18 June 2014

Thirst No.1 by Christopher Pike Review


 Title: Thirst
Author: Christopher Pike
Blurb: At five thousand years old, the vampire Alisa thought she was smart enough to stay out of trouble. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must protect herself by befriending Ray, the boy who may be her only chance at finding her maker. When she begins to fall in love with Ray, all of a sudden there is more at stake than her own life. Originally published in 1994, this series netted more than 500,000 copies as individual titles and later as bind-ups. This hot new repackage will revive the series for today’s teen.
Links: Amazon Goodreads

Review:
As you may already know, I am a big fan of vampires. From books, to TV shows, movies, videogames and comics, I have always been in the “vampire zone”. Therefore, I must say I was more than shocked to hear that there was a certain vampire heroine, and I knew nothing about her. While scrolling stalking Offbeat YA  (link here), I found out about a certain Christopher Pike. It didn’t take long, and somehow I managed to purchase the first volume of “Thirst” which includes the old “Last Vampire”, “Black Blood” and “Red Dice” volumes. Here is my first Pike review (and now I can imagine Roberta from Offbeat YA, standing behind the computer with a tissue in her hand, merely holding her tears, as she reads my review, feeling so proud of me, thinking “I made her addicted to Pike, just like myself”)
Let’s jump to the review, shall we?
The book shows us the story of Sita, an ancient female vampire. What’s special about Sita, is that she isn’t like the usual vampire stereotypes. She doesn’t feel sorry about herself, like these vegetarian vampires nowadays, but she isn’t that thrilled to be a vampire either. Sita doesn’t need a hero to save her (You go, girl!), but in the same time she isn’t the most powerful creature either. Pike did a great job creating this character, since she is very realistic. Every obstacle she has to face, transforms in a certain experience that shapes her personality. We see a lot of personality development through the book. Sita bases her thoughts on her experiences. She is an expert when it comes to creatures, both humans and vampires. The story is supposed to be YA, though I must warn you that this book really takes some rides on the horror side from time to time.
One of the reasons I love this book, is because here we have a realistic female lead, who doesn’t need any heroes to save her, and considering the time this book was written, I think this is quiet an achievement for the society.
Second, Pike is one of the strangest, weirdest and most unique authors I have ever read (and trust me, I read weird books). He has that talent to make you not only read the story, but feel it too. As you progress with the book, you will find yourself feeling pain for every scar Sita takes.
Since I read this book, I have started talking about it, because “Thirst” is the perfect example of what I mean with “Horror/Paranormal books teach us much more than the ‘normal’ ones”
This book treats a lot of teenage problems, and it gives you a new perception of life and death.
I give this book 5 black cats! Absolutely terrifying!




~An interesting fact is that Pike was born November 12, while I’m born November 17. I think my weirdness can be explained now. It may be a horoscope thing. 

~For more information about Pike's books, please check Roberta's blog in the section Christopher Pike room. This is the link.

Have a great day
Happy Scary Reading!

8 comments:

  1. I never heard about Pike, but sounds like an interesting writer. Personally, I love weird books, so maybe I'll give him a chance.

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    1. You should check him out... like right now!!! :)

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  3. Quote:
    "(and now I can imagine Roberta from Offbeat YA, standing behind the computer with a tissue in her hand, merely holding her tears, as she reads my review, feeling so proud of me, thinking “I made her addicted to Pike, just like myself”)"
    Actually, I had to be merely holding back the tears because of laughing when I read this line ;). You're too funny...and besides, I still can't believe I had such an impact on someone's reading habits (well, Pike had, of course. But I made the match! In a sense, I'm your maker. Hey, I'm Sita! LOL).
    And thank you so much for providing a link to my page! I even got a comment/recommendation request from Sharla :).

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    "The story is supposed to be YA, though I must warn you that this book really takes some rides on the horror side from time to time."
    I guess it would be called NA nowadays...though NA seems to be mainly about 18+ girls going to college and trying to lose their virginity O_o. But, you know, "Thirst" isn't quite YA either. It deals with mature themes as well, and the main character has been stuck with being 20 for 5 millennia...

    Quote:
    "One of the reasons I love this book, is because here we have a realistic female lead, who doesn’t need any heroes to save her, and considering the time this book was written, I think this is quiet an achievement for the society."
    I agree. And considering this series was written by a man, it's amazing...

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    1. I'm sure you would be laughing right now (like those evil villains), because just when I thought I was somehow in control of my TBR list, you were like "Nah... Let's just add Pike here." Sharla told me you had written quite a long comment with recommendations, so I had to visit your Christopher Pike Room to read your comment. Haha, you nearly wrote a guide to Pike's books. As for the link, it is the least I can do. I would put the Wikipedia link, but let's face it, no one knows more about Pike than you. Ciao !!!

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    2. Quote:
      "I would put the Wikipedia link, but let's face it, no one knows more about Pike than you."
      LOL. And to think that I've only managed to read a few of his books, since (as you know by now) most of them haven't been reissued (yet?), and I can't buy them on Amazon or the likes, what with not having a credit card...

      Have you ever stumbled upon this site? It's a pity the author isn't updating it anymore...but the recaps/reviews are both informative and hilarious (though spoilerish):
      Like Pike

      Also...
      Christopher Pike Fan Club
      (though this one mainly republishes what's on his Facebook page).

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    3. You write with passion about him. It's quite obvious you are huge fan. Why do you want to torture me? Why? Why do you want to send me links, when you know I will check them and suffer because of my Pike disease. Why???

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    4. There! I had my laughter fix for today. That's why I do that...because I know you will make me laugh when responding to my comments! ;P

      On the other hand...I torture myself as well, since I can't buy all those books if Simon & Schuster don't reissue them... *sighs deeply*

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