Creating a Past and a Future for Humans and Supernaturals

Abstract

Dead but not Forgotten is a collection of short stories about the characters presented in the thirteen Sookie Stackhouse novels published by Charlaine Harris between 2001 and 2013. The fifteen short stories were not written by Harris herself, but by a series of novelists and best-selling authors. The tales are compelling and their plots are as suspenseful as the original novels by Harris, whose contents they are consistent with. Indeed, the characters are faithful to the spirit of Harris' books and their adventures are a (super)natural and logical continuation or anticipation of what occurs to them in Harris' fictional universe. The stories are indeed set in different time periods: they fill the gaps between the novels or they either precede or follow the facts narrated in Harris' books. Jeffrey J. Mariotte's “Taproot,” for example, focuses on a case assigned to Detective Andy Bellefleur during Sookie's sojourn in Dallas in the second novel. “Nobody's Business,” written by Rachel Caine, narrates instead about two secondary characters of the saga, white agent Kevin Pryor and his colored colleague Kenya Jones, and how they fall in love with one another during a dangerous mission that precedes the events described in the first book of the series (Dead Until Dark). Jeanne C. Stein's “Love Story,” however, is set decades before Sookie's birth and narrates about her grandmother Adele’s extramarital affair with a male fairy. On the other hand, Christopher Golden's “Tyger, Tyger” – which is focused on the kidnapping of mighty weretyger Quinn by a militaristic organization that uses the “two-natured” as mercenary soldiers – is set soon after the end of Harris' last book in the series (Dead Ever After).