All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris. Review by Violet Kane

As Charlaine Harris is one of the major authors in the newly popular genres of urban and romantic fantasy, I knew after seeing her on the bestseller lists that she would be a must-read for any conscientious SFF magazine editor. But seeing as that she's a major author in the newly popular genre of romantic fantasy, I was wary. Despite some inevitable genre trappings, however, I must say that I enjoyed this book more than I expected to.

Human telepath Sookie Stackhouse finds herself, at the beginning of this novel, enlisted by her powerful Louisiana vampire associates to serve as witness for their queen in a trial to be held at an upcoming conference of vampire royalty from across the United States. This conference is of particular significance to the vampires in Sookie's state of Louisiana because of the devastation of hurricane Katrina; if the trial goes badly for the Queen of Louisiana she'll find herself in danger and her State vulnerable to takeover. Meanwhile, Sookie finds her romantic involvement with Quinn, a were-tiger and master of ceremonies at the conference, growing more intense. But can their romance survive the power-plays of the vampires at the conference, and moreover can either of them survive without getting caught in the quite-literal cross-fire of internal vampire feuds and conservative anti-vamp splinter groups amongst the human population?

On Audio

There are, of course, a lot of predictable formulaic turns in this book. The vampire conflicts, alone, fill the genre formula quota; also the love relationship between Sookie and Quinn does not follow a terribly surprising path. The vampire plot and the romantic plot combine to create situations where dangerous situations intensify the relationship—I've seen it a million times before. Yet, there was something different about this novel. The over-arching plot was not, in fact, predictable, despite the number of tired tropes one runs into along the way. And while it may sound like a cliché, the sassy heroine Sookie is actually quite likeable. Her sassiness is not trite, but endearingly balanced with a more complex characterization. The overall plot may not be character-driven, but the characters do push things forward a lot of the time with their own decision-making and while there are elements of mystery and romance, the overall plot is not controlled by the formulas from either of these genres.

While the romantic genre elements and vampire clichés in this novel may very well be too much for a lot of SFF readers to take, it is not without redeeming qualities and is a rare treat for those of us who enjoy a guilty pleasure or two, but so seldom find anything tolerable among similar genre offerings.

Violet "Violanthe" Kane is the Webmaster and Founder of ARWZ.com. She is an editor of ARWZ Literary Zine and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Medieval studies.

Buy the Cover? (7/15)
07/15/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:55 pm Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book. Would you buy this book having looked... read more

Favorite Setting
07/07/2010

Author: SKS Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:09 pm Do you prefer stories that take place... in a city? In a rural area? On a beach? In a small town? In a foreign country? etc. etc? read more

Buy the Cover? (7/6)
07/06/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:01 pm Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book. Would you buy this book having looked... read more

The Price you Pay
06/23/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:20 pm How much is too much for a book or DVD? How much will you pay for your favorite author or show? read more

Buy the Cover? (6/23)
06/23/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:17 pm Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book. Would you buy this book having looked... read more

Do you go to your library?
06/22/2010

Author: SKS Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:26 pm Do you use your local library? How often? read more

Buy the Cover? (6/22)
06/22/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:23 pm Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book. Would you buy this book having looked... read more

Didn't sit well
06/17/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 3:29 pm Have you read or watched anything lately that just didn't sit well with you? Something that bothered you or kept you thinking? read more

Buy the Cover? (6/17)
06/17/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 3:26 pm Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book. Would you buy this book having looked... read more

Covers you Remember
06/14/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:59 pm What book covers stick out in your mind? Do you have a favorite book from the past whose cover you found particularly striking? Do you remember first seeing the cover of a now-favorite book as you first glimpsed it in the... read more

Buy the Cover? (6/14)
06/14/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:57 pm Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book. Would you buy this book having looked... read more

Author Nationality
06/14/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:55 pm Well, of course we are all bound to read more of authors who speak our own languages. It's harder to come across others who write in different languages simply because the middle man of translator is necessary. A book has to... read more

Politics in fiction
05/12/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 12:50 pm Do you like fiction with a political message, either blatant or underlying? read more

Multi-viewpoint stories
05/12/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 12:48 pm I don't know if they're rare, because I see them a lot, especially in fantasy, but maybe done well they are rare. I don't know that first person is that common either, but rather third person limited. I've gotten some flak... read more

Buy the Cover? (5/10)
05/10/2010

Author: Violanthe Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 1:02 pm Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book. Would you buy this book having looked... read more

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