Sunday, May 19, 2013

A Writer’s Review of Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris: A Fanged Farewell




Flashplot: Our favorite telepathic waitress is up to the tops of her cowgirl boots in trouble again in this series finale urban fantasy novel. After using the cluviel dor (fancy fairy magic) to save Sam at the end of the last book, Sookie has both boyfriend problems with Eric and assassin troubles with who knows how many psychos. In fabulous finale fashion, Harris manages to bring back all our favorite characters to solve the mystery of who wants Sookie dead this time around and, of course, to answer her reader’s most pressing question: who will Sookie end up with in the end. *Don’t worry; I won’t spoil it!

As a reader: As the dedication states, this book is for the fans. I doubt it could be understood, never mind enjoyed, by anyone unfamiliar to the series. That’s as it should be. Dead Ever After is the thirteenth book in this popular series; Harris doesn’t need to appease or appeal to new readers. I really enjoyed seeing all the principal players from the series make an appearance in this book. And although Sookie’s own reminiscing reads as much like an author’s goodbye as a character’s thoughts, as a long-time fan of the series, I enjoyed this too.

As a writer: One thing that threw me as a fan of the series and as a writer who always admired Harris’s ability to capture Sookie’s voice was the new style of narration. The first dozen books were all told exclusively from Sookie’s first person point of view. Although at times that left the reader in the dark for a little too long, Sookie’s honest and sarcastic voice was a huge draw for readers. This final book jumped around from first person to third person omniscient, with headings to alert the reader to the changes. Perhaps just because it was new to the series, I felt it came off as an obvious device to work in plot elements that couldn’t be told as easily in the first person. I found it jarring, and I was a little disappointed Harris resorted to such a device in the final book.

Bottom line: This wasn’t the best book in the Sookie series, nor was it the worst. It was the last, and, as the last, it had what readers will want: reminders of all we loved along the way and some closure for our favorite mind-reading, sun-loving Bon Temps girl.



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