Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, Red Dice [Paperback]

Christopher Pike (Author)

Book Description

Series: Thirst | Publication Date: August 4, 2009

 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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher Pike is a best-selling author of young adult novels.  The Thirst series, The Secret of Ka, and the Remember Me and Alosha trilogies are some of his favorite titles.  He is also the author of several adult novels, including Sati and The Season of Passage.  Thirst and Alosha are slated to be released as feature films.  Pike currently lives in Santa Barbara, where it is rumored he never leaves his house.  But he can be found online at Christopherpikebooks.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; Original edition (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416983082
• ISBN-13: 978-1416983088
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Other
  • #87 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror > Spine-Chilling Horror

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

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best in the Genre, August 24, 2009

By 

S. Phillips - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, Red Dice (Paperback)

I am a big fan of vampire literature. Having read several series, I always find myself comparing books to Christopher Pike's flawless novels, The Last Vampire series. Every time, these books win. These were released several years ago, long before tweeny-vamp hysteria caught on (thanks to S. Meyer). These books are different. They are different because they are good. While targeted to a younger audience, I am impressed by how mature they are, how well they handle "adult" issues (love, loss, loneliness, self-extinction, even HIV), yet present themselves in a very accessible way, even for a younger reader. Sita, the main character, despite roaming the Earth for centuries, does not go around feeling sorry for herself. She is not a maiden in distress, waiting for some hero to rescue her from her own fate. She is so appealing because she is powerful, yet vulnerable. Pike has created an emotionally complex, realistic character. The conflicts that Sita faces are a part of her character, they define who she is, and are not simply obstacles to overcome on the way to the next book in the series. Every choice that Sita makes is somehow linked to her being, and Pike does an excellent job portaying the actual consequences of living thousands of years--everything that Sita thinks, says, or does is colored by her rich history and experience.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Above and Beyond, August 4, 2009

By 

Pepper "Editor & Book Nut" (Ory-gun) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, Red Dice (Paperback)

This series was my first foray into vampire fiction, after Dracula, and I still have to say it's my favorite. I'm so glad Simon Pulse decided to release these as a two-book collection, rather than the original six-book series, and the cover design is so fresh and elegant, it really brings the series (which is only ten years old, but that is like 45 in book years) into right here, right now.

Re-reading these, I am struck by how good they are, how expressive, and how truly weary Sita's voice is; after thousands of years of being hunted, feared, mistrusted, she is forced out of a relatively peaceful existence due to the overwhelming greed and ignorance of the humans around her. What I respect about Pike as a writer is that he can really capture the emotional spine of this story through a woman's eyes without over-sentimentalizing.

The writing is straightforward, matter-of-fact, and is a great antidote to the prolonged emo-ramblings of certain Vampire-Books-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Yes, Sita loves deeply, but love can be lost. It doesn't save everything. It has a cost. The world isn't divided into black and white. There's a maturity and a very existentialist religious subplot that is woven throughout the whole series that is refreshing and really sets it apart.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thirst will get into your blood ..., August 17, 2009

By 

ACL "Angelb4u77" (here, there and everywhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, Red Dice (Paperback)

This series will rock you. Using an intelligent and powerful voice, the last vampire, Sita, tells her five-thousand year story of light and darkness, evil and profound spirituality...in this series you will witness Sita's beginning and her end, and afterwards you will walk away shaken and hungry for more.

Pike re-imagines the vampire legend, giving us vampires who are more powerful, more sophisticated and more dangerous than those in other teen-vampire books. Sita has lived and loved well throughout her life, and because of these vast experiences she is proficient in everything human--from our arts to our weapons to our hearts and souls, Sita is an expert. And that is good, because she'll need these skills to resist those who know what she is. Once they have her powers they intend to kill her. But even after five-thousand years, Sita is not ready to die. She still has too much to love.

Pike's best character EVER. The master of horror at his absolute peak--this is more than a vampire series, it is a dance with the spiritual side of life and death.

Marvelous.