GoodReads has a quiz up now titled The How well do you know Eric and his lot? It tests your knowledge of Eric and all those in his sphere of the world. It is based on the books and not the show. How knowledgeable are you about the book series that started it all?

I think I need to have a Sookie Stackhouse novel reading marathon because I only scored 80%. Argh!

How did you do?

Readers will:

• Tour Bon Temps, the small Louisiana town that Sookie calls home, and visit the houses of her Gran and Bill
• Prowl around the werewolf and were-panther communities
• Browse through her best friend Tara’s dress shop
• Belly up to the bar in Merlotte’s, where Sookie works
• Get must-have Bon Temps recipes-including Caroline Bellfleur’s famous chocolate cheesecake
• Test themselves with trivia questions from the series

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So I curled up on a Saturday morning and started the book… finished that same evening. And I REALLY enjoyed this book. I found it to be very well written and funny. I had several laugh out loud moments and one moment where I got very teary eyed. It was just very, very good.

The story mostly revolves around Victor being regent of Louisiana and his vendetta against Eric. He denies Pam the right to make her own child thus saving her dying girlfriend. He opens two bars.. one that competes with Merlotte’s and one that competes with Fangtasia. It is apparent to all that he would love to take out Pam and Sookie or in some other way provoke Eric into attacking so that Victor will have reason to remove Eric as Sheriff or even execute him.

Even with all that weighing on them Sookie knows something else is also bothering Eric. Pam knows what it is but whenever she opens her mouth to hint at what it is… Eric literally goes for her jugular. Sookie is angered that he is hiding something from her and she is also feeling weighed down by the blood bond she shares with Eric. The bond allows them to sense each others emotions even from far away. When Eric rises in the evening she can literally “feel” him waking up. When he is angry and sullen, as he is quite often now that Victor is antagonizing him, Sookie feels the full weight of that. I imagine it must be similar to what she feels with her telepathy and what once felt so freeing about being with a vampire isn’t quite so magical anymore.

Sookie’s friend Amelia comes to her home to reinforce the protection wards since Sookie is once again being stalked by a bat-shit crazy Pelt girl (Sandra). Amelia mentions that she has found a way to break the bond and without much thought Sookie breaks her bond with Eric.

She also finds out some more things about her fairy lineage and she finds a fairy love token given to Sookie’s grandmother Adele by her fairy lover Fintan. It is a Cluvial dor and allows the one who possesses it a very personal and powerful wish.

In the end a showdown occurs and Victor is killed but Sookie can’t feel to relieved because she also found out what was bugging Eric. His maker betrothed him to the Queen of Oklahoma before he died and it appears as though this agreement is binding and Eric cannot back out of it, despite attempts to do so. Eric would be married to the Queen and he would have to leave Sookie for good… their marriage dissolved. LOTS of stuff happened in this book no?

So what was all the fan hubbub?

Well, the news about Eric and the Queen of Oklahoma definitely throws an obstacle in the E/S relationship. There is also the issue of Sookie willingly breaking her bond with Eric. Alcide popped up in her bed with the idea of seducing her so another possible suitor was thrown in there for our consideration… as was an old one. While trying to escape two would be kidnappers Sookie strips out of wet clothes so she can sneak into Bill’s house and she goes into his hiding place to wait until the sun goes down. The two naked ex-lovers have some funny moments and Bill wastes no time declaring his love for her.

So some Eric fans freaked that Harris is trying to break Sookie and Eric up and Bill fans were gleefully declaring that Harris is opening the door for Bill to be Sookie’s HEA (Happily Ever After). I think they are both wrong.

There were numerous moments when the love Eric and Sookie have for each other was reinforced BIG time. Yes he was moody for much of the book but the scene when Sookie broke the bond was sooooo touching. Eric called within seconds and Sookie literally ran to the phone. Both were so disturbed by the “loss” of the other. When they met up later to discuss it, I actually started to get teary. He asked if she still loved him and reaffirmed immediately that she did saying “I do love you, all on my own.” In many ways the breaking of the bond was a good thing because it proved to Sookie once and for all that she really truly does love Eric… the bond did not manufacture those feelings. After they declare their love for each other they make love on her porch swing in a seriously HOT love scene!

Another scene that bothered some was when Victor and his minions had been killed. Eric and Pam were rejoicing but Sookie did not want to rejoice in death. Eric is bothered by Sookie’s attitude and calls her a hypocrite and then bites her rather hard after she offers to feed him. This scene did not bother me much because she WAS being a big hypocrite and she needed to be reminded that they were in a kill or be killed situation and the Viking vampire had just killed for the safety and freedom of them all.

