Show to Watch: True Blood

Been to a bookstore lately? Notice anything strange about the ‘new books’ shelf? There’s a lot of fang. Vampires and werewolves are the new hip thing, and it’s not just teenage Twilight fans. At least four major authors are mixing romance with danger in hit series that have reserve copy sales breaking records.

One of the lighter versions details the adventures of Sookie Stackhouse – a little blond waitress in a Louisiana bar. The main character in the Charlaine Harris’ best selling ‘Dead until Dark’ series doesn’t think she’s all that special – but she has an interesting talent.

Sookie can hear what you’re thinking.

This proves a mite troublesome to poor Sookie. She has to go through life trying to block out the constant barrage of thoughts; good, bad and downright disturbing. A customer at the bar one night startles her however – the inside of his head is dead quiet, and Sookie has to find out more.

His name is Bill – and he’s a vampire. Vamps are finally out in mainstream society since synthetic blood became readily available, and this former Civil War soldier is as courtly and polite as you can expect a Southern boy to be, even if he is a vamp. Sookie promptly falls in love. Bill returns the favor – though whether he is more interested in Sookie’s body or her blood is up for debate.

The series has been picked up by HBO, with Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer starring; and True Blood (named after the synthetic blood substitute) is expected to return this fall. The show is remarkably true to the books (I’m a stickler about stuff like that) so grab some copies of the ‘used’ shelf and catch up.

Then if you’re hopelessly hooked like me, you can get a sneak peek at the first chapter of her not yet released 8th book in the series, ‘Dead and Gone’.

Tagged as: anna paquin, charlaine harris, sookie stackhouse, true blood, vampires and werewolves

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