The Road to Oz for Sookie Stackhouse
580636
All Together Dead is the sixth book in Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries.  Again, Harris doesn't disappoint, although as the books progress, it seems that Harris is writing more and more with the hope the SouthernVampire Mysteries get turned into a blockbuster juggernaut not unlike the Harry Potter Series.  Our heroine, Sookie Stackhouse, continues her long and arduous descent into the supernatural world which seems to grow larger and larger with each installation.  Stop reading here if you haven't read books one through five because because I wouldn't want to deprive readers of the taking that journey with our heroine.  First there were vampires, then there were shapeshifters, and then came the faeries, who want to become angels, and then the goblins, and now we enter, as they say in the Twilight Zone, another dimension...

The theory goes that hey, if you can believe in vampires , then you can believe that the world is larger than what we may have previously believed it to be.  And in this larger world, those misfits previously thought to be just crazy and undesirable might just be the most popular belle in the ball.  In the human world our Sookie was a nobody - just a barmaid with no college education who was constantly being either looked down upon or groped by the patrons of her place of employment.  In the supernatural world, her dance card is always full, the most powerful beings fall for her and someone is always willing to take a bullet or an arrow for our heroine.  It is no wonder that Sookie begins to feel more loyal for her undead friends.  Few humans have treated her well.  Her gift is viewed as despicable and downright rude.  She herself calls it a disability during the beginnings of her story. Human ignorance and intolerance create nothing but destruction and disaster.  Never mind that the vampires' code of conduct can be equally appalling and cruel, or that they look at humans as food and hired help.  Now more than ever, Sookie is beginning to think like the supes.  She feels an obligation to protect them and save them, sometimes at the expense of humans who get cross in the crossfire.

It is an interesting twist to Sookie's character.  I am looking forward to reading the next installation to see how far she goes down this road.
2970820
Number 8 in the Sookie Stachouse series is a great book. It is wonderfully descriptive. It was nice to see the old characters and some new ones. These books just keep getting better and better. I have been hooked since the first book and I have bought every book since then. Charlaine Harris has an eye for people and it shows in her books. This book makes me yearn for the next one in the series. For those that have read her books this is another home run in a string of homeruns. FOr people who haven't read her books you don't know what you're missing so pick one up now.
3223634
Not going into spoilers, so many realities unravel into Sookie's world that kept me reading. This book I loved more than the first book. It was enjoyable, intriguing, and full of mysteries.  Can't wait till I finish reading the whole series, it has been an exciting journey.  I definitely recommend this book.
1706070
I am a big fan of the Sookie Stackhouse series and this collection of short stories is a great addition. It gives readers just a little more background on some of the supporting characters plus it was just a fun read.
2042654
I had already read this, I had bought it to add to my collection of Sookie books. haha. This book series is a guilty pleasure of mine, I love the Sookie Stackhouse novels. For me they are just simply fun to read, and easy to read. If I'm busy with school work, and don't have time for a huge detailed book like Stephen King, I can just pick one of these up and read for a few hours just loving the characters. Not everyone will agree, these books are a hit or a miss. Like the HBO tv series. But this book I read in like 3 days, I loved it. So much fun to read, Eric was a bigger part in this book, which was fun, and I love reading about like cult religious groups who are just . . . well crazy. Lol Had a lot of fun with the Fellowship of the Sun, and their craziness! Hope fans of the Sookie books loves this volume as well.
458818
I have loved the Sookie Stackhouse books since long before True Blood, in fact since they first came out. Sookie is a delightful character and I've enjoyed every one of them. This book makes a nicely finished ending to the series.

There are lots of different styles to writing the final book in a series. It might be, as Harry Potter's was, the end of a quest. But this one is sort of a fond farewell and a wrap-up of Sookie's story. The villains in this book we've met before. We've met the victim before. All the vampires but one we've met before. The weres we've met before. The people in Bon Temps we've met before.

This book is a chance to see them all again, and to round out most of the stories. It does a lovely job of it, one that made me happy throughout.

I think that people's reactions to the book are based on the reasons they have been reading the series. Do you read it because they are vampire books? Then you won't like it, because their world plays a small role here. Do you like that you don't really see too much of Sookie's philosophy of life? You probably won't like that the circumstances of the novel make this play a bigger, and to me satisfying, part. Did you wish there were more exotic locales? Almost all the action takes place in Bon Temps.

I never read these books for any of those reasons, I read them for Sookie. Her gift, her supernatural friends, lovers, and enemies always have made for compelling reading. I also like that this book explores the nature of friendship, acquaintance, and love among normal, gifted, and supernatural beings.

In short, I loved it.
2963033
I have loved the Oz books since I was 5 years old, and have a large collection.  So I'm always interested in anything Oz related.  This movie is Oz; it's far more faithful to the MGM movie than it is to the book series, and takes liberties with a history not mentioned often in any of the books, but it has the feel of the land and what makes Oz a special place.  The story told here leaves no place for Ozma, at least not as the book series placed her and her lineage.  There's plenty of room for sequels before Dorothy makes her trip to Oz, and I'm looking forward to them.  I also feel the treatment and explanation for the Wicked Witches (East and West) to be superior to that done in Wicked, a subject that was never really addressed in Baum's books.  All in all I think both Baum (who often tried to get Oz stories done on stage and screen) and Disney (who wanted to do a live action Oz film) would be pleased with this movie.  I was.
1311935
I have really enjoyed reading the Sookie Stackhouse series--the humans, vampires, were-animals and shapeshifters. Now you can add the Fae as well.

