Dead Until Dark
I’ve been aware of the Southern Vampire Mysteries for a while now… But I hadn’t read any of them until very recently.
I heard decent things about them from other people. Saw vaguely interesting information on the web. I was aware that HBO was doing a television series. But I just wasn’t that interested.
I’d enjoyed Anne Rice’s vampire books… And I usually enjoy vampires in general… I generally enjoy supernatural stories, and thrillers, and mysteries… But I had a suspicion that there was something wrong with the series if so many people liked it. Especially since it seemed to be caught up in the same swirling miasma of supernatural romance that Twilight was.
But Dead Until Dark was on sale on B&N recently, and I picked it up. And I’ve just recently finished reading it. And I’m impressed.
I feel vaguely wrong saying that… It feels like I’ve just admitted to liking Twilight… Largely because there are some superficial similarities…
But it really was a decent book. Decent enough that I’m eager to read another one in the series.
I was genuinely impressed with the handling of the vampires. They aren’t some kind of sparkly, harmless things like we see in Twilight. They’re genuinely powerful, frightening creatures. And unlike most of Anne Rice’s vampires, these guys seem to be genuinely dangerous.
Anne Rice wrote her books from the vampire’s perspective. They generally had enough self control not to go on killing sprees… But even if they did, humans weren’t given a whole lot of attention in her books. They were just blood-filled forms moving through the background. Convenient snacks for the main characters.
Charlaine Harris writes her books from a human perspective. Humans are weak, frail, mortal things. Vampires are supernaturally strong, fast, and vicious. There’s a genuine sense of danger when they’re around. There’s a real question of just how much self control they have.
It’s very interesting to see a vampire that isn’t portrayed as something human, and yet is still a love interest. It’s kind of like watching somebody fall in love with a rusty bear trap.
