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Description edit
Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is on a streak of bad luck. First, her coworker is murdered and no one seems to care. Then she's face-to-face with a beastly creature that gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, who graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
This book opens with Sookie Stackhouse finding the dead body of her friend Lafayette, in the backseat of Andy Bellefleur's car, who had left his car at Merlotte's the night before. Sookie learns that her friend had recently attended a local sex party. She thinks the members of that group might... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters edit
- Sookie Stackhouse: Lead protagonist and the storyteller. A rural Louisiana waitress whose telepathic ability has always caused her trouble. Involved with Bill, a local vampire. Also has an interlude with Eric which hints at something between them.
- Bill Compton: The vampire whose entrance in Sookie's life changes everything. A man who lived in Bon Temps and served in the Civil War prior to being made vampire.
- Eric Northman: Vampire; libidonous owner of Fangtasia, a Shreveport vampire bar. He is the Sheriff of Area 5 and has an interest in Sookie.
- Sam Merlotte: Sookie's boss and owner of Merlotte's bar. Dependable and cares for Sookie as more than a friend. Shapeshifter.
- Jason Stackhouse: A ladies' man and Sookie's brother who is known for being more attractive than intelligent.
- Stan Davis: Vampire sheriff of Dallas, and his normal guise is that of a nerd: taped glasses, short sleeved button up shirt, etc.
- Steve Newlin: The director and spiritual leader of The Fellowship of the Sun (FotS), an anti-vampire church.
- Lafayette Reynolds: Lafayette is the most flamboyant short-order grill cook in probably all of Louisiana. A cook at Merlotte’s. He is cheerful, entertainingly mischievous, clever, and known for his “burgers Lafayette.”
- Callisto: A maenad who erupts on the Bon Temps scene to wreak havoc on human and vampire alike.
- Andy Bellefleur: Bon Temps' detective; Portia's brother.
- Tara Thornton: One of Sookie's close friends, runs "Tara's Togs", which is a clothes shop.
- Isabel Beaumont: Vampire; second-in-command to Stan Davis.
- Hugo Ayres: Isabel's human lover. Lawyer.
- Godric: "Godfrey" - An ancient and immensely powerful vampire who became a “renouncer”—a vampire who rejects his vampiric status. He allied with the anti-vampire sect, The Fellowship of the Sun, and decided to commit suicide by “meeting the sun.”
- Luna Garza: Shapeshifter working undercover at the Fellowship of the Sun.
- Farrell: A gay, cowboy vampire from Stan Davis's nest who is missing
- Sarah Newlin: Steve Newlin's wife.
- Polly Blythe: the Fellowship of the Sun ceremonies officer.
- Gabe: Member of the Fellowship of the Sun.
- Barry Horowitz: the bellboy at the Silent Shore Hotel, a telepath.
- Portia Bellefleur: Lawyer, Andy's sister.
- JB du Rone: A friend of Sookie's from high school. Beautiful and very muscular, but not very intelligent.
- Liz Barrett: A girlfriend of Jason
- Bethany Rogers: girl questioned by Sookie under order of the vampires in Dallas.
- Terry Bellefleur: Andy's cousin and substitute barman or cook at Merlotte's.
- Mike Spencer: funeral home director and parish coroner.
- Alcee Beck: only African American detective on the parish force.
- Dr. Josephus: Shape-shifter who helps Sookie and Luna. Doctor
- Tom Hardaway: Member of a sex group
- Dr. Ludwig: dwarf doctor who treats Sookie after her encounter with a maenad.
- Salazar: Paramedic who helps Sookie and Luna
- Chow: A member of Louisiana's Area Five vampire district. He is an Asian vampire with a small build and long black hair. Every inch of his visible skin (except for his face) is covered with intricate yakuza tattoos. He acts as a bartender in Fangtasia some nights, and sits around other nights to let patrons approach him.
- Joseph Velasquez: Vampire belonging to Stans nest.
- Bud Dearborn: parish sheriff.
- Danielle Gray: waitress at Merlotte's.