Sookie and Eric (vamp) are still together except there are rumblings of a new queen in Oklahoma. Eric, with Pam and the other vampires are out to kill Victor who is Eric's boss. He is causing too many problems. But then Sookie has problems of her own--someone has firebombed the bar and is out to kill her too.

This series is one that I can't put down. It drew me in. I loved following Sookie and her adventures with the undead, weres and Sam. This book was funny, sad and everything in-between.
2980598
3.5-4 stars

This was a pretty good addition to the series. I liked Sookie in the story. The story starts out with Sookie living her normal life and there's a bit going on in her relationship with Quinn. Quinn has been working a lot and since he travels a lot for his work she hasn't seen him much but he does manage to stop in for a couple days to see her and things go well between them. The Vampire summit is coming up soon and they'll both be busy because of it since Sookie is going there with the Vampire queen of Louisiana and Quinn is one of the organizers. They do make plans to spend a month together after the summit since Quinn will be able to take time off work then. The summit is fraught with problems though... People are gunning for the queen while she's in a weak position and there's issues with the humans in the "Fellowship" planning an attack against the summit in order to take out as many Vampires as possible. Of course, Sookie gets caught up in the middle of a bunch of it and although she comes out alright she ends up with more burdens than ever.

This was a pretty enjoyable story. Sookie was her same self in this story and was pivotal in the plots and the foiling of them. Although she was with Quinn in this story, their relationship is far from stable and I'm not sure how things will proceed in the next book. She ends up being blood-bonded to Eric which is part of what causes some instability between her and Quinn. With all she goes through and sees, Sookie isn't interested in spending time with Vampires in the future (at least for a while) so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. Overall, the story was interesting and fast paced and I'd recommend it as part of the series. :)

* note - I listened to the audio version of this story and the narrator did a very good job. FYI, the last 30 minutes of the audio version is actually a preview of the next book.
4954174
Although I'm sure Fannie Flagg doesn't need my endorsement she gas it. This is an entertaining story about family and relationships and how the past affects the present. The unique history of aviation was a relative and fascinating bonus to the story. It was great to see how the lovable Sookie finally had her chance to grow. Lots of laughs and chuckles.
980019
I always look forward to a new Sookie Stackhouse novel. She's a very relatable, likeable character, for all her quirks. The story is up to Ms. Harris' usual level--so it's excellent.
33092
I was looking for some supernatural books and stumbled upon this box set and this is what started my fascination with the Sookie Stackhouse series. I loved all the books and have gone on to read the entire series. I actually didn't know about the show until i saw the HBO label on the front and after reading a few books, i started the show. Both are great though i prefer the books much more!
1648769
Charlaine Harris has restored my faith in the sookie stackhouse series. I will be the first to admit to being a little weary to read Dead Reckoning. For the simple fact that Dead in the Family left me angry, and confused with were Harris was going with the series. This Sookie installment starts out with a bang, and the action doesn't stop there. Dead Reckoning is action packed and will not leave you bored.

I know that everyone is crazy over Eric, but I just don't see it in this book. Sookie and Eric supposedly love each other but they never talk, and they never spend any time together.(Not to mention he has been hiding a very big secret from her.) As I was reading the two of them I kept thinking were is the chemistry, were is the connection. The most time you see them spending together was plotting someone's death. It left me wanting more.

Even though Eric was a disappointment I felt like we got the old Sookie back. Sookie is questioning herself a lot in this book, and I think its because she is starting to fear how far she will truly go. My favorite story line of the book,(there were a few) was the fairy plot, and the gift that Sookie's Gran left her. I am excited to see what she does with the cluviel dor (gift), and I really want to know what Claude and the rest of his fairy band are up to.

There are still questions to be answered, and I hope that the next book in this series will continue to go in this direction. As I understand it this series will be coming to a close in the next two books. If this is true I will truly Miss Sookie Stackhouse and I hope the next book does her character justice.
1779160
I started reading Charlaine Harris with the Cookie Stackhouse series. Her female heroine had many things in common with Sookie. Somewhat outcast because of their special abilities, they rely on close family or friends to get them through. Overall it's a good series and I like the way she ties the Midnight Crossroads series into these books.
1705374
Johanna Parker is the second professional that I have heard tackle Sookie Stackhouse's voice in the first person novels by Charlaine Harris.  A professional voiceover artist, according to the Voice 123 website, she has narrated at least 40 audiobooks.  Her warm tones with just enough of a credible accent to appeal without seeming to caricature Sookie's Louisiana roots make it easy to listen to this book.  She also differentiates between the characters by accent and "aging" her voice.  The production values-- clarity of the recording and consistency of pronunciation-- nothing is worse  than a poorly edited audiobook where the same word is pronounced two or more different ways-- are quite good.

As for the book, I would probably give it four stars because it appears to be a sort of clean up novel.  As others mentioned, plot lines that had been wending their way through several books in the series are dealt with  handily.  Other new possibilities are opened up.  I always like spending time with Sookie and the other inhabitants of Bon Temps.

Definitely recommended for the audiobook fan.
3292661
If you love Sookie Stackhouse you are going to love Anita Blake.
This is where all the boogey men come out. Great storytelling, Can't put them down stories.
For the adults that love Twilight well you can finally graduate high school.
These stories are great fun. They make you want to believe.
2086203
It's New Years and Sookie is up to her eye balls in supernatural events.  She has only one resolution for the New Year and that's not to get beaten up. Sookie, being the strong Southern woman she is, handles everything, vampires, shifters, weres, witches and humans, and all without getting beaten up. I love Ms. Harris writing.  She has another hit on her hands. :-)