Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Twilight vs. True Blood

I had to take some time tonight to write an entry about Twilight versus True Blood.

Today I noticed I had some people click on my blog from searching about the two different shows. What pushed me to action, however, was the following letter to TV Guide magazine, titled "Blood Related?" -

I was reading about HBO'S True Blood and though: This show sounds an awful lot like the Twilight books. Then when I read the Roush Review [9/1], my thoughts were confirmed. Vamps? Mind reading? Small towns? Are you kidding me? How could no one else have caught this?! - Anais Villa, Maspeth, N.Y.

Well Anais, if you would have left some contact information, I would definitely be writing you some hate mail at this moment. When I read this I became quite enraged. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. First, let us examine the books these shows were based off of:

Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer was published in 2005
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris was published in 2001.

In no way did Charlaine Harris (or HBO for that matter) copy the Twilight people. If, dear Anais Villa, you did at least one simple Google search, you would have realized this. I might have excepted the argument that HBO was trying to get some of the vampire show profit, but not that True Blood is a copy of Twilight. If you have been following this blog, you know that I am a huge fan of the Sookie Stackhouse books... and I am not too fond of the Twilight series.

I will try and play devil's advocate though, and list some differences and similarities.

Similarities:
Human girl, hunky vampires
I guess we can put Anais' "observations" of small towns and mind reading
There are some werewolves (but only later on in the Harris series, not in the show)

Differences:
Twilight is aimed at a teenage audience
Characters are "high schoolers" in Twilight
Female character is very dependent on male vampire in Twilight
In Twilight, the mind reading is done by vampires, in True Blood, Sookie is the one that does the mind reading
Sookie doesn't want to become a vampire
There is also more sex and action in True Blood because it's audience is meant for the more mature
In True Blood, vampires are out of the closet and drink synthetic blood

These are just a few I feel like listing. If you are interested, you can write TV Guide at Radnor, PA 19088 or email at letters@tvguide.com. Include your name, address, and phone number. I think I will be writing them an email, I would suggest you do the same.

Any one out there have an opinion either way?

EDIT: Just wanted to let you guys know that I have a recent update to this post. YOu can view it here.

77 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are completely right. And the fact that people compare both series is just annoying. Harris's books are a hundred times better written than Meyer's.

True Blood will hopefully make more people discover the books, show them the error of their ways and end the insanity that is the Twilight fandom.

Lindsay said...

I agree! My boyfriend, who hasn't even read the Twilight series, or finished all of the Harris books even was mad! Haha, he said "Sookie is no Bella, dammnit!" hehe.

Anonymous said...

Well, I do agree somewhat with Anais' comment re: similarities in the show vs the Twilight Books, but in a different context. I think Stephanie Meyer's "dream" must have come to her after having read some Sookie Stackhouse. Yes, looking at the details, the two are different (teens vs adults, Sookie not wanting to become a vampire, etc). I however, find it interesting that Sookie can read minds - just not Bill's (Edward/Bella?). Spolier alert!!!!!! After last night, Bill will be drawn to Sookie wherever she is, and can help her if she's ever in trouble (similar to the entire Twilight series and relationship between Edward and Bella). Now, while Sookie has not become a vampire, she has absorbed some vampire characteristics, and her actions are similar to Bella's descriptions once she became a vampire in the fourth book (hyper sensitivity to smells, sex, etc). Bill also made the comment to Sookie that she doesn't have the "normal" human reaction to vampires that she should have (fear) - that was a prevailing theme in all 4 twilight books, and was spoken aloud several times by both central characters. Having not read Dead Until Dark (and I think I may just do that), even I can see the similarities, but I think the question we should be asking is where did Stephanie Meyer's inspiration truly come from?

Lindsay said...

Yeah, I agree, if there are similarieties, it is definitely not Harris copying Meyer.

Thanks for your comment!

Anonymous said...

Hey there people.
now idc if you belive me or not.
but i am Anais Villa. idk how to prove it to you, other than give you my word.
Now, i have realised my... "opinions" on the book wer short handed.
I apologize for not... googling the true blood before hand. Which is strange 'cause i usually reserch everything.
But im a 15 yr girl btw. and me being addicted to Twilight, saw the similarites from the discriptions in TVGuide. and quickly went to send them an email.
I was anticipating some retaliation. But, i guess i was blinded by, what i just previously mentioned. So i guess my point here is: i didnt know.

Now, if you still dont belive its me. Well... uh, to bad? and if you would like to Email me i dont mind. I'd love to talk this out.
Drangel93@yahoo.com
thnx.

Anna said...

Thanks, i love your blog too. I actually have this posted here at my blogger, but reposted at lj.

Some one did write into tv guide relying it Anias Villa's letter and they printed it. It's in the new tv guide.

Anonymous said...

Please do not get me wrong, I am in love with True Blood - however..

my question is, does anyone see the similarities between the Sookie Stackhouse world vs the Anita Blake world, that was 1st published in.. 1993...

Lindsay said...

To be honest, most vampire/paranormal books are quite similar. There is only so much uniqueness you can give to the same story.

Vampires, female heroines, hunky men, action and suspense... most of the books from this genre are all very similar.

I would be curious as to what you think Harris could take from the Hamilton stories.

Thanks for the comment.

Unknown said...

