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The Last Vampire #1-3
Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, and Red Dice
Includes:
The Last Vampire
Black Blood
Red Dice
As to blood -
ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me. I do like that as well, warm and dripping, when I am thirsty....
Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.
Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life....
The Last Vampire
Black Blood
Red Dice
As to blood -
ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me. I do like that as well, warm and dripping, when I am thirsty....
Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.
Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life....
594 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
1441 people are currently reading
26659 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Pike
258 books5,432 followersChristopher Pike is the pseudonym of Kevin McFadden. He is a bestselling author of young adult and children's fiction who specializes in the thriller genre.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,816 reviews
December 22, 2012
(This review is for Thirst 1, 2, 3 and 4.)
For me, this is one of the most amazing books I've ever read (including Thirst 2, 3 and 4). Others might think it's a boring, brutal and horrid book but I think it's very interesting and a bit inspiring. People have judged the book by it's first few pages. I, on the other hand, have read the first up to the last installment of this series. Sita was first presented as a ruthless character. She kills in order to survive and uses her hypnotic voice on humans. But I like the way Pike has written her tragedies, problems and struggles. In the next three books you will see what kind of person, or should I say vampire, Sita really is. Every decision, every choice and every action she will take will open your eyes and make you see the real world.
This book is a page turner. It will bring you to a tragic yet inspiring experience. I don't recommend this book to sensitive readers though. And by sensitive I meant those people who can't take in or withstand brutal acts like breaking bones, bloodbaths and the like.
For me, this is one of the most amazing books I've ever read (including Thirst 2, 3 and 4). Others might think it's a boring, brutal and horrid book but I think it's very interesting and a bit inspiring. People have judged the book by it's first few pages. I, on the other hand, have read the first up to the last installment of this series. Sita was first presented as a ruthless character. She kills in order to survive and uses her hypnotic voice on humans. But I like the way Pike has written her tragedies, problems and struggles. In the next three books you will see what kind of person, or should I say vampire, Sita really is. Every decision, every choice and every action she will take will open your eyes and make you see the real world.
This book is a page turner. It will bring you to a tragic yet inspiring experience. I don't recommend this book to sensitive readers though. And by sensitive I meant those people who can't take in or withstand brutal acts like breaking bones, bloodbaths and the like.
December 30, 2010
Ugh, this book was annoying from page 1.
Alisa, the narrator, is a self-obsessed, self-congratulatory PITA. At least 50% of the book is given over to "I can leap tall buildings", "I can dodge speeding bullets", "I am smokin' hot", "I am awesome in bed", "I can seduce anyone" ... you get the point.
Alisa, who falls in love in about 35 seconds ("I form relationships really fast"), and then gets her lovers in all kinds of trouble ("I am awesome and worth it"). After 5,000 years ("I am old and experienced and so sexy because of it"), the vampire who created her ("I had to be made his consort because he wanted me more than anyone in the whole wide world") is coming back for her and that means all kinds of complications for her cushy life ("I am the richest chick ever").
The action, when it finally comes in stops and starts, is pretty brutal and saves Thirst from being just another "vampire love story" knock off.
The story is there - just buried under way too many layers of "tell, don't show." What this book really needed was a stronger editor who could have cut the three "stories" into one decent-sized novel, and then perhaps it would have had a chance at being good.
I am still not sure why I trudged through all the way to the end. I think I kept holding out hope that it would all eventually get better, that the author would some how develop his technique for charater development as he went on through the books, but no such luck.
All in all Aliza (Sita?) ever talks about is how awesome she is. The first thirty pages were just her going on and on about how she can throw stuff on top of seven story buildings, and how she can beat this guy up and suck this guy's blood and all the while maintain her awesome hair and perfect body. I mean, really? I didn't pick this book up because I wanted to hear about this chick's flawless skin! And I could name at least ten instances where she was publicly nude and DIDN'T GET CAUGHT. This bothered me a LOT.
She was not intimidating, and I felt no sympathy for her at all. She was just so bland and lacked a personality. And her "Relationship" with Ray... don't even get me started. They were NOT in love. This was their relationship:
1) They see each other
2) He gets mad at her, but it only lasts a second because she's so! perfect!
3)Sita supposedly dies but really doesn't, Ray is only semi-relieved.
4)Ray dies
5)Sita's all, "OH POOR ME" and then she goes and flirts with a random cop who she's only seen once before.
Also, the "book" titles made no sense. I mean, what "last vampire?" I honestly do not remember there being a "last vampire". And what did "Black blood" have to do with anything? "Red dice" was the only one that made sense, and that was because she tried to get some answers out of a compulsive gambler by (shocker) flirting like crazy with him.
This book made little sense and there was zero character development. If I ever write a book and need a publisher, I'll choose the publisher this author chose because obviously they'll take ANYTHING.
Alisa, the narrator, is a self-obsessed, self-congratulatory PITA. At least 50% of the book is given over to "I can leap tall buildings", "I can dodge speeding bullets", "I am smokin' hot", "I am awesome in bed", "I can seduce anyone" ... you get the point.
Alisa, who falls in love in about 35 seconds ("I form relationships really fast"), and then gets her lovers in all kinds of trouble ("I am awesome and worth it"). After 5,000 years ("I am old and experienced and so sexy because of it"), the vampire who created her ("I had to be made his consort because he wanted me more than anyone in the whole wide world") is coming back for her and that means all kinds of complications for her cushy life ("I am the richest chick ever").
The action, when it finally comes in stops and starts, is pretty brutal and saves Thirst from being just another "vampire love story" knock off.
The story is there - just buried under way too many layers of "tell, don't show." What this book really needed was a stronger editor who could have cut the three "stories" into one decent-sized novel, and then perhaps it would have had a chance at being good.
I am still not sure why I trudged through all the way to the end. I think I kept holding out hope that it would all eventually get better, that the author would some how develop his technique for charater development as he went on through the books, but no such luck.
All in all Aliza (Sita?) ever talks about is how awesome she is. The first thirty pages were just her going on and on about how she can throw stuff on top of seven story buildings, and how she can beat this guy up and suck this guy's blood and all the while maintain her awesome hair and perfect body. I mean, really? I didn't pick this book up because I wanted to hear about this chick's flawless skin! And I could name at least ten instances where she was publicly nude and DIDN'T GET CAUGHT. This bothered me a LOT.
She was not intimidating, and I felt no sympathy for her at all. She was just so bland and lacked a personality. And her "Relationship" with Ray... don't even get me started. They were NOT in love. This was their relationship:
1) They see each other
2) He gets mad at her, but it only lasts a second because she's so! perfect!
3)Sita supposedly dies but really doesn't, Ray is only semi-relieved.
4)Ray dies
5)Sita's all, "OH POOR ME" and then she goes and flirts with a random cop who she's only seen once before.
Also, the "book" titles made no sense. I mean, what "last vampire?" I honestly do not remember there being a "last vampire". And what did "Black blood" have to do with anything? "Red dice" was the only one that made sense, and that was because she tried to get some answers out of a compulsive gambler by (shocker) flirting like crazy with him.
This book made little sense and there was zero character development. If I ever write a book and need a publisher, I'll choose the publisher this author chose because obviously they'll take ANYTHING.
November 26, 2010
YOU KILLED MY FATHER!?!?
but hey,
I still love you.
Vamp me baby!!!!
but hey,
I still love you.
Vamp me baby!!!!
April 21, 2010
I loved this book. It starts off with alsia perine(aka Sita) a 5,000 year old vampire. She belives that she's the last vampire on earth because of the vow she made many years ago to Krishna. Her attidute to life is a strange one, she loves her god so devoutly but kills so carelessly. Pike's vampire is an interestign theroy. I loved this book but by then end of it al it become way amazing. Its pure science fiction. I loved it and the best part is that i didn't see it comming. Aturo seems like the perfect villan. Unlike yashka who was actually was very kind despite being an incarnation of the devil. Aturo is one of sita's lovers from the past. he was a cathlic preits and a greta alcemist. But when aturo became obsessed with her blood she realised it had to stop. But when she finds out he;s still alive and ina hybrid state she is angry. She beilves humans shouldn't have her blood. THis is because of eddie. a phycopathic vamire who mulitated yashka to gain his vampiric blood. Its a long story but fits together perfectly. The only complain is that there are a few out of date thing but other than them i didn't really realise it was set last century. I recomend it to anyone who;s tired of the mainstream vampire books and want soemthing new and exciting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2015
I love a good anti-hero. Unfortunately, the author forgot to make Alisa a sympathetic character...or even an interesting one.
Literally every scene was an excuse for Alisa to explain how she was stronger/smarter/faster/better/hotter because she was more accomplished/more wealthy/more experienced/more badass than whatever was happening. But even her bullet-point lists o' awesomeness might've worked if not for the utterly dreadful writing. God knows I enjoy my fair share of campy authors (Dan Ross & VC Andrews come to mind), but the level of stilted unreality in Pike's style is truly epic.
Behold:
He throws aside the blankets and pulls on his pants. He comes and sits beside me and touches my arm. "I am not going to leave you."
"You cannot protect me. You can only get yourself killed."
"If I get killed, then I get killed. At least I will have tried."
"Brave words, foolish words. I can make you leave. I can tell you things about myself that will make you run out of here cursing my name."
He smiles. "I do not believe that."
Or this:
I leave the house and drive in my Ferrari to Seymour's place. It is not that late--ten o'clock. I do not want to meet his parents. They might suspect I have come to corrupt their beloved son. I go around the back and see Seymour through his bedroom window, writing on his computer. I scratch on his window with my hard nails and give him a scare. He comes over to investigate, however. He is delighted to see me. He opens the window and I climb inside. Contrary to popular opinion, I could have climbed in without being invited.
"It is so cool you are here," he says. "I have been writing about you all day."
Seriously?
2 stars, but only for Alisa's origin story. This is my second attempt at reading Pike; I thought one of his more famous books would show what I've been missing, but nope. If anything, the prose in Thirst is even worse than Witch World. Impressive. And uninspiring.
I'm done with this author. Fool me once, etc.
Literally every scene was an excuse for Alisa to explain how she was stronger/smarter/faster/better/hotter because she was more accomplished/more wealthy/more experienced/more badass than whatever was happening. But even her bullet-point lists o' awesomeness might've worked if not for the utterly dreadful writing. God knows I enjoy my fair share of campy authors (Dan Ross & VC Andrews come to mind), but the level of stilted unreality in Pike's style is truly epic.
Behold:
He throws aside the blankets and pulls on his pants. He comes and sits beside me and touches my arm. "I am not going to leave you."
"You cannot protect me. You can only get yourself killed."
"If I get killed, then I get killed. At least I will have tried."
"Brave words, foolish words. I can make you leave. I can tell you things about myself that will make you run out of here cursing my name."
He smiles. "I do not believe that."
Or this:
I leave the house and drive in my Ferrari to Seymour's place. It is not that late--ten o'clock. I do not want to meet his parents. They might suspect I have come to corrupt their beloved son. I go around the back and see Seymour through his bedroom window, writing on his computer. I scratch on his window with my hard nails and give him a scare. He comes over to investigate, however. He is delighted to see me. He opens the window and I climb inside. Contrary to popular opinion, I could have climbed in without being invited.
"It is so cool you are here," he says. "I have been writing about you all day."
Seriously?
