Plot summary
The summit, which has attracted undead power players from all over the central United States, is sure to be tense, due partly to the ramping up of protests by the conservative, anti-vampire Fellowship of the Sun. Accused of murdering her husband, the King of Arkansas, Sophie-Anne is set to stand trial at the convention. The Queen is already in a precarious position, her power base weakened by the damage to New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina, and there are some vampires who would like to finish what nature started. Sophie-Anne's main accuser is Jennifer Cater, a vampire who had been training to be the king's lieutenant at the time of his death. Jennifer is determined to see Sophie-Anne staked in the sun for murdering the king, although Sookie knows the Queen is innocent of the crime.
Sophie-Anne plans to put Sookie's gift to good use, having her "listen in" on the thoughts of the humans working for the other vampires at the convention as well as for the hotel, as alliances are formed and allegiances tested in what can only be described as a political power struggle of potentially deadly implications. The story opens with Sookie entering Fangtasia to talk to Eric and those who pay him fealty, as they discuss the accusations against Sophie-Anne. Sookie agrees to work for Sophie-Anne, despite the warnings of her fairy godmother, Claudine, that being at the convention will forever tie Sookie to vampire politics in the mind of all of the attendees, in a very public way. Meanwhile, her relationship with Quinn heats up.
During the summit, Sookie meets all other characters who have short-story series with storylines independent from Sookie's: Dahlia Lynley-Chivers as one of the judges, Layla Larue Lemay as a part of the performing dancing duo, and Britlingens Batanya and Clovache as bodyguards.
At the convention, Sookie also meets Barry "Bellboy" Horowitz, the only other telepath she knows. Soon after they arrive, Jennifer Cater and most of the Arkansas entourage are brutally murdered, which simplifies the trial for the Queen. Sookie soon proves invaluable to the Queen as she makes the great suggestion that the Queen appoint her closest friend and "child," Andre, to be King of Arkansas, and then to marry him. Sookie also finds a bomb planted outside of the Louisiana suite, and saves the Queen. She also uncovers something shocking about Quinn—as a teen, he killed a group of men who were raping his mother, and then became indebted to some local vampires in order to cover up the crime. He had to work as a weretiger/gladiator in a ring for three years, and in the process became a fearsome fighter.
At the Queen's trial, Sookie saves the queen yet again as, being the only witness, she applies logic to prove that the queen is innocent and that her accusers are being manipulated. In response, one of the main accusers is staked right in the courtroom. Impressed with her usefulness, Andre accosts Sookie and begins to force her to exchange blood with him, to tie her permanently and closely to the queen. She escapes this violation only by the intercession of Eric, who has her exchange more blood with him. This third, major blood exchange with Eric causes Sookie to become more powerful, and frighteningly vampiric, even though she is still human. She can feel Eric very powerfully, and he now has the power to turn her into a vampire at any time. Sookie realizes with dread that she will never be free of Eric's control.
Sookie and Barry the Bellboy then put together a number of clues they have had throughout the convention and realize that multiple bombs have been planted throughout the hotel by the Fellowship of the Sun, and they are set to go off during the daytime when the vampires will all be asleep and helpless. She and Barry's quick thinking enable some vampires and some humans to get free, and Barry and Sookie team up to use their telepathy to find injured humans. Sookie finds Andre, who has only minor injuries, and watches impassively as Quinn stakes him in order to free her from his control. Queen Sophie-Anne escapes, but loses her legs. Sookie rescues Eric and Pam, and they and Bill escape with minor injuries, but the death toll for humans and vampires is very high.
Sookie Stackhouse is a fictional character and protagonist of The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series, written by Charlaine Harris. In HBO's television adaptation, True Blood, Sookie is portrayed by Anna Paquin.
Eric Northman is a fictional character in The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of thirteen books written by New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. He is a vampire, slightly over one thousand years old, and is first introduced in the first novel, Dead Until Dark and appears in all subsequent novels. Since the book series is told from the first person perspective of Sookie Stackhouse, what readers perceive of his character is influenced by what Sookie comprehends. HBO's television series True Blood is based on this book series and the character of Eric Northman is portrayed somewhat differently. A list of True Blood characters has a detailed description of Eric's character from the TV show.
Sam Merlotte is a fictional character from The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series, written by author Charlaine Harris. In the HBO adaptation of the books, Merlotte is portrayed by Sam Trammell.
True Blood is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of novels by Charlaine Harris.
William Thomas "Bill" Compton is a fictional character in the novel series The Southern Vampire Mysteries by author Charlaine Harris.