Okay... my friend and I first read the Twilight series. Then, b/c of True Blood we read the first Sookie Stackhouse novel. We were hooked, and the more novels we read, the more we started wondering if Twilight is a tamed down version of Charlaine Harris' series. Especially after reading "Cold Dead" and the similarities with the storyline from "New Moon." At what point does it cross the line from being a coincidence? Ms. Harris wrote her first novel in 2001, and Meyer wrote hers in 2004. IMO, it's *way* too similar to be a coincidence.... And, BTW, if I had to choose I'd head to Louisiana rather than Washington... :)

Anonymous said...

what are the differences in becoming a vampire in twilight versus True Blood. It's a bit confusing since in True Blood humans can drink vampire blood and be bitten by vampires without becoming a vampire.

Lindsay said...

I don't remember the exact details, but the process in True Blood is kind of vague... She is told that since she has drank blood 3x they can turn her into a vamp if they wanted, but Sookie says if they really wanted to, they could turn you the first time. So I think the vampires have to actually "try" and turn someone, instead of just the classic exchange of blood.

Anonymous said...

Right on, I have read all 8 of Charlaine Harris' sookie stackhouse books and am in love with them! I love mystery and how Sookie can pretty much take care of herself. Now I'm from Washington myself but my siblings and my dad's side are french cajun (from baton rouge Louisiana) That's not why I love the series but it's a definite plus ^_~. I have always loved vampire novels from Bram Stoker's Dracula to Anne Rice's Vampire novels to Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak up to Charlaine Harris' S.V.M. But I just could not for the life of me wrap myself around Twilight... I cringe at the descriptions. Speaking of descriptions, no offense to Twilight fans or anything but she went completely into description overload and anyone whose taken a High School literature class knows that adding in insane amounts of adjectives does not make your story better. When you use specific details the reader can obtain a much clearer image instead of plastering on their own image of what the character looks like, in a way everyone who reads does that but at least when you're more attentive to detail it's easier to see what the author see's. But again good for you for calling out an obvious fallacy. Keep it up ^-^

Anonymous said...

Twilight so rocks and would beat True Blood at any competition out there! I am a HUGE Twilight fan and I read the Twilight Saga before I even heard of True Blood and it just seemed like they copied Stephenie Meyer. I really don't know but I would pick Twilight over True Blood anyday!

P.S.
PLEASE STOP SPELLING STEPHENIE'S NAME WRONG, IT GETS ON MY NERVES! Thank You.

Lindsay said...

Lots of people love Twilight, that's ok, but Harris' books were published several years befor Meyers.

Thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

you guys forgot to mention that in twilight, the vamps DAZZZLE humans, and in True Blood they glamour

Anonymous said...

I was googling "Sookie Stackhouse vs Twilight" and found your blog. My sister and I (married women in our early 30's) came across Twilight very late in the game, similar to how we are just now learning about the Sookie series. We are not normally science fiction/fantasy readers, unless you count Harry Potter. Anyway, despite our careers and her kids, we read all 4 Twilight books in under 2 weeks and absolutely loved them. I have only read the beginning of Dead Until Dark but I am already very annoyed at how similar they seem to be (annoyed at Stephenie Meyer and questioning where she really got her inspiration from). So I guess my question is should we read the Sookie series? I am very content in my little Twilight bubble and my sister admits to being worse than I am.
Thanks :)

Karenality said...

My family and I love vamps, werewolves and witch stories/sagas...Just recently we took an interest in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and then noticed HBO's TrueBlood series and thought there was a huge similarity between the two. I know Hollywood have a LOT of copycat writer's out there. Probably one screenwriter would've been a fan of another's and thought they could do a better job than the other. I noticed the vamp character in TrueBlood's real identity name is Stephen Moyer...coincidentally Twilight author is Stephenie Meyer...How similar is that?
And it seems to me that Sookie in TrueBlood, has a familiar protecting...Her boss's dog!! Bill doesn't seem to be to happy with this. White witches have the ability to mind read/clairvoyancy skills and have familiars. Bella (her name is similar to Bill), but in the Twilight series Bella has her wolf friends protecting her and watching her back against Edward and his vamp family.
Also similarities my family noticed between the two series...Edward's father is a doctor (fringe benefits are the blood bank at the hospital.) And when Bella got hurt by the other trio of evil vamps Edward had to bite her arm to suck out the venom. In TrueBlood, Bill saved Sookie by biting his arm and allowing her to drink his blood. He said this saved her. Could he, too, be like a "doctor"? He doesn't like to hang around his evil vamp friends, either because he's not like him. He likes to hold on to his "human" nature, like Edward and his family. Civilized vamps.

Lindsay said...

I would suggest 100% that you read the Sookie series. They are awesome!

Lindsay said...

Karenality: You mention some really good points that I've never thought about before. Just remember that Sookie was before Twilight! Almost all the things, besides Moyer, are book similarities. I posted a new blog about Twilight versus Trueblood, you can see it here:

http://vampirebooks.blogspot.com/2008/12/twilight-and-true-blood-or-twilight-and.html

Anonymous said...

And of course, Jacob's protective character (and shapeshifting/werewolf status) is similar to Sam's. They both are not fully human and they both love Bella/Sookie. They both try and protect them. That was the big similarity for me ...

Anonymous said...

The biggest thing is timing and that the specifics are just that, too specific for coincidence

although concepts and ideas are shared through out different "vampire" books and movies.. this is not the case when it comes to these two in particular ( 2 reasons)

1) the southern vampire mysteries came out a good four years earlier
2) the author or the twilight series said that the idea came to her in a dream
this is possible we dream about things all the time but her "dream" had already been written

i like the twilight series and the true blood series i feel like they both get the story out but to two different groups of ppl in two different ways ....I just think that ppl should know which came first especially when term "rip off" is starting to be used

Unknown said...