2 stars, but only for Alisa's origin story. This is my second attempt at reading Pike; I thought one of his more famous books would show what I've been missing, but nope. If anything, the prose in Thirst is even worse than Witch World. Impressive. And uninspiring.
I'm done with this author. Fool me once, etc.
Want to read
February 19, 2017Even though I have my own YA novel in development, I'm not much for reading what the market has to offer in that category (98% aimed at teenaged girls). However, I found this repackaging of 3 Christopher Pike novels from 1994/95 for $3.99 on clearance at Borders and I must say the opening chapter was one of the best I've read in a while. Sets up character, mystery, intrigue, suspense and plot beautifully in about a dozen pages. It's a very well-rounded opening chapter with a great balance of backstory setup, character development and plot setup. I was hooked immediately. I told my wife who reads YA novels almost exclusively that "THIS is how you start off a novel!" I exclaimed. THIS is how you write in first-person! Put down the book you're reading now and give this first chapter a shot." She did and agreed.
The lead character, though female (a 5000 yr old vampire masquerading dangerously as a teen girl) has a voice that is immediately magnetic and captivating. She's devious, yes, and certainly a badass to be reckoned with if what she narrates and does in the opening chapter is any indication. If more of the YA speculative fiction novels were less blatantly screaming "written exclusively for a (very big) niche and gender-specific audience", and more about just telling a good story with a general appeal, I would be reading a lot more of them.
I'll expand this initial review after I've read more.
The lead character, though female (a 5000 yr old vampire masquerading dangerously as a teen girl) has a voice that is immediately magnetic and captivating. She's devious, yes, and certainly a badass to be reckoned with if what she narrates and does in the opening chapter is any indication. If more of the YA speculative fiction novels were less blatantly screaming "written exclusively for a (very big) niche and gender-specific audience", and more about just telling a good story with a general appeal, I would be reading a lot more of them.
I'll expand this initial review after I've read more.
October 26, 2010
"The Last Vampire"
"I am a vampire, and that is the truth. But the modern meaning of the word vampire, the stories that have been told about creatures such as I, are not precisely true. I do not turn to ash in the sun, nor do I cringe when I see a crucifix. I wear a tiny gold cross now around my neck, but only because I like it. As to blood--ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me."
I just finished reading "The Last Vampire" again after having read it about 17 years ago. I without a doubt enjoyed it even more this time as I was too young to appreciate it before. What I love most about the book is that Pike tells the story through the eyes of the vampire herself. Throughout the narration, Sita debunks many of the myths and stereotypes associated with vampires and reveals the true nature of this extraordinary being. And because she is as old as history itself, Sita recounts major historical events and points out some inaccuracies in the written tradition.
Yaksha, the very first vampire and the embodiment of all that is evil, changed Sita and hundreds of others into vampires in India 5,000 years ago. But Krishna, who embodies all that is good, outwits Yaksha in combat (almost killing him) and makes Yaksha vow that all the vampires will be destroyed and no more will ever be created. Yaksha hunts down and kills all the other vampires as he vowed to do, and later is killed and burned in the witch trials of the Middle Ages. This leaves Sita as the sole remaining vampire.
Now Sita is living in Mayfair, Oregon, calling herself Alisa Perne, secure in the knowledge that she is the last vampire. Yet, someone is hunting her...and only another vampire would be capable of hunting a creature as powerful, fast, and ruthless as Alisa. But there are no other vampires, so Alisa must find out who or what is after her.
Sita/Alisa is a creature who has managed to witness firsthand 5,000 years of humanity's history, and has a lot to say about it. We understand what we always have: what it feels like to love, to lose, to fear, to hate. Sita/Alisa is delightfully human, in her capacity for all these things. Her pain is real, and her dilemma is an arduous one. As far as I am concerned, this is one of the best literary examples of the origin of vampires being explained in a fashion both comprehensible and believable.
Pike's story flows like water--you can easily visualize what is happening--marvelously violent, and quite bloody. Not only does it manage to give you a compelling and gripping story with characters that are both real and complex--it's actually refreshing.
"The Last Vampire 2: Black Blood"
"Then you should never have been born."
Sita had thought that she and her companion, Ray, were the last vampires on Earth. However, a murderer who favors dismembering and draining the blood of his victims is stalking Los Angeles, and Sita realizes that her assumption is incorrect. Only she has the power to stop this creature from his evil path but he's much stronger than she expected, and she finds herself in a life-and-death struggle.
Occasionally the narrative digresses to discuss Sita's dreams and visions of her original life in India eons ago in an effort to lend spiritual purpose to her actions; this comes across as a somewhat obvious attempt to link the tale to legitimate mythology. I loved it with or without the digressions. The story is seen through not only her eyes, but her thoughts, her dream, and even her imagination.
What I liked most about the sequel is of course Sita's slyly appealing humor. It never fails, whether she's dealing with the new characters introduced in this sequel or engaging in playful yet edgy banter with Ray or Simon.
"The Last Vampire 3: Red Dice"
Sita/Alisa and her male partner are vampires; but the FBI is on their trail, seeking their blood in order to study and duplicate it. One is captured, and it's up to the survivor to keep the FBI from learning their secret and turning the world into vampires.
She attempts to keep her DNA from the hands of someone who would test it and use the results to gain immortality. Indeed she runs into an old "friend" who's involved in the series is more ways than you can imagine.
Unfortunately, the reader does get the nagging thought that Sita throws away lovers like paper. It was sad how Joel wanted to die in peace but Sita made him into a vampire against his express wishes. She tried to make him take Ray's place.
Like his other books, Pike goes into great depth, throws in romance, lots of violence, and some blow-'em-up scenes.
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title Thirst: Volume 1 (The Last Vampire; Black Blood; Red Dice)
Author Christopher Pike
Reviewed By Purplycookie
"I am a vampire, and that is the truth. But the modern meaning of the word vampire, the stories that have been told about creatures such as I, are not precisely true. I do not turn to ash in the sun, nor do I cringe when I see a crucifix. I wear a tiny gold cross now around my neck, but only because I like it. As to blood--ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me."
I just finished reading "The Last Vampire" again after having read it about 17 years ago. I without a doubt enjoyed it even more this time as I was too young to appreciate it before. What I love most about the book is that Pike tells the story through the eyes of the vampire herself. Throughout the narration, Sita debunks many of the myths and stereotypes associated with vampires and reveals the true nature of this extraordinary being. And because she is as old as history itself, Sita recounts major historical events and points out some inaccuracies in the written tradition.
Yaksha, the very first vampire and the embodiment of all that is evil, changed Sita and hundreds of others into vampires in India 5,000 years ago. But Krishna, who embodies all that is good, outwits Yaksha in combat (almost killing him) and makes Yaksha vow that all the vampires will be destroyed and no more will ever be created. Yaksha hunts down and kills all the other vampires as he vowed to do, and later is killed and burned in the witch trials of the Middle Ages. This leaves Sita as the sole remaining vampire.
Now Sita is living in Mayfair, Oregon, calling herself Alisa Perne, secure in the knowledge that she is the last vampire. Yet, someone is hunting her...and only another vampire would be capable of hunting a creature as powerful, fast, and ruthless as Alisa. But there are no other vampires, so Alisa must find out who or what is after her.
Sita/Alisa is a creature who has managed to witness firsthand 5,000 years of humanity's history, and has a lot to say about it. We understand what we always have: what it feels like to love, to lose, to fear, to hate. Sita/Alisa is delightfully human, in her capacity for all these things. Her pain is real, and her dilemma is an arduous one. As far as I am concerned, this is one of the best literary examples of the origin of vampires being explained in a fashion both comprehensible and believable.
Pike's story flows like water--you can easily visualize what is happening--marvelously violent, and quite bloody. Not only does it manage to give you a compelling and gripping story with characters that are both real and complex--it's actually refreshing.
"The Last Vampire 2: Black Blood"
"Then you should never have been born."
Sita had thought that she and her companion, Ray, were the last vampires on Earth. However, a murderer who favors dismembering and draining the blood of his victims is stalking Los Angeles, and Sita realizes that her assumption is incorrect. Only she has the power to stop this creature from his evil path but he's much stronger than she expected, and she finds herself in a life-and-death struggle.
Occasionally the narrative digresses to discuss Sita's dreams and visions of her original life in India eons ago in an effort to lend spiritual purpose to her actions; this comes across as a somewhat obvious attempt to link the tale to legitimate mythology. I loved it with or without the digressions. The story is seen through not only her eyes, but her thoughts, her dream, and even her imagination.
What I liked most about the sequel is of course Sita's slyly appealing humor. It never fails, whether she's dealing with the new characters introduced in this sequel or engaging in playful yet edgy banter with Ray or Simon.
"The Last Vampire 3: Red Dice"
Sita/Alisa and her male partner are vampires; but the FBI is on their trail, seeking their blood in order to study and duplicate it. One is captured, and it's up to the survivor to keep the FBI from learning their secret and turning the world into vampires.
She attempts to keep her DNA from the hands of someone who would test it and use the results to gain immortality. Indeed she runs into an old "friend" who's involved in the series is more ways than you can imagine.
Unfortunately, the reader does get the nagging thought that Sita throws away lovers like paper. It was sad how Joel wanted to die in peace but Sita made him into a vampire against his express wishes. She tried to make him take Ray's place.
Like his other books, Pike goes into great depth, throws in romance, lots of violence, and some blow-'em-up scenes.
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title Thirst: Volume 1 (The Last Vampire; Black Blood; Red Dice)
Author Christopher Pike
Reviewed By Purplycookie
Read
September 29, 2013I happened to find this book on my eReader recently, and since I'm a bit of a vampire fanatic I decided to give it a try. I decided to stop reading it after the first 5-10 pages (my intolerance levels for bad books has become significantly higher after reading the books in my
trash pile
).
In my opinion this book is not only badly written (superficial and simplistic monotonous language), but it has one of the most obnoxious and self-absorbed characters ever imagined. It gets old really fast. Obviously I’m much older than the target audience (YA – up to 20 years of age, max.), but even so, that does not excuse or explain the quality of the writing. Perhaps the idea behind the book was ok enough, but clearly it hasn’t been crafted out and developed enough. To me it feels like I’ve been reading cliff-notes or, at best, an un-edited first draft.
In my opinion this book is not only badly written (superficial and simplistic monotonous language), but it has one of the most obnoxious and self-absorbed characters ever imagined. It gets old really fast. Obviously I’m much older than the target audience (YA – up to 20 years of age, max.), but even so, that does not excuse or explain the quality of the writing. Perhaps the idea behind the book was ok enough, but clearly it hasn’t been crafted out and developed enough. To me it feels like I’ve been reading cliff-notes or, at best, an un-edited first draft.
October 28, 2010
I have read nearly every book in Christopher Pike's bibliography. Some, I've liked, some I hated so much they were physically painful to finish. I have to say that The Last Vampire was the first of his books that I absolutely loved. There are 6 books in this series, and while all of them weren't amazing, I felt the overall story was amazing. Alisa (Sita), is a 5,000 year old vampire. She's drop-dead gorgeous and she kicks major ass (literally). I loved so much about this book but the what stood out for me was that she wasn't like the current emo-fad vampires they had today. She wasn't all good. In fact, she was downright selfish in some parts of the book. I loved how Christopher Pike used elements of spirtuality and Krishna in a way that wasn't offensive to those of other religions. Nor was it 'preachy'. It beautifully encouraged the readers to get beyond the religious aspects and delve straight into the spiritual. Overall this was a great series. I can't wait to read it again in a few years!
