The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

( 61 )

Overview

Charlaine Harris has topped the bestseller charts and become a nationwide phenomenon, thanks to the unconventional, and otherworldly, life of Sookie Stackhouse. Now take a closer look at Sookie and her family, friends, enemies, adventures, and-of course-the lovers who set her world on fire...

Visit Bon Temps, the small Louisiana town that Sookie calls home, with a detailed map created by Charlaine herself, and learn the characteristics of the supernaturals who live there: ...

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The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

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More About This Book

Overview

Charlaine Harris has topped the bestseller charts and become a nationwide phenomenon, thanks to the unconventional, and otherworldly, life of Sookie Stackhouse. Now take a closer look at Sookie and her family, friends, enemies, adventures, and-of course-the lovers who set her world on fire...

Visit Bon Temps, the small Louisiana town that Sookie calls home, with a detailed map created by Charlaine herself, and learn the characteristics of the supernaturals who live there: vampires, two- natured, and fae. Examine all the branches of Sookie's family tree. And eavesdrop on the private conversations between rival vampires Eric and Bill.

Also, enjoy the compelling, never-before-published novella "Small- Town Wedding," in which Sookie accompanies her shape-shifting boss, Sam, to his brother's wedding in Texas, where happily-ever-after seems very far away....

Exclusive interviews with True Blood creator Alan Ball and author Charlaine Harris-complied from fan questions-will satisfy your craving for all things Sookie, as will trivia questions, recipes (including Caroline Bellefluer's famous chocolate cake!), and a concordance to the Sookie Stackhouse novels.

Winner of the 2012 Macavity Award for Best Nonfiction/Critical Work
Winner of the 2012 Anthony Award for Best Critical Nonfiction

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Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

Sookie Stackhouse is indisputably the most famous telepathic waitress in history. Since she first emerged in 2001, the Bon Temps sleuth has captivated us in twelve Southern Vampire Mysteries, more than a dozen short stories and novellas, and five HBO True Blood seasons. It should not surprise us then that we still want to know more about our paranormal protagonist. The Sookie Stackhouse Companion fills that need in unexpected ways: In addition to its detailed map of Sookie's Louisiana haunts; a vigorous shaking of the Stackhouse family tree; recipes; trivia questions; and a supernatural who's who, this 480-page omnibus includes interviews with Charlaine Harris and True Blood creator Alan Ball—and, not least, a previous unpublished Southern Vampire mystery novella. Now in trade paperback and NOOK Book.

Kirkus Reviews

After 11 novels in her Sookie Stackhouse supernatural mystery series, as well as an extremely popular TV adaptation (HBO'sTrue Blood), Harris (Dead Reckoning, 2011, etc.) has provided her dedicated fanbase with this mostly superfluous companion work.

The primary appeal of theCompanionis a new Sookie novella by Harris, "Small-Town Wedding," which finds Sookie accompanying her boss and friend Sam Merlotte to his brother's wedding in a small Texas town. Sam, a shape-shifter who can take the form of various animals, is worried about prejudice directed at his shape-shifting family now that the "two-natured" (as they're known in the series) have revealed themselves to the general public, just as vampires did in Harris' first Sookie novel,Dead Until Dark (2001). "Wedding" features a simple story that adds dimension to Harris' wider fictional world while remaining squarely focused on two of her long-running characters, and it serves as a nice spotlight for Sam and his family. The rest of the book is mostly filler, including painstakingly detailed (but completely dry) summaries of all the Sookie novels and short stories to date, as well as similarly exhaustive entries on every character, no matter how minor, who's ever appeared in the series. Those sections might at least be informative for readers who can't be bothered to check Wikipedia or fan websites, but features like the history of Harris' fan club, a selection of recipes inspired by the books and an instantly outdated interview withTrue Bloodcreator Alan Ball are almost completely useless. This hodgepodge of material will only become more irrelevant as Harris continues the series, adding narrative pieces outside of the scope of theCompanion.