BLAH!!! after only 2 chapters of dead til dark i'm completely disillusioned!! really?? meyers clearly took the series, sucked it up and dumbed it down and called it her own. i'm thinking about burning my copies of the twilight series!! grr

Anonymous said...

Read the Sookie books first (after watching TrueBlood).

Halfway through the first Twilight and I am bored out of my freakin SKULL.

Anonymous said...

I think that the True blood series is far better than Twilight. Well you would probably like Twilight if you are into more of high school stories, but if you want to read something more mature, then go for True Blood.

Lindsay said...

Hey guys, thanks for all the awesome comments,

Sorry to Girl Interupted: I accidently deleted your comment (below)

girl, interrupted has left a new comment on your post "Twilight vs. True Blood":

Well come on guys, yes it is annoying that this Anais person didn't even bother to check the publishing dates of the books, but the story lines are similar. I'd say that Twilight is a dumbed down version of Sookie Stackhouse series,personally I don't buy Stephanie Meyer's story with the dream that inspired her and her not ever watching any vampire related show or movie, or reading a book etc- but this explanation seems to match with the lyrical feel to her books, and probably teenage girls buy it without questioning. Don't get me wrong, reading Twilight was fun, but Harris's series has that flavor of a well written American prose. The show True Blood is also great, luckily they didn't turn it into another Buffy or Charmed. Twilight suffered far more from Hollywood in my opinion, the film Bella is obnoxious and artificially awkard.

Anonymous said...

The first time I saw true blood i was like "that's such a copy of twilight" and after reading some info on the net I realised that the sookie stackhouse books were in fact published way B4 twilight. The fact is that the two stories have very similar aspects that will obviously make people question the authenticity of true blood because twilight gained more publicity.
Fact is the show is awesome [true blood] and the characters too, and besides some minor aspects, the storylines of the two are vastly different. Only teenage girls who have never read a book besides twilight and who have fallen in love with (dare I say it) Edward Cullen could possibly question this.

Milena Brandão said...

I wonder if Charlaine Harris has anything to say about this. Does she feel she's been "rippid off"? Does anyone know if she has said or written anything about it? (I didn't find anything in her website)

Milena Brandão said...

Oops, sorry LuluBelle. I accidentally posted my comment several times. Please decline the repeats and this one. Thanks

Lindsay said...

Milena - she wrote on her blog addressing something similar... here is the link -
http://vampirebooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/twilight-trueblood-and-other-similar.html

Thanks everyone for commenting!

Milena Brandão said...

Wow, she was classy!
Thanks, Ms. LuluBelle.

Anonymous said...

hey everyone. I'm a huge fan of twilight and I'm not particularly fond of True Blood (it would be like cheating on Edward with Bill:), but the main obvious proof that none of them is a copy of the other is the fact that there's no law suit between the writers, the producers, the writers and the producers and so on...

Form the point of view of the plot now, Twilight is mainly a romance, the innocence and the romantism of a hidden and incredible world of some incredible persons (I didn't say people). It's like a burst of myth and sacred history in the middle of the life of an almost blaze society, and an almost blaze girl.....whom, we find out, was actually looking for her share of life and living, for her share of love and myth. Thwilight is ment to be a fairy tale.

Whilst True Blood, wishes to be down to earth, with de-mythisized vamipres that just wanna get the hell out in the open and drink their coca-cola. As if that made them any normal. But while in Twilight he is prince charming, in true blood, the powers and charms between the two are balanced she's the more independent powerful woman and so, which, unfortunately, form my point of view, transforms the book in the southern adventures of a lucky-to-meet-a-hunky-vamipre-waitress.

Kelley said...

Thank you for posting this! I'm a huge fan of True Blood and just recently read all the books in the series. I was turning my nose up at Twilight until I finally bit the bullet and read the first novel, about to start on the second. I immediately noticed the similarities but knew C. Harris had written her books first. I hate that "Twilight" has gotten SO much press whereas "True Blood" is sort of lost in the shadows. I have to say that I do enjoy the Twilight books, but I'm also a 30 year old woman so appreciates the maturity of Sookie/Bill a bit more ;)

Little Redneck said...

I am 15 And i love TB (True Blood). i tried to get in to that gay twilight and once you read sookie story's you really hate twilight bc no vamp sparkles in the sun.

Anonymous said...

To be honest, I think Stephenie Meyer did get a lot of her ideals from True Blood. Everything is the same, just reversed. Instead of the Vampire reading minds, it's the girl. If you notice, there are even a lot of the same names. Sam, as in the boss. Sam Uley, as in one of the wolves (in Twilight).

Maybe Stephenie was inspired by True Blood, who knows? But, I personally am a huge True Blood fan and It offends me a little.

What can ya do, though?

Anonymous said...

Seriously They are not the same. the Sookie Stackhouse books are totally different. I think sookie said it best about Portia Bellefleur, the only thing they have in common is long hair and lady parts.

I've read them all and i enjoyed them all - the new moon book. anyone who enjoyed that is retarded.

My point is that Twilight is for little girls. let them have their twilight. when they grow up they'll discover the Sookie stackhouse books when they'r ready.

Anonymous said...

