ms. Harris' characters and the Louisiana she offers readers. I was certainly entertained, but disappointed on several counts. Strengths: The dialogue quality is excellent in this installment. The tone of the book is darker but appropriately so given FDTW foreshadowing. Some foreshadowing in previous books realized quite nicely(e.g., fairy dangers, were reveal). Bill does more than pine. You get more Eric than in past books and I loved it that he talks a lot. And while there is a major relationship development early in the book, there wasn't anything new revealed about their depth of feeling for one another. If FDTW gave you hope for a big, squishy "talk," you'll be disappointed. There's plenty of satisfying dialogue between E and S, but well, I think after waiting out 4 books, we deserved more. I suppose my beef is with the loads of ink spent in clearing old subplots, removing secondary characters and inserting placeholders. I agree it was time to pare down the cast, I was just jealous that every page spent on that stuff was one less page devoted to Sookie's men. Still, I thank Ms. Harris and don't know what I'll do with myself waiting for the next book.

It could have been better.........

I love the Sookie series and like all true die hard fans, I will continue to read/listen to the series. But, I have to say that I am not liking it as much as before. What happened to Sookie's character development? With each book and new drama/heartbreak, Sookie was maturing real well. In "All Together Dead" Sookie appeared to have grown a backbone and was able to stand on her own with "some" class. Now she sounds more like a backwards shrew. Especially with her reaction to Quinn's question. (He did have a valid point). Also, Where's the growth in her telepathy? Shouldn't that have gotten an extra boost by now. Overall, she is becoming my least favorite character.

Not a lot gets answered. Some issues just get more complicated. I loved that Eric plays a bigger part as does Bill. That little triangle is promising to be a real page turner. Her cousin Hunter was introduced in the last book but nothing happens in this one. The plot in this book is very intense and rough on everyone. I liked that a lot. The Were's coming out was a little anti-climatic. That was a little disappointing. Overall, the book was good but I am hoping the next one is longer and more enlightening. There are way too many questions left hanging.

Too dark

This book crosses the line the author has so neatly skirted in the past between scintillating danger and true darkness. There are things in this book that are too dark, too evil and too hard for Sookie to endure without changing her personality. Her joyful, confident outlook is part of what makes her so likable and she has to lose both of those characteristics after the events of this book.

While I am continuing because I love the characters if the next book isn't better I won't continue past #10