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The Last Vampire #1
The Last Vampire
Alisa Perne is the last vampire. For five thousand years she has been living among humans, living off humans. Beautiful and brilliant, she hunts alone. She thinks nobody knows her secret. But someone is stalking her. Someone wants her dead. And Alisa has a choice to make; to keep a long-held promise or protect the mortal she seems to be falling for!
176 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1994
88 people are currently reading
6788 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Pike
262 books5,477 followersChristopher Pike is the pseudonym of Kevin McFadden. He is a bestselling author of young adult and children's fiction who specializes in the thriller genre.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
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April 5, 2017
Fasten your seatbelts ‘cause I’m going to give this book the review it deserves. Probably a shady one. I don’t know what to say first, I usually start by saying the good aspects of a book but in this one there is none. Sorry fans.
The protagonist is Alisa a 5.000 year old vampire who is extremely beautiful and unique, which is something she constantly reminds the reader. We get it sunshine you are a special snowflake in a world full of flames. WE GET IT.
She is the most annoying and arrogant character I’ve ever read in a YA novel at least. She is also cocky, but oh God, look I can like a cocky character, honestly, like Damon Salvatore, but why am I even comparing those two? There is absolutely no level of comparison.
There is a grey line between confident and arrogant and Alisa here crosses that line waaay toο many times. Anyway, my strong dislike for her grew even from the first two chapters. See she never forgets to tell (if not brag) about her abilities, once or twice could be okay but I lost count. Either dedicate a chapter telling what her nature is or lose it. What am I even saying? She is a vampire who can’t compel others, who can easily walk in sunlight but are you ready people? SHE CAN HOLD HER BREATH FOR AN HOUR.
The YA novels are doomed because they are all similar to one another. Not just the writing or the plot or the same characters that are reproduced all the time but even by the font of the book you guys! They all have this specific font and cover and even clichés. Gladly I mentioned clichés ‘cause I have to pin- point a few.
When the nerd guy is revealed to have AIDS this is what our sassy and badass female protagonist has to say: “How did you catch it? You don’t seem gay.” Yes, only gays have AIDS, look I get that it’s not recently written but what the fuck?
Another time Ray wants to call the police and blah blah so she thinks “I hesitate. It is not easy for me to lie to those I love.” Love? LOVE??? HOW CAN IN YOUNG ADULT BOOKS PEOPLE LOVE A PERSON WHOΜ THE BARELY EVEN KNOW? THEY HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR TWO DAYS AND SHE LOVES HIM ALREADY!
Then Alisa tells Ray she killed his father so probably he will get mad, he might want to seek for revenge he might even want to kill her right? NO! NO! NO! She said and I quote “I killed him without mercy. I have killed thousands over the last five thousand years. I am a monster” So Ray should be in shock and I don’t know scream? GET FRUSTRATED maybe? Helll to the fucking no!
“But you would not do anything to hurt me. You want me to leave you now because you do not want me to get hurt. You love me, I love you.” Yes people this is an actual representation of how a sane person would react to hearing his father’s killer. Yes seems legit.
Then the super dooper original vampire shows up and he says “I have watched you particularly close the last three days. You love this boy. You would not want to see him die” And later “you love him. You love him more than your own life”. I’m done, honestly, I can’t see why people liked it or even praised it.
I had to stop so many times to stare at the wall and question myself “why do people like this?”
I realize that this is a YA book but oh boy give those youths a chance. I know than this is not Dostoevsky’s level literature but GOD try a little harder. How do you expect a teenager to love to read if this is the material he has to work with before he moves on to classics and stuff?
Anyway, I think I’ve said way too much, but as you probably can tell I disliked the book from the first page to the last. Now that I think about it the only good chapter was the third one, but other than that there’s nothing else.
The protagonist is Alisa a 5.000 year old vampire who is extremely beautiful and unique, which is something she constantly reminds the reader. We get it sunshine you are a special snowflake in a world full of flames. WE GET IT.
She is the most annoying and arrogant character I’ve ever read in a YA novel at least. She is also cocky, but oh God, look I can like a cocky character, honestly, like Damon Salvatore, but why am I even comparing those two? There is absolutely no level of comparison.
There is a grey line between confident and arrogant and Alisa here crosses that line waaay toο many times. Anyway, my strong dislike for her grew even from the first two chapters. See she never forgets to tell (if not brag) about her abilities, once or twice could be okay but I lost count. Either dedicate a chapter telling what her nature is or lose it. What am I even saying? She is a vampire who can’t compel others, who can easily walk in sunlight but are you ready people? SHE CAN HOLD HER BREATH FOR AN HOUR.
