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Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9)
Dead and Gone - Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9
Author: Charlaine Harris
For Sookie Stackhouse, the day-to-day activities of the vampire and Were communities in and around Bon Temps, Louisiana, are of vital interest. She's blood bound to the leader of the vamps, is a friend to the local Were pack, works for a man who is a shifter, and has a brother who is a werepanther... — But for most of the humans in Bon Temps, the...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780441017157
ISBN-10: 0441017150
Publication Date: 5/5/2009
Pages: 312
Rating:
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 958

4.3 stars, based on 958 ratings
Publisher: Ace Hardcover
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

JJL avatar reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 15
I will start off by saying I love this series. I started it long before the TRUE BLOOD HBO series came out so I have been faithful from the beginning, and have always waited anxiously for the newest book in the series. I also reread the series each time a new book comes out to keep refreshing. Most were great book. A few of her more recent ones left me a little hungry for more as they didnt really hit the spot but they were OK. I was excited for this book hoping Miss Harris would really expand upon the work she had done in her previous books and tie up some of the loose plot lines. Sadly, I feel this book left me feeling both disspaointed and extremely hungry because it wasnt even an appetizer.

Without giving spoilers and ruining it for others, like some of the reviewers I felt there was simply too much going on all at once. I love exciting plotlines and twists and lots of action as much as the next reader. However, I felt in this novel it was overkill. There was not one OK BREATHE moment in the book. Miss Harris opened 20 different cans of worms at once; exciting yes, but also exhausting and confusing. My mind was still literally trying to process one "OH CRAP!" moment, when I was tossed into two more "Double Crap" and "Holy Hell!" moments. There wasn't just one climatic moment; there were about 25 so each time made you wonder if this was it-except you still have 100 pages left.

The end I felt was almost anticlimactic and a little disjointed. CRAZY ending, big show down, throw down and then it just sorta stops? Not quite a fade but you finished the book thinking huh? Should it really have ended there? The characters were just put through some horrific and really tragic events (yes you will need tissues) and a lot of moments of enlightenment and none of that was really touched upon.
Several characters appeared and disappeared like Houdini and some of the more permanent disappearances, one in particular, really left me with a bad taste in my mouth because it was really horrific and tragic and just was not addressed one way or the other. It was sort of thrown at us and then we were left to process it. Which would have been fine had you actually HAD time to process it. But soon after you are thrown into yet more action. All I will say not to give it away is it is in regards to Jason and the Werepanthers.

I also feel Harris didn't adequately give Sookie time to make emotional sense of everything going on around her. This novel like the others is written in first person narrative and when anything happens in our lives, our minds process things at a 100 miles an hour in our minds. Yet Sookie barely touches upon any of these events with much introspection.

(SPOILER) Sookie is captured by renegade fairies and tortured grotesquely-so much so that her mind and body even with the infusions of vamp blood should be in such a fragile state, we should have really FELT it through her thoughts, her words and we dont. Its sorta just blah. She mentions she would never see the world again but its literally one or two sentences and all tell no show about how she suffered. The book ended shortly after.

There was some expansion to the history of Eric which was interesting, but the blood tie between Sookie and Eric from the last book was never really discussed; can it be broken, is it permanent, etc. I am also a LEETLE BIT concerned with the introduction of the blood bond with Eric that makes Sookie feel always peaceful, almost complacent around him. Miss Harris added a new dynamic to that in this book that I wont ruin for you, and it just made me go..OYE...I am REALLY hoping she doesn't go the route that LKH went with the Anita Blake and the ardeur (compulsions to make" her do things)... LKH uses it a cope out and a crutch and Harris is simply too good a writer to go that route so I hope she steers back.

(SPOILER) I also felt the new relationship between Sookie and Eric was sorta baloneywe didnt feel the tension that had been there in previous books because now Sookieis unsure whether her feelings are real or a result of the blood bond. So when she sleeps with him again we get the lust factor but not much else. ANDalthough she was hoping Eric would come and save her when she is tortured, one of her few coherent thoughts is of Sam, wishing he were there so she could be in the presence of someone who loved her; very odd. But there wasnt much interaction with Sam in the rest of the book as per usual so it seemed disjointed.

I did find Erics quote of youre killing me! Youre killing me when he seemed obviously upset about not being able to rescue Sookie himself, interesting. Another layer of mystery but it was abruptly abandoned as well.

I am going to give this 3 stars because it has promise. If Harris can get it together for the next book and write something LENGTHIER than this (this was a short book) and really tie up some loose ends and give us better character development and relationship building and expansion, it will be amazing. I am just HOPING that the next books bring back the storytelling and plot structure we've come to expect from Charlaine Harris.
poohbritt avatar reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 37 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 11
Harris pulled out all the stops for the 9th book in the series. And I'm glad to say that I enjoyed it. It was a sad book in some ways, but satisfying that it developed (and probably wrapped up) some story-lines in the series.

But I have a feeling that this novel marks a point of no return for Sookie. Her character transforms in this book that makes her almost foreign to the somewhat ditzy barmaid that we saw in "Dead Until Dark." But we see more of Eric (yum! Who doesn't want more of that Viking?) and one or two of Sookie's other men.

Basically, once you get into the novel just a bit, be prepared to finish the book in one sitting. Because it's quite a ride.
Shannatram avatar reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 33 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 9
I feel like this was the first Sookie Stackhouse book in a while that started to go back to the series' roots. There was a murder to solve, a bunch of stuff that was unrelated happened in the middle (mostly involving vampires), and they got back to the mystery at the end. Albeit, there was a lot less solving, so much has happened in Sookie's life I don't know if we'll ever get back to it being a mystery series, but this book FELT more like the earlier ones. That's what I like so much about it, it felt like the Southern Vampire series I originally fell in love with.

