Living Dead in Dallas Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery #2 By Charlaine Harris
Living Dead in Dallas
Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery #2
By Charlaine Harris
read by Johanna Parker
Published by Recorded Books
Approx 8.5 hours
Okay we have to wait for a few months before the return of the series "True Blood" on HBO and the return of Sookie Stackhouse, but during the interim I highly recommend picking up the books either regular or audio and enjoy the other storis in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries. I was told, due to my love of vampire and zombie stories, that I should check out the Sookie stories. I then read a collection of short stories that had a story by Charlaine Harris that took place in the Sookie world but was Sookie-less and found the writing very entertaining. By the way, the main reason I picked up the book was because it also featured a Harry Dresden story by my favorite author, Jim Butcher. So, liking the storytelling and the humor in the short story, I tried out Ms. Harris' novels. I read the first book just as season one of "True Blood" was at midpoint. After reading the book I had to check out the series and have been hooked on both ever since.
The Sookie Stackhouse series tells of a romantic world where vampires have "come out of the coffin," and are mainstreaming (trying to live alongside humans, rather than living ON humans). With the invention of a synthetic blood, now available in six-packs, the vampires can live without killing, but not all vampires are mainstreaming.
"Living Dead in Dallas" pretty much covers what was in season two of the "True Blood" TV series. I will tell you that the TV series took lots of poetic license and added things in here and there that kept to the main theme of this book but made for some more visually stimulating stories. For example, Maenad, a female follower of Dionysus(I'll explain more about the Maenad later) in the tv series pretty much took over Bon Temps, Sookie's hometown, while she was away in Dallas, giving a bigger role to Michelle Forbes, who played Admiral Cain on Battlestar Galactica. So that was okay.
Okay let's talk about this book. "Living Dead in Dallas" finds Sookie having to hold true to her word to help Eric and the vampires by using her "disability" or gift as the vampires call it, of being a telepath. Sookie can read thoughts and the vampires in Dallas have had one of their "nest mates" (vampires live in a nest within a city, you know) has gone missing. Also the cook at the bar where Sookie works, Lafayette Reynolds, is found dead and his body in the back seat of Detective Andy Belfleur's car. Lafayette was a gay black man that had a lot against him, but he was a friend of Sookies and she wants to find his murderer, but before that can happen sookie and her boyfriend vampire Bill are sent to Dallas to help find the missing vampire.
Before finding out her mission Bill and Sookie get into an argument and their car stops. Sookie threatens to walk either home or to Fangtasia, the bar owned by Eric. Bill goes to find a mechanic. While bill is gone sookie is confronted by a Maenad. Again Maenad's are ancient beings, their name literally translates as "raving ones". Often the maenads were portrayed as inspired by Dionysus, into a state of ecstatic frenzy, through a combination of dancing and drunken intoxication. In this state, they would lose all self-control, begin shouting excitedly, engage in uncontrolled sexual behavior, and ritualistically hunt down and tear animals (and sometimes men and children) to pieces, devouring the raw flesh. So now that your Greek mythology is refreshed, this Maenad wants to send a message to Eric Northman, yes the same Vampire Eric Sookie is out to see. The message comes in the form of a brutal attack on Sookie in which she is severely scratched and poisoned. Eric gets Sookie treated by a mysterious dwarf doctor who heals Sookie, barely, and Sookie and Bill are sent to Dallas. No rest or mercy when it comes to vampires.
In Dallas, Sookie Discovers that the missing vampire was last seen in the company of an ancient teenage vampire right before he goes missing. The young vampire turns out to be Godric an vampire that is wanting to "meet the dawn", or rather die in the sun, suicide for a vampire, because Godric has a very evil past, he has feasted upon children during his long life. Godric has turned himself in to a newly formed religious cult, "Fellowship of the Sun," whose sole mission is to destroy all vampires. Godric plans to sacrifice himself and the other vampire as the followers watch. Sookie goes undercover into the church to rescue the vampires.
When Sookie returns to Bon Temps, she continues to find Lafayette's murderer and traces it back to a group of locals that have weekly orgies, and the Maenad makes her reappearance.
During this story Sookie learns of more shapeshifters that are organized in Dallas and maybe a couple of real werewolves.
Johanna Parker delivers this story in a perfect Sookie Stackhouse voice, I'm thinking Anna Paquin may have studied the audio books to prepare for her role. The books are told in first person from Sookie's point of view and not only have the adventure and thrills but some really southern fried humor. Check them out while waiting for season three of "True Blood."
Labels: charlaine harris, maenad, morganville vampires, murder, shapeshifters, sookie stackhouse, southern vampire series, true blood, vampire bill, vampires
posted by Gil T. @ 9:53 PM
"The Dead Girl's Dance" (book 2 of the Morganville Vampire series) by Rachel Caine
"The Dead Girl's Dance"
(book 2 of the Morganville Vampire series)
by Rachel Caine
read by Cynthia Holloway
produced by Tantor Audio
It's time to continue int the Morganville Vampire series by Rachel Caine. Morganville, Texas is home to Texas Prairie University and Vampires. The university attracts new, young "blood" and the vampires rule the town. The locals are all under protection from a vampire patron, the families enter a contract which means they are protected, very much like life insurance, but instead of a payout when you pass on, you simply don't pass on by the hands of a vampire.
Claire Danvers is a super-smart 16 year-old that has graduated high school early and instead of going to a big name university she decides to start out with a couple of years at TPU. After being the butt-end of some hazing she moves off campus and into the Glass House, with the residents that all seem fairly normal, Michael Glass who owns the house, Eve the goth girl and Shane the video gamer. She learns the secrets of Morganville from her new roommates and soon the trouble begins.