February 17, 2010
The Last Vampire- ☆
Wow, was the first book boring! Even the characters were flat and just followed Alisa like puppy dogs.(Boy: You are beautiful. Alisa: Why, yes I am. Come to my house. Boy: Uh, kay. END SCENE.) I agree with others when they said this book wasn't emotional. Alisa went about killing everyone and their grandma, but didn't really care much. Then boyfriend #1 died and I was like, 'kay moving on... I didn't care about the characters really, making me not enjoy the story.
Black Blood ☆☆☆
I liked this one. The characters were still flat, unemotional, but the plot was pretty good. I actually got into it and was finished with the 2nd book before I knew it. (Although the ending was really weird and unbelievable.)
Red Dice ☆☆
Back to being boring. She spends the entire story thinking of ways to crack a fellow vamp out of a government facility that wants to conduct experiments. Throughout I thought of easier approaches than the ones taken. It seemed like Alisa always had to take the hard approach to keep the story "interesting." (Why go invisible and slip into the base? I can sneak in by befriending a scientist. Why force a guard to open the cage with my mind when I can make them all paranoid, and have the general open it himself. and so on..) Didn't like it.
Wow, was the first book boring! Even the characters were flat and just followed Alisa like puppy dogs.(Boy: You are beautiful. Alisa: Why, yes I am. Come to my house. Boy: Uh, kay. END SCENE.) I agree with others when they said this book wasn't emotional. Alisa went about killing everyone and their grandma, but didn't really care much. Then boyfriend #1 died and I was like, 'kay moving on... I didn't care about the characters really, making me not enjoy the story.
Black Blood ☆☆☆
I liked this one. The characters were still flat, unemotional, but the plot was pretty good. I actually got into it and was finished with the 2nd book before I knew it. (Although the ending was really weird and unbelievable.)
Red Dice ☆☆
Back to being boring. She spends the entire story thinking of ways to crack a fellow vamp out of a government facility that wants to conduct experiments. Throughout I thought of easier approaches than the ones taken. It seemed like Alisa always had to take the hard approach to keep the story "interesting." (Why go invisible and slip into the base? I can sneak in by befriending a scientist. Why force a guard to open the cage with my mind when I can make them all paranoid, and have the general open it himself. and so on..) Didn't like it.
July 22, 2010
Hmmm.... this book kept reminding me of The Vampire Lestat, but for all the worst reasons.
Alisa, the narrator, is a self-obsessed, self-congratulatory PITA. At least 50% of the book is given over to "I can leap tall buildings" "I can dodge speeding bullets" "I am smokin' hot" "I am awesome in bed" "I can seduce anyone" ... you get the point.
Alisa, who falls in love in about 35 seconds ("I form relationships really fast"), and then gets her lovers in all kinds of trouble ("I am awesome and worth it"). After 5,000 years ("I am old and experienced and so sexy because of it"), the vampire who created her ("I had to be made his consort because he wanted me more than anyone in the whole wide world") is coming back for her and that means all kinds of complications for her cushy life ("I am the richest chick ever").
The action, when it finally comes in stops and starts, is pretty brutal and saves Thirst from being just another "vampire love story" knock off.
The story is there - just buried under layers of "tell, don't show." A stronger editor could have cut the three "stories" into one decent-sized novel, and I think it would have been pretty darn good.
Alisa, the narrator, is a self-obsessed, self-congratulatory PITA. At least 50% of the book is given over to "I can leap tall buildings" "I can dodge speeding bullets" "I am smokin' hot" "I am awesome in bed" "I can seduce anyone" ... you get the point.
Alisa, who falls in love in about 35 seconds ("I form relationships really fast"), and then gets her lovers in all kinds of trouble ("I am awesome and worth it"). After 5,000 years ("I am old and experienced and so sexy because of it"), the vampire who created her ("I had to be made his consort because he wanted me more than anyone in the whole wide world") is coming back for her and that means all kinds of complications for her cushy life ("I am the richest chick ever").
The action, when it finally comes in stops and starts, is pretty brutal and saves Thirst from being just another "vampire love story" knock off.
The story is there - just buried under layers of "tell, don't show." A stronger editor could have cut the three "stories" into one decent-sized novel, and I think it would have been pretty darn good.
March 22, 2019
Dear lord, I can't do it. 40 pages in, and DNF.
Vampire or not, I have never read a book with a more conceited protagonist. There is absolutely NOTHING likable about the main character.
1. She is completely full of herself. She's hot as shit. She's stronger than five men. She heals instantly. She's the smartest thing on the planet. She's hot as shit. She's got the reflexes of the "MOTHER OF ALL CATS" (direct quote). She is SOOO mysterious. She's hot as shit. And did I mention she's hot as shit? Okay, whenever you immediately start describing your physical appearance in ways that make you sound like a sex doll within the first page of the book, that automatically drags the book down to a one star. I read a bit more to see if there was any hope of redemption, but alas...no cigar.
2. She is determined to steal a poor girl's boyfriend in high school. As if a truly powerful vampire would even have to trifle with such shit. This is only a way for her to fall in love with a teenager so that the core audience can relate to a 5000 year old vampire.
3. The writing is so dry. No emotions whatsoever. She's described like a sex doll, and she has the emotions of a sex doll. Yay. Fun.
Vampire or not, I have never read a book with a more conceited protagonist. There is absolutely NOTHING likable about the main character.
1. She is completely full of herself. She's hot as shit. She's stronger than five men. She heals instantly. She's the smartest thing on the planet. She's hot as shit. She's got the reflexes of the "MOTHER OF ALL CATS" (direct quote). She is SOOO mysterious. She's hot as shit. And did I mention she's hot as shit? Okay, whenever you immediately start describing your physical appearance in ways that make you sound like a sex doll within the first page of the book, that automatically drags the book down to a one star. I read a bit more to see if there was any hope of redemption, but alas...no cigar.
2. She is determined to steal a poor girl's boyfriend in high school. As if a truly powerful vampire would even have to trifle with such shit. This is only a way for her to fall in love with a teenager so that the core audience can relate to a 5000 year old vampire.
3. The writing is so dry. No emotions whatsoever. She's described like a sex doll, and she has the emotions of a sex doll. Yay. Fun.
September 27, 2009
this book was one the worst ive ever read.. it did not keep my attention.. basically my mind would go differen places in the middle of the book.
( look at that lint ball. its just floating. hmm. i wonder if i can float. hmm. oo book. continue reading book)
i just found ridiculous that there was no feeling or emotions in the book. i felt as if i was reading the adoration of jenna fox ( would not reccommend it for nothing).
it really takes alot for me to not like a book, like seriously. while everyone was hating nick and nora's infinite play list, i was all for it. but the characters in this book truely lack alot of personality and actual feelings. alisa might have said she was falling in love with ray.. but i felt as if she was more in love with herself.
this has been the first bad review ive ever given and it was well deserved.
( seriously the adoration of jenna fox was horrible.. i mean never in my life will i even think of the book without feeling bored..)
( look at that lint ball. its just floating. hmm. i wonder if i can float. hmm. oo book. continue reading book)
i just found ridiculous that there was no feeling or emotions in the book. i felt as if i was reading the adoration of jenna fox ( would not reccommend it for nothing).
it really takes alot for me to not like a book, like seriously. while everyone was hating nick and nora's infinite play list, i was all for it. but the characters in this book truely lack alot of personality and actual feelings. alisa might have said she was falling in love with ray.. but i felt as if she was more in love with herself.
this has been the first bad review ive ever given and it was well deserved.
( seriously the adoration of jenna fox was horrible.. i mean never in my life will i even think of the book without feeling bored..)
November 16, 2009
Note: This review is a combination of my reviews for the first three books in "The Last Vampire" series, the books contained in "Thirst No. 1."
===
The Last Vampire #1, by Christopher Pike
With the recent popularity of young adult series such as Twilight, Vampire Academy, and The House of Night, some older vampire series are being republished. One such series is The Last Vampire, by Christopher Pike, first published in 1994.
"The Last Vampire" kicks off a six book series about Sita, who is the last vampire left on earth. Reborn more than five thousand years ago, she has mostly stayed out of the spotlight, content to observe events and live history. Always careful to conceal the truth of what she is, everything's about to change for her when the original vampire, Yaksha, comes calling.
Pike writes an entertaining story, creating a character that is intriguing. Sita smashes most of the myths of vampires - she can tolerate sunlight, cross running water, can't command packs of wolves, etc. She is incredibly beautiful, intelligent, strong, and wealthy. Pike has Sita tell us many of these things though, showing most character development through narration and not action. Sita is pretty much an unstoppable force, powerful in just about every way...her only faults are impatience and underestimation.
The action in "The Last Vampire" is fast-paced and constantly moving. Pike weaves chapters of Sita's modern life with snapshots from her past, including information on how his vampires came about. Sita hails from ancient India, from 3000 B.C., and Pike has a new twist on the vampire myth.
"The Last Vampire" is a quick read, one that will keep you turning the pages until you're finished. The length, fortunately, won't keep you up all night. Sita is an interesting character who may seem a little too much like Superwoman, but hey, she is a vampire after all and Pike doesn't pull punches when making her powerful. The writing is straightforward, with some witty sentences that will stick in your mind. The characterization is also spot on - Sita was changed in her twenties, and sometimes she's very mercurial in her emotions, but she also has the wisdom of her five thousand years.
I'm happy to see this series available again, it was one of my favorites when I was younger. Pike's Sita is one of the first vampires I can really remember reading about, and for a few years she really kept my attention; I reread the series, especially this first book, often as a teen. So it's nice to be able to buy it and add it to my bookshelves.
4/5.
===
The Last Vampire #2: Black Blood, by Christopher Pike
"Black Blood" picks up six weeks after the events of "The Last Vampire." Weakened by a stake wound to her chest, Sita has spent the time recuperating. She and Ray, whom she changed into a vampire to save his life, are together. Sita believes Ray is her husband reincarnated, her true love brought back to her after five thousand years.
But their bliss is about to be interrupted, when she suspects that there is another vampire embarking on a murderous rampage in Los Angeles. Sita and Ray imagine themselves the last vampires, after the death of Sita's creator, Yaksha. But if they are, who are the killers in L.A.? Sita heads into the city to investigate, quickly running into the worst nightmare she could imagine in all her long years...a psychotic vampire.
In contrast to the typical stereotype, Sita is the powerhouse and Ray is her wimpy backup. He's somewhat whiny and not very thrilled about being a vampire (he won't drink blood for example), while Sita is as ruthless or as loving as the situation dictates. She lives very in the moment, doing what she believes is necessary to protect humanity.
I find that you can read these books on two levels. One for young adults - it's simply a damn good vampire story. Two for adults - as I reread these books, about a decade after I first read them, the threads and themes that Pike writes about astonish me. He covers loneliness, disease, religion, and more, in an intriguing way. I greatly enjoy his merging of the vampire "story" with Krishna and Hinduism. Sita even gets some of her tactics from parables and dreams.
As with the first book in the series, the action in "Black Blood" is very fast, I think the entire novel covers a period of less than a week. It fits in a way though; Sita's so powerful it's hard to believe it would take her less than a week to defeat the other vampire. The writing matches the action - straightforward and quick, sometimes leaving you wanting more.
3/5.
