Charlaine Harris' "Dead to the World": Fourth Installment of the Southern Vampire Mysteries

Anonymous book critic: This book has always been my favorite in this series. I've read the entire series multiple times, but this book I've read 10×s more than the others.I adore clueless Eric in his temporary memory loss. I enjoy all of the imagery. The introduction of Cluadean. And of course I love Bubba.
I highly recommend this series.

United States on Oct 24, 2023

Maia Marie: Please don’t read the reviews if they start comparing the television series to the book! So many people in this thread have spoiled the books for others. I love this series and the Southern Gothic genre in general.

United States on Aug 28, 2023

Fatty McButterpants71: I love the show and am living the books, but I’m surprised how loosely the show actually followed the books (at least so far). For instance, Sookie and Bill’s relationship seems to have only lasted a book or two whereas they were the it couple in the show for most of the duration. Also, Jason’s kidnapping in this book, I do vaguely remember it in the show but it was but a flash in the pan and didn’t last long, if I remember right. And that’s a big if, since my memory really sucks- lol. But I’ve read enough book versions of TV shows and vice versa to know that’s oretty much always the case. Very good read!

United States on Jul 14, 2023

Buchjunkies: Inhalt:

Enthält Spoiler zu den ersten 3 Bänden der TrueBlood-Reihe und ist nicht für Leser unter 18 Jahren geeignet.

Sookie und Bill gehen getrennte Wege. Dennoch steht er kurz bei ihr auf der Matte um ihr seinen Haushalt zu überlassen. Bill fährt nach Peru um weiter an der Chronik für seine Königin zu arbeiten. Sookie fühlt sich nicht ganz wohl ihm wieder gegenüber zu stehen, es ist zwar viel passiert, dennoch ist er ihre erste Liebe.

Als Sookie später in der Nacht von ihrer Schicht in der Bar heim fährt kommt ihr jemand auf der Straße entgegen. Sie erkennt ihn kaum, bis er vor ihr steht - Eric. Nur halb bekleidet und kälter als gewöhnlich läuft er in dieser Winternacht durch die Straßen. Als Sookie ihn anspricht erkennt er sie nicht. Das verwirrt sie. Zwar haben sie sich schon etwas länger nicht mehr gesehen, nachdem sie ihn und Bill aus ihrem Haus geworfen hat, aber das erklärt nicht warum er weder weiß wer sie ist noch wer er selbst ist.
Kurzerhand verfrachtet sie ihn in ihren Wagen und fährt ihn heim. Dort versorgt sie seine Wunden, gibt ihm etwas TrueBlood und ruft Pam an. Pam ist seine rechte Hand in Fangtasia, dem Treffpunkt für...

Germany on Nov 02, 2015

kimberleyfrances: Having read all of the books Charlaine Harris has released following Sookie Stackhouse, the fourth book is by far my favourite. The book was completely addictive - I finished it in a little over two days as I couldn't put it down.
It begins with Sookie, the protagonist, driving home from her work at the bar, on New Years Day at 2am. As she gets close to her home, she sees a man running down the road in just his jeans. She soon realises that the man is actually the head vampire sherrif, Eric Northman, who she knows fairly well. She coaxes the vampire into her car and takes him back to her house where she learns he has amnesia and doesn't know who he is. When she calls Pam, Eric's underling, she tells Sookie to hide him and that a band of witches cursed Eric - leaving him in his current state. Sookie reluctantly agrees to keep him and he soon begins to trust her above all others.
It's a compelling read to watch the relationship between Sookie and Eric be rebuilt. The once dangerous and sexily mysterious Eric, who held a degree of power over Sookie, is now a timid man who lays everything bare for all to see and who now looks to Sookie for guidance. It isn't long before their...

United Kingdom on Dec 12, 2011

Ellie P.: I must say, I have been very pleasantly surprised by this series so far - and this installment was no different. Sookie's razor-sharp narration has been honed to whiplash proportions, and her dry humour just sparkles. The key players have been thoroughly established by now and sinking into these books is becoming quite the comfortable indulgence - yet there are also new faces to keep the series fresh, the action drags the reader along at a roaring pace, and the twisting threads of love and lust are spicily scintillating.

