Who can review Charlaine Harris enough? She certainly has enough books! And I admit that I have found her latest books to be rather dull. They just seem to skip through Sookie's world and touch on a bunch of familiar characters. Harris seemed to be fulfilling her contract.
Until Dead Reckoning. You see, I thought I had read all of the Sookie Stackhouse series until I was reading the Stackhouse compendium The Sookie Stackhouse Companion and realized I had not read the latest. So, I had to check it out rather than reading the synopsis.
Well, I dont' know what got Harris going – perhaps the True Blood series made her want to set the record straight-- but I LOVED Dead Reckoning! If you have not read the book and have read some of the Sookie books, I highly recommend it. It is true that there are a few problems with her timeline (did Eric really know she was part Fae earlier on in the series?) but they are minor compared to the book as a whole. If this is your first time reading, you might be a bit lost but it would be a fun read anyway.
Sookie has some spunk again and she also comes to a major realization about a certain vampire. Thank goodness. I was getting tired of all her relationships with vampires, personally. I felt like every one of them was simply using Sookie. There also seems to be something cooking with the Fae living in her home and in the nearby county. Possibly we will find out more in the next book (which comes out in May of 2012).
What I loved was seeing the real Sookie in action. I have watched the first three seasons of True Blood and have come to appreciate the novels that much more. There is no replacement for Harris' own touch with the Sookie character.
What did this book have to do with my faith? Well, I think the first thing is that we can make friends and even influence others even when they are nonbelievers. Of all people, Pam seems to be the best friend to Sookie. Although she is still a vampire, she appears to be wanting Sookie to know the truth. She also seems the least likely to be using Sookie for her own ends. She appears to be a friend when others are still trying to manipulate Sookie and create happiness for her. Pam is trying to present reality and let Sookie deal with it as she must.
Another parallel to my own faith is that you slowly become like the company you keep. Sookie is told that she is becoming more Fae-like because she has two Fae living in her home. Apparently, if you are even a little Fae and you spend more time around other Fae you become more Fae. I know that is a strange concept but I really equate that with being a Christian. Now, I fully believe that we Christians are to be around non-believers (how else are we going to evangelize?) but if we are only around non-believers we can become more like them if we are not careful. Jesus himself did hang out with sinners but he also spent a great deal of time in prayer and with his disciples.
I recommend Dead Reckoning, especially if you have been frustrated with the previous few novels.
Happy reading!
Amelia
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