===
The Last Vampire #3: Red Dice, by Christopher Pike
At the start of this book, Sita wakes up next to Joel, an F.B.I. agent she was forced to change to save his life. In doing so, she broke the vow she made to Krishna more than five thousand years ago, and she wonders if doing so has damned her.
The action starts off just a little too fast in "Red Dice." In the previous book, "Black Blood," Sita had been on the track of a psychotic vampire who left a bloodbath in the streets of Los Angeles. His actions attracted quite a large following of police and F.B.I. agents. Joel had been caught in the crossfire of events. The two wake up in the vampire's house, a day after the events of "Black Blood." They are immediately captured by the government, thus launching Sita on an incredible chase through the streets and skies of L.A. in an attempt to escape. The chase was just too unbelievable to me, and that feeling bled into the rest of the book.
Although Sita tries her best, she is unable to save Joel from capture. He is trucked away to a secret facility outside of Las Vegas, a base loaded with nuclear weapons. Fearing what experiments could reveal into the secrets of vampire blood, Sita knows she must rescue Joel before the scientists can get their needles into him.
As I wrote above, "Red Dice" started off feeling too unbelievable for me. Yes, I know this is fiction, and vampire fiction at that, but when the book starts off with the first 40 or 50 pages setting an unrealistic tone, it stays in my mind; and the book ends the same way. So for the rest of the book the action felt too quick, too rushed, too contrived. The timeline of this book feels very speedy as well. Even the addition of some interesting alchemy concepts doesn't help much. This is one of the weaker books in the series in my opinion.
2/5.
===
The Last Vampire #1, by Christopher Pike
With the recent popularity of young adult series such as Twilight, Vampire Academy, and The House of Night, some older vampire series are being republished. One such series is The Last Vampire, by Christopher Pike, first published in 1994.
"The Last Vampire" kicks off a six book series about Sita, who is the last vampire left on earth. Reborn more than five thousand years ago, she has mostly stayed out of the spotlight, content to observe events and live history. Always careful to conceal the truth of what she is, everything's about to change for her when the original vampire, Yaksha, comes calling.
Pike writes an entertaining story, creating a character that is intriguing. Sita smashes most of the myths of vampires - she can tolerate sunlight, cross running water, can't command packs of wolves, etc. She is incredibly beautiful, intelligent, strong, and wealthy. Pike has Sita tell us many of these things though, showing most character development through narration and not action. Sita is pretty much an unstoppable force, powerful in just about every way...her only faults are impatience and underestimation.
The action in "The Last Vampire" is fast-paced and constantly moving. Pike weaves chapters of Sita's modern life with snapshots from her past, including information on how his vampires came about. Sita hails from ancient India, from 3000 B.C., and Pike has a new twist on the vampire myth.
"The Last Vampire" is a quick read, one that will keep you turning the pages until you're finished. The length, fortunately, won't keep you up all night. Sita is an interesting character who may seem a little too much like Superwoman, but hey, she is a vampire after all and Pike doesn't pull punches when making her powerful. The writing is straightforward, with some witty sentences that will stick in your mind. The characterization is also spot on - Sita was changed in her twenties, and sometimes she's very mercurial in her emotions, but she also has the wisdom of her five thousand years.
I'm happy to see this series available again, it was one of my favorites when I was younger. Pike's Sita is one of the first vampires I can really remember reading about, and for a few years she really kept my attention; I reread the series, especially this first book, often as a teen. So it's nice to be able to buy it and add it to my bookshelves.
4/5.
===
The Last Vampire #2: Black Blood, by Christopher Pike
"Black Blood" picks up six weeks after the events of "The Last Vampire." Weakened by a stake wound to her chest, Sita has spent the time recuperating. She and Ray, whom she changed into a vampire to save his life, are together. Sita believes Ray is her husband reincarnated, her true love brought back to her after five thousand years.
But their bliss is about to be interrupted, when she suspects that there is another vampire embarking on a murderous rampage in Los Angeles. Sita and Ray imagine themselves the last vampires, after the death of Sita's creator, Yaksha. But if they are, who are the killers in L.A.? Sita heads into the city to investigate, quickly running into the worst nightmare she could imagine in all her long years...a psychotic vampire.
In contrast to the typical stereotype, Sita is the powerhouse and Ray is her wimpy backup. He's somewhat whiny and not very thrilled about being a vampire (he won't drink blood for example), while Sita is as ruthless or as loving as the situation dictates. She lives very in the moment, doing what she believes is necessary to protect humanity.
I find that you can read these books on two levels. One for young adults - it's simply a damn good vampire story. Two for adults - as I reread these books, about a decade after I first read them, the threads and themes that Pike writes about astonish me. He covers loneliness, disease, religion, and more, in an intriguing way. I greatly enjoy his merging of the vampire "story" with Krishna and Hinduism. Sita even gets some of her tactics from parables and dreams.
As with the first book in the series, the action in "Black Blood" is very fast, I think the entire novel covers a period of less than a week. It fits in a way though; Sita's so powerful it's hard to believe it would take her less than a week to defeat the other vampire. The writing matches the action - straightforward and quick, sometimes leaving you wanting more.
3/5.
===
The Last Vampire #3: Red Dice, by Christopher Pike
At the start of this book, Sita wakes up next to Joel, an F.B.I. agent she was forced to change to save his life. In doing so, she broke the vow she made to Krishna more than five thousand years ago, and she wonders if doing so has damned her.
The action starts off just a little too fast in "Red Dice." In the previous book, "Black Blood," Sita had been on the track of a psychotic vampire who left a bloodbath in the streets of Los Angeles. His actions attracted quite a large following of police and F.B.I. agents. Joel had been caught in the crossfire of events. The two wake up in the vampire's house, a day after the events of "Black Blood." They are immediately captured by the government, thus launching Sita on an incredible chase through the streets and skies of L.A. in an attempt to escape. The chase was just too unbelievable to me, and that feeling bled into the rest of the book.
Although Sita tries her best, she is unable to save Joel from capture. He is trucked away to a secret facility outside of Las Vegas, a base loaded with nuclear weapons. Fearing what experiments could reveal into the secrets of vampire blood, Sita knows she must rescue Joel before the scientists can get their needles into him.
As I wrote above, "Red Dice" started off feeling too unbelievable for me. Yes, I know this is fiction, and vampire fiction at that, but when the book starts off with the first 40 or 50 pages setting an unrealistic tone, it stays in my mind; and the book ends the same way. So for the rest of the book the action felt too quick, too rushed, too contrived. The timeline of this book feels very speedy as well. Even the addition of some interesting alchemy concepts doesn't help much. This is one of the weaker books in the series in my opinion.
2/5.
March 26, 2020
no one:
pegasus: çeviride orijinal ingilizce baskıyı (thirst) baz alayım ama kitabın ismini alman baskısından alayım
Bu kitabı 15 - 16 yaşında falan okudum ve kesinlikle isim ve kapak kurbanı bir kitap! Bu kitap son derece zengin Hint mitolojisi, inanılmaz sert ve duygusuz (vampir yani) bir kadın karakter - sert diye yafta edilen anita blake sita'yla baş edemez - ve durdurak bilmeyen aksiyon içeriyor. Tavsiye edemiyorum herkes nefret ediyor djfıdkskf ama bunun sebebi bu kitabı okuyan kitlenin kapağı ve ismi içerikle bağdaştıramamasından diye düşünüyorum...(thanks to Aslı Dağlı. ) kafa dağıtmalık, atlamalı patlamalı, dinli minli, kanlı, komplo teorili macera arayanlar sever diye tahmin ediyorum.
No one:
Me:
Yaklaşık 10 yıl önce okuyup kitaba bayılmış Sercan bu sefer okusa ne düşünür acaba?
pegasus: çeviride orijinal ingilizce baskıyı (thirst) baz alayım ama kitabın ismini alman baskısından alayım
Bu kitabı 15 - 16 yaşında falan okudum ve kesinlikle isim ve kapak kurbanı bir kitap! Bu kitap son derece zengin Hint mitolojisi, inanılmaz sert ve duygusuz (vampir yani) bir kadın karakter - sert diye yafta edilen anita blake sita'yla baş edemez - ve durdurak bilmeyen aksiyon içeriyor. Tavsiye edemiyorum herkes nefret ediyor djfıdkskf ama bunun sebebi bu kitabı okuyan kitlenin kapağı ve ismi içerikle bağdaştıramamasından diye düşünüyorum...(thanks to Aslı Dağlı. ) kafa dağıtmalık, atlamalı patlamalı, dinli minli, kanlı, komplo teorili macera arayanlar sever diye tahmin ediyorum.
No one:
Me:
Yaklaşık 10 yıl önce okuyup kitaba bayılmış Sercan bu sefer okusa ne düşünür acaba?
May 22, 2021
Definitely a 3-star read for me. I rated each of the individual novellas and thought the same about them all. I really enjoyed the vampire lore, and the links with Hinduism - I found these bits very interesting! The stories were fine, and the character relationships were fine, but not mind-blowing. So overall, a good book and I will continue with the series seeing as I already own them, but I won't be shouting from the rooftops about them!
January 4, 2018
I am officially done reading this now! Yay!! And I got it done before weeks end which is even better.
Where to start... Well a long time ago I picked this up an started it but then put it down in favor of something else. I'm just glad that I picked this up again and read it. Seeing as it's so good.
Sita is the main charter that's a vampire. While some other authors make vampires seem as if their happy to live forever, an all that. All is not so with Sita. While she is kick ass and I love her. She does love her life an doesn't want to die, but she also doesn't want to live forever either because she has so much grief in her past. Like her family that died. And how she became to be a vampire in the first place.
I think it's one of the greatest vampire stories I've read in quit a while. Christopher Pike really did a good job with writing this. Now it's three books in one. Which now that I think of it I should of done a review for each one after I finished them. But oh well. Ray. I loved Ray. He completed Sita in a way I don't think anyone else could of. So. Of course he died. Hopefully, he'll come back some how although I highly doubt that'll happen seeing as it happened in the second book... part of the book? Something like that you know what I mean.
The first part of the book was about getting to know her and Ray along with some other charters, with plenty of action leading up to the end. The second half of the book consisted of fighting a vamp named Eddie. Totally messed up person but fun to read about.
Then the third half is a whole big mess for Sita. Really. It starts off with Sita and Joal in a stand off with the cops and part of the FBI. Then it goes on to Joal getting captured after Sita turns him into a vamp to save his life, and it goes on with how Sita is trying to get him out and all the steeps she has to take to do that. With some drama. Seeing as he's being held in a government army base type place. Finally when she figures out how to do it and mange to get inside with the help of a back stabbing jerk. She gets captured herself by someone she knew over 7 centuries ago. Neatless to say it all goes to hell for a bit. Then she's able to get out with Joal. Although oh no that's not the end of it. She ends up blowing up the base with a warhead, but she doesn't die because somehow she can float. Yep you read that right. Float. As in Float in the air and fly her butt out of there.
Now, I wont give away the best part-- or maybe the worst part... not sure yet. We'll see when I read book two if what she did right at the end was a huge mistake or not. Right now I'm not seeing it going so well but at the same time I'm happy for her. Seeing as she's wanted it for so long.
Well hopefully this was helpful, to anyone who decides to read this. I would so recomind this book to ANYONE and everyone. Not sure yet if it's on my to be read again list or not though. Time shall tell for that one.
