Black Blood (The Last Vampire, #2)

Jan 30, 2012 Dustin Keller rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After Reading The Last Vampire, I went right into reading Black Blood. Now the story of The Last Vampire was amazing and told a great story about a women that was forced into being with this demon that she saw come to earth and still was able to live among him in their little village. Years later after the people ran him out he returned to take her with him by making her a Vampire as well. She did so to save her beloved husband and little girl. The story was very strong and it kept me wanting mo...more After Reading The Last Vampire, I went right into reading Black Blood. Now the story of The Last Vampire was amazing and told a great story about a women that was forced into being with this demon that she saw come to earth and still was able to live among him in their little village. Years later after the people ran him out he returned to take her with him by making her a Vampire as well. She did so to save her beloved husband and little girl. The story was very strong and it kept me wanting more. In the end Sita was stabbed in the heart after blowing up her home with the demon Yaksha inside. But this happened after she fell inlove with Ray. In Black Blood you quickly find out that she did live put still has the pain from the stake from her heart. Right into the book she comes to find out that some how there is another Vampire in LA and he is making more of them, which is something that Sita knows cannot happen. Through the story Sita comes to find out that this is not just any other Vampire, but someone that found Yaksha body and inturn drank his blood. With Ray and herself knowning they need to stop this new but just as strong as Yaksha himself they drive two gas trucks to were Eddie and his gang of new vampires are. They do blow all the other vampires up, but Eddie is to fast for them and takes Ray to use as a sheild from Sita. Now they have gas flowing around the building but not on fire yet. She trys to shoot through Ray knowing that he will not die from the hits. But when nothing seems to work on killing Eddie, Ray decides to take it upon himself and lights the gas thinking he will take Eddie with him. It send Sita flying into a wall and when she wakes up she sees that an FBI Agent Joel Drank is there. He tells her that Eddie has feeled and now she finds that he is in this mess and Ray is gone forever.

The story goes on and she ends up finding Yaksha in the ice cream truck that Eddie owns. He is close to death and she escapes with what is left of Yaksha body. She takes him to the sea becaue she knows that he will die soon and she wanted to let him be at peace. He tells her a story that Lord Krishna told him and once the story was done he told he that Lord Krishna told him that shory so that he could tell her when the time came. With Sita not understanding how the story was to help her at that time. Even though she didn't want to, Yaksha asked Sita to drink the rest of the blood in his body to that it will give her power that she never knew he had. This was his last wish and Sita was not going to let him die without doing as he asked of her. She then went to Eddies home and with his mother with her got him to come home to make the final stand. She knew before going that this was going to be the battle that either killed him or killed her. Eddie took Joel hostage and that made it harder for Sita to kill Eddie without killing Joel at the same time. When it looked like it was all over, and Eddie was filling glass after glass of Sita's blood and drinking it right in front of her. She then saw what the story Krishna told Yaksha meant and now she knew what she needed to do. In the end She killed Eddie and with so little of her blood still in her body she moved to Joel and even though he told he that he did not want to become a vampire, she could no just let is very brave man die. Not caring if he hated her when they woke up, she took what little blood she had left and forced it into Joel's vains. That is when she felt the darkness take over her.

I have to say that I did not like this story as much as I liked The Last Vampire story, but never have I read any book with such a wonderful female character as the main. The way that Christopher Pike wrote Sita's character is amazing. She is a very strong and sexy women, but unlike some other vampire stories, she can be hurt and even words hurt her just like anyone else. She is down to earth and knows that sometimes the hardest thing to do is the only right thing to do. I cannot get enough of her characters story and I have to say that she is by far the best female character that I have ever read in my years. These books I would want anyone to read and I think it should be enjoyed and be on all vampire fan's reading list. I went right into reading Red Dice once I was done with this book and I already am having a hard time putting it down.(less)

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May 26, 2011 Nenia Campbell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: x-series-bk-2, ya-baby-ya, x-1990s

Can a heart still break if it isn't beating?

This book takes place after Sita's (alias Alisa) battle with Yaksha. She's recovering from her injuries, both to the heart and the body, and trying to love her boyfriend, Ray, who isn't taking his transformation to vampire well. Falling in love again has opened up a door to her heart that Alisa is afraid of, because she finds herself becoming less and less cold. Spirits of Rama, her departed husband, and Krishna, the god she is devoted to, haunt and co...more Can a heart still break if it isn't beating?