I originally started with the Twilight series because I work in a middle school and was hearing so much about it. I became hooked and read all the books in 2 weeks. However, I truly only enjoyed the first and last books. I think it's mainly the romance that pulled me in. I happened to come across some information about True Blood and Sookie Stackhouse books recently so I thought I'd look into it. I've read the first book and am eager to read the next. I immediately noticed the similarities between Harris' and Meyer's books. At that point I had go and check out punblishing dates to see who came first. I can see where you would take something you enjoyed reading and make it your own but it is a shame that Harris hasn't received as much attention with her series since she was around first.

Anonymous said...

are you kidding me?twilight is wayyyyyyyyyy better than sookie what ever.i mean drinking blood at bars so fake and come on going to the gas station and buying blood?even though the lady who wrote true blood published it first i still think that Stephenie DID NOT COPY HER. i love twilight and this whole true blood thing is ruining it.thank god there are people in this world who agree with me.

Anonymous said...

okay i am in love with twilight.and i think this whole true blood thing is crap.i mean come on everyone knows that there are vampires,nothings a secret,people are buying blood at bars and going to gas stations and asking for blood.i hate it.i know the lady who wrote true blood published it first but come on it's a rip off.STEPHENIE DID NOT COPY.thank god there are people in this world who agree with me. i love twilight and this true blood crap is ruining it.

Anonymous said...

okay i love twilight.i hate true blood.it's crap i mean come on everyone knows that there vampires,people are going to bars and gas stations asking for blood.it's stupid.STEPHENIE DID NOT COPY.twilight is an amazing saga and this true blood crap is'nt going to ruin it.i know the lady who wrote the true blood series published it first but honestly the relationship between Bella and Edward are much more interesting and intimate than sookie and bill.i mean you don't name a vampire bill.CHEESY!!Edward is way more mysterious.thank god there are people in this world who agree with me.

Anonymous said...

I like them both. Haven't read the True Blood series, but I did read all of the Twilight series in a matter of days. However, True Blood's Bill is wayyyyyy hotter than Edward Cullen. Maybe I feel that way because I'm in my late thirties. Yes, they are similar, but True Blood is definitely for a more mature audience. I couldn't stand how in Twilight, Meyers skipped over the entire sex scene between Edward and Bella.

Linda said...

I do like True Blood better because it's more adult oriented. However, it is hard to compare Twilight to it since Twilight is targeted toward a younger audience who believes in prefect romances.

I would probably compare True Blood to Christine Feehan's Dark Prince, which features a mind-reading female protagonist Raven, and a Carpathian (a vampire in every sense except he does not feed to kill, so not called a 'vampire' in the book). He is also a shape-shifter. This book is published even before Sookie Stackhouse series and Twilight.

It is hard to say who copied who in this day and age. I'm sure there are a lot of similarities between vampire stories, and there's only so much you can create without completely deviating from a traditional vampire. Meyer's vampire is by far one of the most 'unlikely' vampire.

Anonymous said...

They ARE similar in a general since. I just watched the first season of true blood and the whole time was thinking "This is a lot like twilight." I also wondered which came first and I was glad to see that true blood was out before twilight. However, you can list a bunch of specifics that are different if you want, hell im surpirsed you didnt list the fact that the names are different. But the fact remains that they are very similar. I would say that the only major difference is that fact that the vampires our out in the open in true blood. Also true blood is a lot like a bood called "the world on blood." One of the first original ideas on vampires that I had ever read. And for all you people wondering which came first "The world on blood" was published in 1997. Regardless I like them all and am entertained. The true blood show is cheesy sometimes but I do like the adult theme. Cant wait to go get the books and read them.

Jakeyatthedisco said...

OK, I decided what I wanted to write here. Twilight is GAY. I mean I tried to think of someother way to put it, but that is really what it comes down to. I love True Blood with all my heart, it is seriously the best show on television right now. Twilight is honestly boring, I read the books and at the time I thought they were good, but about a week after completing the 4th book, I started to realize that Meyer can't actually write. I had wasted my life. Those are hours of reading I will never get back and I wasted them on terrible book series.

Back to True Blood, it is amazing. It DOES NOT copy Twilight, if anything Twilight copies it. The first Sookie Stackhouse novel was published in 2001, while Twilight wasn't published until 2005. Thats a 4 year difference, which is a good amount of time for Meyer to read it and copy it, and come up with her "It came to me in a dream story..." Seriously? She couldn't come up with a better excuse?

True Blood definetely has better character structure too. I actually feel like I know Bill, and Sookie while in Twilight I felt like they were showing me dolls and saying this is Edward and this Bella.

In the end Twilight is a fad. Nothing more. It will die down when teenage girls find some other retarded thing to get obsessed over. While True Blood will live on as one of the greatest televison and book series of our time.

Twilight fans write your hate mail, I'm ready.

Anonymous said...

My copy of Dead Until Dark states that it was published in 2004, not 2001... Not that it really matters, cos like Harris said, similarities happen. Twilight and True Blood has their similarities, but in reality they are completely different. I've read both series and liked both, but I definitely like Twilight better and thought that Harris' series were poorly edited and at times difficult to read.

Anonymous said...

The Twilight series is like a watered-down version of the True Blood series. I mean, Sparkling Vampires? come on!

The one similarity between the two
books that stood out to me was that

They both have a mind reader (except one's a busty blond and the other is a brooding bag of nothing cheerful.)

oh..but I'd choose Eric Northman over Edward Cullen any day! Yumm-y!

Anonymous said...