If you do end up reading this hope you enjoyed it an maybe possibly pick up the book to give it a shot.
Where to start... Well a long time ago I picked this up an started it but then put it down in favor of something else. I'm just glad that I picked this up again and read it. Seeing as it's so good.
Sita is the main charter that's a vampire. While some other authors make vampires seem as if their happy to live forever, an all that. All is not so with Sita. While she is kick ass and I love her. She does love her life an doesn't want to die, but she also doesn't want to live forever either because she has so much grief in her past. Like her family that died. And how she became to be a vampire in the first place.
I think it's one of the greatest vampire stories I've read in quit a while. Christopher Pike really did a good job with writing this. Now it's three books in one. Which now that I think of it I should of done a review for each one after I finished them. But oh well. Ray. I loved Ray. He completed Sita in a way I don't think anyone else could of. So. Of course he died. Hopefully, he'll come back some how although I highly doubt that'll happen seeing as it happened in the second book... part of the book? Something like that you know what I mean.
The first part of the book was about getting to know her and Ray along with some other charters, with plenty of action leading up to the end. The second half of the book consisted of fighting a vamp named Eddie. Totally messed up person but fun to read about.
Then the third half is a whole big mess for Sita. Really. It starts off with Sita and Joal in a stand off with the cops and part of the FBI. Then it goes on to Joal getting captured after Sita turns him into a vamp to save his life, and it goes on with how Sita is trying to get him out and all the steeps she has to take to do that. With some drama. Seeing as he's being held in a government army base type place. Finally when she figures out how to do it and mange to get inside with the help of a back stabbing jerk. She gets captured herself by someone she knew over 7 centuries ago. Neatless to say it all goes to hell for a bit. Then she's able to get out with Joal. Although oh no that's not the end of it. She ends up blowing up the base with a warhead, but she doesn't die because somehow she can float. Yep you read that right. Float. As in Float in the air and fly her butt out of there.
Now, I wont give away the best part-- or maybe the worst part... not sure yet. We'll see when I read book two if what she did right at the end was a huge mistake or not. Right now I'm not seeing it going so well but at the same time I'm happy for her. Seeing as she's wanted it for so long.
Well hopefully this was helpful, to anyone who decides to read this. I would so recomind this book to ANYONE and everyone. Not sure yet if it's on my to be read again list or not though. Time shall tell for that one.
If you do end up reading this hope you enjoyed it an maybe possibly pick up the book to give it a shot.
March 8, 2021
I have read almost all of Pike's YA books before but his magnum opus, The Last Vampire series, has somehow eluded me. I remember reading only the second of the original sextet and liking it a lot, but aside from that, nada. A few years ago I came upon an even more updated set repackaged as the Thirst series, complete with three more books that Pike wrote during the resurgence of the vampire craze in the late noughties. I thought I'd save it for when I have more leisure time to savor the entire thing.
Recently I came across the iconic white covers while browsing my shelf and thought: well, the start of a new decade is as good a time as any to devour the whole lot. After finishing this very first volume, I realized that I shouldn't have waited too long.
I'm glad that the vampires here are not inordinately hyperpowered or it won't be much fun. Yes they are very strong, graced with preternatural healing, lethal reflexes and inhuman speed. They're not crippled by many of the traditional vampire weaknesses and although sunlight does drain them, they can still function and sometimes even fight in daylight. However their hearts are vulnerable to stakes, and remarkable trauma in that region will usually kill them. Decapitation also works, which would explain Sita's abhorrence of Madame Guillotine, and I surmise bazookas and grenade launchers would also get the job done. They're highly formidable, but strategic concerted action by trained mortals who are apprised of their weaknesses can finish them off.
I was thrilled by the brazen audacity of the methods with which Sita dispatches superior opponents. Crates of dynamites, high-powered ordnance, exploding oil trucks, exploding helicopters, the requisite axe in a freezer - oh my. Some of her schemes do seem so unfeasible as to be unbelievable, but by the time you get to that point you're just there for the ride.
I also like how Sita in her usual droll voice recounts various anecdotes of her extremely long life. Fifty centuries, imagine that. The Ancient Greek lecher-doctor who accepted her for who she was; her noble Scotch lover, an ugly thane who loved painting her in the nude; a 13th century Florentine Franciscan priest whose mastery of alchemy led innocents to doom; diverse unpleasant experiences with the French aristocracy including during the Reign of Terror; etc. These are woven seamlessly in the narrative so they seem neither awkward nor irrelevant.
Religiously devout people may have some problems with the text. I mean, most readers do enjoy reading about the pantheon of different mythologies. Who has read the Homeric hymns and failed to thrill at the shenanigans of the immortals of Olympus? But when a text, however fictional, theorizes how another deity, like Krishna in this book, may actually be the one true God with a capital G, then I see how some might be put off. There are also some outspoken views on the Catholic Church of early Renaissance Italy so be forewarned.
8.5/10; 4 stars.
Recently I came across the iconic white covers while browsing my shelf and thought: well, the start of a new decade is as good a time as any to devour the whole lot. After finishing this very first volume, I realized that I shouldn't have waited too long.
I'm glad that the vampires here are not inordinately hyperpowered or it won't be much fun. Yes they are very strong, graced with preternatural healing, lethal reflexes and inhuman speed. They're not crippled by many of the traditional vampire weaknesses and although sunlight does drain them, they can still function and sometimes even fight in daylight. However their hearts are vulnerable to stakes, and remarkable trauma in that region will usually kill them. Decapitation also works, which would explain Sita's abhorrence of Madame Guillotine, and I surmise bazookas and grenade launchers would also get the job done. They're highly formidable, but strategic concerted action by trained mortals who are apprised of their weaknesses can finish them off.
I was thrilled by the brazen audacity of the methods with which Sita dispatches superior opponents. Crates of dynamites, high-powered ordnance, exploding oil trucks, exploding helicopters, the requisite axe in a freezer - oh my. Some of her schemes do seem so unfeasible as to be unbelievable, but by the time you get to that point you're just there for the ride.
I also like how Sita in her usual droll voice recounts various anecdotes of her extremely long life. Fifty centuries, imagine that. The Ancient Greek lecher-doctor who accepted her for who she was; her noble Scotch lover, an ugly thane who loved painting her in the nude; a 13th century Florentine Franciscan priest whose mastery of alchemy led innocents to doom; diverse unpleasant experiences with the French aristocracy including during the Reign of Terror; etc. These are woven seamlessly in the narrative so they seem neither awkward nor irrelevant.
Religiously devout people may have some problems with the text. I mean, most readers do enjoy reading about the pantheon of different mythologies. Who has read the Homeric hymns and failed to thrill at the shenanigans of the immortals of Olympus? But when a text, however fictional, theorizes how another deity, like Krishna in this book, may actually be the one true God with a capital G, then I see how some might be put off. There are also some outspoken views on the Catholic Church of early Renaissance Italy so be forewarned.
8.5/10; 4 stars.
September 2, 2010
Oh but this is only the start of our story my dear readers….
Alisa, or Sita (that is her real name), was made 5,000 years ago by a child of a demon, named Yaksha. Once she was made, the two roamed the land and made other vampires, until they met the Hindu god Krishna. Upon meeting him, Sita takes a vow to never make another vampire again in order to be in the grace of Krishna. Yaksha takes the same vow but also to kill off every vampire in the world, but there is a stalemate obviously: how can Yaksha kill the one he made and loves, Sita?
So that is just scratching the surface of Sita’s history and the book summary only scratches the surface of the first book. I don’t want to give away anything, but I will say this: it was very refreshing to have the main vampire protagonist be a female. A female vampire who is wise, even though at first glance you think she’s just a mere teenager. But she is a female who is in control and knows how to use all the knowledge that she has acquired during these past 5,000 years….girl’s got to do something with her time, right?
The other thing that really struck me about this series was the philosophical and religious aspects involving Krishna. I got so wrapped up in Sita’s desire to not disappoint Krishna, and her own moral-weight-on-her-shoulders, and her history with him, that I had to go rewatch a certain fourth-season episode of Xena: Warrior Princess. (The episode is The Way, in which Krishna is featured prominently.) The author was doing something quite different with these books, even though they were written 15 years ago. (Was the author ahead of his time even back then?) The idea that Krishna/God play such a pivotal role in Sita’s life throughout her entire existence is fascinating. Seeing her struggle with the choices she has to make can be heartbreaking, because ultimately she wants to do the right thing. We also get glimpses of her life in the past, all of which lead up to an ending which leaves you wondering “What will Sita do now?”
If you’re into the vampire books, you’ll like this one. If you’re into vampire fiction that is slightly different, then you’ll definitely like this one.
Alisa, or Sita (that is her real name), was made 5,000 years ago by a child of a demon, named Yaksha. Once she was made, the two roamed the land and made other vampires, until they met the Hindu god Krishna. Upon meeting him, Sita takes a vow to never make another vampire again in order to be in the grace of Krishna. Yaksha takes the same vow but also to kill off every vampire in the world, but there is a stalemate obviously: how can Yaksha kill the one he made and loves, Sita?
So that is just scratching the surface of Sita’s history and the book summary only scratches the surface of the first book. I don’t want to give away anything, but I will say this: it was very refreshing to have the main vampire protagonist be a female. A female vampire who is wise, even though at first glance you think she’s just a mere teenager. But she is a female who is in control and knows how to use all the knowledge that she has acquired during these past 5,000 years….girl’s got to do something with her time, right?
The other thing that really struck me about this series was the philosophical and religious aspects involving Krishna. I got so wrapped up in Sita’s desire to not disappoint Krishna, and her own moral-weight-on-her-shoulders, and her history with him, that I had to go rewatch a certain fourth-season episode of Xena: Warrior Princess. (The episode is The Way, in which Krishna is featured prominently.) The author was doing something quite different with these books, even though they were written 15 years ago. (Was the author ahead of his time even back then?) The idea that Krishna/God play such a pivotal role in Sita’s life throughout her entire existence is fascinating. Seeing her struggle with the choices she has to make can be heartbreaking, because ultimately she wants to do the right thing. We also get glimpses of her life in the past, all of which lead up to an ending which leaves you wondering “What will Sita do now?”
If you’re into the vampire books, you’ll like this one. If you’re into vampire fiction that is slightly different, then you’ll definitely like this one.
February 17, 2015
1,5
http://gamzeninkitapdunyasi.blogspot....
Şimdi ben böyle bir kitaba oturur, nasıl yorum yazarım.. İnanın bilmiyorum.
Hadi artık bit, bitttt diye diye bir hal oldum.
Açıkçası seri ile ilgili çok fazla insanın kafasını karıştıran yorumlar vardı. Ya çok beğenilmiş, ya da hiç beğenilmemiş. Orta halli duruma pek rastlamadım.
Bende bunu bildiğimden, seriye şans vermek istedim. Gittim serinin 4 kitabını da birlikte aldım. O dönemde daha 5. kitap henüz piyasaya çıkmamıştı. Yani konu vampir olunca ne kadar kötü olabilir ki diye düşünüyordum. Ah düşünmez olaydım. Eğer serinin sadece ilk kitabını almış olsaydım, okuması bittikten sonra direk bu seriden kaçardım. Elimde patladığını rahatlıkla söyleyebilirim.
Kitabı bitireseye kadar resmen işkence çektim. Hadi Gamze son 200 sayfa, son 50 sayfa diye diye anca bitirebildim..