Living Dead in Dallas is the second book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This second novel follows the adventures of telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse of Bon Temps, Louisiana, as she is employed by Dallas vampires to use her telepathy to help find their lost companion. Sookie agrees to help investigate the whereabouts of the missing vampire on one condition: any humans found to be involved must be turned over to human law enforcement rather than subjected to vampire justice. In Dallas Sookie Stackhouse has her first encounter with the anti-vampire organization "The Fellowship of the Sun," as well as meeting and learning of the existence of werewolves.
Club Dead is the third book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries, released in 2003. In Club Dead, Sookie's boyfriend Bill disappears while working on a secret project, and Sookie heads out to Jackson, Mississippi in hopes of retrieving him alive. In this quest, she enlists the aid of a werewolf, Alcide Herveaux, and a vampire Eric.
Dead to the World is the fourth book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries, released in 2004. In Dead to the World, Sookie aids vampires Eric and Pam in their struggle against a coven of witches seeking to take over control of their area, and takes care of Eric after the witches erase his memory.
Pamela Ravenscroft, also known as Pamela Swynford De Beaufort, is a fictional character from the television series True Blood. The series was created by Alan Ball, and based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries by author Charlaine Harris. Portrayed by actress Kristin Bauer van Straten, Pam is a vampire sired by Eric Northman. She is the co-owner of Fangtasia, a vampire bar. Her age is never referenced in True Blood. In the short story "Two Blondes," it is revealed that she is approximately 160 years old.
Jason Stackhouse is a fictional character from The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series by author Charlaine Harris. Introduced in the first novel, Dead Until Dark, Jason is Sookie Stackhouse's older brother and road crew supervisor for Bon Temps, Louisiana.
Definitely Dead is the sixth book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries.
From Dead to Worse is the eighth book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries.
Dead and Gone is the ninth book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This title was released on May 5, 2009.
Jessica Hamby is a fictional character in the True Blood series, portrayed by Deborah Ann Woll. In the series, which chronicles the life of human waitress Sookie Stackhouse and her friends after vampires make themselves known to humans, Jessica is a newly turned vampire who must learn to deal with her vampiric abilities, weaknesses, and altered lifestyle.
A Touch of Dead is a collection of short stories from Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This title was released on October 6, 2009. This book only contains the short stories Harris has published in which Sookie Stackhouse is present.
The second season of the television series True Blood commenced airing in the United States on June 14, 2009, concluded on September 13, 2009, and contains 12 episodes. It is loosely based on the second novel of The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Living Dead in Dallas.
"Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" is the 12th and final episode of the second season of True Blood and the show's 24th overall. The episode, which was written by Alexander Woo and directed by Michael Cuesta, originally aired in the United States on HBO on September 13, 2009. Like the first-season finale, the episode is divided almost in half structurally; the first half focusing heavily on Maryann and her attempts to bring new life to the god Dionysus by sacrificing Sam Merlotte in a strange ritual, while the second half deals with the aftermath of those events and how Maryann's presence in Bon Temps has affected their lives. The episode received generally positive reviews and received an Emmy nomination.
Deadlocked is a 2012 urban fantasy novel by American author Charlaine Harris and is the twelfth and penultimate book in her The Southern Vampire Mysteries. The book was released on May 1, 2012 by Ace Books.
"Hopeless" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of HBO's original series True Blood and the 54th episode overall. It was first shown on TV on July 15, 2012 and was directed by Dan Attias and written by Alan Ball, creator of the series. The episodes of the series are based on the Charlaine Harris books, The Sookie Stackhouse novels whereas the episodes of the season are based on the fifth book in the series Dead As a Doornail (book) which follows the Shifters being murdered whereas in the season fang bangers and shifters are being hunted. Even so, the plot of the book is only one of the minor subplots. The episode primarily follows Bill and Eric who must now face Russell again after Roman is killed by him; Sookie and Jason go to a faery club where their family's dark history and greatest secrets are revealed to them. Meanwhile, Sam volunteers to assist Andy with a case. The episode was preceded by Let's Boot and Rally and was followed by In the Beginning, which picks up the events of Hopeless. The episode received fair reviews from critics. The episode ended several minutes earlier than the timeslot filled, as it was about 50 minutes or so, which notably also happened in Let's Boot and Rally. Stephen Moyer will pick up the events of In the Beginning. As of 2012 the episode has received the most ratings only behind by the season premiere episode Turn, Turn, Turn!
