True Blood vs. Twilight

True Blood just finished it's second season on HBO; New Moon (the movie) is set to come out in November. Which series is better? Well, I have an opinion about that!

Normally vampires do absolutely nothing for me. Vampire books, vampire movies, vampire games...nope, nothing. I could blame the horrendous movie/show "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" for that, or even Every once in a while, my mom will send me a book, or introduce me to a new author, and since my mom is a very avid reader with an amazing book collection, 99% of the time I trust her judgment when she says "You'd like this book" or "You'd really like this author".

One of these events happened a few years ago, when she introduced me to Charlaine Harris, who is the author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels. I believe as of right now, Charlaine has written 9 novels, 7 of which I have read so far. They are targeted for all audiences, but primarily adult fiction readers.

Sookie Stackhouse is a barmaid and a telepath who encounters Bill the vampire, who is the first vampire to come to Bon Temps, LA after the vampires "come out of the coffin". Of course there's the token "boy next door", who is in love with Sookie, but since he's her boss, she never reciprocates the feelings. Sure, once in a while they have a heated moment and may share a kiss or two, but she is really interested in Bill because for once in her life, she can concentrate and have a blank mind around him; her telepathy is at rest around vampires.

What ensues after meeting Bill is a series of tragic deaths, unfortunate incidents, and wild discoveries. The "Dead" series is full of blood, violence, sex, mystery, intrigue, and extremely attractive characters, both living and dead.

These books are great; so great, Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) and HBO teamed up to create one of the newest, freshest vampire shows of all time, "True Blood". Keep in mind though, that the events in the Sookie books are sometimes ignored or rewritten for the TV show, which is "based" on the novels. In both, however, TruBlood is a synthetic blood, created by the Japanese, so vampires could assimilate into society without being so violent. Of course, there are strays, just as in any society, but for the most part, these vampires are just dead people wanting the company of life.

Although my mom gave/bought me these Sookie books, she did not introduce me to the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. I had heard from numerous other people that her 4-book vampire series was fresh, modern, and just amazing. Plus, her books were plastered all over the bookstores, and there was even a movie scheduled to come out. I figured I should read them, see what all the fuss is about.

Stephanie Meyer introduces Isabella Swan, who has recently moved to Forks, WA and soon discovers her life is about to change once she meets the hunk of the school, Edward Cullen. But, Edward is a bit unusual, and seems to be angry and ignore Bella when they first meet. One day, Edward finally can be around Bella and she discovers it's because he is a vampire and craves human blood. Being the likeable stud he is, he prefers to drink animal blood instead of human blood.



Like any good love story, there's always the boy who always gets the girl, and the boy who almost gets the girl. Jacob Black is a Native American living on a reservation, and his father has been friends with Bella's father for years. They hadn't seen each other in years and when Bella moves back, they rekindle their relationship. Obviously, Jacob is attracted to Bella because she is everything a boy could want, wrapped up nice and neat. But, she is googly eyed over Edward, and treats Jacob as just a friend.

Within the span of four books, Cullen family, along with Bella and Jacob Black and their respective families, also encounter a series of mishaps, tragic circumstances, and intriguing situations. The books are well written, and are considered young adult fiction.

To me, these two authors are equally as good, and awesomely creative. They both have their pros and cons, and It's difficult to compare the two series, mainly because they belong to the same genre, but just a different age category. Edward and Bella have a PG relationship, as do the other characters in Twilight; whereas Sookie and Bill have mind boggling sexual relations, as well as the other characters in the book. Jason Stackhouse, Sookie's brother, is a modern day man whore, and has a body to die for.

The characters in the Sookie novels are more complex, and come with way more surprises than the flat/dull characters in Twilight. I find Jacob Black to be the most intriguing Twilight character, because he is mysterious and has depth. Maybe it's because he's Native American, or maybe it's just his dark looks, but there's more to him than meets the eye, similar to Sam Merlotte in the Sookie novels, although Sam is a playful, plain cute guy, but who has surprises of his own.

In my opinion, Bella should have fallen in love with Jacob, which she almost did until Edward came back into her life, and I think Bella and Edward forming a marriage and having an alien type baby that almost kills her was the easy way out. The readers saw it coming, and it was no surprise that Bella would become a vampire. Duh. I saw that coming just by reading the back cover of Twilight.

Harris one ups Meyer in her novels, because although the heroine, Sookie, does fall for the vampire, there is so much more to it than that. She falters with Sam, Eric, and other people in the novels. In fact, she and Bill are barely a couple after the first two books, as they encounter problems and go their separate ways, while still being a part of each other's lives. The complexity of this story showcases Harris' more mature writing style and ability to continuously surprise the writer.

So far, there are only two Twilight movies, the first one last year and the second one coming out this year. I personally think the movies are better than the books, only because I'm a fan of Kristin Stewart, especially in "In The Land of Women" and "Panic Room", and also they couldn't have picked a better person for the role of Jacob Black.

My least favorite characters in the movie are Carlisle Cullen, played by Peter Facinelli, who also happens to be that jock-tool from "Can't Hardly Wait", and Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson, better known as Cedric Diggory from the Harry Potter series. In spite of some rather poor casting choices, the Twilight movie caught my attention far more than the series of books, although I thought the second novel was the best out of all four.

There have only been two seasons of True Blood, despite Harris having written 9 books total. The series is edgy, exciting, and leaves viewers thirsty for more, pun intended. The casting is amazing, especially Ryan Kwanten, who plays Jason Stackhouse and is a HOT Australian actor who somehow manages a Southern Accent for the series, and of course, Anna Paquin, better known as "Rogue" from the X-Men movies. Perfect cast, awesome script, bloody good show!

I would place money on Bill Compton beating Edward Cullen's "vegetarian vampire" ass anyday, and Bella ain't got shit on Sookie; that and Bella wouldn't win the fight, since Sookie could read her mind. At the end of the day, Edward is a pussy who gives in and makes Bella a vampire, and somehow they go from kissing, to having a baby, who they name "Renesmee", the STUPIDEST combination of names I've ever heard! Shame on you Stephanie Meyer for that stupid name! Bill Compton is a Southern gentleman who is practically a superhero the way he can fight, feed, and fuck, and there is NO way in hell either Sookie or Bill would agree to name a child something that stupid!

Harris has her vampires living out in the open; Meyer keeps her vampires hidden, ashamed of who they are. Harris' vamps glamour people; Meyer's vamps "sparkle"; Harris creates a fictional town, known as Bon Temps, LA where as Meyer picks an actual small town in Washington. Harris has 9 books, and probably counting; Meyer has 4.

I'm just saying...it should be obvious what the better choice is...Charlaine Harris and her Sookie books, as well as Alan Ball/HBO and the True Blood series DEFINITELY win. Why do I think that? Because I write so...

Thanks for reading but now, I'm going to allow Kanye West to interrupt/end my blog.