After the wider storylines of the last two novels, set in Dallas and Mississippi, this one was a welcome return to Bon Temps and the familiar local characters. Bill and Sookie are staying well apart - in fact, he's in Peru working on his vampire directory. A coven of powerful witches, with unprecedented triple power thanks to their Were status and taste for vampire blood, have moved into Shreveport with their eye on the vampires' business assets - and their personal ones too. Eric's memory has been hexed into oblivion in response to his rejection of the formidable Hallow, head of the coven. Left uncharacteristically sweet, vulnerable and completely clueless...

United Kingdom on May 06, 2010

D.J. Graham: Book four of the Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood series is arguably the best one of the series so far. Setting the action back in Bon Temps, after the previous two books were set out of town, this time around Sookie must protect Eric, who is suffering from memory loss due to a witches curse, from a coven of evil witches. She must also deal with the disappearance of her brother Jason, as well as her break-up with Bill, who spends most of this book in Peru.

There's a bit more supernatural stuff going on this time around. We meet some new beings, or Supes as they are called in the book, including some new Shifters, a fairy and a coven of witches. Sookie's brother Jason also gets more to do in this book, he becomes involved in the supernatural world and his character will certainly never be the same again after this book. Some of the characters who we met in the previous book,  Club Dead: A True Blood Novel  also reappear, most notably Alcide, Sookie's werewolf friend (although he, along with many other male characters is something of a love interest for her).

If you have read any of these books before then you know what to expect here; a fun, slightly tongue in...

United Kingdom on Apr 22, 2010

Fel: This is the forth installment of the Sookie Stackhouse. I have to admit you will like it and hate it at the same time. The story begins a few weeks after the incident in Club Dead and it's the New Year's Eve. With a new year resolution of not getting herself into trouble, Sookie is on her way back home after work when she sees Eric running shirtless on the parish road outside her house. Eric only knows he is a vampire, has no memory of who he is and is looking very confused.

Without herself realizing it, Sookie finds herself in the middle of turmoil of the supernatural world. A group of powerful werewolves and vampire blood drinking witches, led by Hallow and her brother Mark, have invaded Shreveport, put a spell to Eric and taken over his business. For Eric's safety, Sookie, with the help of Jason, comes to a deal with Pam. She will keep Eric in her place while Pam and Chow look for a way to defeat the witches and get their territory back. Not too long after that, Jason has gone missing.

With all these troubles in her hands, Alcide comes to give his assistance and he introduces her to the packmaster of were in Shreveport, Colonel Flood. Sookie forms a friendship...

United Kingdom on Nov 02, 2009

Teacher Mom: For some reason, this book read differently for me. I have enjoyed all of the books so far, but this novel had something different about it. I think it was the casual, meandering way that the book seemed to go. The plot was evenly paced and I absolutely loved the new Eric and hoped that something would click between Sookie and him. Some new characters are introduced and I hope to see much more of them in the future. It just seems like things are getting better and better and I can only hope that Sookie's luck does, too, and soon!

One inconsistency that I came across, and I'm really not a major fact-checker in general, but it really seemed to be a glaring error, at one point Sookie listens to someone's head and that person is aware and begins trying to figure out who was in her head. An inordinate amount of time is spent talking about how this had never happened to Sookie and she's so shaken, etc. But, it did happen to her before, and in the very first book! After Sam invites Sookie into her head, Sookie initially declines, until he comes running up to the housing units after the girl's murder and Sookie tries to read his thoughts, but he snaps his thoughts closed from her...

United States on Aug 04, 2009

Jana L.Perskie: Sookie Stackhouse, the attractive, telepathic barmaid from Bon Temps, LA, makes her fourth appearance in "Dead To The World," which I think is the best book in the series, so far. Boyfriend Bill, a Civil War veteran and vampire, is pretty much out of the picture here. He has been sent to Peru, by the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, to continue his research for the extensive vampire data base he is building. Sookie has ambivalent feelings about her old beau. He has proved to have a cheatin' heart, along with other unfaithful body parts. This is unfortunate because Sookie thought she had found the man of her dreams. However, there seems to be an abundance of other men, all preternatural, who are very interested in getting to know our Sookie better. And it is best for her to stick with the superhumans. She can't read their minds, and doesn't need to worry about keeping their inner voices at bay.

Driving home from work early New Year's morning, (there was a huge party at Merlotte's Bar), Sookie sees a half-naked, shoeless man running down the road. When she stops to help the poor guy, she realizes it is Eric, charismatic owner of Club Fangtasia, and vampire Sheriff of Area 5, which...

United States on May 01, 2005