REVIEW: From Dead to Worse

Charlaine Harris
From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse #8)
Ace
ISBN-10: 0441015891
ISBN-13: 978-0441015894
Paranormal fiction
May 6, 2008

Yes, YES – spoilers. How could there not be?

It’s post Katrina scenery in Bon Temps, Louisiana and the effect of the devastating storm is still felt. Too, the vampire summit that turned out so disastrously in Rhodes has the supes on edge. Sookie would like nothing more to get back to a normal life but there’s just too much to worry about. Her boyfriend, Quinn, is missing and while every other supernatural being seems to be moving on in their own ways, Sookie feels like the only one actually mourning the losses. Past misdeeds still haunt her in the form of the Pelts and unrest is brewing with not only the vamps, but the weres as well. As Sookie’s a friend to Alcide’s pack and blood bonded to the powerful Eric Northman, she may not be able to stay out of it, let alone draw a normal life back to her. Rather, normality seems to be running from her, quaking in its fearful little boots. And when supernaturals are trying to kill Sookie, can we really blame normalcy for running for the hills?

Don’t you just love the covers of these books? We’re back to the beginnings as far as covers go in this series, with a kind of sweet and almost innocent looking Bill Compton and Sookie Stackhouse, but this eighth installment is anything but sweet and nowhere near as innocent. I feel this series has reached a crucial point, and it’s the kind where not only has Sookie herself grown and developed phenomenally, but so has the world Harris is cultivating, the other characters inhabiting it and the story arc itself. We have pretty much equal helpings of sorrow and shockers piled on us as the last one, All Together Dead, but there’s certainly more hope and good happenings for dear Sookie this go around. I won’t say that Harris needed improving in her craft and overall skill with this particular character – and if there’s ever been a thought entertained that Harris needs to improve, that’s just cray-zay-ness – but I will say she has reached a level of excellence in Sookie that I’d not anticipated. I’d simply dumbed it down to Harris getting as good as she could get before.

Well, I was wrong, and those were even the previous thoughts of a die-hard fan to the series.

Character Assessments

Sookie is a difficult character to pin down and dissect for easy explanatory purposes. But the most straight forward manner would be a gentle, young Southern woman, full of old fashioned graces that, by her birth, had probably begun to drop off in importance as far as passing them on to newer generations (if her brother and other character interactions are any indication). By those, I mean Sookie’s unfailing politeness, even in the face of questionable acquaintances; her seemingly inherent nature to do the right thing; her instinct to give respect where respect is due, no matter who or what the person is. There’s so much that makes up this woman and as each book passes, she only gets more complex, from her telepathic abilities (which she uses primarily with the utmost scruples) to her distressed contemplations of having an enemy silently taken care of.

Some might consider her to be a Mary Sue, and I suppose there is a lot of evidence for this. She’s descended from one of the most powerful supernatural species – the bloomin’ fairies! -, she has the whole mind-reading gig, there’s the persistent list of men vying for attention and even when it gets as bad as it can get, Sookie seems to land quite well on her feet.

But I don’t think she’s quite a Mary Sue. The more she gets involved in supernatural politics, the more she begins to encounter questions of morality and ethics, and how far she’s willing to stretch her personal limits with each. And she’s been betrayed by many since she met Bill Compton that fateful night at Merlot’s. She’s walked away from many a supernatural battle, but she’s done so limping, bloody and almost broken…No, I don’t think Sookie’s perfect at all. And that’s just one reason why I freakin’ love her character.

And there is the fact that she’s not falling into some man whore’s bed every other chapter. (That’s right folks, u read it hear, Sookie does not have mucho grande sex in each book. It’s a rare occurrence actually. And I was hoping for some Eric nookie, but no dice. Nice kisses though.)

