Wow...um. Huh. Just read an Alan Ball interview where he discussed that the Charlaine Harris books were all about Sookie/Bill and any other characters are secondary to their story. Huh. I didn't get that at all. Not sure what to say since he obviously loves their storyline and there's no way around that. If we ever get a "triangle" or an Eric/Sookie moment, it'll merely be part of the Bill/Sookie story. In a way, it's good to know that now and at least he isn't lying to us about the show exploring all options.

Maybe after the lastest book his perspective is not wrong. Sure, there are books where Bill is almost entirely absent but, heck, it could still be all about Bill/Sookie if Charlaine Harris intended for every other suitor in the series to lead Sookie back to her first and truest love *vomits*. I say this because I read the most recent book with this constant feeling of inevitable doom. I can hardly be irritated that the show is erasing Eric when it seems that's about to happen in the books too from this girl's perspective. Hopefully I'm just being cynical but here are my thoughts from the pretty disappointing Dead and Gone.

Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris

I finished the most recent Sookie Stackhouse book and I have to say…it reminds of Anita Blake. The more I read the series, the more I feel jerked around, the less emotionally connected I am to the heroine. In other words: the less I give a damn. Charlaine Harris always promises that there will be development with Eric and Sookie, explanations about the ramifications of their ‘bond’ and a discussion of what happened between them in Dead to the World.

DttW was book FOUR. We’re now on book NINE.

Even though Eric and Sookie had sex and swapped more blood, it was tantamount to a bootie call from Sookie's perspective. There were no tender feelings on her side. She talked about sex and lust and seemed mostly withdrawn from him emotionally, unless she was feeling falsely calm in his presence due to their bond. In other words, their connection is portrayed almost entirely through this bond in the book and even though we get revelations about his past, Sookie seems to have very little interest. It comes up once, randomly, in a public place believe it or not. All this information that Eric had kept hidden is suddenly disclosed in room full of vampires with super-hearing. She asks questions but the answers seem to make no mark on her. Then she goes off la-la-la and that's that. Nothing seems to resonate on her emotionally and that's the problem with every aspect of the book, not just her relationship with Eric (although, obviously that frustrates me the most since he's the only reason I still read these books).

Granted, Charlaine had the ‘amnesia’ excuse to prevent a discussion between the charcters for several books, but I think the conversation really needed to be in this one for the story to have any realism. Instead, it's like she contrives delay upon delay until it's too late. Their most important conversation is now why Eric didn't save her life rather than what happened between them. Which makes me wonder if we'll ever have the first conversation or if it will just be painful if we do. She's written these characters as incapable of communicating with each other because Sookie doesn't know the reality of her own feelings anyway (that's not waffle, she literally can't distinguish between the bond and herself). If Eric finally does confess his love, I venture it will be too late because Sookie is in love with Bill again.

Bleghhhhhhhhhhh.

That's right - she remembered her love and loved him again. Words she's never thought or expressed to Eric and probably never will. What's disappointing about this is that I feel we've been teased for nine books and will get nothing. Alcide and Sam fans may feel the same thing but I think Eric has been the forerunner for some time in the books (due to the bond), whereas the other two characters have been in the background, thus I'm I have a shock that feels like whiplash. Never assume! I suppose we should have known since Alan Ball believes the story to be about Bill/Sookie, that he might have got that from someone. I thought Bill was out of the picture but maybe I just imagined that from Charlaine Harris and she's neither confirmed nor denied anything (which sounds more like a writer).

True, Sookie's been "with" Eric in two books so we did get more than Sam or Alcide fans. However, he had amnesia in one of those books and was nothing like his true personality. Sookie felt no qualms exploring her lust for him when he was vulnerable (though I'm sure she would have been pissed and possibly had Eric killed if he'd done the same). The second time around she seemed to use him as convenient sex and Bill was lurking outside the house 'watching over' her. *shudders*

As soon as Eric got his original memory back and consequently lost the pocket of time he'd been without himself, she lied to him because he'd have 'power' over her if he knew the truth. She doesn't even think about the way she's abusing her power over him because she's the good guy and Eric's the bad guy. Why do I get myself involved with uneven ships like this? It's like bashing your head against a wall thinking something will change when you should learn from experience that it doesn't. It really doesn't. Of course Eric is left in the dust.

He's had his memory back for a while now and we still haven’t had a discussion or even a decent section of emotional exposition from Sookie as the narrator. In this book she constantly blows off thinking about her complicated connection with Eric, while having epiphanies about her love for Bill and new understanding of his behaviour. Blegh. She even randomly thinks of Sam when she wants to see someone who loves her. I mean, Sam is my second choice so 'yay' in a way, but still random.

