Dead and Gone (Sookie 9)

Here there be spoilers....

Friday, I ordered the ninth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series on my Kindle, and I finished it about midnight that night. I've been turning it over in my mind for the past two days, and I think now I'm ready to write about it a bit.

I have a mixed reaction to this book. The fact that Sookie is back with Eric in any way, form, or fashion makes me happy. I love the big blond vampire. I think he and Sookie fit each other very nicely. There is more tenderness between them in this book than in any of the previous ones, in fact more just simple contact time, and that was very satisfying. I was getting very tired of everything between them always having to be put off until later. I liked that they talked, that they spent time together not fighting, not being jerked around by higher powers, and that they actually shared some things other than blood or sex with each other.

I like that Eric is being more direct with his feelings. He's still sneaky, though. The bit with the bonding knife was classically him. I wish Harris would write a short story sometime from his POV. It would be nice to know what's going on inside that clever and calculating mind.

I did NOT like what happened at the end. It felt like something I've seen other authors do whenever they suddenly realize they have too many characters on their plates, a "housecleaning" of sorts. Claudine, in particular, bothered me. Maybe more than any other character in the whole thing.

I also have to say that I hate the fact that there is any ambiguity about Bill remaining. I don't think I'm going to be able to keep reading this series if Sookie goes back to Bill, even temporarily. I know there are probably die-hard Bill fans out there who swooned and cheered at the end of this one, but to me, Sookie and Bill were never a good match. He doesn't have the fire to keep up with her.

Also, really, really, really, I don't want Sam to declare how much he loves Sookie. I mean, yeah, we all know that he does, but if he makes that declaration, it's going to stink to high heaven. I like Sam, but I don't think he belongs with Sookie, either.

Ultimately, I did like the book. I love the series as a whole, so I was bound to, I suppose. I hope that someday soon we'll see Sookie be able to be happy with one guy. I don't think the series would have to suffer if that were true. Harris has created such a rich world that there are other plot lines to explore other than the perpetual dance of guys around Sookie's front porch. In fact, I think it might be a lot more interesting if that weren't the only thing or the main thing going on.