Dead Until Dark

Since I am a fan of the True Blood show I was excited when I found out it was a series of novels. For entertainment purposes I enjoyed Dead Until Dark, however the main character Sookie Stackhouse has some anti-feminist characteristics. Right away I saw parallels between Sookie and Bella from Twilight obliviously because they both are in a romantic relationship with a vampire. Also the side character Sam ,who is a shape shifter, parallels Jacob the werewolf from Twilight. On the other hand Sookie is much more powerful because she can read minds. Also her personality is stronger than Bella’s, for example Sookie saves Bill from the Rattay’s when they are in the parking lot. The author Charlaine Harris plays into the male gaze when she describes the outfit of Sookie when she was at Fantasia. The character Bill has a lot of similarities to Edward in the Twilight series. They are both much older than there significant others. The relationship between Bill and Sookie is unhealthy because of how controlling Bill is towards Sookie. Throughout the novel Bill is calling “mine” like she is a piece of property. Even though Sookie is slightly irritated by the fact Bill wanted her to dress more formal she sometimes abides by his wishes. This is controlling because Bill is trying to dictate what clothes Sookie can wear out. Also Mr. Compton is always putting Sookie into dangerous situations like when Sookie came over for a date and two vampires were waiting at the house. Sookie warns Bill about the infected human and she heroically saves his life for the second time. Although Sookie has a quick tongue towards the vampire she admits that she had to steal her lines from her brother Jason Stackhouse.
For the most part the book and the HBO series are lined very well besides the fact Terra is missing from the book and Bubba is not in the T.V. show. Like most True Blood fans I was extremely disappointed Terra is not in the book because the dialogue between Bill and Sookie gets dry in parts of the book and Terra provides great entertainment. She strong female character always adamant about telling Sookie she is making a mistake with Bill Compton. Not only is Terra witty she is a good addition to the story because often in the novel you are wondering why on earth is Sookie is putting herself in harm’s way for the vampire she just meet. Another difference is that the show downplays the fact Rene is a grimy individual and as a viewer you are surprised when he ends up being the killer. While reading the book Harris hints at the fact Rene is a suspect for the murders. Rene is posted in front of Dawn’s house when Sookie got to the house. Also in the beginning Rene is buying weed of the Rattay’s which playing into the fact he is a eventually killer. Another example is that in the book Harris’s reveals Rene’s Cajun accent is fake and in the HBO series they drag you along not knowing it is a bullshit accent. There are other slight differences such as Jason’s car in the book he has a black lifted truck with pink swirls on it in the show it is just a plain red truck. I think the character of Jason Stackhouse is a good example of a female gaze. For example his sister always commenting on how he is so attractive, multiple female characters chasing him down, he is a gentlemen, and the star quarterback of the football.