Baş karakter, 5000 yaşındaki Sita için kelimelerimin tükendiğini düşünüyorum. Hayatımda okuduğum en ruhsuz karakterdi.
Hemen ya herkesi seviyor ya da nefret ediyor. Affedersiniz ama kadının söylediği 'Seni Seviyorum' lafı bu kitapta o kadar çok yalama oldu ki.. Gına geldi bu kelimeleri onun ağzından duymaktan. Çünkü manasız. 'Ray, aşkım seni seviyorum' diyor hoooppp adam ölüyor. Sonra birkaç gün geçmeden Joey çıkıyor ortaya, O'na da aynı sözler.
O kadar inandırıcılıktan uzak, saçma sapan bir karakterdi ki anlatamam.. Zaten heralde 5000 yılın getirdiği bir aşırı özgüven ile hafif narsistliğe kayması, Sita'ya katlanmamı daha da zorlaştırdı.
Kitapta hiç mi iyi bir şey yoktu? diye sorarsanız da eğer tek iyi olan şey Seymour karakteriydi. Ama maalesef kendisini öyle çok okuyamadık.
Bu seriyi okuyan arkadaşlar, bana bir yardım edin.. Geriye kalan bu kitaplar nasıl okunur? 2 gündür can sıkıntısından patladım resmen.. -_-
http://gamzeninkitapdunyasi.blogspot....
Şimdi ben böyle bir kitaba oturur, nasıl yorum yazarım.. İnanın bilmiyorum.
Hadi artık bit, bitttt diye diye bir hal oldum.
Açıkçası seri ile ilgili çok fazla insanın kafasını karıştıran yorumlar vardı. Ya çok beğenilmiş, ya da hiç beğenilmemiş. Orta halli duruma pek rastlamadım.
Bende bunu bildiğimden, seriye şans vermek istedim. Gittim serinin 4 kitabını da birlikte aldım. O dönemde daha 5. kitap henüz piyasaya çıkmamıştı. Yani konu vampir olunca ne kadar kötü olabilir ki diye düşünüyordum. Ah düşünmez olaydım. Eğer serinin sadece ilk kitabını almış olsaydım, okuması bittikten sonra direk bu seriden kaçardım. Elimde patladığını rahatlıkla söyleyebilirim.
Kitabı bitireseye kadar resmen işkence çektim. Hadi Gamze son 200 sayfa, son 50 sayfa diye diye anca bitirebildim..
Baş karakter, 5000 yaşındaki Sita için kelimelerimin tükendiğini düşünüyorum. Hayatımda okuduğum en ruhsuz karakterdi.
Hemen ya herkesi seviyor ya da nefret ediyor. Affedersiniz ama kadının söylediği 'Seni Seviyorum' lafı bu kitapta o kadar çok yalama oldu ki.. Gına geldi bu kelimeleri onun ağzından duymaktan. Çünkü manasız. 'Ray, aşkım seni seviyorum' diyor hoooppp adam ölüyor. Sonra birkaç gün geçmeden Joey çıkıyor ortaya, O'na da aynı sözler.
O kadar inandırıcılıktan uzak, saçma sapan bir karakterdi ki anlatamam.. Zaten heralde 5000 yılın getirdiği bir aşırı özgüven ile hafif narsistliğe kayması, Sita'ya katlanmamı daha da zorlaştırdı.
Kitapta hiç mi iyi bir şey yoktu? diye sorarsanız da eğer tek iyi olan şey Seymour karakteriydi. Ama maalesef kendisini öyle çok okuyamadık.
Bu seriyi okuyan arkadaşlar, bana bir yardım edin.. Geriye kalan bu kitaplar nasıl okunur? 2 gündür can sıkıntısından patladım resmen.. -_-
September 12, 2016
Χαχαχαχαχαχαχαχαχαχα.........
Σοβαρά τώρα!?!
Σοβαρά τώρα!?!
August 2, 2018
Wow…..First things first I just finished the last page of this book and I don’t even know what to think. Shock. Awe. Confusion. Can you say major cliffhanger?
Anyways, this was the first book I have ever read by Christopher Pike who is the author of over 40 teen novels. Might I add what an amazing author he is. He just made the story so believable and each word was mere perfection.
This novel is about a 5 thousand year old vampire Alisa, or her original name, Sita. That is right 5 thousand year old! When I first read that I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. You would think how could an author write about a 5,000 year old vampire? How could they do the research and get the facts on what life was like back then? But Christopher Pike did it and it is clearly evident he did his research. The book was well written and overall marvelous.
The novel starts out with a bang. Before the first chapter was even finished my mouth was already hanging open and I was clawing at the next pages –putting my reading skills into hyper speed. This book took me two days to complete. I could not put it down. When I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it; wondering what was going to happen next. It seemed this whole book was filled with thrilling scenes and descriptive details.
There are technically three ‘novels’ in this one novel: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, and Red Dice. My favorite would have to be the first one (The Last Vampire), and I don’t really have a reason why—I guess I enjoyed the plot in this particular part the best. My least favorite, if I had to pick one, would be Red Dice. Even as I am writing this I am gritting my teeth not wanting me to dislike any parts of this book. However, this part just wasn’t for me. It felt like more of "a guy would like it better" scenario to me for some reason. Even though it did have an epic twist in the story and a kind of “dum, dum, dum” moment, and like I said major cliffhanger, it would still have to be my least favorite of the three.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it was very believable, and extremely well written. I have read a few bad reviews for this novel but also some really great ones. In my opinion I loved it and it constantly kept me on the edge of my seat. I guess it all depends on the reader and their taste in books. This novel is the definition of a thriller. If you are looking for a book full of action, and the obvious: blood, this is the perfect thing for you. I would suggest it to any vampire loving or thrill enthused reader.
Things I loved about this book:
1. Obviously (considering how often I have said this), how well written it was. Alisa/Sita seriously made me believe her age. She acted like how someone would act if they have been alive for as long as she has.
2. The way Christopher Pike adds history and facts along the novel, one example being: she met Bram Stroker,the author of Dracula, and read the novel when it first came out.
3. Throughout the novel you read into her past, and discover horrifying stories as well as a few heartwarming ones.
4. It had the perfect mix of thrill, action, history, and a tiny bit of romance which in the end is a perfect concoction for a novel.
Anyways, this was the first book I have ever read by Christopher Pike who is the author of over 40 teen novels. Might I add what an amazing author he is. He just made the story so believable and each word was mere perfection.
This novel is about a 5 thousand year old vampire Alisa, or her original name, Sita. That is right 5 thousand year old! When I first read that I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. You would think how could an author write about a 5,000 year old vampire? How could they do the research and get the facts on what life was like back then? But Christopher Pike did it and it is clearly evident he did his research. The book was well written and overall marvelous.
The novel starts out with a bang. Before the first chapter was even finished my mouth was already hanging open and I was clawing at the next pages –putting my reading skills into hyper speed. This book took me two days to complete. I could not put it down. When I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it; wondering what was going to happen next. It seemed this whole book was filled with thrilling scenes and descriptive details.
There are technically three ‘novels’ in this one novel: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, and Red Dice. My favorite would have to be the first one (The Last Vampire), and I don’t really have a reason why—I guess I enjoyed the plot in this particular part the best. My least favorite, if I had to pick one, would be Red Dice. Even as I am writing this I am gritting my teeth not wanting me to dislike any parts of this book. However, this part just wasn’t for me. It felt like more of "a guy would like it better" scenario to me for some reason. Even though it did have an epic twist in the story and a kind of “dum, dum, dum” moment, and like I said major cliffhanger, it would still have to be my least favorite of the three.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it was very believable, and extremely well written. I have read a few bad reviews for this novel but also some really great ones. In my opinion I loved it and it constantly kept me on the edge of my seat. I guess it all depends on the reader and their taste in books. This novel is the definition of a thriller. If you are looking for a book full of action, and the obvious: blood, this is the perfect thing for you. I would suggest it to any vampire loving or thrill enthused reader.
Things I loved about this book:
1. Obviously (considering how often I have said this), how well written it was. Alisa/Sita seriously made me believe her age. She acted like how someone would act if they have been alive for as long as she has.
2. The way Christopher Pike adds history and facts along the novel, one example being: she met Bram Stroker,the author of Dracula, and read the novel when it first came out.
3. Throughout the novel you read into her past, and discover horrifying stories as well as a few heartwarming ones.
4. It had the perfect mix of thrill, action, history, and a tiny bit of romance which in the end is a perfect concoction for a novel.
December 29, 2014
I’ve been meaning to read Christopher Pike’s work(s) for some time; whenever I went to the library I would see his novels sitting on the shelf. For some reason, I’ve never gotten around to checking them out. On Monday I finally forced myself to with this since I have been craving to read something with vampires. . . . I wish I could have avoided this book for a little while longer. I wish I never would have forced myself to do so—as I was clearly being held back from renting this out for a reason. If only I had kept making my way through the YA novels waiting to be read and checked out something else instead of reading this.
Pike’s writing isn’t terrible, but his stories are.
If you like your paranormal novels with modern day vampires in expensive name brand clothing, a foreign twist with religious beliefs and a ridiculous plethora of insta-love, by all means have a go at Thirst.
December 1, 2009
I used to read Christopher Pike's books when I was a tween and had a serious addiction to them. My favorite was Remember Me which I still think is a fantastic book.
I saw this on a shelf of new releases at Borders one day and decided to pick it up (at $10 it was relatively inexpensive). It was a good buy.
The first two books in the series are pretty fantastic. He lost me a bit in the third installment, but with the cliffhanger at the end of Red Dice, I'm certainly interested in picking up the rest of the series.
I really enjoyed how he includes Indian mythology into his story which makes it so much richer than the original Romanian legend of Dracula, and frankly while this is a tween novel, it's written 1000 times better than Twilight. Additionally the heroine kicks some serious ASS which certainly cannot be said for Bella.
Overall if you like vampires, but you didn't like Twilight - this is so so so so so much better. Read it.
I saw this on a shelf of new releases at Borders one day and decided to pick it up (at $10 it was relatively inexpensive). It was a good buy.
The first two books in the series are pretty fantastic. He lost me a bit in the third installment, but with the cliffhanger at the end of Red Dice, I'm certainly interested in picking up the rest of the series.
I really enjoyed how he includes Indian mythology into his story which makes it so much richer than the original Romanian legend of Dracula, and frankly while this is a tween novel, it's written 1000 times better than Twilight. Additionally the heroine kicks some serious ASS which certainly cannot be said for Bella.
Overall if you like vampires, but you didn't like Twilight - this is so so so so so much better. Read it.
February 9, 2012
Christopher Pike has the most elaborate but amazing books and this is no exception. When I first read the book in early 2010 I fell in love with the characters. I felt the emotions as if I were right there with them.
Alisa is a great character to have staring in any story. She is five thousand years old, so there is a lot you get to know. About her life, studies, heritage. I know this probably sounds a bit weird, despite her history, her cruelty and general viciousness not to mention being a vampire, she seems really "down to earth" in this book.
She ends up falling for a mortal named Ray and it turns into this big, mushy and frightening relationship. Especially when an ancient enemy/foe comes looking for Alisa.
The best part of this book is it is NO WHERE NEAR Twilight or the series. Goodbye "sparkly" vamps! Thank GOD! If you want to read about "real" vampires, you need to read THIS book!