After the big battle in book one which lead to the residents of the Glass House receiving protection from Morganville's founder and strongest Vampire, Amelie, It doesn't get any easier. In fact things may have been made worse. During the worst of the battle when things looked grim, Shane made a mysterious phone call, calling in the cavalry. It turns out the cavalry was Shane's dad and the anti-vampire biker gang set to destroy Morganville, at least to kill all vampires.
"The Dead Girls' Dance" starts out right at that cliffhanger of an ending from book one. With Shane's dad ready to kill. He starts out by killing Michael, thinking Michael is a vampire. His cohort stabs Michael then they cut off his head and burys him in the backyard. Not good for the Glass House. The protection was as long as all four friends stayed together and in Morganville and never cross Amelie. Shane's dad is out to kill all vampires and that may just break the protection circumstances.
Hearing that his dad has targeted the vampire Brandon as his first kill, Shane, even though he hates vampires and especially Brandon, goes out to save Brandon. Shane is found next to Brandon's dead body and since that is the most severe law to break in Morganville, killing a vampire, Shane is locked in a cage in the town's square set to die by incineration, unless Claire and the rest can find proof Shane did not do the killing.
So Eve and Michael and Claire set out to find proof. Yes, I said Michael, sure he's not a vampire but he is a ghost. The only problem is that being a ghost he is held by the power of the house, so he cannot leave Glass House, but on the bright side, he cannot die. One of the many plans the group come up with is to find a vampire to help them sneak into the square and help Shane escape. The vampire they find to help them is Sam. Wait till you hear what Sam's secrets are. No I won't tell, you'll have to listen and hear for yourself, otherwise you may not believe me.
To find Sam, Eve and Claire must attend the campus dance called "The Dead Girls' Dance." The problems really hit when Shane's dad and his biker buddies decide to crash the dance.
Once again while Cynthia Holloway does a pretty decent job of reading the story and has pretty good vocal characterization, she still needs to work on her pronunciation skills. On of the words in this one that stands out is here pronunciation of the word "nuclear." You guessed it she pronounces as "Nucular." There are others but that one stands out the most in this book. Other than that some good listening to this Tantor Audio book version of "The Dead Girls' Dance," by Rachel Caine.
Labels: audio book, audiobook, book review, books, claire danvers, dead girls' dance, michael glass, morganville vampires, rachel caine, shane, tantor audio, vampires, young adult fiction
posted by Gil T. @ 8:09 PM
Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires Series #1) by Rachel Caine
Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires Series #1)
by Rachel Caine
read by Cynthia Holloway
produced by Tantor Audio
approx. 8.5 hours
Finally a young adult vampire series you can really sink your teeth into. (I know too much, right?) Seriously Rachel Caine has created in the Morganville Vampire series a return to the good old days of when vampires were enemies and not something to fall in love with. And now Tantor Audio has brought the first book to life in audio book form.
Overall, Cynthia Holloway, does a very nice job of delivering the story as told from Claire Danvers a super smart 16 year old in her first year of college. However there are a couple of pronunciation issues that should have been cleared up before production. One that stands out is the word settee. Ms. Holloway pronounces as "setty" instead of set-tee. There are only a couple of other words that grated on me but this one was repeated several times in the book and just felt like nails on a chalkboard. If it weren't for the intriguing story I would have been turned off a bit from the book. Aside from a couple of mispronunciations, Ms. Holloway does a great job of helping to distinguish who is talking and thinking with slight voice variations and emotes the danger and and even sometimes humor Rachel Caine uses to create a world full of vampires.
The story in this first book of the series of Morganville Vampires, Glass Houses, introduces the listener to the town of Morganville, Texas, home of Texas Prairie University sometimes called T-P eeewwww. A town that is populated by some strange people and even stranger yet, the town is run by Vampires. Each person has a sort of insurance policy that protects them from the vampires, when the person turns 18 they must find some vampire family to "insure" them or risk becoming food for the vamps.
Claire Danvers is a 16 year old who, due to her super smarts, has graduated high school early and before heading to a major university has opted to attend TPU. The problem is her smarts gets her on the wrong side of Monica Morell, the most popular girl in school. When Claire corrects Monica and makes her look dumb in front of friends, Claire becomes marked for violence. Monica and the Monikettes beat up Claire and steal her clothes from her dorm room. Claire decides to be safe she will have to move off campus. She discovers that The Glass House residents are looking for a fourth roommate and after meeting with Shane and Eve she has to meet with Michael, the owner of the house and who only makes his appearances after sunset.
Shane whose sister died after Monica, under instructions from the vampires, set fire to Shane's family home, makes a deal with the vampires to keep Claire from further attack. This deal could mean the death of Shane. In order to null the deal Claire has to make a better offer to the vampires.
Eve a goth girl that is hated by the vampires because they feel she is making fun of them, tells Claire of something the vampires want and have been looking for for ages. Claire must find this lost article and bring peace to the town of Morganville. In doing so Claire discovers Michaels secret and is burdened with another secret. All this on the shoulders of a 16 year-old genius.
With exciting vampire battles and the hazing of college life, "Glass Houses" is a very nice introduction to a series of vampire books that brings back the stories of hunting vampires rather than falling in love with them. So if you are a fan of the other young adult vampire stories, pick up this ongoing series for some real vampire battles.
Labels: audio book, book review, books, claire danvers, glass houses, michael glass, morganville vampires, rachel caine, shane, twilight, vampires, young adult fiction
posted by Gil T. @ 7:59 PM