This book takes place after Sita's (alias Alisa) battle with Yaksha. She's recovering from her injuries, both to the heart and the body, and trying to love her boyfriend, Ray, who isn't taking his transformation to vampire well. Falling in love again has opened up a door to her heart that Alisa is afraid of, because she finds herself becoming less and less cold. Spirits of Rama, her departed husband, and Krishna, the god she is devoted to, haunt and confuse Sita. Why would Krishna have allowed her to defy the rules he forced upon Yaksha, and let her create one more vampire for love, if things are bound to end hopelessly?

As if Sita doesn't have enough problems already, strange human deaths are popping up in the worst parts of Los Angeles. The human police officers are perplexed by these inhuman displays of violence, but Sita recognizes them for what they are: vampire attacks. Somebody is creating new vampires, and from the damage that the fledglings are creating, it's somebody powerful. But who could it possibly be? Yaksha was killed in the blast; she watched him die with her own eyes. So, either he recovered, or he lied about killing all of his fledglings back when they first met, at the dawn of history.

Once again, I'm impressed by the underlying messages Christopher Pike has tactfully embedded into his prose. There's so much about life, death, religion, spirtualism, sex, forgiveness - I'm amazed how this book has managed to slip under the radar considering how amazingly deep it is. It also makes me sad that an amazing series like this is barely skirting a thousand ratings when books like Twilight have been read by millions. I'm really enjoying watching Sita transform, becoming more human with each installment in the series. Plus, the author is great at refreshing your memory for what happened in the last book, without having one of those annoying chapters in the beginning that basically act as cut-and-paste "this is who I am, this is what I do, blah blah blah" instruction manuals for reading the series and understanding the characters. That's just lazy writing. The Last Vampire series is ANYTHING but lazy. I'm sad, because Red Dice is the last book that I own in this series. I'll have to try and see if I can find the others the next time I go to the library...

And yes, that opening blurb was stolen from Corpse Bride. :)(less)

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May 21, 2011 Michelle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. OMG, I was reading this on a plane and had to keep it as hidden as possible because LOOK AT IT. It just LOOKS embarrassing (and I don't get embarrassed by much). If you open that first flap, wowzas, there's a sunset, a pretty blonde girl, a crazy demon hand, black roses, a graveyard, and an open coffin with ANOTHER crazy demon hand coming out of it. Hahaha, amazing.

Anyway, this is the second book in The Last Vampire series, and it's better in some ways...worse in a lot of ways. Okay, the bad-as...more

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Nov 15, 2009 Leeanna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Last Vampire #2: Black Blood, by Christopher Pike

"Black Blood" picks up six weeks after the events of "The Last Vampire." Weakened by a stake wound to her chest, Sita has spent the time recuperating. She and Ray, whom she changed into a vampire to save his life, are together. Sita believes Ray is her husband reincarnated, her true love brought back to her after five thousand years.

But their bliss is about to be interrupted, when she suspects that there is another vampire embarking on a murd...more The Last Vampire #2: Black Blood, by Christopher Pike

"Black Blood" picks up six weeks after the events of "The Last Vampire." Weakened by a stake wound to her chest, Sita has spent the time recuperating. She and Ray, whom she changed into a vampire to save his life, are together. Sita believes Ray is her husband reincarnated, her true love brought back to her after five thousand years.

But their bliss is about to be interrupted, when she suspects that there is another vampire embarking on a murderous rampage in Los Angeles. Sita and Ray imagine themselves the last vampires, after the death of Sita's creator, Yaksha. But if they are, who are the killers in L.A.? Sita heads into the city to investigate, quickly running into the worst nightmare she could imagine in all her long years...a psychotic vampire.

In contrast to the typical stereotype, Sita is the powerhouse and Ray is her wimpy backup. He's somewhat whiny and not very thrilled about being a vampire (he won't drink blood for example), while Sita is as ruthless or as loving as the situation dictates. She lives very in the moment, doing what she believes is necessary to protect humanity.

I find that you can read these books on two levels. One for young adults - it's simply a damn good vampire story. Two for adults - as I reread these books, about a decade after I first read them, the threads and themes that Pike writes about astonish me. He covers loneliness, disease, religion, and more, in an intriguing way. I greatly enjoy his merging of the vampire "story" with Krishna and Hinduism. Sita even gets some of her tactics from parables and dreams.

As with the first book in the series, the action in "Black Blood" is very fast, I think the entire novel covers a period of less than a week. It fits in a way though; Sita's so powerful it's hard to believe it would take her less than a week to defeat the other vampire. The writing matches the action - straightforward and quick, sometimes leaving you wanting more.

3/5. (less)

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May 12, 2011 Shelley aka Gizmo's Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: y-a-paranormal, vampires

Back Blood is the sequel to The Last Vampire. Alisa Perne is a 5,000-year-old vampire who looks to be around 18. She was actually reborn as a vampire in the year 3,000 BC by Yaksha. She and her partner, Ray who she turned into a vampire in TLV, thought they were the last of their breed, but suddenly they are confronted by a series of brutal murders that could only have been caused by others like them. Sita survived the explosion that left her with a stake through the heart and weak.

This story p...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Krista rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Young Adults and Adults, Vampire lovers

Shelves: young-adult

I really loved The Last Vampire, first book in the 5 book, Thirst Series. Sita is a 5,000 year old vampire with a kick-butt attitude that delivered action, wit, romance as well as so much more. So reading the next book Black Blood was a no-brain'er. I started the book right away as the last book (The Last Vampire) ended on a hanger so I was itching to know what happens.

Black Blood started off so well, a promising story line of Sita and her lover Ray not being the last vampires. As these rouge...more I really loved The Last Vampire, first book in the 5 book, Thirst Series. Sita is a 5,000 year old vampire with a kick-butt attitude that delivered action, wit, romance as well as so much more. So reading the next book Black Blood was a no-brain'er. I started the book right away as the last book (The Last Vampire) ended on a hanger so I was itching to know what happens.

Black Blood started off so well, a promising story line of Sita and her lover Ray not being the last vampires. As these rouge vampires roamed the streets killing. Sita was hunting them,tracking them down at all cost to make sure the vampire secret was safe, great right. Well not so much the story was good but somewhere, Sita lost herself all of a sudden she becomes a depressed vampire. I mean you would think she has loved and lost for the last 5,000 years. What is so different about this time around. Besides being kind of depressed in some parts are OK but get over it!

Krishna took a huge chuck of the book. You might be saying well who is Krishna? In the ancient world people believed Krishna too be God.

I personally am religious but not so much when I'm reading a book that is described on the cover as a vampire with HUMAN URGES, FATAL CONSEQUENCES about a kick butt 5,000 year old vampire. Seems as though the author Pikes had to fill up space.

I can see Krishna playing a part but come on, up until the end Sita was basing every move she made on her "going toward Krishna," news flash Sita you are a killing vampire, demon if you say. Damned nation is all you have, own it girlfriend!

Black Blood wasn't all bad it had some really good moments. We learned some interesting things about Sita's passed which is long considering her being 5,000 years old. Pike threw a few little twist in. All to say an ending that looked very similar to well, lets just say the last book!

I give Black Blood by Christopher Pike 2/5 smacks I will not be reading Black Blood again however I'm going to complete the 3rd book Red Dice. Let's see how it goes. Come on Pike don't leave us disappointed this time!!!

(less)

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Jan 27, 2010 Maybelle Victor rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks

The Last Vampire 2: Black Blood stated from where the first book left off, from Alisa’s death wish, which wasn’t granted for she survived that night and lived forward with Ray. Ray however, was adjusting and refuses to feed properly and was living off from Alisa’s blood. After losing Yaksha, Alisa was determined that she and Ray was the last living vampires in the world, that is if you call being a vampire as alive.

Incidentally, strange killings started to happen at Los Angeles and Alisa thinks...more

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May 18, 2013 Kathy Horsman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lop-cinco-de-mayo-challenge, lop-spring-fever-challenge, may-yc-villains, owned-before-12-31-12, the-dustbuster-challenge, villains-we-hate-to-love, fantasy, paranormal-romance, physical-books, vampires, ya

Michael Bay would have a field day making a movie out of this series. First we blow up a house in the first book, now we blow two gas tankers up? Geez.

I'll give it credit, we jumped right back into action and didn't stop....that is til we got to the part I just couldn't understand. Don't read more if you haven't read this yet!!

Regardless this was one hell of a story!

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May 23, 2013 Imani rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: may-reading-challenge-2013

Only 200 pages! :D Some books u wish were longer and I feel like this is one of those books (though it is a series, which I'm glad to know!) The ending of the first book left Sita stabbed but remarkably she is still alive in this book. She now has a boyfriend whom she's turned into a vamp (ain't that great?) In L.A. she finds out there's a crazy on the loose turning ppl into vamps and she goes on the hunt for them.

I'm happy that Sita found Ray. Even though she's afraid that loving him means she...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Lavanya Ray rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-romance, paranormal-romance, vampire-novel, young-adult

After reading The Last Vampire it took me no time to start the next installment in the series, Black Blood. As much as eager I was to read it, I must say this part was not as exciting as the first one.

