Scott Sigler's Reviews > Dead Until Dark

First off, paranormal fiction of any stripe really isn't my bag. I'm more of a hard-science/horror, horror/thriller kind of a guy.

I'm a big fan of the TRUE BLOOD television series. My wife tricked me into watching it, because I was convinced I "couldn't possibly like yet another kissy-vampire show." Well, I was wrong; I got hooked on the campy fun of TRUE BLOOD right off the bat.

Since I'm an author and have high hopes of seeing one of my own books turned into a series someday, I picked up the first DEXTER book and DEAD UNTIL DARK to see how TV writers adapted novels for the small screen. DEXTER blew me away and still ranks as one of the most brilliant "high concept" ideas in horror fiction.

Then I read DEAD UNTIL DARK, and you know what? It's fantastic. I need to get over my snooty attitude about paranormal romance, because this is just a flat-out good story.

Harris creates a fantastic main character. Sookie Stackhouse is full of flaws and doubts, and at the same time is perfectly content in her normal life. As content as she can be, considering her telepathic abilities. The normalcy and neuroses of Sookie make her instantly "real." I was empathizing with her before any of the madness started, and that let me slip into the story and accept all the paranormal activity: I mean, it's not happening to some character, it's happening to my rational friend Sookie, so it's okay to believe in it.

Bottom line: loved the book, loved the character. The novel is fun, sexy and puts a great skin on a Down South murder mystery. It's no wonder this series is so popular.