In recent years, few authors
have had such an impact on the vampire book scene as American
author Charlaine Harris. Born in Mississippi and living in Arkansas,
she’s written many books and is very engaged in the mystery-
and crime reading and writing scene, being a member of American
Crime Writers League, Mystery Writers of America and the Sisters
in Crime (where she is a member of the board). From time to time,
Charlaine is the president of writing club Arkansas Mystery Write.
Of Harris’s books, it’s her Southern Vampire Mysteries
series that has made her famous, first among vampire fiction readers
and later when HBO television picked up the novels for adaption
for TV series. The series lead character is young Sookie Stackhouse,
a psychic, cheerful and good-hearted waitress at Merlotte’s
Bar and Grill, who attracts the attention of a rare kind of guest
in the bar she works at – a vampire. Their affair marks
the start of no end of trouble for Sookie and her friends, and
as of May 2010 the total count of books about their lives is 10.
The Sookie Stackhouse novels are set in the deep, hot, Cajun-scented
and crocodile-crawling American south, far away from Forks but
in the neighbourhood of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and
Poppy Z Brite’s cult vampire classic “Lost Souls”.
The setting plays a major part of in the books; there is no shortage
of characters and locations with a strong southern feel to them.
One can hear the cicadas in the background when reading the novels.
Most characters are pretty unforgettable, and not only because
they might have a supernatural trait or two – Harris is
a great author who looks far beyond fangs and fur when fleshing
out her protagonists.
One thing that stands out in Charlaine Harris’s books is
the subtext, because it’s powerful and plenty of it. Most
vampire novels tell many stories at once and use vampires in a
metaphorical way: Dracula is a fantastic story of undying love;
the Twilight novels portray, among other things, complicated love;
Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles (especially Interview with
the Vampire) are largely about loss; and Laurell K Hamilton’s
Anita Blake novels traces (here again among other things) how
evil affects people.
But Charlaine Harris has a different take: She uses her many
different beings to talk about conflict and being in the middle
of it. There are not only vampires abound in The Southern Vampire
Mystery novels, but also many other supernatural beings (Werewolves?
Of course. Shapeshifters? Check. Faries? You got them. And there’s
more – much more), and the friction between these races
often turns bloody, with poor Sookie caught in the mayhem. But
beneath the fang-versus-claw clashes, Harris’s novels haul
nasty things such as racism and homophobia out of the shadows
and into the hot southern sun. This makes the Southern Vampire
Mysteries novels seriously intense, as the action is played out
on many levels.
The content of the Sookie Stackhouse novels are clearly meant
for a pretty grown-up audience. Many vampire novels (not to mention
vampire movies) are on the bloody, violent or even gory side –
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels are seriously restrained
compared to other vampire books by authors such as Laurell K Hamilton,
Bram Stoker, MaryJanice Davidson and others – and Charlaine
Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels rarely shy away from the
eye-watering details of the conflicts between vampire factions
and various mystical races. Harris is writing for an audience
thirsting for a more visceral brand of vampire fiction –
her books go for the arterial (pun fully intended). And to boot,
much like MaryJanice Davidson and Laurell K Hamilton, Harris never
backs down from including sex - intense lust is a central element
to her books, even though the scenes seldom get very explicit.
When director and producer Alan Ball, who made Six Feet Under
and wrote the script for American Beauty, said he was interested
in bringing Sookie and the other Southern Vampire Mystery-characters
to the TV screen, many were happy, but a concerned buzz rose among
members of her devoted readers – would a TV adaption do
the novels justice? The Sookie Stackhouse Novels were (and, of
course, are) loved by many and no one wanted to see a half-hearted,
cliché-ish take on the books. Fortunately, Alan Ball landed
Academy-Award winner Anna Paquin (The Piano, X-Men) as lead actress
for the role as Sookie Stackhouse, and Anna brought all her talents
into play to make Sookie the Sookie of the books. And better yet,
Alan Ball is a fantastic TV maker who isn’t scared to take
on the more explicit and charged aspects of the books, and he
set out to make the series both intense and honest to its origins.
The result is True Blood - an original, no holds-barred and deeply
atmospheric series. True Blood started out with relatively few
viewers but quickly turned into a cult must-see. Alan brought
the subtexts to the front without playing down any supernatural
elements, and this makes the series amazingly good – every
episode is a full-on sensory fest with strong points made about
relations, fear, phobia and injustice. And while the books are
‘slightly’ adult, the True Blood DVD boxes come with
age restriction stickers all over the packages.
This is because Alan Ball’s creation doesn’t hold
back in the least when showing violence or sex. It’s not
an action series, but when something violent happens, it’s
usually really violent. When the fangs come out, the blood-per-minute
ratio rivals Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd. The same goes for
sex: it’s usually pretty explicit but never cheesy –
it’s there for a reason, as part of the atmosphere and to
mirror the other strong subjects that Sookie deals with. The title
“True Blood” comes from the synthetic blood that vampires
can drink instead of the human variety, for the first time allowing
vampires to blend with humans. Though not all vampires choose
to go down this route – the lust for blood is too strong
in some.
Other sensitive issues dealt with in True Blood include drug
abuse and dealing; a vampire’s blood, if drank by a human,
works as a powerful and highly addictive hallucinogenic, and some
unscrupulous people catch and drain vampires of blood to sell.
Fantatsim and fundamentalism is another theme that is represented
by the anti-vampire organisation The Fellowship of the Sun, who
wants to see the world rid of vampires – and any other “dangerous”
beings.
As the plot develops, Sookie finds herself drawn into all kinds
of lethal complications as she’s caught in the crossfire
between the dangers that go bump (or, sometimes, “hello
there, young girl”) in the night. We get to meet the owners
of a vampire club called “Fangtasia”, managed by a
certain Eric Northman, a once-Viking turned influential vampire
who comes to play a large part in Sookie’s life. Because
the Southern Vampire Mystery books are from Sookie’s perspective
only, the True Blood series allows us to follow other characters
– and this is a real treat, as Charlaine Harris’s
novels are packed with wonderful, quirky and interesting people,
including the abovementioned Eric. For example, we get to see
what Sam, the owner of Merlotte’s and Sookie’s employer,
is up to when he’s “out of the picture” in the
books. The same goes for Lafayette, the coolest chef ever; Jason,
Sookie’s misguided brother who has a dark secret; and of
course Bill Compton, the first vampire Sookie meets and also her
first lover.
Pick up the novels or grab the DVDs as soon as possible –
this series is not to be missed.
/ Ruefus
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