The revelation of Sookie’s family history has been trickled out to us in small doses, and we already knew she was descended somehow from the fae, just not on so grand a scale. As in royalty. We get to learn exactly how Ms. Sookie came to be and it rocks not only the storyline, but also Sookie’s impeccable views and thoughts on her revered grandmother, a woman she believed above reproach. The more that’s revealed about Sookie herself, the more it becomes clear that had Bill Compton not insinuated himself into her life at his queen’s orders, something, somehow would have wormed its way in sooner or later. If not Bill, the fae or the weres. She was never destined to remain a “almost normal” person, but rather one square in the middle of everything.

Other characters that stood out for me were her witch roommate Amelia and the subplot of Bob the cat, who tomcats it around Sookie’s woods and sires some kittens.

For the first time, I leaped into full-on annoyance at her brother, Jason, who commits a rather cruel act with all the snide superiority of a teenager put on video game restriction. Someone needs to teach that supposed man how to actually be a man…and I hope Sookie manages to drive it home for him in the next book. I somehow see him as becoming a huge liability for Sookie, especially with her agreeing to take on Jason’s punishments if he should misbehave within the confines of the werepanther community. Already Sookie’s had to smash Calvin’s fingers for something Crystal did. Sookie’s punishment can’t be far off. And those are some of the most screwed up rules I’d ever heard of, but these weres are anything but normal.

One thing that becomes more noticeable to me as the series progresses is Sookie’s habit of glossing over unpleasantness with her charming Southern smile, when in fact she’s anything but happy. Whenever anything untoward happens, it’s usually pasting onto her face with robot-like intensity and she constantly feels like she has to put on this together, happy act for friends and anyone else around her. I can’t help but wonder though how much longer she’ll be able to keep it up. I’m thinking sooner, rather than later, she’s going to have a meltdown. I just hope that if it happens, all those she’s rallied behind and lent support to will be there for her in turn.

Plot Points

Several things happened plot-wise that made me feel as if this was a turning point in the series, a point of definite no return for Sookie a far as trying to bow out of the supernatural world. And I say that because Sam, her boss at Merlot’s and a natural shapeshifter, makes mention of trying to extract her from all the supernatural happenings; trying to get her away from the vampires and all. But it’s far too late for that, and as Sookie points out to Sam, she doesn’t really want to step back. For the first time in a long time, she feels like she might actually belong to something, in a way where she’s accepted and even admired for her telepathy, as opposed to ostracized as she is with mere humans.

But as far as the plot goes, there are two major wars, so-to-speak, one between the weres of Shreveport, Furnan’s group and Alcide’s. Also, there’s a hostile take-over of the Louisiana vamp kingdom by some Las Vegas vamps, in which Sophie Ann, in her weakened, recuperating state, does not survive. And of course, Sookie plays a starring role in both. What’s interesting about ‘ole Sook is the way she seems to be more accepting of these political peccadilloes, and how she’s not wishing most of it away. She’s stepping up to the plate more and more often and I think it’s shown a tremendous improvement in her growth as a character. Too often she emphasizes throughout the books how simple a person she is and how she doesn’t get involved in too much and seems content to build a safe, simple life. Clearly though, it’s just not in the cards for her, and I felt she really stepped up this time and handled herself a lot better than in previous situations.

Another part of the plot that takes a new turn is Sookie’s love life. Action is not the main element in that aspect of her life, much to my disappointment, but we do get to see that Bill’s not ready to give up on her and neither is Eric. What’s interesting though is Bill’s professions of love and blatant sexual interest, which she continues to rebuff. Bill proclaims rather boldly towards the end too that he would die for her, while he claims Eric would not, a point Eric does not refute. On the other hand, Eric finally remembers everything that happened between him and Sookie that time he spent in amnesia blunted bliss with her. And I found myself cheering on an Eric/Sookie hook-up more than ever. Eric may not make professions of love for our girl, but he and Pam are now obligated to protect Sookie after she comes to the rescue of the new Louisiana vamp king (Felipe de Castro) and he’s bowled over by the memories of his time with her, where clear feelings of happiness once abounded. And with Sookie cutting Quinn loose due to his obsessive need to care primarily for his mother and sister, she’s suddenly got a lot of options. Even Alcide, who Sookie’s finally grown tired of, couldn’t help a bit of jealousy. So even though there wasn’t any nookie, Sookie’s love life is definitely entering a realm of possibilities again.

