The Grave : A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Christopher Pike (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999 | Series: Christopher Pike's Tales of Terror (Book 3)

The grave is not the end of the story.

It begins with an innocent young man being led deep into the woods by a mysterious young lady. There he is attacked by a cruel cult, stripped of his clothes, thrown naked into a coffin, and buried alive to the sound of strange chants.

It continues with a pretty girl meeting a fascinating guy. A guy who is not like other guys. Who hardly seems to blink...or breathe, and who emits a cool presence even in the midday sun.

It ends in a nightmare. In a weird realm of existence where life and death mirror each other. Where the grave no longer promises any escape, from pleasure or pain.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671550772
• ISBN-13: 978-0671550776
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher Pike is the author of over forty teen thrillers, including series REMEMBER ME, FINAL FRIENDS and CHAIN LETTER.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PIKE - AN AUTHOR WHO UNDERSTANDS HIS READERS, April 20, 2000

By 

"thegodlyone" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grave : A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Completely understand what Carrie Nutter is talking about. Am 18 and have been reading Pike since I was 10 - still head for Young Adult section to look for any new Pike books. With each new novel, a little bit more of the author becomes clear. Fans will notice that he interweaves parts of previous novels into each book, such as character names etc. Although I myself am not religous, I have become used to the relgious/spiritual undertones in his more recent novels. My favourite novels are the beautiful SATI and Midnight Club and his classic Monster. Also brillant are the Last Vampire series (first is best)/The Wicked Heart and Die Softly. Try to read a variety of his novels, particularly his earlier ones if you are just starting on Pike, as they cover widely different subjects, from Sci-Fi to murder mystery to romance to life and death. Pike is a truly magnificent author, who genuinly understands his readers. Will happily still be browsing Young Adult section come my 30th b/d!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars just as you would expect from christopher pike, a great book, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Grave : A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I am sick and tired of pike's fans disliking his latest books. After a decade or more of writing stories we can't blame him from changing his writing style. The grave was a great book. He wrote about something that's not been written before. This is a wonderful thing for an author. Besides, if you rate this book in comparison to other YA novels, this one should get 10 stars. It has an intelligent plot and a great twist at the end.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not that bad, July 1, 2003

By 

Heather Hays (Goodfellow-AFB, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Grave : A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

People have written some pretty bad reviews about this book, but it isn't so terrible. He has done better, I will admit that, but this is not a bad story. It is still original and innovative with an interesting plot and ideas involving DNA. This is also more of a science fiction novel than a horror novel, and this might throw some people off.
The characters are maybe the weakest point in what is otherwise a decent story. The main character, I think her name is Lara, something with an L, I can't remember and I don't have the book to look it up, is not incredibly sympathetic. Her problems are realistic, and will make negative people realize that they could have it so much worse. Her mother and her boyfriend are for the most part, well done. Most people throughout their lives have had boyfriends\girlfriends who would give their left arm to help what they think is the love of their life, and the feeling is sadly unreciprocated. So, that part of the story was okay, although their love came to a bad end.
Now the poorer points of the novel. Dara was a stereotype of every other femme fatale that Christopher Pike had ever written about, her motives were there, and they held, but towards the second half of the book she became almost laughable. The whole story became slightly laughable, but it still held together. And you thought that your family had problems. Try having a DNA harvesting father who screwed up making his terminally ill daughter immortal, who then killed her brother. They all needed Oprah in the worst way, or maybe Jerry Springer. The name of the show would be "I am a DNA science nightmare".
Also, as the novel progressed and Lara? began to change, I felt that this had all been done before in Monster. My reaction, was great, another bimbo who got involved with the dark side and is scarfing down 10 big macs in one sitting. Ooh sexy! At least the food was cooked this time, I think. That part of the story became tiring, but it also made me laugh out loud. This book doesn't take itself seriously either, which is a very redeeming quality.
But,I don't feel that this book was a waste of my time at all, because I HAVE seen worse out there. I also don't really believe that Christopher Pike has ever written anything that is truly terrible. Brutal maybe, but terrible no.