Sita takes a vow to save the world this time, with the help of her neophyte vampire lover Ray and mentor Yaksha. There are some really good moments between Yaksha and Sita in this part those reveal the true nature of their relationship; spiritualism as well to stir the readers. Ray even shows his p...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The best thing about this book, and the series, is the strong female protagonist. Sita is a seductive, intelligent, kick-ass vampire who struggles with her emotions and beliefs and who ultimately hangs onto her humanity as she faces difficult situations.

In Black Blood, Sita's story continues. She is not dead. Ray and Sita are the last vampires on earth. She can now spend eternity with her lover, or so she thought...

Following a string of murders, the fate of mankind is suddenly in the hands of S...more

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Apr 27, 2010 Michelle Travaille rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-etc

The second in 'The Last Vampire' series and a much more bloodthirsty and action packed novel than the first. This time there is an evil more deadly foe who won't stop for anything in the quest to have what he wants, what's even worse is that he doesn't care about the consequences. In this novel Sita (or Alisa) actually feels her mortality and for the first time feels her age. What I do like about her character is that she's not invincible she is fallible like a human. She questions herself in th...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Kristy Berridge rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

Well, it's a little unorthodox of me to review six books at once, and admittedly, I wouldn't normally do this because it's not fair to the plot, complexities of character, or the author's hard slog to create individuality within their story. But The Last Vampire series is relatively short, each book no more than about 180 pages in total, and they do follow on right where the last story left off, essentially making it one big novel that I've decided to measure as one.
The six books in question are...more Well, it's a little unorthodox of me to review six books at once, and admittedly, I wouldn't normally do this because it's not fair to the plot, complexities of character, or the author's hard slog to create individuality within their story. But The Last Vampire series is relatively short, each book no more than about 180 pages in total, and they do follow on right where the last story left off, essentially making it one big novel that I've decided to measure as one.
The six books in question are; The Last Vampire, Black Blood, Red Dice, Phantom, Evil Thirst and Creatures of Forever. So let's get down to it.

The Last Vampire series follows the story of vampire Alisa Perne, or more commonly known as 'Sita' throughout the series. She is supposedly the last vampire, over five thousand years old and a young woman very capable, very determined, and very dangerous. Like all vampires she is strong, fast, limber, and decidedly attractive. She is smart as a whip, can speak multiple languages, but like the humans she still sometimes preys upon, holds the memories of her past close to her heart and lets them haunt her on a continuing basis.
Her character maintains complete consistency of dialogue - stiff, intelligent, and somewhat emotionless. Her thought processes are convincing for an entity with thousands of years of experience, and her decision making process is methodical and decidedly thorough. My only negative of Alisa was that her relationships within each story were hurried, often unbelievable, and forced. Depth of feeling is very rarely explored between characters other than the mere exchange of seemingly unemotional wording. Touch is brief and chilling, and friendships are somewhat convenient rather than carefully crafted to create depth within the sub-plots.
The series as a whole for me was rather lack-luster. Though each novel did have consistency and flowed with a new story filled with historical influence, I was still unable to be entranced due to the rather cold character relations. At no point did I feel total immersion within the story, which was disappointing considering the obvious attention to detail the writer displayed in his overall plot and historical references. We were often introduced to intense action scenes, dramatic blood baths, and tense moments of personal awakening. But as the story moved forward we were also jack-hammered with immortal priests, satanic dukes, and believe it or not, alien referencing and spaceship travel.
Although I commend the author for his clever ideas and creative imagery, I was not taken with this vampire series and hence will only be rating it two out of five fangs.(less)

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Jul 12, 2012 Lela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this when I was 12 or 13 and I loved it. As an adult now, I can appreciate that time. My obsession with reading started around that age and at the time I was reading classics and some juicy teenage stuff...Christopher Pike and R.L.Stein were some of my horror/mystery thriller juicy stuff. I would read this under the covers with my flashlight until way past 2 or 3 on a school night and I bought my books at an old used book store where the walls were covered with old paper backs and there w...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: awesome, awesome-female-character, e-books, oh-my-glob, crazy-suspense, kick-ass-heroine

Wow. This is so suspense. At one point I got almost terrified to even continue reading it. I was too scared to know the outcome because it's so unpredictable. Man I love this book.

I felt every emotion Sita felt. The worst was the fear. Fear for Sita. Fear for Joel. I hate that Ray died but I would hate it more if Sita dies. I just hope what she did in the end was worth it.

