Review: TRUE BLOOD Season 5

True Blood Season 5
Starring Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, and Alexander Skarsgård.
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: DVD season box set

About True Blood Season 5:

The fifth season of the HBO supernatural drama series True Blood premiered on June 10, 2012 and features twelve episodes, bringing the series total to 60. It picks up right after the events of season four. It is loosely based on the fifth book in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series, Dead as a Doornail, but incorporates much more of the following books than the previous seasons have.

Source: Info in the About True Blood Season 5 was taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Blood_%28season_5%29 on 25/05/2013.

True Blood Season 5 Trailer:

My Thoughts:

I had to re-watch the last disc of Season 4 because the first disc of Season 5 did not make sense anymore. I have forgotten what happened in the show after waiting for so long for the dvd box set of Season 5. And my memories of the show and of the book series are getting mixed up and the two are not the same.

The season still ended in a cliffhanger of course but I was prepared for that so the disappointment in that arena isn't as keen as it used to be. With Season 4 I was disappointed with the show, however Season 5 restored my faith in the makers of the True Blood show that they could actually create a plot without relying on the characters to act stupid. There are still stupid scenes here and there but at least they are not as proliferated as it was in previous seasons, specifically, Season 4. But the stupidity is trumped up by the blissful several hours of enjoyment that I got from the dvd box set so am willing to overlook the stupid scenes. Plus the fact that the makers of the show obviously has superb 3D animation software and team which made the fantastical elements in the show come to life flawlessly and seamlessly through the screen! Kudos to the cinematographic team! All in all, Season 5 has restored my love of this show despite the disappointments and the stupids.

Empirical Evaluation:
Cinematography = 5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Ending = 1.5
World building = 5
Attention to detail = 4
Plot = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Sookie Stackhouse series:
The Sookie Stackhouse series is also otherwise known as The Southern Vampire Mysteries series are the books from which the show is based from.

Review: PLAYING POSSUM

Playing Possum by Charlaine Harris
Published in the An Apple For The Creature anthology
Book 11.1 short story in the Sookie Stackhouse series
Format: hardback
Genre: adult urban fantasy

About An Apple For The Creature:

Includes a never-before-published Sookie Stackhouse story!

What could be scarier than the first day of school? How about a crash course in the paranormal from Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, editors of Home Improvement: Undead Edition? Your worst school nightmares—taking that math test you never studied for, finding yourself naked in school assembly, not knowing which door to enter—will pale in comparison to these thirteen original stories that take academic anxiety to whole new realms.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s story, "Playing Possum," Sookie Stackhouse brings enough birthday cupcakes for her nephew's entire class but finds she's one short when the angry ex-boyfriend of the school secretary shows up.

When her guardian, Kate Daniels, sends her undercover to a school for exceptional children, teenaged Julie learns an all-new definition of "exceptional," in New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews's "Magic Tests."

For those who like fangs with their forensics, New York Times bestselling author Nancy Holder offers "VSI," in which FBI agent Claire is tested as never before in a school for Vampire Scene Investigation.

And in New York Times bestselling author Thomas Sniegoski's "The Bad Hour," Remy Chandler and his dog Marlowe find evil unleashed in an obedience school.

You'll need more than an apple to stave off the creatures in these and nine other stories. Remember your first lesson: resistance is fruitless!

Includes stories by: ILONA ANDREWS, AMBER BENSON, RHYS BOWEN, MIKE CAREY, CHARLAINE HARRIS, DONALD HARSTAD, STEVE HOCKENSMITH, NANCY HOLDER, FAITH HUNTER, TONI L.P. KELNER, MARJORIE LIU, JONATHAN MABERRY, THOMAS SNIEGOSKI

Source: Info in the About An Apple For The Creature was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13543159-an-apple-for-the-creature on 10/10/2012.

My Thoughts:

This tops Sookie's too stupid to live (TSTL) act! You are in a crisis situation with an armed gunman and everything is about to go to hell. You know this because you've read the mind of the perpetrator. You have your car and your car keys. So what do you do? Normally people would opt for survival and head for safety. But, Sookie? Nope, that is too much to ask! She takes her nephew to hide into the middle of the danger zone instead of hopping into the car and heading for safety, i.e., the nearest police station. Don't that beats it all!?! This is the book which made me stop buying this series.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 3
World Building = 3
Character Development = 0.5
Plot = 0
Pace = 3
Story Itself = 0
Ending = 0

Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Sookie Stackhouse series:

Review: DEAD RECKONING

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
Read by Johanna Parker
Book 11 of the Sookie Stackhouse series
Format: audiobook
Genre: adult urban fantasy

About Dead Reckoning:

With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. But Sookie suspects otherwise and she and Sam work together to uncover the culprit - and the twisted motive for the attack. But her attention is divided. Though she can't 'read' vampires, Sookie knows her lover Eric Northman and his 'child' Pam well - and she realises that they are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, she is drawn into the plot -which is much more complicated than she knows. Caught up in the politics of the vampire world, Sookie will learn that she is as much of a pawn as any ordinary human - and that there is a new Queen on board . . .

Source: Info in the About Dead Reckoning was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7981206-dead-reckoning on 24/09/2011.

My Thoughts:

In this book, Sookie's ponytail caught fire thus her hair needed to be pruned... do you think her blond curls would be as short as Cassie's in the pic here? One thing remains the same... the main protagonist, Sookie Stackhouse, is still too stupid to live... *sigh*... however she seems to be improving, or I'm getting used to it and more tolerant... either way, I find this book a whole lot less annoying than the rest of the books in this series thus far. The ending resolved the story's main dilemma, however, it was sort of an anticlimactic after all the build up tension towards it in the plot. In other words, Ms. Harris seems to have improved in the plot development and story structure department but it seems that her story telling quality has slagged a little bit with this book.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 3
World Building = 5
Character Development = 3
Plot = 4
Pace = N/A
Story Itself = 3
Ending = 2.5
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Sookie Stackhouse series: