Thursday, August 7, 2014

Review: Thirst Series #1 (The Last Vampire, Black Blood, and Red Dice)

Thirst #1: The Last Vampire, Black BLood, and Red Red Dice, by Christopher Pike, is the first three books of popular teen series, The Last Vampire. The books have been reprinted and updated into an omnibus for easier reading. The description states:

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.

I had heard many great reviews about the The Last Vampire series by Christopher Pike over the years but never had the chance until now to read the books. The omnibus is a great way to read through a popular series without having to track down the original mass marketplace paperback versions. Since the 1990s, Pike (along with R.L. Stine) has become one of the greatest teen horror authors in the genre. Their books influenced the rise of the adult/teen urban fantasy series in the 2000s. The Thirst books are a great way to revisit why these books became popular among young readers.

The Thirst #1 omnibus focus on the life of Sita, a 5000-year-old vampire from India who considers herself the last of her kind on earth. In The Last Vampire, she lives under the shadows until her creator, Yaksha, reappears to locate and capture her. In Bloack Blood, there is bloodshed and loss (even the man she loves) as she tries to prevent more vampires from roaming the earth. She keeps her promise to the man (Indian god, Krishna) who saved her life a long time ago. In Red Dice,, she runs into more trouble when she discovers a former flame and secret government facility experimenting with vampire blood. Sita (or known as Alisa or Laura throughout the books) must destroy all evidence so that the world does not know about vampires. Sita has a cruel responsibility and wishes nothing more but to be human again.

Stay tuned for the second omnibus of the original six-book collection, Thirst Series #2: Phantom, Evil Thirst, Creatures of Forever.

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