Great Scenes – This One Rocks Them

One thing this installment did was make me laugh. And in the middle of some pretty serious scenes too. Who doesn’t love a bit of off-the-wall humor thrown in amongst some gore and chills? There’s one scene almost halfway in, where Sookie’s trying for that normalcy in the form of a library visit. Here enters one of the hired assassins and he’s taken the librarian hostage:

“Detective Beck will kill you for hurting his wife,” I said very loudly. And I said it with absolute certainty. “Kiss your ass good-bye.”

“I don’t know who that is and I don’t care,” the tall man said.

“You’d better care, muthafucker,” said Alcee Beck, who’d stepped up behind him silently. He put his gun to the man’s head. “Now, you let go of my wife and you drop that knife.”

But Sharp Teeth wasn’t about to do that. He spun, pushed Barbara at Alcee, and ran toward me, knife raised.

I threw a Nora Roberts hardback at him, whacking him upside his head.

OMG, this made me laugh my ass off! Of all the books to defend with in a library, A Nora Roberts is the PERFECT weapon! There’s likely an entire army of them waiting.

Not too far down the line from that scene, we come to the point where Quinn has helped the rival Las Vegas vamps in taking over the Louisiana kingdom, and Sookie’s resulting disappointment and break-up with him, which I felt displayed how strong a person Sookie’s growing into. Here, she’s telling him why she can’t be with him, when he clearly has so many family issues:

“…Well, they’re your family. They’re…dependent. They have to have you. They’ll always come first.” I stopped for a moment, biting the inside of my cheek. This was the hardest part. “I want to be first. I know that’s selfish, and maybe unattainable, and maybe shallow. But I just want to come first with someone. If that’s wrong of me, so be it. I’ll be wrong. But that’s the way I feel.”

It was hard not to feel moved by this scene and I cheered her on for having the courage to say what she really wanted. I loved Quinn’s character, but I too feel he did her wrong and am glad she stood up for what she wanted, something Quinn wasn’t ready or even able to give her.

And here’s one way that Eric shows he cares, that he DOES notice Sookie. After the Vegas vamps pay a visit to Sookie’s house, she’s left with a broken cell phone and front door. Eric’s sent in supplies to replace them:

…The FedEx lady gave a long look at the door’s splintered condition when I finally got it open.

“You want to sign for this?” she said as she held out a package, tactfully not commenting.

“Sure.” I accepted the box, a little puzzled. …I opened the package. It was a red cell phone. It was programmed to my number. There was a note with it. “Sorry about the other one, lover,” it read. Signed with a big “E”…

With a kind of bemused feeling, I heard another truck coming. I didn’t even bother to move from the front porch. The new arrival was from the Shreveport Home Depot. It was a new front door, very pretty, with a two-man crew to install it. All the charges had been taken care of.

I wondered if Eric would clean out my dryer vent.

I could go on and on, but the point is, there were a lot of scenes I enjoyed enough to flag as I read through this awesome book in only a little over 24 hours. I feel that this series is only getting stronger and as per usual, this eight book is packed with non-stop action and supernatural intrigue. A lot of questions are answered as well as opened, and one of the most interesting and close to the heart was an unknown child that Sookie visits at the end, and his similar paranormal ability. Looks like our Sookie will be a mentor one day herself.

As I couldn’t have enjoyed it any more, and it pretty much hit me square in the satisfied zone, there’s no doubt it’s getting:

Rating: Five Scoops

Previous books, in order:

1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead
4. Dead to the World
5. Dead as a Doornail
6. Definitely Dead
7. All Together Dead

For more info, visit the author’s site.