The YA novels are doomed because they are all similar to one another. Not just the writing or the plot or the same characters that are reproduced all the time but even by the font of the book you guys! They all have this specific font and cover and even clichés. Gladly I mentioned clichés ‘cause I have to pin- point a few.
When the nerd guy is revealed to have AIDS this is what our sassy and badass female protagonist has to say: “How did you catch it? You don’t seem gay.” Yes, only gays have AIDS, look I get that it’s not recently written but what the fuck?
Another time Ray wants to call the police and blah blah so she thinks “I hesitate. It is not easy for me to lie to those I love.” Love? LOVE??? HOW CAN IN YOUNG ADULT BOOKS PEOPLE LOVE A PERSON WHOΜ THE BARELY EVEN KNOW? THEY HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR TWO DAYS AND SHE LOVES HIM ALREADY!
Then Alisa tells Ray she killed his father so probably he will get mad, he might want to seek for revenge he might even want to kill her right? NO! NO! NO! She said and I quote “I killed him without mercy. I have killed thousands over the last five thousand years. I am a monster” So Ray should be in shock and I don’t know scream? GET FRUSTRATED maybe? Helll to the fucking no!
“But you would not do anything to hurt me. You want me to leave you now because you do not want me to get hurt. You love me, I love you.” Yes people this is an actual representation of how a sane person would react to hearing his father’s killer. Yes seems legit.
Then the super dooper original vampire shows up and he says “I have watched you particularly close the last three days. You love this boy. You would not want to see him die” And later “you love him. You love him more than your own life”. I’m done, honestly, I can’t see why people liked it or even praised it.
I had to stop so many times to stare at the wall and question myself “why do people like this?”
I realize that this is a YA book but oh boy give those youths a chance. I know than this is not Dostoevsky’s level literature but GOD try a little harder. How do you expect a teenager to love to read if this is the material he has to work with before he moves on to classics and stuff?
Anyway, I think I’ve said way too much, but as you probably can tell I disliked the book from the first page to the last. Now that I think about it the only good chapter was the third one, but other than that there’s nothing else.
December 13, 2010
I first read this book several years ago. When I first read I was not aware it was actually a series. However I more recently came across them in a sale. Re-reading the book was great. I still really enjoyed it. Sita/Alisa is a great character who is easily like-able. This series dismisses a lot of the standard vampire threats and concepts. Such as crosses, coffins and burning in the sun. Sita acts and fits in as a 'normal' high school girl in this first book. She draws close to one of the students there who reminds her of her past life, 5 thousand years ago when she was human. the other main character is Yaksha. The one who turned her to what she now is.
The past meets present as these three characters draw closer together. What happens? I will let you read the book to find out. A great book for young adults especially but even adults could enjoy this short series. While this book does have elements of romance, do not mistake this book for Twilight. This book is darker, more engaging and the character personalities are much more realistic. The books are quick and fast paced (as most of Pike's books are). So for a fun read on some down time, I fully recommend this book (and all its sequels-some of which are better than others).
September 2, 2007
I completely adored this series when I was younger. Even looking back, I feel that it hit upon some of the classic elements of vampire literature that I love so much--the origin of the Vampire, and the origins of the main character (also a vampire). Sita is a wonderful heroine--hardcore on account of her age and experience, but she hasn't let that turn her emotionally cold. The cast is just as wonderful, and I remember crying so much when I read the final book, partly because of the events and partly because the series was over. Christopher Pike did a brilliant job of bringing events and characterization in a full circle.
April 24, 2022
Reread. I think it's the third time I've read this, lol. Still just as good as ever. I did just read some stupid 1-star reviews though so I wanted to take a second to address some of the complaints I've seen about the book and talk about why I enjoy it.
That said, before I get into it....YES, this review WILL contain spoilers for this book that was literally published over two decades ago.
The Last Vampire really reminds me of Interview With The Vampire--we're basically hearing an immortal recount their memoir from creation to present day. The story stretches back 5000 years in scope, and Alisa's voice is convincing both as an immortal from another time and as a creature slightly removed from humanity but still capable of intense emotions. I've seen a few people say she's "a Mary Sue" and a special snowflake, purely because she knows she's attractive and powerful, which, come on.
Really? Are we still packaging misogynist double standards into our opinions of books where any woman with self-confidence who doesn't constantly shit on herself is bemoaned as a bad character?