When I first read True Blood (Knowing full well that it came first) I actually threw my twilight books in the bin.

Enough said.

Tilly said...

I'm an avid reader and have read and enjoyed "classics" writen by authors such as Jane Austen and the Eyre sister but somehow ended up reading the Twilight series last year. First I have to say that I truely I enjoy the True Blood series on HBO. However, I'm my opinion, Twilight was better writen than the Sookie Stackhouse novels. I'm a 26 year old who has read the whole Twilight series and so far the first two Sookie Stackhouse novels, and I found Harris' style writing distracting to say the least. Don't get me wrong, it is an extremely intriguing story, but it will probably take me years to finish reading the series because I can't seem to read the books more than 15 minutes at a time without getting bored or distracted. I read a few other books by different authors after Twilight and never had that problem, i'm a read an hour a day type of gal.
I know Harris published her first novel before Meyer did so I have to agree that there is a possibility that Meyer got her "inspiration" from the Sookie Stackhouse novels.

Anonymous said...

you know in my opinion you can find reasons to enjoy each one for what it is. I personally enjoy the complexity of the relationships between all the characters in true blood. but when it comes to the vampires, i think the twilight vampires are better. yes the shimmering part is a little out there, nut the fact that they are able to lead normal lives if they choose is a nice spin to all the vampire stories out there.
regardless of what you choose, they should both be respected for their hard work and talents. and to argue about which came first and it sucks that true blood isn't getting enough attention isn't fair. there are many authors and books out there about the vampire world that haven't gotten attention at all but that are well deserving of it.
if you enjoy this type of story, explore and find the good in all of them, life is much more enjoyable when you can appreciate evrything life has to offer

M said...

I just watched an episode of TB where Sam tells shapeshifter waitress (forgot her name) that he's always running a temperature and that it's a shapeshifter thing. It was too much for me. I just had to google and see if others are as outraged by this as I am. Not to mention he's also NOT a werewolf but a shifter. Same as Jake. Steph Meyer, you stupid housewife slash copycat slash writer wannabe! I can't believe something as childish and copied Twilight gets more love and recognition than the original idea! It's basically the soft Mormon-friendly version of True Blood. And that people actually come to believe that Twilight is the original!! *pulls hairs out* I wish Harris would sue her ass off.

Anonymous said...

I think its funny that people who hate Twilight have never read it - and its obvious they haven't read it by what they say, making error after error after error. Sorry but, reading the Wikipedia article isn't the same.

Sarah said...

I have to say that in Twilight, there are no werewolves in the book, they are just mentioned. The wolves in Twilight are shapesifters, like Sam in the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Also, yes, I originally thought True Blood was copying Twilight in most ways, but several Google results showed me that the Sookie Stackhouse series was published a few years before Twilight

Anonymous said...

I am just throwing this out there, I didn't read all reponses, but the turning of a human to vampire in these series is this;

Twilight:
The vampire bites a human and injects their "venom" like a snake, which takes over the human's cells, shutting down the body in the bloodstream from extremities to heart. It is descibed as a very painful process.

Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood:
The vampire will drain the human of blood, then the human must drink the blood of the vampire. Then, the "human" is buried in the ground, and will rise the first night they are fully vampire.

I am still a little fuzzy on the details of the Sookie Stackhouse way of turning. I am not sure how the human drinks the vampire's blood after they are drained of blood.

Lady Astor said...

As an avid vampire stories reader in her early 30s (from Carmilla Karnstein through Bram Stoker and of course vamp queen Anne Rice) I was just curious about anything with fangs when I headed down to watch the Twilight movie. Up to that moment I thought I would read the book, but the film was SO childish I tried to forget all about it as soon as I could. How would an 80 year old vampire bear to attend high school? And date a teen? What about the fact the sunlight doesn´t harm them? I´m sorry, but that isn´t what a vampire should be like. I also found Edward too effeminate for my taste... Contrary to that, I quivver at the sight of Eric Northman!
I feel True Blood is more mature oriented and that is the quid of the question.

Sonia said...

I own both the Twilight and the sookie stackhouse series. Both books are about vamps...No matter how similar or different they are doesn't change how good the series is. Even though Dead until dark came out before Twilight doesn't mean that Twilight shouldn't have a bit of glory? Sure the media made Twilight a bit over rated. When you think about it, so did Trueblood. I believe that you enjoy something and you feel the need to talk to somebody about it, then it becomes popular and you can't seem to enjoy it as much. Unfortunatlyn I've red most of the twilight and sookie series before any of them got popular, therefor I was discouraged too. No need to have a cat fight. Who copied who is the author's problem not yours.

sonia said...

I've red both the Twilight and sookie. Series. They are both great. Even the though the media made twilight over rated doesn't mean its a bad book. Sookie series are getting there too. TrueBlood is getting more and more popular by the day. I believe that when you enjoy something like a book or a band, you feel the need to expose them to you friends. So when they become popular and the media exposes them you feel less interested. Even though sookie. series were published before Twilight doesn't mean we have to do a cat fight about it. They are both AMAZING series. If you havent red Twilight, read it. If you haven't red the sookie stackhouse series, read it. Personally I find that both the Twilight movie and TrueBlood killed the books. A books imagination is the readers imagination. The movie and show changes the aspect.

Anonymous said...