Vampires have a much more prominent role in this book then they've had previously. It was nice to see them come into the foreground again. Honestly, with all the werewolves and shape shifters and everything else that had been going on, the series was starting to get a little tedious for me, I think because I didn't want to read about all that, I wanted to read about vampires. So I'm glad they've come back. All the other supernatural elements are still there as well.

This book was good, and very exciting. It was the first time I realized how much Sookie has changed and grown, which was really cool to see and realize.
mariep avatar reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 51 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
I've read all the Sookie books and started reading long before True Blood became a hit. It's one of my favorite series in the paranormal genre but I felt this book was medicore at best. I felt that plots were introduced and finished with out much thought. Even though there was a lot going on in this book, none of the plot points had me on the edge of my seat and quite a few of them were introduced and tied up in 10 pgs or less. There were a lot of WTF moments for me. I was not thrilled and hope this is not a sign of things to come w/ this series. Huge disappointment from my favorite author!
reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 37 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
The Sookie Stackhouse series is one of my all time favorites; but Charline Harris' newest addition to the Sookie Series is not my favorite. Usually Harris is good for some laughs even when battles are on the menu. This book is darker than any of her others and that darkness isn't really relieved in the end. Harris is also not nearly as good as Yasmine Galnorn at describing her torture scene... she says the character is not in a happy place but as a reader I felt removed from the situation rather than terrified for the character. It was not nearly as well written as when Bill was tortured several books ago. Also, Sookie appears to be having selective amnesia about things we have learned in previous books in the series. Like the limit of vampire blood one should consume before it endangers the person of contracting vampirism... something stressed back when she was dating Bill. Though I guess this is explained away by Sookie being at her wits end from all the ordeals she has been through in the past year and a half of her life. The part that is really annoying is all this "stuff" really detracts from the romantic interludes in the book. All and all I didn't feel like the book was AS well written as all the others in the series; it lacked the detail necessary to pull me in like she has before. I will be waiting for #10 issues of this one since as another reviewer said "Sookie will never be the same again", which is kinda sad... I hope she pulls out of her funk enough to get us back to some more "fun" stories. Unfortunately it looks like that may be a year or more since the next title and release date has not been posted. :(
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donkeycheese avatar reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 1255 more book reviews
Vampires and werewolves and Sookie, Oh My! Sookie will need to utilize all the favors owed her if she wants to live though the week.

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress at Merlottes bar in the small town of Bon Temps. The world has evolved in the past few years; vampires are welcomed into society. They revealed themselves to the public nationally a few years ago. Sookie has shared blood with the local vampire master Eric several times, so she is blood bound to him. But then he has her bring him a velvet wrapped package one evening, and Sookie finds herself bound even closer to him.

Sookie's boss Sam is a shape-shifter. Sookie has known this for quite some time, but it causes a ripple of shock and dissension to the bar clientele when he shifts shape directly after a news broadcast. The werewolves and shapeshifters thought since it went pretty well for the vampires, they'd reveal their presence to the public as well. Most folks adjust rather quickly to this new phenomenon, but there are many people who just hate the the thought of living with animals.

When Crystal, Sookie's pregnant sister-in-law, is found crucified behind Merlottes, it's believed to be a hate crime. Sookie is determined to prove her brother Jason couldn't possibly of killed his own baby, so she decides to do some checking of her own. Sookie has a rare talent of being able to read people's thoughts. She's learned how to block out much of the noise over the years so she is a bit startled when she removes the block. She learns many interesting facts from the clients of Merlottes, but not who the killer is. Sookie starts looking in the werewolf community. However, another mystical race unrevealed to the public is gathering forces for a war, and Sookie finds herself fighting for her life.

Another grand slam for Charlaine Harris! DEAD AND GONE (SOOKIE STACKHOUSE, BOOK 9), retains the careful world building of the previous Stackhouse books. Sookie shines as she pivots and hurdles every roadblock in her undetermined path. Well-defined characters, a mystery to solve and a splash of romance all put together for pure magic. Loved it!
reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 57 more book reviews
I love Charlaine Harris and her Sookie Stackhouse books. Unfortunatly this one felt rushed and a little too light. Too bad because the fairy war was a great concept.
yisel avatar reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 6 more book reviews
I'm a huge fan of this series and this book is one of the most compelling. It is not my favorite, but it isn't my least favorite either. It has some shocking and graphic parts. Some are very disturbing ones, but reality is not much better either, some of the awful things that happen in real life overcome by far our worst nightmares! On the other hand, it has some of the tenderest and sweetest parts of the entire series. You get to know Eric better, the story of his life and you get to forgive Bill if you are mad at him....he does some heroic things that even for the most die hard Eric's fans (like me) will be hard to forget and honestly...choosing between Bill and Eric after the events of this books will be one tough decision to make.

Enjoy the book..it's a good one in my opinion!
reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 7 more book reviews
This book was a tough one to read, emotionally. That's not to say it's bad; I think it's one of the best of the Sookie Stackhouse books. The plot is meaty, there's a multilayered murder mystery, and so much happens in between the characters. You really learn more about the essential character of some of them than ever before. There's also some great Eric and Sookie action; but enjoy that while you can, because things get gut-wrenching by the end.
reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 3 more book reviews
I like all the Sookie Stackhouse books. I have read them straight thru and they are still entertaining. Look forward to the next ones.
katkeen avatar reviewed Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Bk 9) on + 71 more book reviews
Awesome! I just LOVE Sookie and all the characters that we have come to know in this series!! The weres finally reveal their true nature and some like it, some dont. The ending leaves you craving for more....I cant wait till the next one!

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