Alisa is a great character to have staring in any story. She is five thousand years old, so there is a lot you get to know. About her life, studies, heritage. I know this probably sounds a bit weird, despite her history, her cruelty and general viciousness not to mention being a vampire, she seems really "down to earth" in this book.
She ends up falling for a mortal named Ray and it turns into this big, mushy and frightening relationship. Especially when an ancient enemy/foe comes looking for Alisa.
The best part of this book is it is NO WHERE NEAR Twilight or the series. Goodbye "sparkly" vamps! Thank GOD! If you want to read about "real" vampires, you need to read THIS book!
March 6, 2017
This review can also be found at http://fortheloveofbooksreviews.blogs...
In this bind-up, readers get the first three books of Christopher Pike's series, The Last Vampire. This series features a five thousand year old vampire named Sita, or "Alisa", living in the modern world. The first book starts with Alisa discovering that somebody is investigating her, and after she promises a dying man to look after his son, she meets Ray. Alisa is drawn to Ray, but there is more at stake than friendship and love. Her life may be in danger, along with the lives of those around her.
As with many of the books I own, I found this at a thrift shop. I'd enjoyed Christopher Pike's Remember Me, so I could not resist buying myself a copy of Thirst. After reading six of his books - three in the Remember Me bind-up and now another three in this one - I have come to the conclusion that Pike's stories are addictive.
While his writing style isn't the best writing that I have ever come across, once I start reading it, I find it hard to stop. This was true for Thirst, as I gave the first book only three stars, but the next two went up to four stars. His writing got better and better as I went along.
The main character, Sita, or "Alisa", was absolutely captivating. Written in first person, the reader gets to hear all of her thoughts, memories, and fears, and I think that the author did a marvelous job of putting me in the head of a five thousand year old vampire! She was extremely intelligent, with a nice mix of ruthlessness and compassion mixed in. She was truly a bloodthirsty vampire, though she held on to pieces of her humanity. There was nothing boring about the main character.
The origin of the vampires in this book was very unique from what I've read in other novels. There is an interesting mix of Indian mythology and religion in Sita's past, and it made for a very memorable read! This was a nice change from the usual vampire myths and legends.
The characters around her, from other vampires, to the humans she gets to know, were interesting as well and all played important roles in her story. My only issue is that sometimes, the author wrote the characters' dialogue too much like Sita's. For example, some of the main teenage characters spoke like our five thousand year old protagonist at times, which got on my nerves. This did get better as the books progressed.
The books were very short, and it took me very little time to get through them. While it was nice to have some short reads after getting through some longer books, I think that the books could have been a little longer. Some things happened too fast, particularly this sort of insta-love with Ray. While I don't always mind this instant love or attraction, the author didn't do a great job of writing it so it got on my nerves. Their romance didn't seem that believable. Other situations could have been a bit more drawn out as well, this would have added more tension and suspense to the stories!
Overall, I enjoyed this and I'm glad I picked it up. I'll definitely be continuing the series, and I hope to read more books by Christopher Pike in the future.
I recommend this book to readers looking for unique vampire stories. If you're interested in a bind-up containing short novels with a very interesting main character, this book is for you.
In this bind-up, readers get the first three books of Christopher Pike's series, The Last Vampire. This series features a five thousand year old vampire named Sita, or "Alisa", living in the modern world. The first book starts with Alisa discovering that somebody is investigating her, and after she promises a dying man to look after his son, she meets Ray. Alisa is drawn to Ray, but there is more at stake than friendship and love. Her life may be in danger, along with the lives of those around her.
As with many of the books I own, I found this at a thrift shop. I'd enjoyed Christopher Pike's Remember Me, so I could not resist buying myself a copy of Thirst. After reading six of his books - three in the Remember Me bind-up and now another three in this one - I have come to the conclusion that Pike's stories are addictive.
While his writing style isn't the best writing that I have ever come across, once I start reading it, I find it hard to stop. This was true for Thirst, as I gave the first book only three stars, but the next two went up to four stars. His writing got better and better as I went along.
The main character, Sita, or "Alisa", was absolutely captivating. Written in first person, the reader gets to hear all of her thoughts, memories, and fears, and I think that the author did a marvelous job of putting me in the head of a five thousand year old vampire! She was extremely intelligent, with a nice mix of ruthlessness and compassion mixed in. She was truly a bloodthirsty vampire, though she held on to pieces of her humanity. There was nothing boring about the main character.
The origin of the vampires in this book was very unique from what I've read in other novels. There is an interesting mix of Indian mythology and religion in Sita's past, and it made for a very memorable read! This was a nice change from the usual vampire myths and legends.
The characters around her, from other vampires, to the humans she gets to know, were interesting as well and all played important roles in her story. My only issue is that sometimes, the author wrote the characters' dialogue too much like Sita's. For example, some of the main teenage characters spoke like our five thousand year old protagonist at times, which got on my nerves. This did get better as the books progressed.
The books were very short, and it took me very little time to get through them. While it was nice to have some short reads after getting through some longer books, I think that the books could have been a little longer. Some things happened too fast, particularly this sort of insta-love with Ray. While I don't always mind this instant love or attraction, the author didn't do a great job of writing it so it got on my nerves. Their romance didn't seem that believable. Other situations could have been a bit more drawn out as well, this would have added more tension and suspense to the stories!
Overall, I enjoyed this and I'm glad I picked it up. I'll definitely be continuing the series, and I hope to read more books by Christopher Pike in the future.
I recommend this book to readers looking for unique vampire stories. If you're interested in a bind-up containing short novels with a very interesting main character, this book is for you.
May 14, 2021
I keep wavering between 3.5 & 4 stars.
This isn't a bad story. It’s an interesting contrast in some ways to the YA novels being produced today. That's probably due in a large part to the length - the entire trio of books in this volume came to 444 pages. That’s probably around half of the page count of some novels being published today for kids, let alone YA. So the three novels being published together was a good choice.
That being said, there’s a lot going on that Pike had to pack into a small amount of space here.
The plot in these books is very fast-paced, with a strong action/adventure move type of feel to it, overriding even the horror aspects you might expect to come from a vampire story. Not to say it doesn’t have its creepy moments - the character of Eddie in book two was unsettling, and I loved the scene in the first story where Sita witnesses the Yakshini being raised. I’d love to read a horror novel that follow the tone and world building that scene sets. Pike, I think, just didn’t have the ‘time’ to explore further in order to meet space constraints, and instead had to look to going further with his plot.
Sita makes for an interesting character, though not necessarily one that would be considered likeable. We see her story through her eyes, so we’re expected to empathize with her. Not necessarily easy when she’s killing people right and left (albeit usually for a somewhat decent reason). For a character that’s supposed to be so old, she’s also remarkably impulsive, usually to her own detriment. She’s pretty flighty as well - supposedly falling in love with her husbands reincarnation in book one, . She’s very...sexualized, I guess? Lots of talk about former lovers, flirting about how good she is in bed. Including with Ray & Seymour, who are... 18-ish, I guess? Granted it’s YA and you want readers to project onto the characters, but it’s hard to see 18-year-olds having much in common with someone who is 5000+. It comes across as kind of strange. She's very much a male fantasy as a character.
Thoughts during reading... While I was aware the history of the term pre-dates WWII, it weirded me out a bit when they started talking about Aryans in book 1. I still find the decision to have a character be from India, presumably because of Pikes’ interest in the religion and spirituality of the region, but make her blonde & (i think) blue-eyed was a strange one. Given the very action-movie feel, maybe the author was hoping for a movie contract, & was thinking of casting (because let’s face it, actors of non-European aren’t even common today, let alone... God, 25-ish years ago?). Though given the emphasis on her attractiveness, and how irresistible Sita is (from her p.o.v., remember), maybe that’s just his ‘type’.
Because you can absolutely see a lot what I think is of Pike putting himself and his interests in the story ; As I mentioned, there’s the interest in Hinduism and - I guess - ‘Eastern Spirituality, for lack of a better term. Or a new age version of it, at least. Lots of messages in dreams from God, and his many faces (Krishna, Vishnu, Jesus), one character uses crystals and other materials to raise auras and, later, cause transformations in people. Sita dreams of Krishna several times, where he tells her parables to guide her in upcoming events.
Recurring character themes seem to show this as well, such as Seymour, who Sita shares some kind of metaphysical mental connection with, where he dreams of events going on in her life in a symbolic form, often giving her hints as to how to proceed. He’s a writer, and of course Sita admires his creativity - which is echoed later, in the third book .
The writing is a strange mix. I loved the scene from Sitas’ past with the Yakshini - very descriptive, and I could see a novel that actually works with that scene being very creepy. <3 That style is quickly abandoned, however, and most of the scenes are very fast-paced and action oriented, aside from the occasional metaphysical reflection. The dialogue is mostly fine, but there’s some spots where it’s a bit rough, especially the spots where Pike interjects with what is either a quote (I think) or an attempt at a witty one-liner. Sitas’ speech is a bit strange as well - oddly formal in many spots, with no contractions, which ‘sounds’ very unnatural to me (presumably an attempt to reflect her age), but on the other hand she’s the one offering most of the one-liners. I wouldn’t be surprised to find her asking someone if the “feel lucky, punk” in a future book.
Overall not bad, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series to see what happens.
Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Christopher Pike by Sarah Stankorb. Interesting, and it explains some stuff like the interest he obviously has in India's culture.
15 Facts About Christopher Pikes' Books. Also has facts about Pike himself, like the inspiration behind his pen name.
This isn't a bad story. It’s an interesting contrast in some ways to the YA novels being produced today. That's probably due in a large part to the length - the entire trio of books in this volume came to 444 pages. That’s probably around half of the page count of some novels being published today for kids, let alone YA. So the three novels being published together was a good choice.
That being said, there’s a lot going on that Pike had to pack into a small amount of space here.
The plot in these books is very fast-paced, with a strong action/adventure move type of feel to it, overriding even the horror aspects you might expect to come from a vampire story. Not to say it doesn’t have its creepy moments - the character of Eddie in book two was unsettling, and I loved the scene in the first story where Sita witnesses the Yakshini being raised. I’d love to read a horror novel that follow the tone and world building that scene sets. Pike, I think, just didn’t have the ‘time’ to explore further in order to meet space constraints, and instead had to look to going further with his plot.
Sita makes for an interesting character, though not necessarily one that would be considered likeable. We see her story through her eyes, so we’re expected to empathize with her. Not necessarily easy when she’s killing people right and left (albeit usually for a somewhat decent reason). For a character that’s supposed to be so old, she’s also remarkably impulsive, usually to her own detriment. She’s pretty flighty as well - supposedly falling in love with her husbands reincarnation in book one, . She’s very...sexualized, I guess? Lots of talk about former lovers, flirting about how good she is in bed. Including with Ray & Seymour, who are... 18-ish, I guess? Granted it’s YA and you want readers to project onto the characters, but it’s hard to see 18-year-olds having much in common with someone who is 5000+. It comes across as kind of strange. She's very much a male fantasy as a character.
Thoughts during reading... While I was aware the history of the term pre-dates WWII, it weirded me out a bit when they started talking about Aryans in book 1. I still find the decision to have a character be from India, presumably because of Pikes’ interest in the religion and spirituality of the region, but make her blonde & (i think) blue-eyed was a strange one. Given the very action-movie feel, maybe the author was hoping for a movie contract, & was thinking of casting (because let’s face it, actors of non-European aren’t even common today, let alone... God, 25-ish years ago?). Though given the emphasis on her attractiveness, and how irresistible Sita is (from her p.o.v., remember), maybe that’s just his ‘type’.
