| Date: 14 April 2011, 04:01
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Dead and Gone, the 9th in the Sookie Stackhouse, Southern Vampire series, is a refreshingly quick read that (finally!) offers some closure on the Sookie-Eric Northman attraction that has been brewing ever since Book 4 when Eric lost his memory of their brief romantic fling after the curse on him was lifted.
Fans of Sookie will be pleased to focus on the central cast of characters, as opposed to the extended cast, which has been building over the past few books as Sookie travels to different locales. The regulars are all present (Sam, Jason, Eric, Bill, Bubba--briefly) along with a few extended cast faces (Calvin Norris, Andy Bellefleur, Claude & Claudine, Octavia Fant) and have some part to play in the two-fold plot.
The Weres "come out" publicly on television causing unrest in escalating human-supernatural tensions which leads to a grisly murder, meanwhile an escalating faerie war erupts to make Sookie the target of her great-grandfather Niall's enemies. This book was somehwat darker than past installments, especially toward the end.
The title could be a metaphor for the reawakening of past tensions which are re-visited during the course of Sookie's (typically) dangerous adventure, especially in regard to romantic relationships. Bill's lingering feelings for Sookie, the (unspoken) sexual tension between Sookie and Sam, and Sam's resentment of Sookie's involvement with vampires, Quinn's dissatisfaction with Sookie's severing of their relationship (his brief appearance adds nothing to the story), and Eric's escalating desire for Sookie (a main plot issue) are examined as Sookie mentally catalogues the men in her life in the midst of her latest crisis. These recycled feelings of former flames grow tiresome as books mount up, especially considering the circumstances of how most of her relationships ended: Bill cheated on her, Quinn couldn't cut the family apron strings, and Sam never stepped up to the plate. Sookie's blood-bond with Eric prompts an exploration of their mutual attraction, and Eric's political maneuvering forces a not-entirely-unwilling Sookie to make a formal tie to him (the rules of which are left open for future books).
In the surprisingly violent and nearly fatal (for several characters) denouement, Sookie becomes a target for assassination in the faerie war that prompts vampire involvement to save her (yet again). As usual, the book leaves loose threads dangling to whet readers' appetites for more, including: the rules of the relationship between Eric and Sookie and how it will affect the vampire/Were community politically; Sookie and brother Jason's family tensions due to the genetic fae blood; the possible end of the fae involvement with humans (and therefore exit of all faerie characters from the Sookie series); and Sookie's (please God let's hope not) feelings for Bill.
All in all, an enjoyable read, a closure on some dead issues, and a stepping stone in the Sookie series. The continuation in Book 10 should prove interesting.
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