I am so thrilled and terrified at the same time, to start reading Red Dice. There is a limit to fear that I can take in one n...more

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Feb 23, 2010 Jasmine ☮ ♡ ♔ rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hated-hated-hated

I would definitely give this series two thumbs down. I found them pretty boring, and I don't know if I'm going to finish the series..I might force myself through it, because I hate starting a series and not finishing it...but I might make an exception for these books. I found nothing good about them. The characters were pretty dull and the story line bored me. I have read some reviews saying how much people loved the stories, but I personally wouldn't recommend reading them.
I only found the end...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Giota Papadimakopoulou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Όταν τον Ιούλιο που μας πέρασε διάβασα το πρώτο βιβλίο της σειράς του Christopher Pike, "Δίψα", βρέθηκα στην ίδια ακριβώς κατάσταση με αυτήν που περιγράφει ο τίτλος του. Δίψασα ακόμα περισσότερο για να μάθω την συνέχεια της ιστορίας της Σίτα, να βυθιστώ και πάλι στον σκοτεινό και αιματηρό της κόσμο και να ταξιδέψω ξανά σε κόσμους, λατρείες και δοξασίες που ποτέ δεν θα μου είχε περάσει από το μυαλό πως θα μπορούσαν να συνοδέψουν μια ιστορία με βρικόλακες. Αυτή άλλωστε ήταν και η ιδιαιτερότητα του...more Όταν τον Ιούλιο που μας πέρασε διάβασα το πρώτο βιβλίο της σειράς του Christopher Pike, "Δίψα", βρέθηκα στην ίδια ακριβώς κατάσταση με αυτήν που περιγράφει ο τίτλος του. Δίψασα ακόμα περισσότερο για να μάθω την συνέχεια της ιστορίας της Σίτα, να βυθιστώ και πάλι στον σκοτεινό και αιματηρό της κόσμο και να ταξιδέψω ξανά σε κόσμους, λατρείες και δοξασίες που ποτέ δεν θα μου είχε περάσει από το μυαλό πως θα μπορούσαν να συνοδέψουν μια ιστορία με βρικόλακες. Αυτή άλλωστε ήταν και η ιδιαιτερότητα του βιβλίου που τράβηξε την προσοχή μου και τελικά, κατάφερε να με κερδίσει. Και μπορεί τελικά το δεύτερο βιβλίο να μην ήταν καλύτερο από το πρώτο ωστόσο, ήταν εξίσου ενδιαφέρον, δουλεύοντας τα στοιχεία που είχαμε ήδη αποκομίσει και τοποθετώντας τα σε μια εντελώς διαφορετική βάση.

Είχαμε αφήσει την Σίτα να ψυχορραγεί έξω από την έπαυλή της, όταν μια τεράστια ξύλινη σφήνα καρφώθηκε στο στήθος της έπειτα από μια ισχυρή έκρηξη. Το δεύτερο βιβλίο της σειράς μας μεταφέρει εξήμισι βδομάδες μετά το προαναφερόμενο γεγονός και την κεντρική ηρωίδα να έχει καταφέρει να επιβιώσει ωστόσο, χωρίς το τραύμα στην καρδιά της να έχει καταφέρει να γιατρευτεί τελείως, προσφέροντάς της πόνο και παράλληλα, την συνειδητοποίηση ότι τίποτα δεν είναι άφθαρτο σε αυτό τον πλανήτη, ακόμα και οι πιο ισχυρή και θεωρητικά, αλώβητη δύναμη. Ο πόνος όμως δεν είναι το μεγαλύτερο πρόβλημα που έχει να αντιμετωπίσει καθώς, μια σειρά από μυστηριώδεις και αποτρόπαιους θανάτους έλκουν την προσοχή της, κάνοντάς την να πιστέψει πως ίσως υπάρχουν κι άλλοι βρικόλακες, γεγονός που αν υφίσταται, πρέπει εκείνη να το τερματίσει οριστικά, όχι μόνο για να σώσει την ανθρωπότητα αλλά, και για να κρατήσει τον όρκο τον δικό της και του δημιουργού της απέναντι στον θεό τους.