Alcide and bill didn’t bother me either. The moment with Alcide and even the moment with Bill sans clothing seemed so manufactured and meant to throw other suitors in there to ratchet things up for readers. Sookie did not show ANY interest in Alcide or Bill. At best Sookie showed she still felt comfortable and friendly with Bill but no hints of anything more than that were there. Bill fans who think otherwise are really reaching.

BUT Harris did present E/S with a big obstacle. Will Sookie fight for her man? Will Eric fight for his human love and give up all the power he could have by marrying a Queen? There are two books left so of course Eric and Sookie can’t skip marrily through the remaining books with nary a dramatic obstacle. Harris is shaking things and making it interesting for the finale. I have high hopes of course that Sookie and Eric will fight for each other and be together in the end.. perhaps using the Cluvial Dor to make it happen or facilitate it. All this drama will just make it all the more sweet. I have to believe that Harris will not do something completely stupid and suddenly manufacture feelings of love for Bill again. It would be in such poor taste. And it would be equally distasteful if after a 1000 years Eric finds the rarity of true love with a human woman and then just decides to chuck that for the power of being a Queen’s consort. I am choosing to see this book as obstacles presented to make the finale more interesting and in the end.. all the more sweet.

What did you think?

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Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 11) (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) Average Rating: 814 total customer reviews...

In my post on True Blood season 4 spoilers, my dismay at having the amnesia storyline omitted from the synopsis sparked some good conversation. I think the Netflix blurb may likely be the synopsis for the first episode and not the whole season but I still really want amnesia Eric to have a big part in season 4. It has been said though, by some Eric fans and also MANY Bill fans, that the amnesia Eric story is a cheap trick and one they don’t want to see.

I understand the idea that amnesia Eric is not the REAL Eric and surely Team Bill fans will scream this all season long in their usual nauseating fashion. It may be said that without Eric being “dumbed down” or “pussified” Sookie would never have hooked up with him, hence their whole relationship will be based on smoke and mirrors. Never mind the fact that Sookie’s relationship with Bill is built upon smoke, mirrors, lies, deceit, and brutal violence.

I submit though that amnesia Eric is not a cheap trick but rather a way for Sookie to see into Eric’s soul without vampire subterfuge getting in the way. Eric has clearly shown that he has a soft spot for Sookie but after 1000 years Eric is guarded about opening himself up to feelings of love for a human woman. Who can blame him?

Sookie has become increasingly interested in and drawn to the small bits of humanity that Eric has displayed and then quickly tried to hide. The amnesia arc in the books was a way to get past that barrier and see more of that side of Eric. It did not transform him into something else but rather peeled away most of the other layers that Eric has added to his inner skin in the thousand years he has been alive. Those layers are experience, memories, battles, power plays, politics, and tribulations, among many other things he has faced in the past millennium. Without those layers he is closer to the Eric he was as a human and thus in many ways Sookie does get to meet the REAL Eric… one she saw tiny glimpses of, and liked. The one he tries to bury deeper with every day that he his undead.

Can anything that happens between Sookie and Eric during this time be seen as real? Of course it can! Eric with amnesia is still Eric. This reminds me of a fave movie of mine called The Long Kiss Goodnight. In this movie Samantha the housewife finds out that amnesia erased the memory of her former self, Charlie the Spy. When she remembers her former life she quickly reverts back to her old ways of killing for hire, drinking, and swearing like a sailor but a friend points out that her “amnesia” personality had to come from somewhere. She realizes that her docile Suzie Homemaker personality was always a part of her but that it could not emerge among feelings of self loathing.

Eric Northman with amnesia is not a created persona it is merely a base version of himself. Sookie essentially gets to see a version of Eric that would/could exist without all the vampire bullshit. In this way she gets to see deep into his soul and his personality and she likes what she sees enough to get involved in a relationship with him. After Eric recovers his memory in the books they go their separate ways for a time but not because Eric was “back to normal” and not attractive to Sookie anymore, it is because he has no memory of what happened while he had amnesia. It is residual unexplained feelings that prompt him to find his way back to Sookie in later books and to make peace with a part of himself he thought he had buried… his humanity, which allowed him to fall in love with her. The experience eventually brings them closer because whether he would have wanted it or not, Sookie got to know him better than anyone. They don’t have long drawn out conversations about how Sookie actually loves a “fake” version of himself now do they?

Who knows if that will last but we can say with certainty that whatever happens between Eric and Sookie the whole amnesia arc was not a cheap trick. It was a window for Sookie to see a very real aspect of Eric that she knew was there somewhere, only buried. At this point in the books both Sookie and Eric have reconciled “base” amnesia Eric and Eric the Vampire Sheriff of Area 5… and found that their love for each other is still very much there. I can only hope that the TV show will share this story with the same poignancy as the books did.

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Season 4 is loosely based on Book 4 in the Sookie Stackhouse series:

Dead to the World (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 4) Average Rating: 321 total customer reviews...