I got chills at the end of this book when it became clear that we were probably never going to see Eric and Sookie as a couple in this universe. I thought Bill had had his day. Quinn got his. Alcide, Eric and Sam were the other options. Eric has been the only one CONSTANTLY there as a romantic interest, constantly having a hand in the drama and the propulsion of the plot. And yet….nothing. We keep getting teased and getting nothing for it. I would have liked the relationship to be explored, for them to have a discussion, for Sookie to take the chance she did with Bill and try a relationship with him. But there is no growth in their relationship. They had a nice chat about his history but it was also very unemotional to me. The whole thing seemed to be because of their blood bond and there was basically no emotional reaction on Sookie’s side to any of Eric’s personal information (and what the hell was up with him laying all of that stuff out in PUBLIC when he’s been so stony up until now?).

I say we are likely never going to get this relationship because it felt like Charlaine Harris used this book to redeem Bill: sure, he’d done LOTS of bad stuff, but he was willing to DIE for Sookie and that’s all that mattered to her in such an extreme situation. It doesn't matter that she's been saved by a bunch of other guys that loved her - THIS time it was Bill. Yay!

Granted, Charlaine Harris tortured Sookie in a horrible way in this book, much worse than she's ever been before. I didn’t feel the emotional impact because it was a bit fluffy and in her head and I’d felt disconnected from her for the whole book, but we were meant to. Bill saved her and we immediately felt the disconnect to Eric. Even though Eric had come to Sookie’s aid before when she was in crisis (e.g. the bomb in All Together Dead), Sookie had not experienced this level of torture before and Eric’s absence probably killed their sex buddy relationship dead. (I say sex buddy because when Sookie thinks of Eric she basically thinks of him as a giant penis since she will never focus on emotions while they are blood bonded). I hate that we have seen Eric’s feelings gradually develop, felt this tension building, only to have it slam into Sookie’s blood-bond-no-thank-you wall and come to nothing.

That’s what it felt like at the end when Eric carried Sookie to Bill and she remembered all that was good in him and loved him again. LOVED him again. She remained focused on Bill the rest of the time too. I don’t care if the book says it was only for a minute, she admitted she loved him which is more than she’s ever done for Eric and that’s enough said. Then we had her holding hands with Bill and that heavy anvil: “The vampire is a good man and he loves you.” (Or something like that, I can’t be bothered getting the exact quote.)

This quote bugged me on so many levels. For one thing, this comment shouldn’t matter. We know both Eric and Bill love her. The only person Eric’s love could be a shock to is Sookie herself. The only way Niall’s “information” could be a revelation to Sookie is if it referred to Eric. The likelihood of that being the case given Niall was with Bill all day is very, very small. We could grasp at straws and say Eric was the one who called him, that perhaps Eric did something to save Sookie from a distance that Niall knew about. It feels like straw grasping to me, especially considering Niall fought alongside Bill.

Why Sookie would need to be told Bill was a good man and he loved her is beyond me given her own thoughts. Who cares what Niall thinks? Why did the book have to end on his thoughts and a manufactured triangle when the answer is inside Sookie and she can’t be bothered looking? Why can't Sookie make a decision without being propped by the approval of someone else? Why can't she make a decision full stop? It's the wishy washy that's sooooo irritating. Honestly!

If it does refer to Eric, she’d probably continue to disbelieve it anyway as she disbelieves and doubts every complement he gives her even when he has lost his memory and could have no possible motive to dissemble. Both vampires love her, I’m not disputing that. What matters is who Sookie loves. I’m sick of guys having to prove their love, especially when I feel they have both done it over and over again and Sookie is the one that flits about between men and dumps them for sometimes extremely selfish reasons (not that I liked Quinn, but to dump him because he has dependent family and she wants to be number one priority? Am I meant to respect her for that??? There were WAY better reasons).

I think, in the end, Sookie is like a lot of heroines in these supernatural books, the most obvious example being Anita Blake. Everybody loves her. She’s wishy washy and gets to sample and flit about without really making up her mind. Meanwhile, all the men love her and only her. This is ANNOYING. This trait is a common ill in many heroines because for some reason writers believe men have to prove themselves to ladies and not vice versa. I have hated TV heroines for this exact reason and, though I’ve always found Sookie slightly annoying and abrasive at times, I prevented myself from putting her in this category for a long time.

She says she’s loyal but I don’t know about that on an emotional level. Reading this book was painful to me on many levels because I feel it’s obvious Eric has willingly submitted himself to the bond between them (I say submitted because she has A LOT of power over him) because he loves her. She never allows him to say that because I do not believe she loves him. Eric initiated a lot of the emotional talk between them in Dead to the World (and thereafter). He has always chased her and softened long before her. She spends most of her time denying what he says to her is true (even offhand complements about enjoying sex or her beauty are doubted because of his age and experience). The other half enjoying the lust of perfect sex with such an experienced man. Every time he kisses her, she mentions her enjoyment in connection with his VAST EXPERIENCE in the art of kissing, not the simple pleasure of kissing him for who he is. Like her reaction is what anybody would feel because he is skilled and not because she has any particular feelings for him.

