DEAD TO THE WORLD (Sookie Stackhouse #4)
by Charlaine Harris
PUBLISHER: Gollancz
RELEASE DATE: 2009
PAPERBACK: 321 pages
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
Sookie comes to the rescue of a naked, amnesiac vampire – and ends up in the middle of a war between witches, werewolves and vampires! Sookie Stackhouse is a small-town cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She’s pretty. She does her job well. She keeps to herself – she has only a few close friends, because not everyone appreciates Sookie’s gift: she can read minds. That’s not exactly every man’s idea of date bait – unless they’re undead – vampires and the like can be tough to read. And that’s just the kind of guy Sookie’s been looking for. Maybe that’s why, when she comes across a naked vampire on the way home from work, she doesn’t just drive on by. He hasn’t got a clue who he is, but Sookie has: Eric looks just as scary and sexy – and dead – as the day she met him. But now he has amnesia, he’s sweet, vulnerable, and in need of Sookie’s help – because whoever took his memory now wants his life.
Sookie’s investigation into what’s going on leads her straight into a dangerous battle between witches, vampires and werewolves. But there could be even greater danger – to Sookie’s heart, because the kinder, gentler Eric is very hard to resist. The Sookie Stackhouse books are delightful Southern Gothic supernatural mysteries, starring Sookie, the telepathic cocktail waitress, and a cast of increasingly colourful characters, including vampires, werewolves and things that really do go bump in the night. (Amazon.co.uk)
LAURA
I really did just love this book. But honestly, I’m wondering if all I need to really write in this review is LOTS of naked Eric. Do you need any other reason to go and read it LOL?! 
Ok, I’ll try to be more serious. This book starts with Sookie discovering a half naked Eric walking down the road (see I told you) with absolutely no recollection of who he is. Sookie being kind hearted girl she is, can’t possibly leave him there and takes him in.
This new amnesiac Eric is nothing like the Eric we have come to know. There is something endearingly vulnerable about him and it was fascinating reading about this other side to him. I was hooked in from the very first pages.
CAROLYN
I think that although my rating of each book in this series has been constantly an great, but DEAD TO THE WORLD is definitely my favourite so far.
I adore this series. I love all the characters, I enjoy Harris’s writing style immensely and the world of Bon Temps is just great. But there isn’t as much complexity as some urban fantasy novels I’ve read, but in a way the Sookie series doesn’t need it. There is enough action, mystery, and intrigue with fabulous relationship dynamics to keep me enthralled from beginning to end. I honestly don’t know how Harris does it, but I absolutely love this series!
LAURA
As Carolyn, I absolutely love this series too! Harris is a superb writer. In DEAD TO THE WORLD we’re introduced to witches, we learn more about the werewolves which means yummy Alcide is back. As well as coping with memory-less Eric, Sookie’s brother Jason is also missing. It’s action packed and I pretty much found it un-put-downable.
Harris’s pace of writing seems to have picked up in this book, not that it was ever slow. There is so much happening in this book you couldn’t possibly get bored. And I did really love that we even got a big battle scene at the end!
The baddy in this book, is nicely evil. Harris remains true to Sookie’s character, she doesn’t have her running in with a gun ready to join in the battle scenes and I’m glad as this just wouldn’t be right, but doesn’t leave her sitting at home twiddling her thumbs either.
CAROLYN
DEAD TO THE WORLD gives us something a little different than the previous books – a book without Bill, and more Eric *yay* although, as Laura mentions, it is a slightly different Eric than the one we are used to. Eric has amnesia thanks to an evil witch coven and Sookie has been given the responsibility of looking after him and trying to keep him safe. Bill is completely out of the picture until the last few pages as he’s in Peru researching for his vampire book.
LAURA
Sookie seems to be collecting suitors like they’re going out of fashion. We have Bill of course, Eric, Sam, Alcide and now Calvin. Interestingly, this didn’t feel to me like this was getting ridiculous. There is something so wholesome and captivating about Sookie, that Harris does pull this off.
As Carolyn noted, Bill was absent for most of the book and I have to say I didn’t really miss him. There is much more exciting romantic developments for Sookie, get a fan at the ready, you may just need it to cool yourself down! Because this book is definitely sexy, but also surprisingly tender. The ending left me wondering where it would go next I hope it goes where I desperately want it to go.
Then there’s poor old Jason. A very interesting twist! Jason really is the slightly embarrassing rogue brother you kind of sometimes wish you didn’t have. But this is the first time I’ve genuinely felt sorry for him.
