I just finished the second installment of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels - Living Dead in Dallas - and I still believe that the True Blood adaptation is more powerful and more interesting. However, the second season of that series drew out too long on the maenad, but at least, Lafayette continued to live and have an interesting life in the TV series than in the book. The TV series made several changes from the book version, which I think, made the series more interesting. Lafayette not dying is one. Then, that old vampire, Godric, became more interesting in the TV series because he became a savior. In the book, he wanted his suicide to be used as some spectacle by that anti-vampire group! Also, the maenad survives in the book, but dies in the TV series, since she's a really bad girl in it. In the book, she is just as bad, but is allowed to live.
Anyhow, I am still looking forward to the third chapter of the book, as we go deeper into the lives of the other vampires, and the coming out of the werewolves!
So this is where the HBO series True Blood comes from! My friend lent me the first book of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and the series has tried its best to hew as closely to the novel. Well, I guess Alan Ball had to add some interesting characters but as a whole, I think they followed this first installment at around 80% accuracy. Interestingly, I like the TV series more. Usually, I'd prefer the book version. However, the way Alan Ball's team presented this story is far more interesting and alive - and well, scary! These are, after all, about vampires! The book is a quick read though and yes, it has a lot of sex in it, so don't let your kid read it. Or maybe just guide them through those snippets. I think the world envisioned in the book is less dangerous that what I've seen on HBO. On TV, the darkness and the danger of the situations are more palpable. I'm excited to read the second installment, so let's see how it compares to the series. The first book ends in the part where they catch the killer of the waiters and an old lady.