She says she hasn’t made a decision about her feelings because she isn’t sure if what she feels is due to the bond or not. I believe this is partially true but she never had these qualms with Bill and she had a reasonably strong bond there too having taken Bill's blood twice. In the end, I think most of what she waffles about Eric is bullshit. I had serious Veronica vibes from her in this book and that made me uncomfortable because I don’t want to hate another female character just because I believe my favourite character is about to get clobbered over the head with the reality that he’s not the one for the girl. I'm irritated for the same reason I get irritated with a lot of serial paranormal romances. The flitting back and forward for hot sex between multiple supernatural creatures just because it's sexy.

I felt this book was depressing and shallow and glossed over way too many moments. We never got to pause and absorb, we never got to experience genuine reactions to multiple revelations. Harris further pulled apart Eric and Sookie through the strength of their bond. One of the major parts of their relationship I loved was their spark, the way they battled with wits – this was doused because Sookie couldn’t seem to stay angry with him. She understood him and calmed down very easily because he was calm and thus we didn't really get to read one of their verbal spars in this novel. Not only did it make Eric look like he was manipulating and controlling Sookie’s emotions but it gave Charlaine Harris the easy out – she didn’t need to write a difficult conversation between them because they were incapable of it. What an ingenious stroke of laziness!!!

Thus whenever an interesting ethical moment came up (Eric tricking Sookie into presenting him with the marriage knife to protect her from being taken by the new King etc.), she just got a bit upset and then seemed to shrug it off. There was no conversation where we could see the arguments on either side and experience the emotions in that struggle – his desire to protect her and keep her, against her desire to be completely independent (even if it puts her life at risk).

Nope. In this book they just have nice chats about stuff that, though interesting, is NOT what we want to read about given all the important stuff that needs to be covered and never is. I mean, I'm glad we finally know how Eric became a vampire but I was distracted throughout the whole conversation just wondering what he was going on about and WHY. It felt jagged and out of place, like a lot of the random bits of information in this novel.

It’s almost like Charlaine Harris was scared of Eric/Sookie now that Bill/Sookie has such popularity on the show and that many of her new readers will have come from the show’s fanbase. It felt like a copout to have Bill suddenly rise to a main character again after so long on the sidelines. IT’s especially annoying given that the character that HAD been building up to a relationship with Sookie that probably won’t go any further now was Eric.

Heck, why have a conversation between Eric and Sookie at all when we can just delay, delay, delay until no one gives a flying fuck and Bill has been redeemed? I honestly think the memories of ‘their time’ in book four have very little relevance to their current relationship except that Eric wanted to marry her then (when he had no sly motivations) and kind of is married to her now. His feelings, as I said, are quite clear even if Sookie refuses to acknowledge them because then she’d have to admit she’s the one using him for sex. I really don’t believe after this book that she feels anything like the depth he does. She has valid reasons to be unsure, but when you throw in the fact she's now in love with someone else and we've been purposefully prevented from learning anything new about the implications of the blood bond, I just don't see how their relationship can go anywhere. Sookie doesn't want it to.

A bunch of characters I loved died, that didn’t help me appreciate the book especially since ONE of those characters had a Rowling death (that’s my term for major character deaths not considered important enough to explore by the author so they happen off-page – it happened a lot in Deathly Hallows). I hate Rowling deaths.

The most intriguing comment that had my brain screaming was also the most foreboding and the reason I’ll probably return to not reading the future books until I’ve been spoiled and prepared for the worst. I did have some optimism for a while, but Pam’s last comment made my skin crawl. When Clancy died, Eric stated quite seriously that he would live on in Bill (who he had given a lot of blood to so Bill could fight the fae). Pam then said – bizarrely – "as you live on in Sookie."

WHAT??????

What the hell does that mean???

When I first read it, I just thought it made no sense at all. Then I read some reviews and realized some people may be on to something--

Is Eric dying? Did he make some kind of deal we don’t know about? I was really confused when I read that comment and flicked back through the pages wondering what it referred to because it was a bit too morbid to refer to their bond. Especially when Pam says it quietly. Is Eric going to die? I will be so PISSED OFF, especially given this is the same scene in which Bill and SOokie are holding hands as their injured bodies are taken away. It’s like Eric has done something to facilitate a happy reunion between them. Blegh. Blegh. Blegh. One of the biggest fears with the show is that they will not seriously explore Eric as a contender for Sookie's heart. Of course they won't. Nor will Sam, Alcide or Quinn (if they show up) stand a chance. Alan Ball has said verbatim that the show is about Bill/Sookie. But what if the books are about Bill/Sookie too??? What if all the other guys Sookie has discarded when the going got tough were just instruments to make her see that she's meant to go back to Bill? ARGHHHHHHH.