Overall the world Harris has created has got bigger and richer, Sookie has grown up and got tougher in her very own unique way, she is such a fab quirky character who always manages to make me smile.
CAROLYN
Things hot up between Sookie and Eric, and although I *loved* it, I was disappointed that it wasn’t the real Eric. But it was still fun to read.
We also see the return of wonderful Alcide, as well as his pack when they go head to head with the witch coven. The action is fantastic and I loved that all the Vampires and Were banded together against the evil witches.
I love the way Sookie thinks, she really is a wonderful character. She’s sweet and kind, and cute as a button. But she’s also resilient and brave and wants to do right by others. She would be a great friend to have and I wouldn’t think her odd because of her telepathy, I think she is far more interesting than most normal people.
Eric is gorgeous as usual but different. Because of his memory loss he isn’t so sarcastic and doesn’t tease Sookie. He is more loving and open about his feelings, which Sookie likes, but she also found that she missed the old Eric too. She felt that he was the counterfeit Eric, which I did too and that made their budding relationship slightly artificial.
VERDICT:
LAURA
This has to be my favourite book in the series so far. Loved it! I think this is hugely helped because I really do adore Eric, Carolyn is right you do miss his sarcasm which always manages to me smile, but nevertheless I still loved him. It also has a fantastic edge of your seat plot with some superb developments for several characters. I can’t wait for the next one!
RATING: 
CAROLYN
As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the world of Sookie. This is a great addition to the series and the best so far. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next, especially with regards to Sookie and Eric, and Bill…
RATING: 
CHARLAINE HARRIS ONLINE
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BOOKS IN SERIES ORDER
1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead
4. Dead to the World
5. Dead as a Doornail
6. Definitely Dead
7. All Together Dead
8. From Dead to Worse
9. Dead and Gone
10. Dead in the Family
11. Dead Reckoning
12. Deadlocked
US COVER
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5 Comments
This one was my favorite of the series! I loved seeing a different Eric, and he was so sweet with Sookie.
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This is definitely my favorite of all the Sookie Stackhouse books, because I am an Eric fan. I would love her to end up with Eric, but since Harris has made it clear Sookie will not become a vampire, I kind of hope Sam is the last man standing.
I got a little annoyed in the series with every man in her world falling for her, but for the most part Sookie is a one at a time girl, so it's not too annoying. Not a fan of some her suitors though (like Bill and Quinn).
I love Eric, with or without memory, but I do like his normal self. I was just glad to get some Sookie/Eric action and to have Bill off in Peru.
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Sookie just HAS to end up with Alcide or Eric. If I had to pick one…Alcide all the way!!!
I think in most books 5 potentials would be a bit much, but Harris is just so amazing in her writing it just seems to work in her books. I don't think most authors could pull it off like she did that's for sure. She makes it known they are all after her, but it's not "in your face" all the time that she has so many. I like that.
As far as my feelings about Eric when he had amnesia…I kind of liked it. He showed his sweet side and romantic side that is normally hidden by his sarcastic side. Everyone needs to show some of that, being sarcastic IS part of what makes his character, but I thought it was refreshing to see him in a "new" light in this book.
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1) Up to this point I liked Alcide and Eric for Sookies love interest.
2) In most cases it would be too much, but Harris manages to do it in a way that Sookie isn't aware of some of the attractions. Plus Sookie isn't trying to juggle them like some series I have read. She wants to be monogamous, which is refreshing for a PNR series
3) I like both incarnations of Eric as the amnesiac Eric gives you a glimpse of what he would have been like in his human life. I do like ruthless Eric more, but it shows you how much he has changed since he has become a vampire
Side note:- After reading this, I feel that the TV show really lost the soul of this book and made Amnesiac Eric really wimpy and whiney as posed to book Amnesiac Eric
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THERE ARE A FEW MIXED REVIEWS OF ERIC I SEE. OVERALL I LIKED HIS CHARACTER IN THIS BOOK MUCH MORE THAN THE TV VERSION (WHICH MADE HIM WIMPHY AND AS DRIPPY AS A WET BLANKET) BUT I STILL DON'T THINK HE WAS AS SEXY THIS WAY AS HE IS WHEN HE'S HIS NORMAL SARKY SELF.
I AM AN ERIC FAN THROUGH AND THOUGH. I JUST LOVE HIS CHARACTER.
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY THIS MONTH GUYS – LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH'S INSTALMENT!
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