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I've been listening to the audiobook of the first Southern Vamp mystery (Dead until Dark). I'm only at the second chapter but am absolutely loving it, but I realise now that Tara and LaFayette were additions to the character list. Personally, I think they're great. They add a lot to the story for me.
I think when a TV maker uses a book as a basis for a show it almost always needs rejigging somewhat. A little like Dexter. It just wouldn't have worked on TV had they not made changes. TV has different requirements and different conventions and part of that is to do with the range of characters portrayed. In the books so much is to do with the internal world o fthe central character. On TV they don;t have that luxury so depth needs adding through other means.
Besides: it was never intended just to be a retelling of the story in a different format. The original books are just the stepping off point; the inspiration and the basic frame on which the programme maker can hang his own vision.
Probably makes a difference which you come to first. Having arrived at the books via the tv show, I find that I miss some of those additional charactors at times. But I think both can be enjoyed on their own merit as separate but connected entities.
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