Παρακολουθούμε λοιπόν την Σίτα σε ένα ακόμη ξέφρενο κυνηγητό με τη διαφορά ότι αυτή τη φορά, δεν προσπαθεί να ξεφύγει από αυτό που την κυνηγάει για να προστατέψει την ζωή της αλλά αντίθετα, οδηγείται κατευθείαν πάνω του προκαλώντας το σε μάχη. Μία ακόμα βασική διαφορά είναι πως σε αντίθεση με την προηγούμενη που γνώριζε πολύ καλά τον αντίπαλό της, δίνοντάς της έτσι κάποιο πλεονέκτημα ή έστω, κάποια επιπλέον προσόντα να υπερασπιστεί τον εαυτό της, τώρα δεν γνωρίζει τίποτα, ούτε για τον ίδιο, ούτε για τις προθέσεις του. Το μόνο που ανακαλύπτει και μάλιστα πολύ σύντομα, είναι ότι πρόκειται για έναν αντίπαλο εξαιρετικής δύναμης και πονηράδας, τόσο πολύ μάλιστα που καταφέρνει να αντικρούσει κάθε της επίθεση και δράση. Εκτός αυτού, έχει να αντιμετωπίσει και τον Ρέυ ο οποίος δυσκολεύεται εξαιρετικά να προσαρμοστεί στη νέα του κατάσταση και παρά τα συναισθήματα που τρέφει για την ίδια, δεν καταφέρνει να ξεπεράσει όλα εκείνα τα στοιχεία που χαρακτηρίζουν μια ανθρώπινη οντότητα.

Ο Pike ξέρει πως το βασικό χαρτί όλων για την ιστορία του είναι η ίδια η πρωταγωνίστριά του. Ναι, η Σίτα είναι δυναμική, γοητευτική, μυστηριώδης, με ατσάλινη θέληση και πίστη κατά συνέπεια, μπορεί να πετύχει τα πάντα. Το πονηρό και έξυπνο χιούμορ είναι σημαντικό χαρακτηριστικό της προσωπικότητάς και αν νομίζεις κανείς ότι αυτό δεν ταιριάζει σε μια ιστορία με βρικόλακες κάνει λάθος αφού έτσι, η όλη πλοκή είναι πιο διασκεδαστική, δημιουργική και αν θέλετε, πιο πιπεράτη. Αυτή τη φορά ο συγγραφέας δεν επαναλαμβάνεται οδηγώντας μας πίσω στην γέννηση των πρώτων βρικολάκων αλλά, με μικρές αναδρομές στο παρελθόν τους, προσπαθεί να μας δώσει κάποια περισσότερα στοιχεία για την προσωπικότητα και την ιστορία τους. Το σημείο εκείνο που εστιάζει, δεν είναι η αιμοβόρα ανάγκη τους αλλά εκείνη η βαθύτερη που γεννάει το αίσθημα της πίστης, την απελπισμένη ανάγκη να πιστέψεις σε κάτι, να πιστέψεις ότι με την αθανασία δεν έχεις χάσει την ψυχή σου αλλά αντίθετα, έχεις έναν διαφορετικό στόχο πλέον να εκπληρώσεις.

Δεν ξέρω αν τελικά οι εκδόσεις "Πατάκης" να ολοκληρώσουν την σειρά αυτή στα 3 ή στα 6 βιβλία, αν και αυτή τη στιγμή ακούγεται το πρώτο ωστόσο, είναι βέβαιο πως περιμένω με αγωνία να περάσει αυτός ο μήνας έτσι ώστε να ολοκληρώσω τον πρώτο κύκλο της. Γιατί δεν έχουμε να κάνουμε απλά με άλλη μια βαμπρική ιστορία αλλά, με μια ιστορία γεμάτη αρχέγονα μυστικά και θρύλους, γεμάτη δοξασίες και χαμένες στο πέρασμα του χρόνου θρησκείες, προσπαθώντας παράλληλα να μας κάνουν να κατανοήσουμε πως ο θεός, όπως κι αν τον αποκαλεί ο καθένας μας, είναι ένας, είναι φιλεύσπλαχνος αλλά αν χρειαστεί, μπορεί και να τιμωρεί ή έστω, να οδηγήσει στην καταστροφή τα στοιχεία εκείνα της φύσης που παραβιάζουν το νόμο της ζωής. Αν το παγανιστικό πρώτο μέρος της σειράς μιλούσε για πεπρωμένο, αυτό εδώ καλεί ξεκάθαρα τους πρωταγωνιστές του να το ακολουθήσουν σε ένα τέλος που δεν θα έχει επιστροφή καθώς η δίψα για εξουσία απειλεί την ανθρωπιά.(less)

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Dec 31, 2011 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: advisory-2011-2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The second book of the series really ties into the first one. Rather than have an introduction where Sita explains the events that took place in the first book, Pike has his own unique way in explaining the past. He plants fragments of the past into the adventures that Sita and her new found boyfriend, Ray, go on to rid the world of evil that had been stirring up. The past is never forgotten in the story; the past is what is deemed as important. Due to the fact that Sita is a vampire and has bee...more The second book of the series really ties into the first one. Rather than have an introduction where Sita explains the events that took place in the first book, Pike has his own unique way in explaining the past. He plants fragments of the past into the adventures that Sita and her new found boyfriend, Ray, go on to rid the world of evil that had been stirring up. The past is never forgotten in the story; the past is what is deemed as important. Due to the fact that Sita is a vampire and has been living for centuries, she has a long past and what Pike does to show the reader Sita’s, whole life is, for every other chapter the reader is taken back to the important events that made Sita the way she is. Pike explains the events that made her change her aggressive vampire self into a lovable human.