I read Twilight a year or so ago and didn't exactly care for it but didn't really care if other people did. It's what they like and what I like I don't see the point fighting over that.
Then a few months ago I discovered True Blood with a friend and instantly fell in love with the show prompting me to pick up the books. I'm only half way through Club Dead but the more I've read the angrier I've gotten about the similarities I found between Sookie and Twilight. Naturally after seeing the show I was curious about which came first and after discovering Sookie was I got Increasingly mad and also started to questions the origins of Twilight.
I've come to realize by reading these comments that, really it doesn't matter who coppied who. Maybe Twilight did get some ideas from Sookie but as it's been mentioned before there have been other book before that which are similar. There are no new ideas.
Yes Sookie Stackhouse is lightyears beyond Twilight in maturity that's plain to see. But didn't we all enjoy those Disney movies when we were kids where the girls were always rescued and just sat back and let things happen? That's how I see Twilight, it's this new generations Disney princess. One day all these teenage girls will wake up and realize how dumb it is and hopefully find better higher level reading they can get into (like Sookie Stackhouse) but that shouldn't stop them from getting to enjoy it now.
It also does irritate me how much more popular Twilight is but hey, that's how the cookie crumbles. And like some people have said Sookie is getting up there too thanks to True Blood, myself being theperfect example of that. :]

britchick said...

When I first read Twilight (years before I ever heard of True Blood) I thought there was a striking similarity to Louis from Interview with the Vampire - a vamp with a conscience who fed on rats because he couldn't bear to take human life. In Anne Rice's series there is also a group of ancient vampires who "police" the vampire race and the ultimate sin is creating a child vampire! I think Stephenie Meyer sadly for her lacks imagination a little and takes stuff from elsewhere, but then again poets and songwriters have done that for decades and she does join up the dots herself, so to speak, as if she uses other people's ideas as a springboard for her own. I do feel slightly ripped off but I also think people are being a little harsh on her, we are all influenced by others to some extent whether we realise it or not. Don't know if I would be so philosophical if I was Harris tho, can't believe she hasn't sued!!

Anonymous said...

I read the twilight series first and became absolutely obsessed with them (this was about a year before they got reall huge) and then just recently read the sookie stackhouse series, and also became obsessed! and i also saw the similarities and was like WOAH. And i checked the publishing dates and yes steph meyer's does come after. But let's think for a moment: stephenie meyer's personality does not seem to be the type to read these kinds of books. sure you can orgue that she's lying, or that maybe she read a description of the books. But when was it that the stackhouse series started becoming popular? it was published in 2001, and meyer started writing hers in 2003. would that really be enough time for the book to become popular enough and another person decide to copy it? stackhouse couldnt have been that well known since i dont think an editor would publish such a similar story so close to when the other one was published. of course this is all just speculation, and i tend to believe the best of people. but i have to say that the essential vampires of the stories are TOTALLY different. Honestly though, if Charlene Harris really believed that Stephenie Meyer copied her story, wouldnt she have filed a lawsuit. i mean, if that teenage girl did, why not an author.
thoughts??

P.S. I LOVE BOTH OF THE SERIES, SO DONT HATE.

Anonymous said...

I read the Sookie Stackhouse series many years ago. When my daughter brought in Twilight and was giving me a run down of the story, I went to my book shelf and pulled out my Charlaine Harris books and read excerpts to her. She was shocked. She couldn't believe the Twilight books were copied from the Harris books.She wouldn't even finish reading Twilight.
I have not read Twilight and don't intend to. Charlaine Harris'sookie stackhouse books are my favorite and anyone who thinks Harris copied Meyer's books doesn't have a clue what they are talking about.

Jessica C Smith said...

I am so glad that this blog exists and that there is dialogue about the Twilight series beings so similar to the Stooke Stackhouse novels. I read the Stookie novels first. Then after being harassed by friends to read Twilight, I did. I was disgusted! First of all, why are those Twilight books so long? When people asked me what I thought aboutI said, "The book could have been about 300 pages shorter, and it's a Sookie Stackhouse rip off." The only parts that aren't similar are totally lame. Sparkly vampires in a Brady Bunch style family where the siblings are paired off as mates? What the?

Anonymous said...

i personally have tried reading the True Blood series and I found it boring and odd...The series is coming out a lot better than the books...

and as for Twilight..I adore the movies and the series is great, but Bella is very whiny and too dependent on Edward..at least she's more independent in the the movies so far..:]

Susan said...

Hell if truth be told they all copied Bram Stoker, lol...IMO the Trublood series is a much better choice for mature audiences. I think that Meyers captured an audience from 12-19 well. If not would the movies have been such box office hits? the actors chosen to play the characters in Twilight were certainly not talented. Kristen Stewart and Niki Reed were poor choices at best. However, the actors that were chosen for Trublood are perfect,IMO Trublood is a much better read for more mature readers.

Anonymous said...

How can any of you comment on these books without mentioning Laurel K Hamiltons Anita Blake series? The first book was published in 1993 and the series is still going strong and the similarities between some of the storylines and characters are more than a coincidence. Anita has a vampire boyfriend and then a shapeshifting boyfriend in a big love triangle...
She has some powers similar to the vamps, but she is a human. I dare all of you to read the Anita Blake series and judge for yourself.
It is the original vampire series.

Unknown said...

