Bitter Sweet

This collection of stories are a little of old home, the writers kept the feel and taste of CH's books. I give a big "Well Done" to each of them. They also made a wonderful choice by keeping Johanna Parker as the narrater. Again, "Well Done". I have loved and still love the Sookie books and I mourn the end of the series. I find this book bitter because It's the last of a great thing, I find it sweet becouse it gave me one last taste of a wonderful series. So, if you loved and enjoyed the Sookie books as I have, this is a must buy.

23 people found this helpful

A Different Perspective

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Entertaining stories of "Dead" characters outside their interaction with Sookie.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dead but Not Forgotten?

Quinn's story was riveting. I wanted more!

What three words best describe Johanna Parker’s performance?

Versatile, well paced

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No, movies never do justice to the images created in my head.

Any additional comments?

When I re-listen to the Sookie books, the "Not Forgotten" stories will add more color to the way I envision these characters.

13 people found this helpful

Great return to BonTomps and Sookie's world.

I have read and enjoyed all the Sookie Stackhouse books and miss not having new ones, so this was a great return to that world. Johanna Parker did a fantastic job reading each of the short stories and I feel made the return trip 100%, because you could feel you were back in Sookie's world hearing her voice. Thank you for this treat.

11 people found this helpful

What a dreadful listening experience

What would have made Dead but Not Forgotten better?

Maybe some cohesiveness in the stories or perhaps authors who actually could write anything worthwhile in the world of Sookie Stackhouse.

What was most disappointing about the authors’s story?

They were boring, disjointed, unappealing stories written by authors with no feel for the world Charlie Harris created. I don't think a single story took me back to the world I enjoyed since I picked up the first book within a month of it's publication and never stopped waiting for the May edition of the continuing story until about 2 books before the end.

How could the performance have been better?

It couldn't have been. The performance was fine but how do you make a silk purse out of a pig's ear? The authors, including Ms. HARRIS were to blame for this abomination of the world of Bon Temps. Not one author was capable of creating a scene like one of my stand-out favorites... Eric bowling for vampire heads at the wedding of his Queen to the King of Arkansas.

What character would you cut from Dead but Not Forgotten?

The authors and the editor for the crimes against their readers. Create something new for us to pay our hard earned money to enjoy escaping reality. This reminded me of all the bad remakes Hollywood recreated of our childhood heroes and cartoons. Flintstone anyone? How about the Avengers (not to mention the rape of Mission Impossible with Mr. "MOOOM, Tom Cruise won't come out of my closet" and his unrealistic Hollywood Hype schmaltz. This felt the same...get rid of everyone who agreed rape the perfection of a great story trying to do a remake. Shame on all of you.

Any additional comments?

What more can I Say? This was like Hollywood trying to redo Casablanca with today's actors and writing. AVOID AT ALL POSSIBLEILITIES If you liked Skokie and here world anywhere near as much as I did.

8 people found this helpful

Awesome addition to Sookie's world!

This awesome lineup was the most entertaining 12 Hours and 36 Minutes I have ever purchased! I absolutely loved the stories all the writers came up with from the Sookie Stackhouse world! I wasn't sure what to expect when I started listening to this audiobook, but couldn't imagine it being all that bad because it's about Sookie, and Charlaine put her stamp of approval on it.

Each writer involved (mentioned above), picked characters they were intrigued by and wrote a story about them within the confines of Sookie's world. Being the huge Sookie fan that I am, I was extremely happy to be able to visit the world again through this anthology. Each story reminded me of the different books throughout the series, by capturing Charlaine's essence and writing style. However I do have to point out, with Mary Janice Davidson's story you can tell she wrote it. Mary put her signature style in the writing which was very pronounced, but blended well with the Sookie world, (and why am I not surprised she chose to write about Eric? LOL!)

While listening to the extreme care the writers put into the details and dialogue of the stories, I fell in love all over again with Sookie's world. I miss them so much, and for Leigh Perry to show us Sookie and Sam's future after the last book with their children was so heartwarming. The Real Santa Claus was my most favorite, thank you Leigh Perry! The Bat Signal by Suzanne McLeod was runner up featuring little mind reader Hunter, Sookie's cousin. I can pretty much guarantee any Sookie fan that you will love this work of art as much as I have!

Narrator Review:

Johanna Parker has been the voice of Sookie through all the books in the series as well as the short stories. I totally love her Louisiana Sookie accent! Johanna does such a wonderful job with all the characters voices, and just pulls you into the story as if it were Sookie herself! Great job with the whole series Johanna, I give you 5 Fangs for your wonderful performance!

7 people found this helpful

Huge Letdown

What would have made Dead but Not Forgotten better?

I LOVED the sook stackhouse series and was so excited for this book! It was bad... didn't live up to the other books at all.

What could the authors have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Stopped while they were ahead....

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

dissapointment

5 people found this helpful

Not at all sorry to have purchased

I have been a great "Sookie Stackhouse" Fan up until Charlaine Harris's last 2 books in the series. Maybe part of that was because of all the waiting and anticipation but I honestly felt like the author had given up on the books and just wanted to get it over with. The only reason I got Dead but Not Forgotten was because I got it on sale. That being said I very much enjoyed this book. It is always delightful to hear Johanna Parker and it was very nice indeed to hear the stories with writers that seemed to care more about what they had to say. I hope they do more!

5 people found this helpful

It was good catching up with great characters

If you could sum up Dead but Not Forgotten in three words, what would they be?

Major character update

What did you like best about this story?

I like that a lot of the secondary characters were given a story of their own ( Dianta, Quinn, Eric, etc) now we need a sequel on the sequel.

What does Johanna Parker bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She brought life to the story and she brings life to the sequel.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The one with Dianta made me laugh and Eric's made me happy.

Any additional comments?

This was a very good series and another sequel would be great.

4 people found this helpful

I liked it. . .

I was on the fence when this book came out but in the end, the fact that Johanna Parker was narrating and because some of the contributors are some of my favorite authors, I decided to give it a whirl. I'm glad I did. Let me point out that none of the stories are written by Charlaine Harris, so if they don't "sound" like her, it's because she didn't write them. They do, in my opinion, get pretty close. Also, Sookie only makes a brief cameo in a few of the stories. The stories are about other characters, some well known, some not so much. I'm a pretty big fan of the Sookie books and I really liked getting to see some of the other characters in a different light. Parker did a good job, I'm glad she read this one, it wouldn't be a Sookie book without her.

4 people found this helpful

Overall worth the read

Any additional comments?

It was worth it just for Dianthaa, Bubba, & Eric's stories. I didn't care for Pam's, it was hard to follow and it felt wrong.

Bubba's story was about when he was captured and put on the cross by the Mississippi vampires. Dianthaa's book you got a glimpse of a future Sookie and Sam. Eric's alone I would have bought the book for. It was 201 years after he left.

For the most part, the various authors did a great job taking the existing characters and giving a small story from their perspective. It's a good addition to the Stackhouse series.

4 people found this helpful