Dead in the Family
by Charlaine Harris
Gollancz, HK$91
Dead in the Family is the 10th instalment of Charlaine Harris' best-selling series of vampire novels, now known as True Blood after Alan Ball's excellent television adaptation. Thanks in part to Harris and her slightly lighter sister-in-fangs, Stephenie Meyer, we have become used to plot summaries that go something like this: having survived the Faery War, Sookie Stackhouse must divide her energies between a pack of werewolves and a band of boisterous vampires. Of course, in Harris' now epic series, all these events stack up nicely, and with allegorical intent. The TV show can be slightly heavy-handed, but True Blood examines American ideas of class, money, race, politics and gender. This time Harris focuses on the family unit. In the vampire world, this gets complicated. Sookie's undead boyfriend, Eric Northman, is visited by his sire, Appius Livius Ocella. And a nasty piece of work he is, too, not least because he is accompanied by Eric's new brother, Alexei. Pretty soon, this pair are getting in Sookie's way - never a good idea. The pace is slower than previous, action-packed instalments, but no less gripping. Can't wait for the next book.