Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I had to suspend disbelief a couple of times in reading this book. First was accepting a blond and blue eyed vampire whose place of origin is India. Second was the same character, described early on as 5000 years old, impossibly rich, massively intelligent, and super strong falling in love with your average American teenager. Even so, the book did keep me interested enough to finish. Being a lover of all things mythology, the author peaked my interest when he decided to include some eastern Indian mythology into the book. Altogether an enjoyable read, not the best I've read certainly but I don't regret purchasing it.

I personally did not like this book because Alisa's character annoyed me. She seemed conceited and arrogant.It was brought up many times that she was more powerful than normal people and could do things faster, like reading. I felt like the author thought we would just forget she is a vampire with all these special powers, so he persistently kept bringing them up.When Alisa would bring up how powerful she is it came off as annoying not enlightening.

Thirst No.1 by Christopher Pike is way more than I expected! With the vampire genre busting at the seams with books that seem to retell the same story with different character names, this book stands out as an original!!! These books (the first three in a series of 6 are included in Thirst No.1) were around long before the Twilight craze started and are fortunately being rereleased!! The author's writing is seamless and the characters are so well developed that you feel like you know them personally! The main character, Sita, is so believable. You feel her age and wisdom through her words and you can feel her loneliness as well. She has lived since the dawn of history and believes that she is the last of her kind. She has made her way through thousands of years virtually invisible and plans to keep it that way. All is well until she is called into a private investigator's office for questioning. Sita then realizes that someone out there knows about her and could threaten exposing her as a vampire. As the story unfolds Sita's life and the lives of countless others are placed in jeopardy. An old enemy presumed dead long ago may have returned. If that is the case then Sita will go from being the ultimate predator to being the prey. This story is weaved with romance, action, spirituality, violence and redemption. Sita's journey is not made alone. The characters she encounters in the present and the characters described from her past all help make this book so enjoyable. I am really looking forward to the last three stories in this series that will be included in Thirst No. 2 due out next year. Believe me..... this book is worth your time and money!!!

As a young girl in the early 90s, I was enamored with a writer by the name of Christopher Pike. I loved his books, and would spend much of my time reading them after school. Somewhere in the 5 moves I've made since elementary school, I lost all of those books.

I was absolutely THRILLED to see this anthology at Borders! I have not been - nor will I allow myself to be - sucked into the world of "Sparkling Vampires". (Vampires don't "sparkle"...) I picked up this anthology less than 48 hours ago and am about 1/4 of the way into the third book, "Red Dice". Admittedly, I'd forgotten much of the storyline as it has been 15+ years since I first read the series, but it has been an absolute page turner. The storyline is so simple, yet very powerful. The characters come to life. And, as it is written entirely in first person, it is a refreshing change from the other series of books I'm working my way though.

Bearing in mind that this book was written for TEENS, I think it is EXCELLENT. And, as it was originally released in 1994, it WELL pre-dates the whole "trampire" genre that is out there now. If you want to see vampires kicking butt, taking names, and drinking blood, then this book is for you!!

Thirst was a novel that I NEEDED to read. I needed the feel of a real independent woman that just so happened to be the first and one of the most powerful extortionist alive (or dead). The one thing that ambushed me with this novel was how the lead was so heedlessly (or rather didn't care of being) blunt. She wasn't a damsel in distress as so 'many other picks would make their characters out to be. However, she wasn't heartless; she was sympathetic, but unquestionbly formidable. Aware of her strength, she was almost overly confident, cocky, but she certainly had every right to be. She was able to admit to her faults and flaws (if any!) when they arose at any given situation. I doubtlessly loved that she never needed to pretend (capabilities and feelings); If she was wrong, in love, attracted to someone, exorbitant in killing methods, she owned up to it, whether it was a pleasant realization or not.

I really favored a male take on a woman vampire. The writing was something distinct and different on how we learn about the characters past while situations commence in the present. I do believe that it is the first time that I have encountered something so unique, untouched. With the vampire craze due to a very successful saga, movie, television show (you name it!) everyone seems to be jumping on the band wagon for these lovely and beautiful blood suckling horrors, but all are generally running along the same line. Thirst is a triumvirate of power that has me weak at the knees for the next triple threat to come in January.

This series is fantastic. I read them as a young adult, just reread the first three in my late twenties. they're incredible, better than twilight in my opinion.

This enthralling tale draws you in to the world of the last vampire. She, Sita, who wants nothing more than to remain undetected by the world, has many powerful stories to tell, which weave through her past on a turbulent ride in to her present, threatening her very existence. Through her eyes, we see what it might truly be like, the strength, the power, the danger, the allure of being a free spirited vampire, but also the loss, and sorrow she goes through, loss of humanity, of the friends and loved ones she must lose and leave behind, and the loss of her own intricately crafted universe... from a completely different perspective, the perspective of a female vampire.