I wish I could be happy either way but I can’t. Not with Bill. I really went off his character when he raped her and before that I never really loved them as a couple. I always preferred Eric, I am completely biased, but I really feel that there’s nothing Charlaine Harris can do to make me want Sookie to be with Bill. I'd accepted Sam as an option because then Sookie could grow old with someone in the sunlight and have kids. I didn't even mind Alcide. Wasn't that into Quinn but that's probably due to where he was placed in the timeline. But BILL????? Just...no. Never.

The only way I will want that is if I start to hate Sookie. If Eric dies, congratulations, I’ll want her with Bill…so that I can trap them in her house inside my head and burn them alive.

People seem all over the place in regards to this series. alethialia didn’t perceive any weakening in the Eric/Sookie bond (as described by Charlain Harris before the book was released) but I think their bond did weaken. Charlaine Harris seemed to lose interest in them as a potential couple and seems to be starting to fire the nails into Eric’s coffin so to speak, in the same way she did with Bill. Only Bill has come back now and Sookie has forgiven him everything.

Sigh.

Whhhhhhyyy?

Sookie has never really grown as a character, as established by her unwillingness to see something different in Eric even though he has DRASTICALLY changed in his behaviour toward her. Pam even spoke to her out of genuine concern for his emotional wellbeing (in book seven, I think) and Sookie just fobbed her off because she was in a relationship and it wasn’t her fault. I don’t think she can make her relationships work because she doesn’t change. She can’t adapt to how the characters around her change either. Thus, she can only end up with Bill because he’s the one she loved at the start and the one she was willing to open up to. Nothing has changed since then. Bill had to commit the most grevious of sins for her to cast him out – two of them – and she’s still forgiven him while never really letting either Quinn or Eric into her heart.

I think Sookie has to change after this book or there will be no realism. I can't see it as a positive change since the end of the book indicates: a) Bill regression, b) severe depression, and c) apathy with the world. The world is a destructive horrible place trying to use her and pull her in different directions. The new vampire King, the FBI, Eric, Bill, the fae, the shifters...everyone wants a piece of her and she is pulled apart. That's what it felt like and it was depressing, there was no spark of life and I don't see how she could pick herself up after this unless she's going to clutch to Bill. Which would just depress me more given their history.

If her only ‘change’ is to forgive Bill then the darkness and pain of this book was not worth it. IT would feel more like regression than growth to me personally. If Sookie bounces back like her torture was nothing…it’s completely unrealistic. In reality, I’d hope she didn’t become emotionally involved with either vampire for a long time while she absorbs what happened. Given she didn't absorb anything in the last book, it seems unlikely. All I can imagine is Sookie turning to Bill for comfort and casting Eric out because he didn’t save her, in the same way she cast Quinn out for not putting her first. I can’t imagine her willing to listen to his explanations because, since the torture was so bad, she may consider no excuse good enough (even if, god forbid, it had to do with sacrificing himself or something vital to him). Thus, Eric is out in the cold again while Bill is warming up.

And Sam is still waiting in the wings. Part of me is cheering on Sam but I know his suit is probably hopeless too unless the kid thing sinks all vampires.

Sigh.

Given that the show took all the great Eric moments out of the early books, I don’t see any light at the moment for Eric/Sookie shippers. I was hoping reading this book would give my only "ship" at the moment a boost. Alas....I feel less optimistic than before.

At the moment, I’m still barely clinging to my love for all things Eric and Pam on the show. Is it wrong that if Sookie does go back to Bill and they’re happy ever after, I hope Pam cuts her off? I know they have a great friendship and all but I'm vengeful and so are vampires. lol I love Pam’s loyalty and protective streak when it comes to Eric, her genuine alarm at what his love for Sookie is doing to him and the power of his dominion. I’d love me some protective Pam.

At the moment I'll just watch the show for the pretty and try to turn off my brain. It's very difficult to do because the show seems to intentionally do scenes that included important Eric/Sookie moments in the books - but erases the Eric/Sookie part in those scenes. It's really, really weird and obvious. I don't understand it at all since Bill doesn't need to look more like a hero after the final episode of WHATEVER last season. It's like they don't want to give Eric a chance in the mind's of the viewers, even though Alan Ball has said the books themselves were about Sookie and Bill's love. If that's true, why not explore the complications in that love how they happened rather than trying to throw a wet blanket over any Eric/Sookie moment?

As for the books...I won't have to worry for a while but I've lost all interest in rereading. All I see when I read now is Bill/Sookie foreshadowing and I want that shit OUT of my brain. lol