Posted by Paul Goat Allen × October 22, 2013 at 12:30 pm
In all of my 25 years in the book business—as a bookstore manager, author, book reviewer, and blogger—I have never seen readers as pissed off as they were last May, when Dead Ever After, the final installment of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse saga, was released. Some fans of the iconic series were upset because the storyline didn’t end as they had hoped. (I thought the ending was the absolutely perfect way to wrap up the series.) While I was disappointed by these reactions, I understood the sentiment. Readers LOVE these books. It’s been a big part of many lives for more than a decade, since Dead Until Darkwas released in 2001. Sookie and her friends are almost like family members to some readers, and Bon Temps, Louisiana, is like a home away from home—reading Harris’s words, you can almost taste the iced tea and fried pickles.
One of the biggest criticisms of the last Sookie novel was that the futures of all of the major (and minor) characters were left largely unexplored. Readers desperately wanted to know what would happen to Sookie, Sam, Bill, Alcide, Eric, and the rest.
Well, now they can!
The soon-to-be-released After Dead (October 29) offers the ultimate conclusion to the Sookie Stackhouse saga. Featuring highlights (and lowlights) from the futures of almost 150 characters, Harris has called After Dead “my coda to the books that have dominated my professional life for over a decade.”
Ever wonder what happened to Sookie and her Bon Temps friends? All of your questions will be answered in this laugh-out-loud collection of “where are they now?” updates!
Here are just five revelations that you’ll find within After Dead:
“ALCIDE HERVEAUX finally stopped being foolish and impulsive where women were concerned. When his rogue werewolf lady turned out to be a poor match, he became interested in a surveyor who worked for one of his business rivals, a werelynx named Callie Brown. Callie, a short, compact, no-nonsense kind of woman, kept Alcide in order for the rest of his life. She had five children with Alcide, and she went to work at Herveaux and Son, which after a period of time became Herveaux and Sons when the three boys started to work there. Of their two daughters, one became a beauty pageant contestant and eventually Miss Louisiana, and the other became a social worker. Alcide and Callie had fifteen grandchildren. They both passed away at advanced ages.”
“The vampire short-order cook ANTHONY BOLIVAR became a celebrity chef and appeared on the Food Channel several times. After he was arrested for picking up a prostitute and overdrinking from her, the Food Channel asked him to pack his knives. He began traveling again and occasionally takes a night shift at a restaurant… maybe one near you.”
“JASON STACKHOUSE had a surprisingly good marriage. To everyone’s amazement except Michele’s, he never cheated on her. Michele stayed on at her ex-father-in-law’s car dealership until she retired, though the dealership had long since passed into other hands. Jason kept his job with the parish. After miscarrying once, Michele bore two children, Marie and Corbett. Marie was sweet natured and telepathic (that damn essential spark), but not too bright, and the combination led to Marie’s having many problems in school, though she inherited the Stackhouse good looks. Corbett, a year younger, spent a lot of his school years defending his sister…”
“HANK CLEARWATER contracted gonorrhea.”
“BUBBA continued to be passed from vampire kingdom to vampire kingdom, but while he was in Tennessee, he escaped from his minder to visit his gravesite, causing a near riot. After that, the vampire council censured Tennessee and ruled that Bubba couldn’t enter the state for fifty years. He is in Canada now. He hates the winters.”
There are tons of funny anecdotes in this book—and more than a few bombshell revelations! The updates on Sookie and Sam, Eric, and particularly Bill will have fans of this series picking their jaws up off of the floor. Readers will undoubtedly cherish this thoughtful and utterly satisfying glimpse into the futures of Sookie and crew—an unforgettable ending to an unforgettable series.