I love True Blood, and i also liked the Twilight movies. I like that TB show is diff. from the books, i like Lafayette's character and he dies in the book, Jessica never appears and i love her character on the show. I'm glad that Ball surprises me with the diff. of the show. These past few weeks i have been reading the books from both Harris and Meyer....Started of with Meyer got bored and switched to Harris, got hooked on Sookie and read all the 9 books, then i even read Lovely bones because i almost didn't want to read about Bella, (she can be annoying)it was a cringe to get through the first book. Trying to finish the 2nd Meyer book. Its a good thing i have the Audio books, because i don't think i could hold a book. You can download any Audio books at a bit torrent called Pirate Bay, get them for free from here.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately living in the UK I didn't see the TrueBlood series until last year and only found out they were based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels once I had watched Season 1 and am now totally hooked on the whole thing!! Can't believe i have to wait til May for Book 10!!....after discovering TrueBlood I am ashamed of myself for even entertaining the idea of Twilight!!
Some people will think its petty that this TrueBlood vs Twilight thing is going on but all i have to say is.... TEAM TRUEBLOOD/SOOKIE STACKHOUSE :) :) :) :) :)

Anonymous said...

I think your similarities and differences are a little one-sided. The fact that there is mind reading is a BIG similarity, regardless of which 'species' or gender is doing it. After watching the first episode of True Blood alone, I was annoyed by the similarities. One of the two is a mind reader. The mind reader is attracted to the other because they can't read the other's mind. In fact, I'm here because of these similarities. Also a 'were' (werewolf/shapeshifter), who is in love with the main female. I think there is no question about where Stephanie Meyer got her ideas from. Charlaine Harris has obviously put a lot more effort into creating a different world, but there are too many similarities to be a coincidence. Regardless of the target audience, amount of sex or age of the main characters - which is actually unnecessary and I think you only put those in to make your 'differences' list longer. Although I enjoy the Twilight series books, I do find them to be badly written and for some reason, I feel they are just some fantasy of Meyer's (in the sense that she fantasises about being Bella). It's actually kind of creepy. Also, I don't think Bella relies on Edward any more than Sookie on Bill. Both women seem to get into sh*t because of their 'lack of fear' or 'wanting to save the day'...It's frustrating. However, all in all, I disagree with your list, but completely agree that True Blood is better. On the basis that I think it is way better written and has had more effort (and probably honesty) put into it's production.

Anonymous said...

Wow! I just did a websearch of true blood vs twilight and didnt realize until now that many others out there share my perception on the matter.

I love dark novels, well not actually dark more of the supernatural, from Brahm Stoker to Stephen King and everything in between.

Then I hear about Twilight, how "its the newest hit" and how "awesome it is" so I watched the movie and the only thing that kept me from walking out was the "no refund policy" in that cinema and my girlfriend seeming to think that it was thoroughly entertaining ( to watch me suffer Im guessing ).

Well I oftentimes think that movies butcher up books so I went ahead and bought me an audio book ( HUGE MISTAKE ), GOD it made me wanna hurl ( I mean "SPARKLING" vampires give me a break ). I swore off vampire novels then and there.

Then I hear about True Blood, and I thought " now they have a series!? ", but curiosity got the best of me so I downloaded the first episode, then the next, and the next till I was hooked. I began researching about true blood and found out that it wasnt based on twilight after all. I began listening to the first audio book then the next ( Im now in the middle of reading Club Dead ) and my question right now is why hasnt charlaine harris filed a copyright infringement suit against the writer(s?) of the twilight books. I mean at the very least she should at least sue for libel because Twilight is really hurting the vampire genre for me.

Oh and to all of you who think that getting that haircut and acting all broody and superior makes you look cool, It doesnt, It actually makes you look like a total douche!

Anonymous said...

i LOVE trueblood and its kinda bull that TB deff. did not get as much publicity as twilight. i hated the twilight movies because bella was waaaaay too dramatic for me and she lacked a personality completely. at least in trueblood it made me laugh occasionally and im not really complaining about eric's looks ;D. i think what really happened was stephanie meyer read trueblood, went to sleep, had a dream, woke up and said "i just had a revelation! im gunna write a book!" then she writes a book, procedes to make MILLIONS of dollars on it. funny thing is, she wrote something THAT SHE DIDNT THINK OF ENTIRELY ON HER OWN. just cuz she altered some things, gave different characters different powers doesn't mean its original. its just a shame she made so much money. i think she did make so much because, well let's face it, trueblood isn't exactly fit for younger audiences. which im not complaining about because it just makes it better. so most of stephanie meyer's support is from the younger audience, and their moms who support their *ahem* rediculous obsession. so if you're not exactly sure on which to pick, deff. go with trueblood. to put it simply, bella was waaaaay to dramatic with her gasping but when needed she lacked complete emotion, edward was waaaay too, ummmm girlie? like really? glitter? the only good actor was taylor (jacob). so yea. trueblood ownz!!

Bridget said...

I'm torn!

KatieB said...

Comparisons between the Twilight series and Sookie Stackhouse novels is like comparing milk and water, they are both liquids but little to no similarities. Don't read this if you have not finished the Sookie novels.

If you've read the Sookie Stackhouse novels you know the stories extend past vampires, and warewolves. You know that there are scarier things that go bump in the night, that even vampires get worried over. Charlaine Harris rips the world between secrecy and vampires right at the seams. Leaving vampires 'Out of the coffin'. There are political points, religous views, that get tangled in this big giant web and what I love about the series is when you take one web apart the damn spiders build another to get tangled up in. Harris involves witches, fearies, shapeshifters and all sorts of dangerous supes. In essence the True blood world is full to the brim of adventures, new beings, political unrest, and catastrophe and the occasional war. Not to mention the pain sookie endured in some of those wars. Also, love triangles that just get more in depth, and some end badly, others go on longer and fizzle out. What I mean to say in the end is read the Sookie novels, then tell me there is no difference between Twilight and Trublood. Then smack yourself with a big thick book because you obviously are blind or braindead and a complete twihard.