- Holly Cleary: waitress at Merlotte's
- Anthony Bolivar: vampire cook at Merlotte's
- Chaka Khan: New cook at Merlotte's.
- Re-Bar: fangbanger and bouncer at Bat's Wing.
- Pam Ravenscroft: Eric's second in command at Fangtasia, as well as his "child". She is sarcastic and has a special sense of humor.
- Arlene Fowler: Red headed Waitress at Merlottes, Sookie's friend. Married four times and has two children. Was involved with Rene who was the killer in the first book.
- Kevin Pryor: One of Bon Temps Police officers.
- Hoyt Fortenberry: A close friend of Jason's. Son of Maxine Fortenberry and Jason's friend.
- Bubba: Bubba is Elvis Presley in vampire form. A morgue attendant who was a vampire and a big fan discovered that the king still had a tiny spark of life left. The misguided vampire decides to bring the king over, but the resulting creature, answering only to “Bubba”, is brain damaged by or before the process. The other vampires treat him as a treasure and give him small jobs to keep him busy and out of the public eye however, occasionally he is seen by humans, resulting in the countless Elvis sightings that litter the tabloids. Bubba prefers Cat blood, and does not drink human blood at all. He's always cheerful, goodwill radiating from his fearsome smile.
- Caroline Isabelle Holliday: Add a description of this character.
- Leif
- Lafayette Reynold
- Godfrey
- Jerry
- Desiree Dumas
- Bud Spencer
- Trudi Pfeiffer
- Sarah Isabelle Compton
- Cleo Hardaway
- Sid Matt Lancaster
- Kevin Prior
- Jan Fowler
- Rachel
- Tawny Kelner
- Bon Temps Hawks
- Mrs. Bellefleur
- Francie Polk
Quotes edit
-
“Yes. Andy's here, and he's three sheets to the wind. I took his keys. Can you come get him?”
Sookie Stackhouse -
“Sookie, my little bullet-sucker," he said, sounding fond and warm."Eric, my big bullshitter.”
Eric, Sookie -
“The last time I wore an animal hide, but this time I settled for this." Eric had been wearing a long trench coat. Now he threw it off dramatically, and I could only stand and stare. Normally, Eric was a blue-jeans-and-T-shirt kind of guy. Tonight, he wore a pink tank top and Lycra leggings. I don't know where he got them; I didn't know any company made Lycra leggings in Men's X-tra Large Tall. They were pink and aqua, like the swirls down the sides of Jason's truck.”
Eric, Sookie -
“Naiads are water and dryads are trees, right? So why a maenad, out there in the woods? Weren't maenads just women driven mad by the god Bacchus?" "Sookie, you have unexpected depths," Eric said, after an appreciable pause. I didn't tell him I'd learned that from reading a mystery. Let him think I read ancient Greek literature in the original language. It couldn't hurt.”
Sookie, Eric -
“I am sorry that the maenad picked on you." I glared at him. "Not enough," I said. I was trying hard to hang on to this conversation. "Angelic Sookie, vision of love and beauty, I am prostrate that the wicked evil maenad violated your smooth and voluptuous body, in an attempt to deliver a message to me." "That's more like it.”
Eric, Sookie -
“The sign on the well-tended lawn read THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SUN CENTER — Only Jesus Rose from the Dead. I snorted as I opened my door and emerged from Hugo's car. "That right there is false," I pointed out to my companion. "Lazarus rose from the dead, too. Jerks can't even get their scripture right.”
Sookie Stackhouse -
“She put me in mind of a hobbit. Maybe she was a hobbit. My understanding of reality had taken several raps to the head in the past few months.”
Sookie Stackhouse -
“Sam was my boss, and starting something with your boss is always a bad idea. Starting something with your boss when your boyfriend is a vampire is another bad idea...”
Sookie Stackhouse -
“The gray jacket was on the floor, the white shell was discarded, and my arms were locked around Bill's neck before you could say "Screw a vampire."”
Sookie Stackhouse -
“I was incredibly tired of being afraid.”