Black Blood follows right after the cliffhanger that was left. If Sita and Ray thought they can have a romantic life because Yaksha, Sita’s creator, is dead and they are the last vampires, they are wrong. Just as one adventure door closes, another opens. There have been several deaths discovered in the worst part of Los Angeles and the inhuman descriptions of how the bodies look, suggests that they were killed by vampires. Needing to keep her promise with her god, Krishna, a powerful man she met in the past, she has to rid the world of the serpent like creations. Doubtful that Yaksha is dead, Sita and Ray go on a dangerous mission to find and kill the creator. What they find is something sickening and worse. Yaksha’s blown up body is being held captive as a blood supplier for a boy named Eddie, a pyscho vampire. As Sita and Ray battle it out with powerful Eddie, Sita loses Ray. However, she begins a new love with Detective Joel, whom she also turns into a vampire to save him from his dying state. In the end, like always the hero beats the villain, but even with success, an inhuman monster can never have a happy ending. A new problem begins for Sita and Joel.

This is the most captivating and mesmerizing book I’ve ever read. The elegant voice of Sita continued to play through my head as I read. Even through dangerous battles with other vampires, Sita’s voice still seems as calm as a spring breeze. As story progresses I see Sita change and become more of a human. Pike’s unique origin of vampire, states that they derive from snakes, cold blooded animals who hate the cold. As a cold blooded vampire, Sita proves that she has a heart. Although she kills, she doesn’t kill impulsively. There is always a reason and mainly it is because she wants to stop the evil. She puts her loves ones before herself and she has feel in love many times. To me, Sita seemed like a regular human with her love for Ray. She protected Ray and thought about him often when they were apart. However when Ray died and Sita moved on loving someone else, that changed my thoughts of whether a person can really change through a short period of time. It made me question whether Sita’s love for Ray was real or not, or was she just bored over the years and needed company. It made me wonder if she gave him love because she felt bad for killing his father and turning him into a monster. Despite the intensions of Sita, the characterization of Sita makes the reader fall in love with her no matter her actions. Although I thought Ray would come back to Sita’s life and Sita would have cared for him more, I couldn’t come to hate Sita because she treated Joel, like she had treated Ray. As a vampire she is more than a cold serpent, she is more of a man’s best friend.
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Jan 14, 2012 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-bitten, cheese, squeemers

Another fantastic book where Pike doesn't pull any punches.

Sure, Alisa has Ray, but they aren't alone in the world anymore and this creep creating vampires at will has world domination on his mind. Trust Alisa to point out to him how a world of vampires would ultimately fail. One of the reasons why I love her: her logic. You can't beat that.

Pike is absolutely ruthless with his characters and drives it home with Alisa. I don't want to spoil but I will say that she gets her heart ripped open in a...more

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Oct 10, 2009 PurplyCookie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-series, read-growing-up, vampire, young-adult, fave-author

"Then you should never have been born."

Sita had thought that she and her companion, Ray, were the last vampires on Earth. However, a murderer who favors dismembering and draining the blood of his victims is stalking Los Angeles, and Sita realizes that her assumption is incorrect. Only she has the power to stop this creature from his evil path but he's much stronger than she expected, and she finds herself in a life-and-death struggle.

Occasionally the narrative digresses to discuss Sita's dreams...more

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Mar 12, 2010 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1993-to-1997, vampire-books, age-ya, 2010

3/10/10 - 3/12/10: I re-read this via Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, Red Dice.

So obviously, Sita survived the explosion that left her with a stake through the heart at the end of The Last Vampire. She and Ray have been living together since she survived, but Ray, a new vampire, is all mopey and hiding from the sun, etc. Sita, on the other hand, is grieving for Yaksha, the original vampire who made her who she believes died in that explosion (that she caused in order to kill him)....more 3/10/10 - 3/12/10: I re-read this via Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, Red Dice.

So obviously, Sita survived the explosion that left her with a stake through the heart at the end of The Last Vampire. She and Ray have been living together since she survived, but Ray, a new vampire, is all mopey and hiding from the sun, etc. Sita, on the other hand, is grieving for Yaksha, the original vampire who made her who she believes died in that explosion (that she caused in order to kill him). But suddenly there are a rash of murders in downtown L.A. that are clearly done by vampires. Sita goes to investigate and bust some heads.

