True Blood, HBO's supernatural orgy of ridiculousness, ends its seven-season run this summer. It's a sad day for fans, of course, but we'd like to think that somewhere supporters of Charlaine Harris (who penned The Southern Vampire Mysteries, or The Sookie Stackhouse Novel, which the show's based on), are feeling somewhat vindicated. For Harris' more pedantic fans, the show has been nothing but sacrilege, especially since the second season began.
You see, the first season of the show remained fairly true to the first book. There were differences, of course, because you really can't bring a book to life on the screen without making some sacrifices, but with the Southern Vampire Mysteries, we're not really talking about something as challenging as trying to bring, for example, a Don DeLillo (Great Jones Street, Ratner's Star, and White Noise) book to life. These books were written about as simply as one can write while still being pretty darn entertaining -- at least for the first seven. They can be read easily over the course of several hours, especially once you get used to Harris' style and storytelling pace.
Note: This post contains spoilers.