The previously unpublished novella is charming, but the rest of the book is for hardcore Sookie completists only.

monstersandcritics.com
Can't get enough of Sookie Stackhouse, then grab a copy of this comprehensive guide filled with a complete rundown on her many adventures and so much more.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780441019717
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 8/30/2011
  • Series: Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Series
  • Pages: 480
  • Sales rank: 249,352
  • Product dimensions: 6.40 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.30 (d)

Meet the Author

Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris writes both fantasies and mysteries.

Biography

A native of the Mississippi Delta, Charlaine Harris grew up in a family of avid readers (her father was a teacher; her mother a librarian). She attended Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, graduating in 1973 with a degree in English and Communication Arts. Although she penned poetry and plays in school, her first serious foray into fiction was with two standalone novels, Sweet and Deadly and A Secret Rage, published (effortlessly!) in the early 1980s.

After her early success, Harris released the first installment in a series of lighthearted mysteries starring spunky, small-town Georgia librarian, true crime enthusiast, and amateur sleuth Aurora Teagarden. When Aurora debuted in Real Murders (1990), Publishers Weekly welcomed "a heroine as capable and potentially complex as P. D. James's Cordelia Gray." The book went on to receive an Agatha Award nomination.

Anxious for another challenge, Harris began a second series in 1996. Darker and edgier than the Teagarden novels, these mysteries featured taciturn, 30-something housecleaner Lily Bard, a woman with a complicated past who has moved to the small town of Shakespeare, Arkansas, to find peace and solitude. The first novel, Shakespeare's Landlord, was well-received. BookList raved: "Harris has created an intriguing new character in this solidly plotted story." [Much to the disappointment of her fans, Harris concluded the Lilly Bard sequence in 2001 with Shakespeare's Counselor.]

Although Harris achieved moderate success with these two series (which she laughingly describes as "cozies with teeth"), she would hit the jackpot in 2001 with Dead Until Dark, a sly, spoofy paranormal mystery starring a telepathic Louisiana cocktail waitress named Sookie Stackhouse, who falls in love with a vampire named Bill. The novel, a delightful hybrid of mystery, science fiction, and romance, was an instant hit with critics. ("Harris' Sookie has the potential to attract more readers than Hamilton's Anita Blake," raved the dark fantasy magazine Cemetery Dance.) Readers, too, adored the Southern Vampire Series and have rewarded the author with bestseller after bestseller. (In 2008, the Sookie saga came to HBO in a top-rated television adaptation, True Blood, starring Anna Paquin.)

With 2006's Grave Sight, Harris added yet another fascinating character to her stable -- a young woman named Harper Connelly whose youthful encounter with a lightning bolt has left her with the ability to find corpses and determine how they died. In addition to juggling characters and plots for her popular series, Harris has also contributed short stories and novellas to several anthologies of paranormal fantasy fiction.

Good To Know

In our interview, Harris confesses:

"I'm really a boring person. My family (my husband and three children) is the most important thing in my life. I go to bed early, I get up early. I love to go to the movies with my husband. My favorite things about finally making some money as a writer are (a) I can buy as many books as I want, and (b) I can hire a maid. The first job I had was working in an offset darkroom at a very small newspaper. I stood on a concrete floor all day and made minimum wage -- which then was $1.60 an hour. I hated it, and I learned a lot, though not necessarily about working in a darkroom. So being a writer is much better."

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    1. Hometown:
      Southern Arkansas
    1. Date of Birth:
      November 25, 1951
    2. Place of Birth:
      Tunica, Mississippi
    1. Education:
      B.A. in English and Communication Arts, Rhodes, 1973
    2. Website:
      http://www.charlaineharris.com

Table of Contents

Preface:The World of Sookie Stackhouse Charlaine Harris ix

Bon Temps and Its Environs xii

"Small-Town Wedding" Charlaine Harris 1

Life in Bon Temps Victoria Koski 81

The Sookie Short Stories and Related Material Charlaine Harris 211

Vampires, Two-Natured, and Fairies, Oh My!: Sookie Discusses the Creatures She's Met Charlaine Harris 217

Sookie's Family Tree 226

Sookie Stackhouse Trivia: How Much of a Sookie Fan Are You? Beverly Battillo Victoria Koski 227

What's Cookin' in Bon Temps: A Selection of Down-Home Southern Recipes 241

Inside True Blood: Alan Ball Answers Questions from the Fans 28

From Mystery to Mayhem: The Works of Charlaine Harris Beverly Battillo 289

Recollections Around the Duckpond: The Fans of Charlaine Harris Beverly Battillo 295

Charlaine Harris Answers Questions from Her Fans

A Guide to the World of Sookie Stackhouse Victoria Koski 313

About the Editor 463

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 61 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(26)

4 Star

(12)

3 Star

(11)

2 Star

(8)

1 Star

(4)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 62 Customer Reviews

  • Posted October 4, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    Great guide!