Sookie Stackhouse
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“Angelic Sookie, vision of love and beauty, I am prostrate that the wicked evil maenad violated your smooth and voluptuous body, in an attempt to deliver a message to me.”
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“You, on the other hand, are a sweet little éclair on the outside and a pit bull on the inside.”
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Maybe there really were fairies at the bottom of the garden, a phrase I remembered from a song my grandmother had sung when she hung out the clothes on the line.
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“Naiads are water and dryads are trees, right? So why a maenad, out there in the woods? Weren’t maenads just women driven mad by the god Bacchus?”
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maenad.” That was something Greek. I didn’t know
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As I unlocked the front door, Bill came out of the darkness.
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ennui, after a long life. These renouncers planned to “meet the sun,” the vampire term for committing suicide by staying out past daybreak.
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élan—and the recklessness of someone extremely hard to kill.
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Thermopylae. This was just a spot in the vegetation by a road in northern Louisiana. I was probably lying in poison ivy. I would probably not live long enough to break out, though.
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She idly waved the long wand with the tuft on the end. It was called a thyrsis;
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Setting & Locations edit
- Bon Temps, LA
- Merlotte's: Owned by Sam Merlotte, is a popular local hangout for residents of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Bar Sookie works at.
- Shreveport, LA
- Fangtasia: A popular vampire bar in Shreveport, Louisiana owned by Eric Northman, and, in part, by Pam and Chow. It was presumably opened after the Great Revelation and serves as a hangout for vampires, "Fangbangers" and tourist.
- Dallas, Texas
- Silent Shore Hotel: Dallas's first hotel catering to vampires.
- Bat's Wing: a vampire bar
Organizations edit
- Fellowship of the Sun: A church based outside of Dallas, Texas. They preach a message of "coming from the darkness into the light", and are a leading voice in anti-vampire politics in America. What the Klan is to African Americans, the Fellowship of the Sun is to vampires.
First Sentence edit
Andy Bellefleur was as drunk as a skunk.
Table of Contents edit
Chapters 1 - 11
Glossary edit
- Rogue Vampires: refuse to drink the synthetic blood, they believe in a return to secrecy & invisibility.
- Meet the Sun: the vampire term for committing suicide by staying out past daybreak.
- Brother: a male member of a vampire nest
- Renouncer: vampire who's existence has gone sour and wants to commit suicide by sun
- Drainers: those who drain the blood from vampires for sale on the black market ( Mostly Humans)
- LifeFlow: the most popular marketing name for synthetic blood
- maenads: beings who consider that the violence sparked by consumption of alcohol belongs to them; they are attracted to pride
- tribute: something a maenad takes from a vampire or man, when they are needing to be given homage.
- Pureblood: synthetic blood for vampires to drink
- nest: cluster of vampires living together
- fangbangers: humans obsessed with vampires and who hang out with vampires.
- supe: supernatural being
- Two-Natured: shapeshifter
- thyrsis: long wand with a tuft on the end; carried by the maenad
Series & Lists edit
This is book 2 of 24 in Southern Vampire Mysteries. (standard series)
Preceded by Dead Until Dark, and followed by Club Dead.
This is book 2 of 23 in Sookie Stackhouse: Reading Order. (community list)
This is book 42 of 145 in Whitcoulls Top 100 (2011). (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Charlaine Harris (Author)
Other Contributors:
- Lisa Desimini (Cover Artist)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Ace Books
Country: United States
Publication Date: March 2002
ISBN: 0-441-01673-1
Page Count: 291
Publisher: Ace Books
Country: United States
Publication Date: March 2002
ISBN: 0-441-01673-1
Page Count: 291
Awards edit
- Sapphire Award for the Best Science Fiction Romance of the Year (2003: Novel, 3rd place)
- RT's Best Amateur Sleuth (2002)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: CPB Box no. 1969 vol. 26
- Dewey: 813.54
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Links to Supplemental Material edit
Movie Connections edit
- True Blood (IMDb): HBO Television Series.
More Books Like This edit
Books with Additional Background Information edit
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