Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Aka... AN ALL TIME LOW Aka... CHARLAINE HARRIS TIES WITH HERSELF FOR WORST BOOK OF THE YEAR Aka... AN EXPENSIVE DRINK COASTER After Dead gives us one more example of Charlaine Harris' hatred toward her fans, i.e.....the ones who made her rich. She clearly believes us idiots. Glad I didn't pay for this mess and read my (stunned) friends copy. Took a full 27 minutes front cover to back and that includes stopping to make comments and roll eyes. Dreck, pure lazy dreck. For almost $10? It's bad enough getting the middle finger from Harris, but knowing the Editors/Publishers at Ace/Penguin allowed this? Criminal. BTW Ms Harris - don't lump me in with your "disappointed Eric fans" tripe to excuse your lazy writing. I didn't give a flip who Sookie ended up with because I liked the world which was created and ALL the characters - good, bad, and evil - most were interesting. Too bad it floundered in the hands of an apathetic "writer" of questionable skill...and monumental greed. lol. I knew going in this wasn't Shakespeare when I first got into this series but I expected competence along with continuity. I excused many giant continuity screw-ups, but after the tenth book it was as if everyone suffered from bipolar disorder/mind-snatchers. Angst I can take. Twists I can take. But multiple characters doing complete 180's? IMO, seems something more akin to ghost writing. Then there's Harris apparent befuddlement over fan reactions. If a hundred or so fans 'misread' something I might agree with her party line excuse "they read into it what they wanted"...however when *thousands* of readers all 'misread' the same thing supposedly incorrectly it is the author who misfired in their storytelling and NOT the duped fans. If anyone doubts my assessment of Harris' writing, take 15 minutes with this 'Coda' - it is a spectacular example of her greed and mediocrity. She's 60+years old now so it's not like she cares. It might explain everything from book 10 (DITF) to this disgusting money grab 'Coda'. The Editors and Publishers are still accountable for this travesty even if Harris's old brain buggered out. Maybe her future books/sales will reflect her treatment of fans. I know I will never purchase, check out or open anything the old gal deigns to write in the future. (Or any of her past books/series) Petty? Possibly. But petty begets petty and disdain begets disdain. Still doubting? Harris is okay with disdain & pettiness - from her own web site: "I was pretty specific about the content of the book. And the description on Barnes and Noble and on Amazon was also very clear. I can't feel sorry for people who don't read the book description. " Charlaine Harris ______________________________ Lovely. Well I can't be bothered to "feel sorry" for an author who can't seem to remember details of HER very own characters! Ms Harris certainly makes no bones of believing us all stupid. News Flash: the majority of us know what 'Coda' means. I own several from legitimately impressive authors. If only the 'Coda / book / index / coaster' lived up to the aforementioned "description." ("Had many more adventures"...are you kidding me? When did 'art' equal a couple pencil-like sketches and a fancifying of the alphabet?) However what Ms Harris published as a 'Coda' is something akin to bullet points. I say "akin to" because After Dead isn't even competent bullet points. While the Sookie series was entertaining, Harris' writing skills and style was mid-level pedestrian at best. But surely even she knows there is a difference between a 'Coda' index and ....a bullet point Word Doc. DO NOT WASTE YOUR HARD EARNED DOLLARS I think I'd rather take my chances with Jessica Fletcher & the high death count of Cabot Cove than the depressingly mundane life Bon Temps and Sookie offer. Beauty pagents, STD's, car accidents....Bon Temps is apparently hazardous to ones health & life span also ;) <edit 11/2/13> I suggest anyone wanting a great laugh & a 'Coda' that's worth it try "Coda This!" By Suki59 on fanfic (since CH is apparently okay with FanFic now...or maybe that's only when she gets a check for her 'friends' playing with her characters!) follow this link: [...] If you're looking for something to take the sting from Sookie Stackhouse's dreary finale and After Dead's insulting Coda, a great supernatural series is author Jeaniene Frost' Night Huntress series. She's a fantastic storyteller who appreciates and is never insulting to her fans. She's wrapping up the Cat & Bones story with a final book due early 2014 instead of dragging it out for greed purposes. Bravo Ms Frost. Her characters never suffer a thwacking of the bipolar hammer Harris took to Sookie & Co.(out of spite perhaps?)