Human Urges, Fatal Consequences

First off, I know this claims to be a Young Adult read, but I'd recommend it for older teens. There are elements in the book that are for more mature readers. Now, for my review...

This one was a bit of a hit or miss with me. Sometimes I enjoyed it, other times I was ready to set the book aside and start reading something else. But, for the most part, I did like it. I bought this book on a whim, having only seen it once or twice around the blogosphere, and let me tell you - you won't find any sparkly vampires here.

The leading character, a Miss Alisa Perne, is a 5,000 year old vampire who befriended some of the most accomplished artists, scholars, and influential people of the centuries. I found her history to be a most intriguing plot show more point in the storyline. One thing Alisa doesn't lack is tenacity. And my, does she have it ten-fold. Her cruelty and cunning personality are both amazing and ruthless. She's not your average leading female protagonist who you can relate to and/or empathize with. But her unforgivable nature is what makes her such a memorable character. In a way, you kinda just want to hate her at times - not going to lie.

The writing was most interesting in the fact that the prose often reached a poetical plateau, in a sense, that I just wasn't expecting. Every chapter is very much too the point. At times it almost read like a journal entry - or like you were hearing Alisa speak the words from her own lips. It gives the reader(s) an interesting look at her thought process.

The aspect that threw me the most was the mythological part of the story. Krishna? Vashnu? Huh? More than once I had struggled with the idea of skipping those chapters entirely, but because they were so laced with Alisa's past, I couldn't - not without jeopardizing the story anyway. In the end, intrigue won out and I thought it was an interesting part of the book. Definitely a unique twist in a vampire story.

Overall consensus: Thirst is a dark and gritty vampire book with unique mythological aspects, some - yet very little romance, and plenty of violence. Not cutthroat by any means, but there are some explosions, copious amounts of fighting, and some folks losing their heads. If you're looking for a light read, look elsewhere. But if you want a book that deals with vampires like they should be (ruthless paranormal creatures) then this is a book to be added to your "TBR" pile. Although I won't go as far as saying it's a "must-read". show less

With vampires being all the rage right now, there is certainly no shortage of books out there in the Young Adult market. What is hard to find, however, are fully formed supernatural characters that are rooted in reality. As far as The Last Vampire goes, you'll find that Sita is a fully formed character that leaps right off the page straight from the beginning. She's strong, calculating, and smart as hell. She's extremely jaded at times, but her will to live is intense.

Pike really does give you the sense that Sita has been around for five thousand years. Sometimes, you read these stories about characters that are supposed to have existed for thousands of years, but there really doesn't seem to be much depth to them. Not, the case with show more this book.

I've also noticed that in an effort to appeal to a PG-13 audience to boost sales, the integrity of the vampire has really suffered. They don't want too much, if any, blood. Any type of violence is eliminated or glossed over. Sex is a topic that is rarely addressed. I realize that we are talking about YA novels here, but there are ways to tackle these subjects intelligently AND keep your characters authentic at the same time. Just because the target audience is 14-21, doesn't mean you need to tiptoe around these subjects like your readers shouldn't know what you're talking about.

You wont find any timidness in Pike's vampires. Sita is an accomplished killer, who rarely suffers any qualms regarding her actions. Now granted, she doesn't go after innocent people, she prefers to take out murderers and rapists--the dregs of society. But, make no mistake, Sita doesn't just bite them. Quite frequently, she toys with them--sort of turning their own evil back on them before she kills them.

You don't get much of a taste of this in the first book, but as the series goes on you'll get more of a glimpse of just how unforgiving she can be. This is a part of her character that I think is totally necessary, because you can't have (at least, in my view) a 5,000 year old vampire who is squeamish about blood.

Another element of the book that I find extremely interesting is that our vampire has a unique relationship with God. Krishna, in this case (google him if you don't know who he is). Here you have a self-confessed killer, a vampire----and yet, she believes in God. Most often, you never really hear how the divine figures in all these stories in which the supernatural abounds. I mean, you figure, God created the world, so obviously "monsters" are part of the creation, but you rarely come across stories where a vampire or a werewolf encounters the divine. Major points for creativity here.

