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47th out of 944 books
—
5,690 voters
The Hunger (Hunger #1)
by
Whitley Strieber (Goodreads Author)
Eternal youth is a wonderful thing for the few who have it, but for Miriam Blaylock, it is a curse -- an existence marred by death and sorrow. Because for the everlasting Miriam, everyone she loves withers and dies. Now, haunted by signs of her adoring husband's imminent demise, Miriam sets out in serach of a new partner, one who can quench her thirst for love and withstan...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
May 22nd 2001
by Pocket Books
(first published 1980)
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Dec 27, 2012
Thiago Cavalcanti
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
literature-american,
supernatural-vampire
I was first drawn to this book because of the 1983 homonymous film starred by Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and Susan Sarandon. Despite being a below average thriller, it would later be considered a cult-movie by some fans. Justice be done: the film may be an 80’s whimsical experiment, but it deserves some credit for not being a commonplace vampire story. Although it is definitely not my kind of movie, some disquieting elements of its plot convinced me that the book could be a fun read after al...more
I read this book as a teenager, and it still sticks in my mind. Miriam’s memories are horrific. Whitley Strieber has a way of coming up with some truly creepy and unsettling ideas about eternal life that made me shudder. The whole idea that these vampires are not able to die, no matter what happens to their body is truly ghastly if you think about it.
Miriam is a monster, changing humans into vampires, knowing full well what will happen to her lovers. Yet Strieber always sympathizes with his mon...more
Miriam is a monster, changing humans into vampires, knowing full well what will happen to her lovers. Yet Strieber always sympathizes with his mon...more
For vampire Miriam, endless life means watching her companions wither and die. When her current love shows signs of sudden aging, Miriam seeks a way to give a companion the same endless life that she has--and she may find it in Sarah Roberts, a scientist on the brink of discovering immortality. What should be a pointedly bleak book is rendered hollow by an awful, stilted voice--so stilted, in fact, that it's hard to discern the occasional typos in my edition from simple awkward writing. Emotiona...more
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Miriam Blaylock is a vampire whose life began in ancient Egypt. She has taken human companions (male or females) to ease her loneliness. While her blood will grant them greatly expanded lifespans, they (unlike her) eventually begin to age, a process that cannot be halted. Eventually they wither to dusty shells but unfortunately for them they remain conscious. Unable to bear the thought of murdering her lovers, Miriam imprisons them in steel-encased chests to keep with her for eternity.
The novel...more
The novel...more
In my opinion The Hunger is one of the great vampire novels of all time. The protagonist is a ravishing and ancient vampire, beautiful, talented, wealthy, able to walk in the sun but with one tragic flaw...she can't stand being. Her companions share in her wondrous lifestyle, traveling the world, inflecting pain and pleasure on those that interest them but unfortunately, not for long. They are doomed to wither and age in a couple of hundred years like her most current companion. She goes on a hu...more
Before reading this, I never imagined it was possible to hate every single important speaking character in a story, but here we are at The Hunger. I hated weird Miriam and the way she keeps her lovers alive, folded knees to chest in boxes, traveling the world for centuries with a woman who won't let them out or let them die. I hated stupid Sarah, and her stupid psycho idea that death was a curable disease, not a natural part of life. And I really hated Sarah's manipulative boyfriend who inwardly...more
Dec 22, 2010
~riaria~
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
(oldschool) goth boiz and gals, vampire lovers
A classic "vampire" book on which the even more classic film "The Hunger"(1983)was based. The opening film sequence where Deneuve and Bowie are spotting their prey in an 80s goth club while Peter Murphy sings "Bela Lugozi's Dead" is def. anthology.The book has a subtle eroticism to it (as well as the film). I liked how the author "saw" vampires: As creatures with less supernatural aspects and more human-like features as well as the mythology surrounding Miriam whose travel through time was fasci...more
A defining novel in its genre, The Hunger offers an original, different angle on the typical "vampire" story. Whitley Strieber, one of my favorite novelists for this reason (his very different view on what is now common topics) is the best at what he does: horror with a more realistic twist. Written before the popular novels of today (came out in 1981), The Hunger is gritty and dark while taking us from ancient times to the present. This classy novel is highly recommended as incomparable in its...more
Mar 22, 2012
Erik Graff
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Strieber fans
Recommended to Erik by:
Michael Miley
Shelves:
literature
I believe I saw the film (1983) at a theatre before reading the book. The film was visually and aurally rather impressive, being a cut above the usual vampire fare. The book was not so impressive, perhaps because it held few surprises.
I read The Hunger and several of Strieber's other novels, including two he only coauthored, because my friend Mike Miley was recommending his authobiographical Communion to me. Communion, he said, detailed Strieber's many contacts with nonhuman intelligences, possi...more
I read The Hunger and several of Strieber's other novels, including two he only coauthored, because my friend Mike Miley was recommending his authobiographical Communion to me. Communion, he said, detailed Strieber's many contacts with nonhuman intelligences, possi...more
I loved this book. I didn't think I would, but it sucked me in right from the first page. The pacing was excellent, and what I loved about it the most was how perfectly the author struck the balance between exposition and leaving some questions - including arguably the most important and intriuging question of all - unanswered, or open to interpretation and imagination. And I got the ending I wanted as well, one a less fearless author would perhaps have shied away from. An excellent read indeed.