The book is titled Dead in the Family and some Eric fans have been a bit anxious about the release. Why? Well, in book nine Eric and Sookie finally hit their stride as a couple. Their love affair begins anew and Eric even asks Sookie to move into his home… something he has never before asked anyone to do. BUT Bill Compton also played a large role in the book and it appeared Sookie’s anger toward him was softening. Bill played a large role in saving her life from the faery folk who were intent on killing her. Bill ended up near death at the end of the book and Sookie’s grandfather mentioned to Sookie that the vampire is not a bad man. Sookie has no idea who he was talking about.. Eric or Bill. This left fans to wonder if Charlaine Harris wasn’t trying to re-open the door for Sookie and Bill. I for one would NOT be happy!

I am encouraged though to see Eric and Sookie on the book cover for Dead in the Family. They are smiling and floating next to a long stem rose, so that could bode well for them right?? Here is too hoping.. come fast May!

Source: Sookieverse

This is a running list of the reasons why I do not like Bill Compton as Sookie’s love interest and why Eric is MUCH better for her. Since the books are so different from the TV series I will put either (books) or (TV) so you will know which version of the character I am talking about.

Reasons Why Bill Compton is a Big ZERO compared to Eric Northman

Bill

* Bill became obsessed with an assignment from the Queen of Louisiana and sat continuously in front of the computer to work on the  project.  He virtually ignored Sookie for weeks. (Books)

* Bill lied to Sookie about where he was going away to and that happened to be somewhere with his ex lover! (Books)

* Bill gave money to the Bellefleur’s because he found he was a distant relation to them. Sookie was in need of money at the time as well but Bill didn’t see fit to help his own girlfriend out with her finances when all the vampire business was what was making her miss so much work! (Books)

* Bill was going to leave Sookie for Lorena and give Sookie money as a payoff for being such an ass. (Books)

* Bill raped Sookie in the trunk of a car and drained a lot of blood from her.  He claimed he didn’t know it was her at first, but hello… is doing that to some other chick okay??? To add insult and injury to more injury this happened after Sookie nearly died trying to save him. (Books)

* Bill “sensed” Sookie was in danger nearby and ignored the call, opting instead to lure a young stripper (who had just given him a lap dance) into a limo so he, Lorena, and the King of Mississippi could drain her. (TV)

* Bill refuses to save Tara when she was abducted by vampires, and he drinks Sookie nearly to death after she risked her life to save him. (TV)

* Bill hate fucked Lorena and then called Sookie to tell her. (TV)

* Bill stood by and allowed Sookie to be beaten almost to death so she could be persuaded into drinking his blood and forming a  blood bond. (TV)

* Bill tried to kill everyone who tasted Sookie’s blood, telling her he was the only vamp that could control himself around her. Nevermind the fact that Bill almost drained her after an injury and Eric did not, under similar circumstances. (TV)

* Bill tried to kill Eric again after he walked in on he and Sookie getting intimate. (TV)

* Bill felt Sookie’s best friend Tara was acceptable collateral damage in his witch/vampire war.

Eric

* Eric sent Bubba to protect Sookie when Bill was gone. So when push came to shove it was Eric who was looking out for her safety… not Bill. (Books)

* Instead of ignoring Sookie, Eric always has time to tell her how beautiful and desirable she is. (Books, TV)

* Sookie proclaimed that Eric actually “got” (understood) her, which she took great comfort in. (Books)

*Eric knew she was having money troubles because of all the work she was doing for them and in appreciation he had her driveway re-paved with really nice and expensive gravel. He only needed to hear once in passing that she needed a new driveway and he took care of it. He also bought her  a new door when her old one got destroyed by a vampire. (Books)

* Eric bought her a new coat because she needed one. (Books)

* Eric made a special trip to see Sookie after he lied to her, to put things right and to protect her in case any werewolves showed up. (TV)

* Eric proclaimed that his one regret if he were to die would be that he never kissed Sookie. (TV)

* Eric attempted to sacrifice himself by meeting the sun while chained to Russell because he knew he could not beat Russell in combat. Sacrificing himself meant that Sookie and Pam would be protected. (TV)

* When Sookie breaks their blood bond Eric calls her home in a panic (within seconds), thinking she may have died. When he hears her voice he makes sure she knows he loves her, bond or no. (Books)

*Eric bought Sookie’s house because he never lost faith she was alive when she disappeared into the Faery world. (TV)

* Eric treated her like delectable dessert and his equal after they took their relationship to the next level. (TV)

* Instead of thinking she is too weak to get involved in vampire matters Eric calls her a warrior. (TV)

* When Eric gets his memories back after a spell with amnesia he still proclaims to love Sookie and admits that he has given himself to her completely. (TV)

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In summation… Bill this is for you: