Sookie Stackhouse Companion

Let’s see, what do you need to know about this one? I guess we’ll start with, is it entertaining/enlightening? Yes, to an extent, about as much as you’d likely expect. Is it an “essential read”? Probably not. Why do I answer as I did? This book has one new Sookie Stackhouse novella in it, focusing on Sookie and Sam’s long-awaited trip to his brother’s wedding, where trouble awaits (of course). It offers as much entertainment and fun as you’d expect from a novella-sized mini dose of Sookie. The rest of the book is somewhat enlightening, but not anything I’d consider “critical,” even for die-hard fans. There are mini-interviews with Alan Ball about the “True Blood” TV show, and with Charlaine Harris about the Sookie Stackhouse series. There’s also a complete series timeline/summary section (complete through “Dead Reckoning”), which basically just repeats what is in the books but does give a solid actual date for all the events, and an alphabetical index of all the characters and entities in the series, which could come in handy if you forget who someone is or something. There’s also series trivia, a recipe section, and some short essays about the Charlaine Harris fan club, Sookie’s experiences, all of Charlaine Harris’s writings, and so on (including a definitive guide to where the short stories fit in the reading order/timeline). There’s also a map of Bon Temps, and a Stackhouse family tree. They’re a little fun, but not really necessary.

Really, that’s about it. So, unless you’re dying for every single variation of every scrap of info you can get, you’d likely only truly be strongly interested in the novella. If the book is worth it to you just for that, then go for it. The rest of the content is nice, but not anything to weigh a reading/purchasing decision on, unless you feel a strong need for an alphabetized character index or whatever.

I do hope nobody misunderstands me though. I think this companion book is quite well done for what it is, and they did a good job putting it together and giving fans the info they may want or need, with some extras, just as any good series companion book should do. However, like all such books, the need the majority of fans will feel for it is probably somewhat low. It’s the kind of thing most will likely borrow from somewhere or someone to flip through once, but won’t necessarily add to their keeper shelves as readily as they might with the main series books.

I hope this made sense, and helped a bit.

This book cleared up many of the questions I had with the Sookie Stackhouse Stories! It brought all the loose ends together! I really appreciated it!
There were so many little things that the TV Series changed, and so much more that was left out and this helped clear up some of those details! I really got a huge kick out of the entire series both on TV and in the books! But The BOOKS always give so much more!

I just got my Sookie Stackhouse companion and it’s freaking awesome!!! There is everything from a map of Bon Temps (everyone and everything has been included), a short story about Sam’s cousin’s wedding to behind the scenes phone calls and emails between Eric and Bill that shed a LOT of new light on their relationship to each other and Sookie. The books are written from Sookie’s point of view and it is genius of Charlaine to include all of the behind the scenes peeks as well as timelines for each of the books.

The second half of the book is Charlaine answering fan questions as well as an enlightening interview with Alan Ball, creator of “True Blood”. He answered so many of the questions that I had about the differences between the show and Charlaine’s series. I wasn’t a true believer of the focus and direction of “True Blood” before reading his interview but I have to say that I am now much more accepting. As with most things, if you want to know the truth or motivation of something, go to the source.

There is so much more in this Companion book, get it, read it, cherish it… I know I will be coming back to it often in the future.

This is a wonderful companion to the series. It answers some questions and fills in some blanks which is always nice. I do hope there is another companion book that will give the timeline and secret conversations between Bill & Eric for the last two books. That was one of my favorite bits – those private conversations. Talk about filling in blanks!

I am hooked on this series in a big, nerdy way. Also a bit sad that it is coming to an end. Ms. Harris is working on the final Sookie novel that will be released around May 2013. This companion has so many different things to offer, but I’ll stick to my favorites. A novella featuring a Sookie and Sam adventure, novel time lines, a map of Bon Temps, a guide to the world of Sookie Stackhouse that outlines characters and what novel(s) they have appeared in, and Sookie’s family tree. And then there is the chapter with a variety of Southern comfort food recipes. Menu options for each meal and desserts. French Market Beignets, Merlotte’s Chicken Strips, Country Porch Lemonade, Burgers Lafayette Sauce, Sookie’s Chicken Casserole, Portia’s Sweet Potato Pie, Hotshot Hush Puppies, and a couple of chocolate cakes that make me want to host a bake-off! Adele Hale Stackhouse’s Blue-Ribbon Chocolate Cake vs. Caroline Holliday Bellefleur’s Chocolate Cake? Hard to choose one. Both sound amazing and I will be baking these soon! Grab a copy of this for your Sookie Stackhouse collection—it is fun and worth having if you crave more. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have so far.