Jun 08, 2011
Angela
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
before-2002,
bookcrossed-or-otherwise-set-free
One of the "new classics" in the vampire genre (written before Whitley Streiber went all weird over alien abductions -- although, as a side note, most of his novels are strange. Maybe believing he had been taken by the aliens has something to do with his choice of subject matter.)
The novel was made into a semi-interesting movie sometime in the mid to late 1980's. David Bowie was in it, but I don't remember who played Miriam Blaylock and my VideoHound book is currently in hiding....
The novel was made into a semi-interesting movie sometime in the mid to late 1980's. David Bowie was in it, but I don't remember who played Miriam Blaylock and my VideoHound book is currently in hiding....
So far the best I've read from Whitley Strieber. The scariest book I've ever read is still Communion, but in terms of style, The Hunger demonstrates a dark beauty I have not found before in Whitley Striber's other books. It's a fast read, lags on some parts, but still delivers. I've found one of my favorite sentences from it's pages, "He realized that the demons of hell were not demons at all but the men of earth without their coustumes."
I read Hunger 2 a few years ago and really liked the vampiric ideas in the book. I did not like the fact that the stories about her parents did not match from book one to book two. It took away some of the consistency for me. I also found that having Sarah "come back" in book 2 seemed very implausible in book 1. It was more like a character was killed by accident and then needed to come back. I did not like this book as much as I had hoped.
While the movie didn't hold my interest as much as I thought it would, this book kept me up reading way past my bedtime like few other books have recently.
The vampire mythology presented in this book is the main reason for my love of it. Not incredibly erotic (despite its claims), but definitely interesting in the same vein as I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. In both books, they try to scientifically describe the vampire (in The Hunger, Miriam - our only true vampire - is never actually called a...more
The vampire mythology presented in this book is the main reason for my love of it. Not incredibly erotic (despite its claims), but definitely interesting in the same vein as I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. In both books, they try to scientifically describe the vampire (in The Hunger, Miriam - our only true vampire - is never actually called a...more
Found on my "read" book shelf and vaguely remember my creepy obsession of this film wih my best friend in our stoner/whippet days. With amnesia I vaguely remember the most basic o the plot this belonging to the "need to reread" list and based on length, author, and subject I imagine it'll be a simple, somewhat trashy, pleasure. More when finished.
For some reason, I've never been a huge fan of The Hunger. It was fun to read, but nothing beyond that. I've never been able to develop an emotional attachments to the characters, which is always a huge downside - it's only mild curiosity that keeps me reading to find out what happens, but it probably wouldn't be a book I pick up if I didn't have to read it for grad school.
Amazingly beautiful and horrifying. I suppose it's only fitting, and a pertinent commentary on our linguistic tropes, that I devoured this book and was left craving more.
Although shockingly, this may be one of the very, very few instances where I think the ending of the film actually improved on the book.
Although shockingly, this may be one of the very, very few instances where I think the ending of the film actually improved on the book.
Although another VB, I must say that this took a very scientific take on immortal life. It was horrifyingly suspenseful and absolutely gory in ways that had me cringing in my seat and only reading with one eye trying to escape the anxiety. No romance here, this is pure horror and a great one.
Interesting, but very different. He obviously wrote this book before Anne Rice told us how vampires really are. It is strange to read of them walking around in the daylight without disintegrating into a pile of ashes. The premise is good. Worth the read.
I really loved this book. It isn't like the typical vampire novel so many of the aspects were complete surprises. Really brilliant of the author to create, as far as I know, such unique traits of vampires. (I won't make a sparkle joke!)
I liked this a lot, even better than the movie, which I did enjoy. The book has quite a different ending, not necessarily better or worse but different. It also explains some things that were confusing in the movie.
To me, Streiber was at his best writing horror rather than the alien encounter stuff he did later.
To me, Streiber was at his best writing horror rather than the alien encounter stuff he did later.
This book creeps me out,which is why I loved it enough to buy the poster and put it in my room. Not sure why I loved it,but I went on to enjoy the sequels to The Hunger.
This is one of the few books I've read that turned out to be a waste of paper and ink. Fortunately, someone else read it and turned it into a decent movie.
This wa a wonderful disturbing book. I am afraid to say much for fear of seeding spoilers. I will say that the characters are fairly well developed and I look foreward to the sequal.
Yeah I enjoyed it but I thought that Miriam's actions with Sarah were a little inconsistent with how carefully she had proceeded in other cases.
There was something about the way the author described the characters that revulsed me. All of the characters. They just seemed icky. Just watch the movie version, with Susan Sarandon, Catherine Deneuve, and David Bowie.
Feb 13, 2012
Rus Segety
added it
Long before vampyre fiction became so popular, this was it. The book is a little more unpredictable than the movie version.
Interesting. A book about vampires, but they rarely - if ever - use the word "vampire." Falls somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.
Very enjoyable! Not as great as it could have been (I LOVE the plot/concept), but also not nearly as bad as it much more easily could have been (considering the "sexy vampire" theme).
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American writer best known for his horror novels The Wolfen and The Hunger and for Communion, a non-fiction description of his experiences with apparent alien contact. He has recently made significant advances in understanding this phenomenon, and has published his new discoveries in Solving the Communion Enigma.
Strieber also co-authored The Coming Global Superstorm with Art Bell, which inspired t...more
More about Whitley Strieber...
Strieber also co-authored The Coming Global Superstorm with Art Bell, which inspired t...more
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Apr 20, 2012 06:42pm