I guess my point for Twilight is the story just involves vampires and werewolves. A war that I felt was never fully understood and kinda, to me, was pointless. Her world was just vamps and weres, nothing more. They were secret, there was nothing they never really feared besides older vamps or weres. I feel like Meyer's books were more 'safe'. I could go on, but I am going to end it there.

Anonymous said...

True Blood (The Sookie Stackhouse series) has far better plot, character development and more realistic events (well, as realistic as you can get with the vampire romance genre)

True blood points out that screwing a vampire is technically necrophilia, and so dating this 'gorgeous' guy isn't always viewed as such a good thing

True blood also doesn't encourage it's viewers to accept an abusive relationship just so you have someone (meaning anyone) to love as Twilight does

Only a brain-dead monkey could possibly think twilight could even come close to being as good as a single letter of the Sookie Stackhouse series

Anonymous said...

I love Twilight and True Blood, too. I read Twilight books and i´m gonna reading Harris´s books. I prefer Twilight movies than True blood (serie), but in a question of books, who´s better?
I cannot say anything because i haven´t read Harris´s books. Don´t get hungry if people had a different opinion. Opinions are opinions.

P.S It´s STEPHENIE MEYER not StephAnie MEYER.

Anonymous said...

I haven't read the Sookie books yet but I breezed through those trashy Twilight ones. I'm 22 but I like the highschool concept. >_< I'm lame, I know. But I would have liked if Stephenie Myer WROTE her novels in a more grown up way... so after reading this blog and some of the comments, next time I'm at a book store I think I'll buy the first Sookie book ;)

(I'm a bit late to the comments party)

Anonymous said...

I've only just started watching True Blood (totally hooked), and I have read the Twilight series as well. While I was watching with my boyfriend, I noticed some more similarities (somebody might have said this already, so I apologize if I'm repeating). In a season 2 episode, Sam and Daphne (shape-shifters) made a comment about their temperatures running hotter than normal humans. Jacob, the werewolf in the Twi series, said something similar to Bella when she commented (frequently) that he's always so warm. I did know that Charlaine Harris wrote her books first...copying much?

Anonymous said...

I have read both True Blood and Twilight. And liked them both for what they are, Books about Vampires.


As to the similarities, there will always be some overlapping of ideas when it comes to book about vamps. There is only so much you can write about them. for ex. Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, Hamilton, L.J.Smith, Harris, and Meyer etc.


The similarities between twilight and true blood are only general ideas that everyone has thought of. ex. mind reading, vamps, weres, and all supes for that matter.


Now to the difference.


1. Edward can read EVERYONES mind(supes and humans) EXCEPT Bella, where Sookie can read humans minds, for most supes she only gets a general emotion, and she CAN'T read vampires minds as a whole.
2. The Love triangle: twilight: Edward, Bella, and Jacob. True Blood: doesn't have a love triangle. It's Sookie being a young female dating who she finds appealing and has emotional ties to.
3. Twilight is about Bella loving Edward and vice versa, where True Blood is about a telepathic barmaid who is trying to survive the supernatural world she was thrown into.
4. In twilight Bella made Edward her world and in True Blood, Sookie was just dating Bill, she wasn't obsessed the way Bella is. and in the Series Sookie dates a couple different guys, other than just Bill.
5. twilight: consists of vamps and werewolfs. True Blood consists of vamps, Weres (people who shift into anything and people who can only shift into one animal), Fairies, Demons, Elfs, witches, etc.
6. Twilight: Sparkling Vamps...REALLY!? True Blood: Burn in the sun except for a few seconds after drinking fairy blood but eventually burn....BIG DIFFERENCE!!!
7. Becoming vamps. twilight:one bite to transfer Venom and transformations. True Blood: being drained, given vamp blood, then being buried for 3 days.


the only reason twilight has a bigger fanbase is because of the movies and all the publicity. True Blood and previews for it only come on HBO, and not everyone can afford to have the HBO channels, therefore not many people know about it.


and for the record, Sam does not love Sookie the way Jacob loves Bella. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.


and it's stupid that people want Harris to sue Meyer for stealing ideas. Bram Stoker (if he was still living) would be the only one with the right to sue anyone about stealing ideas, since he did write the very first Vamp Novel, Dracula


Although i liked the Twilight books, I'm a Truebie all the way. True Blood is more mature and appealed to me as a young adult more than twilight.

Disgusted with Anais Vkdld (however you spell it) said...

To Anais villa in the comments:

I was not impressed with your post. It sounded silly and unprofessional. Especially the part where you said you read a description and jumped online to say Harris copied Twilight. Then said your were 15 and addicted to Twilight, as if that stupid reason excuses a lack of research that would've taken 1 minute max. Then you slunk out of here without calling saying what probably DID happen: Meyer copied Harris, more than likely. Why didn't you mention THAT? I won't be reading your silly little blog either...until you get you get your act together and "report" things that make a lick of sense, DO RESEARCH before you say one author has copied another (the way I did mine).

Anonymous said...

If Stephenie's parents understood how to spell Stephanie then you wouldn't have to keep correcting people. Another attempt at originality that failed. Just like her books.