    This is a wonderful companion to the series. Charlaine doesn't leave anything out! Every book is broken down by day with a summary of each. The short story is pretty cool too although I wish she would have said where in the series it belonged, it took me a while to figure it out. I love love love the secret conversations with Eric & Bill. The font she chose for them is so them. I do however think she should have waited to release this book until the series was 100% completed in 2013 since she'll only be releasing 2 more books, 2012 & 2013 then it's over...

    9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted September 12, 2011

    Lovely guide to the series

    This book is a very lovely guide to the Sookie Stackhouse series i really enjoyed it.

    4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 10, 2011

    Waste of money.

    There was only one story in this book. I wish I had know before I spent the money on it.

    3 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted August 4, 2011

    Pre order 14.99

    Push the pre Order buttonand price shows, 14.99. It seems to be like a get to know Sookie and her life, friends, and crazy town of Bon Temps and Shreveport, don't forget about Eric! LOL....... I don't think I'll get it because I already am a big fan of Sookies, I don't think I'll learn too much more about Sookie that can't wait for the next "real" book. Just my opinion.

    3 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted September 4, 2011

    I Also Recommend:

    Nocturne
    Dracula (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
    Dracula, My Love: The Secret Journals of Mina Harker

    An enjoyable series...

    ..some of the books in this series (esp. the first 4 or 5) are great fun and page turners, others are lacking, but the series overall is well worth reading. However.....how can this Companion Book (as a previous reviewer stated) have a wonderful plot, interesting characters, emotion and suspense??? It's a companion to the series, filled with lots of info, recipes and the authors thoughts, not a novel. Enjoy.

    2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 17, 2011

    Good Review and Companion of Series

    Great Commpanion Guide! Clears up some questions; tells where short stories fit in series; great secret dialogues between Bill and Eric and good synopsis of each book in series. Plus a bonus novella, "Small Town Wedding."

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 20, 2011

    Informative

    Can use as a good reference for anything from the series, even goes as far as to list every single character ever mentioned and give descriptions of each one. Cant wait for the next book with a storyline to come out!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 1, 2011

    I Also Recommend:

    Beelzebub Girl (Ancient Legends)

    Good read

    Wonderful plot, interesting characters, Emotion, a little suspense. I enjoyed it.

    1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 30, 2013

    Love the Voices in this book!

    Love the Voices in this book!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted November 15, 2012

    This is a great companion to the series. I just finished re-rea

    This is a great companion to the series. I just finished re-reading the series from start to end and I was pining for the release of the next installment, which won't happen for six more months, when I came across this on BN and just had to get it. I loved the short story in the beginning, that details what exactly happened at Sam's brother's wedding in Texas. The private conversations between Eric and Bill were wonderful!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 23, 2012

    Just OK

    I liked the short story and interview portion of the book.... but overall not worth the money!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 18, 2012

    Super disapointed

    I have to say i'm super disapointed in the book! Maybe i just didnt realize what a "companion" book was suppose to be but i definetly thought it would have more stories in it about the characters. The one story that was in it was really good but it was only 80 some pages long. Kinda feel like i just wated $15!

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 10, 2012

    Nothing new here.

    Not worth the money. Thr interviews are ridiculous and therest is a repeat of what we already know. Very disappointing.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 29, 2011

    Not worth the money...

    This book is highly overrated by many. I am a big fan of the series, but this book was a huge disappointment.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 1, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 2, 2012

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 28, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

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    Posted January 3, 2012

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    Posted January 4, 2013

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    Posted September 1, 2011

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 62 Customer Reviews
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