During her search, she discovers that a perverted psycho named Eddie who worked in the morgue where Yaksha's body was housed is at the center of the mayhem. As she tries to kill Eddie and his newborn vampires, she kills Ray (pause for .02 seconds to shed a tear) and then is now pretty much in love with Joel, an FBI agent sent in to investigate the mysterious murders. Along the way, Sita reveals her dreams of going off in a spaceship with Krishna and about some of her past lives.

Sita's narration continues to be stilted. The most enjoyment in both this book and the first of the series comes from the scenes where Sita faces off against bad guys who underestimate her and then she turns all female action hero and kills them. Once again, the series title "The Last Vampire" means nothing, because at the start Sita and Ray are both vampires, then there are a number of other vampires, and at the end of the story it indicates that there are still two vampires. At least the cover image is slightly more interpretive of the book's plot.

One bizarre thing about this book in particular is how weirdly adult some of the content was. What I remember enjoying about Christopher Pike's books as a teen was that the teen characters behaved like adults, having sex, drinking, etc., without there being much profanity or anything being too graphic (for example, you know Sita and Ray have been sleeping together because she calls him her lover, but there are absolutely no bedroom scenes or even making out described). In this book, however, some of Eddie's perversions are described and repeated. Nothing too graphic but it disturbed me nonetheless, maybe because I'm reading this as an adult and thinking of how a "child" would read it. I'm even having a hard time figuring out what I loved so much about Christopher Pike when I was 15 that I went out and bought this whole series, when clearly I don't remember liking it all that much. Did I hope it was going to get better? (less)

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May 08, 2011 Bmquiram rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This story has an interesting story line with some twists in plot, and some predictable actions from the main character. Without some things being predictable it would have caused the main character to act outside of characteristics.
This story is written as a battle of good versus evil, but is actually a battle of evil versus a lesser evil. The lesser evil (vampire/ main character) is trying to live in the good grace of God, but feels doomed because she is an vampire thus an evil creation.

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Jan 13, 2013 Vanessa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This second book follows five thousand year old vampire, Sita in her journey for happiness, acceptance and forgiveness. Written in the mid 90's (and read in my middle school days), Pike's Last Vampire series was miles ahead of it's time, long before vampire fiction became trendy and prevailed the young adult genre. Sita's back story is despairing, yet stunningly enchanting as the book weaves historical fiction to tell of the centuries of her past.

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May 07, 2011 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-before-2000, young-adult, urban-fantasy

I really enjoyed this series as a pre-teen/teen. Looking back, it was pretty cheesy in a whole lot of ways (but Christopher Pike, in general, is just like that), but I loved that the main character was not only kick-ass, but female.

I've been curious about the newest entries to the series, but not enough to risk going back and re-reading these and finding out they aren't nearly as good as myself from 15-ish years ago thought they were.

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Jan 21, 2009 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

margo and i used to LOVE these books when we were in middle school. i have to say i question my mothers judgement for letting us read them because they're pretty graphic violence-wise and sex-wise. maybe they just seemed it at the time and now if i reread them, they'd be tame. anyway, the series is awesome because it has the most kick-ass vampire heroine you'll ever find! also, strangely enough, i learned a lot about hindu mythology.

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Jan 16, 2013 Eva Rieder rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Good ole Christopher Pike, sucking me into his books once again, even 25 years later... (And yes, the pun was intended.)

After reading the first installment of The Last Vampire series as quick as I did, I was delighted to continue on Sita's journey. Her haunting voice and cold yet compassionate view of the world is so addictive, I've already picked up the rest of the series. As always, Pike proves himself the master of YA horror!

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May 12, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While this book delves further into the characterization of Sita and her companions, it ends in the same cliffhanger manner as the first book. I don't know why this technique appeals to Pike, but it leaves me more frustrated than satisfied--an excellent reason why falling action is necessary for readers. I do like that there is more mystery to this sequel, it is more recognizable as a form.

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Nov 30, 2011 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first book of the series i read. My reason for the low rating isn't so much because the story is lacking but from my own.... bias you could say. For one I really dislike reading first person POV stories unless they're written well enough for me to not notice it (hard but happens) so that's the main reason I couldn't get into this series.

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Aug 05, 2011 Ruben Ortiz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 28, 2011 Valerie Garrison rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Guessing at the date of completion, I just know it was some time in high school. I remember Christopher Pike was so amazing to me and I can safely consider him my 'gateway drug' author to my current fanaticism for supernatural authors. Ah, the good ol' days. When partying like it was 1999 still meant something...

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Black Blood (The Last Vampire #2)

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