Overall, I give The Last Vampire high marks. It's an original and daring piece of work---and really stands out among a lot of these cookie cutter YA vampires as something unique and surprising. I'm look forward to reviewing the other books in the series as I go along. So, next time you're at your local bookstore--give this one a try. You wont regret it. show less

After hearing so many reviews about how this book sucked, I'm was slightly surprised om how much I enjoy this book, it is 3 books in one: The last Vampire, Black Blood, and Red Dice. A 12 book series put in 4 books. OK so again I really enjoyed this book, I want to get the next book in the series, and will soon. I can't wait to read more of Sita and the hell she goes through constantly. This poor woman, you can't help to feel bad for her at times. Always stuck in a rut, and all because she loves to much, and especially loves her God too much (which is why she is always stuck in a rut), plus she is desperately trying to keep humankind from destroying itself as well. I love her flash backs of her life, I love the action, and I love the show more fact she loves things that explode lol. show less

While not Anne Rice, this series is great. It's geared for a slightly younger audience than Anne Rice's books, and I read it when I was in that target audience. This book impressed me a lot. I enjoyed the fact that these three books were bound together. Originally I had read just the first one, but when I was at the library I found this collector's volume and of course picked it up. The story is believable and engaging, though the method of vampire-making - pressing cut wrists together - didn't work for me because it'd be quite sloppy. Still, overall great book and series!

I read a few Christopher Pikes in middle school, so when I saw that he'd done a vampire novel (twenty years or so after he wrote it and I'd done my Christopher Pike reading), I was pretty curious. I wasn't disappointed, though I'm not sure when (or if) I'll read the rest of the series. He had a different take on vampires, but he also had a depth and kind of a spirituality to his story that isn't seen in most YA novels. He's a pretty unique author, even now.

I read all of these books when they originally came out in 1994-ish. I was about 10 or 11 and I loooooved them. When I saw they had been rebound and reissued in two three volume sets, I ha the urge to re-read them. They are as good as I remembered. THIS is what a vampire series should look like. Take notes, Stephanie Meyers. Aside from the typical vampire stuff that permeates every blood sucking novel out there, this series separates itself in that it is surprisingly deep for what it is. Talk of God/Krishna, good vs. evil, the cursing of souls. I am still utterly entertained by this series. The book does insert some newer technology, flash drives instead of floppies, email instead of fax, which was nice, but unnecessary. The stories show more clip along without a hitch and you'd never notice the 10 year discrepancy between first release and now. show less

I have finished the 3rd book in Thirst No1 (Last Vampire Series) Red Dice by Christopher Pike. I have one word WOW! I loved it from start to finish, Sita a 5,000 year old kick butt vampire has to rescue her recently turned vampire lover Joel from a top secret base in Las Vegas. She risks her life to make sure that her promise to Krishna is not broken. Even though she has broke the promise already by making Joel a vampire. Sita was not to make anymore vampires. This book brought twist and turns from every corner. Red Dice gained an interesting new character that is from Sita's past. Arturo, a priest that Sita thought was burned at the stake over 1,000 years ago has returned, he's working as a mad scientist for the government.

Just goes show more to show you what kind of "loons" the government hires! LOL My favorite part of this book was beginning to end. Sita gains a new power after drinking her maker's Yaksha blood. Which makes an awesome addition to the novel.

The end left me in a bit of an uproar though so looks like I'm buying the next 2 books in the series Thirst No2 which includes Phantom, Evil Thirst, and Creatures of Forever.

I was impressed by Christopher Pike! All three books in Thirst No1 had something to love. I gave The Last Vampire 5 smacks, Black Blood 2 smacks but that's only because some parts lost my interest as a reader, I felt Pike could have combined or shortened Black Blood. But now after reading Red Dice I understand Pike's need to focus on Krishna to give the reader a better understanding of why Sita is about to do somethings she has longed to do for 5,000 years.

I give Red Dice 5 smacks as well, love the series. I will be reading the next 3 books soon! show less