Because you can absolutely see a lot what I think is of Pike putting himself and his interests in the story ; As I mentioned, there’s the interest in Hinduism and - I guess - ‘Eastern Spirituality, for lack of a better term. Or a new age version of it, at least. Lots of messages in dreams from God, and his many faces (Krishna, Vishnu, Jesus), one character uses crystals and other materials to raise auras and, later, cause transformations in people. Sita dreams of Krishna several times, where he tells her parables to guide her in upcoming events.
Recurring character themes seem to show this as well, such as Seymour, who Sita shares some kind of metaphysical mental connection with, where he dreams of events going on in her life in a symbolic form, often giving her hints as to how to proceed. He’s a writer, and of course Sita admires his creativity - which is echoed later, in the third book .
The writing is a strange mix. I loved the scene from Sitas’ past with the Yakshini - very descriptive, and I could see a novel that actually works with that scene being very creepy. <3 That style is quickly abandoned, however, and most of the scenes are very fast-paced and action oriented, aside from the occasional metaphysical reflection. The dialogue is mostly fine, but there’s some spots where it’s a bit rough, especially the spots where Pike interjects with what is either a quote (I think) or an attempt at a witty one-liner. Sitas’ speech is a bit strange as well - oddly formal in many spots, with no contractions, which ‘sounds’ very unnatural to me (presumably an attempt to reflect her age), but on the other hand she’s the one offering most of the one-liners. I wouldn’t be surprised to find her asking someone if the “feel lucky, punk” in a future book.
Overall not bad, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series to see what happens.
Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Christopher Pike by Sarah Stankorb. Interesting, and it explains some stuff like the interest he obviously has in India's culture.
15 Facts About Christopher Pikes' Books. Also has facts about Pike himself, like the inspiration behind his pen name.
April 2, 2010
Alisa is a vampire, and has been for the last five thousand years. She is a killer and a lover. All Alisa wants is to be left alone. To live out her long life away from prying eyes for as long as she can. But someone has decided that they are very interested in Alisa. Someone has hired a private detective to learn about Alisa. Once this very same detective learns about Alisa's amazing wealth he decides to confront Alisa outright.
Once Alisa learns that this detective knows much about her, a little too much actually, she becomes obsessed with learning who it was that sent him after her. An obsession that introduces her to Ray, and suddenly Alisa must choose; Ray's life or her own.
I did not misremember Pike's ability to have very mature situations in his YA books. This book starts with a seemingly quiet scene that quickly escalates into a very dangerous situation for one of the books main characters. Alisa, the narrator and protagonist of this series, is a cold woman. It is the way she thinks, the way she speaks, and in the way she interacts with other characters. She has a strange intuition about everyone she meets, and has a very calm way of digesting each situation she finds herself in. Right off the bat, I loved this character. She is nothing like other vampires I have read, to this point, because she is written with a grace and maturity not all vampire characters are given. And really when you have supposedly lived hundreds to thousands years this kind of characterization should be used more often.
There are a couple of things that bothered me about this book, as much as I loved it. The book, originally published in 1994, was slightly dated. For example, Ray is amazed that Alisa knows as much as she does about computers. Even in 1994 I believe that with the age range of these characters, 17-18, Ray shouldn't be so amazed at Alisa's ability to use a computer. Also Alisa uses a zip drive (several actually) in one scene which is fairly out of date with today's technology. I understand exactly why the author or editors wouldn't have wanted to update this book since it may change the story. However, the age range it is marketed to may wonder about these small details.
Another thing that bothered me was near the ending of the book and involved Alisa devising a plan of escape. I won't go into detail since of course that would spoil some things, but if you have read the book you may remember. If not the clue I will give you is rockets. It seemed like a contrived plan at best. However Pike did very well with the ending and I have to say I was very surprised at how the book ended.
One thing I will really commend Pike on is the use of an original origin story for both this kind of vampire and how Alisa became a vampire herself. It was very clever and intriguing way of showing how a vampire is born.
I'm delving into the second book, Black Blood, now. Already the first chapter is capturing my attention. Well see how it goes. Tell next time!
Once Alisa learns that this detective knows much about her, a little too much actually, she becomes obsessed with learning who it was that sent him after her. An obsession that introduces her to Ray, and suddenly Alisa must choose; Ray's life or her own.
I did not misremember Pike's ability to have very mature situations in his YA books. This book starts with a seemingly quiet scene that quickly escalates into a very dangerous situation for one of the books main characters. Alisa, the narrator and protagonist of this series, is a cold woman. It is the way she thinks, the way she speaks, and in the way she interacts with other characters. She has a strange intuition about everyone she meets, and has a very calm way of digesting each situation she finds herself in. Right off the bat, I loved this character. She is nothing like other vampires I have read, to this point, because she is written with a grace and maturity not all vampire characters are given. And really when you have supposedly lived hundreds to thousands years this kind of characterization should be used more often.
There are a couple of things that bothered me about this book, as much as I loved it. The book, originally published in 1994, was slightly dated. For example, Ray is amazed that Alisa knows as much as she does about computers. Even in 1994 I believe that with the age range of these characters, 17-18, Ray shouldn't be so amazed at Alisa's ability to use a computer. Also Alisa uses a zip drive (several actually) in one scene which is fairly out of date with today's technology. I understand exactly why the author or editors wouldn't have wanted to update this book since it may change the story. However, the age range it is marketed to may wonder about these small details.
Another thing that bothered me was near the ending of the book and involved Alisa devising a plan of escape. I won't go into detail since of course that would spoil some things, but if you have read the book you may remember. If not the clue I will give you is rockets. It seemed like a contrived plan at best. However Pike did very well with the ending and I have to say I was very surprised at how the book ended.
One thing I will really commend Pike on is the use of an original origin story for both this kind of vampire and how Alisa became a vampire herself. It was very clever and intriguing way of showing how a vampire is born.
I'm delving into the second book, Black Blood, now. Already the first chapter is capturing my attention. Well see how it goes. Tell next time!
March 30, 2016
Sono anni che voglio leggere Pike e… finalmente, quando ho potuto stringere questo libro tra le mani, ho fatto festa!
Pike non mi ha completamente conquistato, devo dire la verità, ma non mi ha neanche completamente deluso. Non sapevo di cosa esattamente parlasse il libro, ma ho divorato i 3 racconti, questo è sicuro.
Per prima cosa, ho amato la mitologia che crea Pike. Un sapere arcano, dove bene e male sono i due piatti della bilancia e nel mezzo si trova Sita, l’ultimo vampiro, una creatura antichissima, che ha imparato a vivere senza farsi notare. Pike ci ha messo tutto se stesso per creare una protagonista completa e si vede!
Sita è una vampira che ha una logica tutta sua: non sprecare sangue e vite se non ce n’è bisogno, ma se sei alle strette o se la tua nuova identità è in pericolo, uccidi tutti i tuoi nemici, senza sconti ne misure!
Così, Sita, si destreggia alla perfezione tra ammazzamenti, sbudellamenti, esplosioni ecc. senza mai perdere quella vena di saggezza e vulnerabilità che l’ha resa affascinate ai miei occhi.
Un plauso va alla scrittura di Pike, molto semplice, scorrevole e poco romantica, secondo me, adattissima per un romanzo del genere.
L’insoddisfazione nasce, però, principalmente dal fatto che non si tratta di un romanzo vero e proprio ma di 3 racconti brevi messi insieme e questo si vede. La parte finale di tutti e tre i racconti è sempre molto affrettata, risultando così poco chiara. E se Pike ha reso il personaggio di Sita molto complesso e profondo le controparti maschili sono tutt’altro che affascinati! Per quanto abbia trovato Joel, molto più complesso rispetto a Ray, questo è sicuro! insomma, sarà anche l’anima gemella di Sita e tutto quanto, ma in confronto a lui anche il bradipo ha più sex appeal! E ho detto tutto…
Un libro che si legge bene, con una base molto interessante, non volevo il romanticismo ma un po’ più spessore non guastava, questo si!
Pike non mi ha completamente conquistato, devo dire la verità, ma non mi ha neanche completamente deluso. Non sapevo di cosa esattamente parlasse il libro, ma ho divorato i 3 racconti, questo è sicuro.
Per prima cosa, ho amato la mitologia che crea Pike. Un sapere arcano, dove bene e male sono i due piatti della bilancia e nel mezzo si trova Sita, l’ultimo vampiro, una creatura antichissima, che ha imparato a vivere senza farsi notare. Pike ci ha messo tutto se stesso per creare una protagonista completa e si vede!
Sita è una vampira che ha una logica tutta sua: non sprecare sangue e vite se non ce n’è bisogno, ma se sei alle strette o se la tua nuova identità è in pericolo, uccidi tutti i tuoi nemici, senza sconti ne misure!
Così, Sita, si destreggia alla perfezione tra ammazzamenti, sbudellamenti, esplosioni ecc. senza mai perdere quella vena di saggezza e vulnerabilità che l’ha resa affascinate ai miei occhi.
Un plauso va alla scrittura di Pike, molto semplice, scorrevole e poco romantica, secondo me, adattissima per un romanzo del genere.
L’insoddisfazione nasce, però, principalmente dal fatto che non si tratta di un romanzo vero e proprio ma di 3 racconti brevi messi insieme e questo si vede. La parte finale di tutti e tre i racconti è sempre molto affrettata, risultando così poco chiara. E se Pike ha reso il personaggio di Sita molto complesso e profondo le controparti maschili sono tutt’altro che affascinati! Per quanto abbia trovato Joel, molto più complesso rispetto a Ray, questo è sicuro! insomma, sarà anche l’anima gemella di Sita e tutto quanto, ma in confronto a lui anche il bradipo ha più sex appeal! E ho detto tutto…
Un libro che si legge bene, con una base molto interessante, non volevo il romanticismo ma un po’ più spessore non guastava, questo si!
February 24, 2013
Thirst was a every interesting book; I love the main character Alisa (Sita). This does not involve sparkly vampires, Alisa shows a strong female vampire who lived five thousand years and had a pretty interesting life. In the begining Alisa Perne tells us about her being a vampire she is also at the time being questioned by a detective; Mr.Riley. This detective asks her about her age and why she has so much money then tries to blackmail her for money. Alisa kills him then transfers into a school where the detective son is. The reason for this is Mr. Riley was working for someone and she wanted to know who, she tries to get close to the son (Ray) and she ends up falling for him. After getting Ray to break the password Sita tricks him into leaving while she copies the files his dad had about her. Later reading the files she finds a name 'Mr. Slim', emailing him they decide to meet up but he brings friends. After tieing her up, blindfolding her, and making sure she can not escape these people driving her to the man that hired Mr. Slim. Alisa tricks them by saying how she needs to use the restroom and well gets away with Mr. Slim (kills him after he won't give answers). Alisa tells of her past life and how she met Yaksha (yakshini)also of the family she had before Yaksha changed her.
This book follows Alisha through her journey after her meeting with Yaksha, and her battle with the new vampire Eddie Fender. Will he win? Will Alisha be able to keep Ray alive?
This book follows Alisha through her journey after her meeting with Yaksha, and her battle with the new vampire Eddie Fender. Will he win? Will Alisha be able to keep Ray alive?
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