Dead to the World
I was so excited to start this book. I love Eric after he loses all
his memories, not to mention the fact that he and Sookie finally get
together. Charlaine Harris successfully weaves two separate plots
together in a non-jarring way, by using Jason's disappearance as a red
herring. Unfortunately, the cracks are starting to show. Though Harris
is really good at coming up with an interesting story, she's not so
great at remembering what she's already written. The reviews I've read
about her new book complain that it's full of inconsistencies with the
rest of the series and that she seems to flat out ignore her own
previous writing. Or maybe it's just a really shabby attempt to retcon
the series so she can take it where she wants it to go. Even this early
in the series, it seems that she can't be bothered to maintain the
details of the world she's created.
Here's a nit-picky list of the facts that Charlaine Harris can't keep straight.
Jason's truck
In the past three books, Jason drove a black pick-up with pink and aqua swirls painted on the side. In this book, this inexplicably changes to a black pick-up with pink and purple flames. Did he paint his truck in the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve? Did Harris forget what she'd written before?
Eric's Height
This all happens in one chapter. In the course of about 15 pages we learn that
For that matter, it's always kind of bothered me that Eric is supposed to be a Viking and is well over 6 feet tall. People simply weren't that tall back in the day. At 5'7", Viking men towered over the people they conquered. They were giants, but it was all relative. If Eric really was a Viking back in the day, he'd be fairly normal-sized today. Oh well, suspension of disbelief, blah, blah, blah
Sookie's Telepathy and Vampires
For the most part, Sookie can't read the minds of vampires (that's why she likes them so much). But just after ingesting Bill's blood in Dead Until Dark, she gets a glimpse into Eric's brain. Then, in Living Dead in Dallas, she reads Stan's brain briefly. Stan is the leader of the Dallas vampires who Sookie was loaned to and she learns his full name in a flash of insight. And that's all well and good. These are the only two times this happens.
But in Dead to the World, Sookie claims that both of the times she read a vampire's mind it was Eric's. This carries throughout the rest of the series, and gives them a slightly mysterious connection. It's also how I remembered the books, so I was pretty surprised in the second book when Sookie read Stan's mind. I figured I had remembered it wrong. But it's actually the author who appears to have mis-remembered.
Recognition of Sookie's Telepathy
In this book, Sookie attempts to read the mind of Hallow, the werewolf witch, and Hallow notices. Sookie says, "No one, no one, had ever suspected I was listening in." But that's not entirely true. Back in the first book, Sookie attempts to read Sam's mind and he throws up a shield to stop her. Clearly he suspected her of listening in.
And now for the True Blood comparisons. Overall, the TV show seems to be moving faster than the books. We've already met several witches, Claudine, and Crystal. It looks like they're going to throw Lafayette in with the witches the way they threw Jason in with the Fellowship of the Sun back in season 2. That should help pull that storyline in. Sookie has already killed Debbie, which doesn't happen until the end of the 4th book. And I think Calvin Norris has already died in the TV series, so he won't spend the next several seasons awkwardly courting Sookie
I'm mostly excited that the previews have shown both a topless Eric wandering down the street and a topless Jason chained to a bed getting bitten by panthers. Eric's amnesia and Jason's captivity are the two main plot points of this book, so it's nice that they're going to be in the show. Though I imagine we'll only get a few episodes of each, not a full season devoted to them.
Here's hoping Sookie and Eric finally get together in the show.
Here's a nit-picky list of the facts that Charlaine Harris can't keep straight.
Jason's truck
In the past three books, Jason drove a black pick-up with pink and aqua swirls painted on the side. In this book, this inexplicably changes to a black pick-up with pink and purple flames. Did he paint his truck in the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve? Did Harris forget what she'd written before?
Eric's Height
This all happens in one chapter. In the course of about 15 pages we learn that
- Arlene is 5'8"
- Sookie is two inches shorter than Arlene (5'6")
- Eric is ten inches taller than Sookie (6'4")
- Eric is 6'5"
For that matter, it's always kind of bothered me that Eric is supposed to be a Viking and is well over 6 feet tall. People simply weren't that tall back in the day. At 5'7", Viking men towered over the people they conquered. They were giants, but it was all relative. If Eric really was a Viking back in the day, he'd be fairly normal-sized today. Oh well, suspension of disbelief, blah, blah, blah
Sookie's Telepathy and Vampires
For the most part, Sookie can't read the minds of vampires (that's why she likes them so much). But just after ingesting Bill's blood in Dead Until Dark, she gets a glimpse into Eric's brain. Then, in Living Dead in Dallas, she reads Stan's brain briefly. Stan is the leader of the Dallas vampires who Sookie was loaned to and she learns his full name in a flash of insight. And that's all well and good. These are the only two times this happens.
But in Dead to the World, Sookie claims that both of the times she read a vampire's mind it was Eric's. This carries throughout the rest of the series, and gives them a slightly mysterious connection. It's also how I remembered the books, so I was pretty surprised in the second book when Sookie read Stan's mind. I figured I had remembered it wrong. But it's actually the author who appears to have mis-remembered.
Recognition of Sookie's Telepathy
In this book, Sookie attempts to read the mind of Hallow, the werewolf witch, and Hallow notices. Sookie says, "No one, no one, had ever suspected I was listening in." But that's not entirely true. Back in the first book, Sookie attempts to read Sam's mind and he throws up a shield to stop her. Clearly he suspected her of listening in.
And now for the True Blood comparisons. Overall, the TV show seems to be moving faster than the books. We've already met several witches, Claudine, and Crystal. It looks like they're going to throw Lafayette in with the witches the way they threw Jason in with the Fellowship of the Sun back in season 2. That should help pull that storyline in. Sookie has already killed Debbie, which doesn't happen until the end of the 4th book. And I think Calvin Norris has already died in the TV series, so he won't spend the next several seasons awkwardly courting Sookie
I'm mostly excited that the previews have shown both a topless Eric wandering down the street and a topless Jason chained to a bed getting bitten by panthers. Eric's amnesia and Jason's captivity are the two main plot points of this book, so it's nice that they're going to be in the show. Though I imagine we'll only get a few episodes of each, not a full season devoted to them.
Here's hoping Sookie and Eric finally get together in the show.
Comments
Post a Comment