The thing is it's not even just female characters anymore; any character who is powerful, confident, or accomplished is hated by a large portion of readers and fans. The entire Marvel fandom has a fucking war every time the discussion of overpowered characters, especially overpowered female characters, comes up, and I genuinely hate it. Our current culture romanticizes self-hate and incompetence. I like heroes who are allowed to be heroes, who are allowed to be skilled and accomplished, or heroes who are just allowed to be unique characters with unique issues and problems, who aren't forced to talk shit about themselves every five minutes so I as the reader can feel like they're like me. A character does not have to be like every other anxious self-depreciating nerdy reader out there to be relatable, nor should they. At this point almost every character is like that, and it feels like blatant pandering.
Confident characters have a place in stories. Powerful characters have a place in stories. Sita is an interesting, unique main character, and her experience is that of an outcast on the fringes of society. When the entire book is framed as the last vampire ever telling her story because she feels like it might end soon, reflecting on her 5000 years of life. Why would you expect her to be some stuttering wallflower with confidence issues or a whimp? Why would you expect her to be like other girls? And on that note, let's talk about the whole "not like other girls" trope.
Sita does, admittedly, note that she's not like the girls around her. She also notes that she's not like the other teens around her. Or the men around her. Or literally anybody around her. If she was only like this to females, maybe it would be fair to read it as her having some issue with other women and call it that trope, but she's like this with everyone, because the entire point is that she is alienated from everyone. She is removed from humanity. She's the last vampire. She's ancient. Everyone is like an ant to her. Again, I gotta ask, what else could you expect from this book?
I think the biggest problem for a lot of people will be the instalove, which:
1) The intense popularity of the 'omg I hate instalove!' trend is a perfect example of being careful what you wish for. It was so nice to see readers demanding authors actually develop couples instead of just smashing them together and insisting they're in love, but then it became so popular to hate instalove that literally any storyline dealing with infatuation or love at first sight, even if it is absolutely explained and justified in-world, is met with a knee-jerk reaction of "This is bad!" even when it genuinely suits the story at hand or is well-written and explored with care.
2) Infatuation and instalove are not the same thing.
3) A book possessing a trope you personally do not like does not make that book poorly written, it means it's not to your taste and there's a difference.
I get it, it can be annoying, and Ray IS the weakest part of this book for me. I find him and Sita much more interesting as a creator/fledgling than as lovers. That said, her infatuation with him is much less nonsensical when you take into account the actual context of the book and world, which is that, first of all, it is common for Sita to take an instant liking to charming and beautiful humans and keep them as friends and pets of sorts, which she mentions doing several times throughout the book, and two, he reminds her eerily of her dead husband from when she was a human who she never got to see again and has missed for five thousand years, and third of all, she thinks her life may be coming to an end soon and has been feeling sentimental, which she notes in the literal opening chapters. Her infatuation with him makes absolute sense. And considering she has an alluring effect on humans and is basically hypnotic, and some people are naturally more curious about or drawn to her inhuman nature, so do his feelings for her.
As for Sita admitting to killing his father and Ray simply replying that she loves him...he's clearly trying to make sense of her motives and understand what she's thinking and how her mind works. He's confused because she's telling him something that directly conflicts with his understanding of her, and he's reasoning things out out loud and trying to communicate with her. He's not batting aside the issue of her killing his father, he's trying to grasp which emotions she feels and why, and reason with her decisions. He also makes it clear he doesn't want to talk about his father again and sets a clear boundary around it. He does know his father tried to blackmail her first, and, as unhealthy as it is for him to forgive or set aside what she did....where else is Ray going to go? He's a teenager who just broke his girlfriend's heart and found out his side chick is a vampire AND killed his dad AND they're both being hunted by some ancient monster, seriously, what are his options? Especially when their enemy arrives before he can even make any decisions or fully process the info anyway?
Sita essentially stalking him and being obsessed with him is predatory, but she's written that way on purpose. I don't think the inhumanity of it makes the story less entertaining, especially when it's a genre staple. And he does posses an eerie resemblance to her ancient dead husband who she never got over...another genre staple/cliche. But it does explain her actions. I don't think Ray trying to puzzle them out himself makes it a bad book. Personal taste notwithstanding.
At this point in the vampire genre....why do you even pick up a vampire book if you think it's going to be full of healthy human/vampire relationships? Those relationships are never going to be equal or healthy and that's not ever going to be a staple of the genre. Edward and Bella were fairly well-adjusted in comparison to some of the vampire couples out there, that's probably as good as it's going to get. If you can't cope, or you want every character to be a 100% well-adjusted role model (but not TOO well-adjusted or TOO confident or then they're a Mary Sue, remember!) vampire books probably aren't for you.
I'd also like to briefly touch on the aids plotline: a minor male character has aids and I think in some earlier editions of the book (this line is not present in my omnibus copy printed in 2009 or so) Sita asks him how he got it because he doesn't seem gay. A lot of people are up in arms about this being homophobia and as a certified homosexual I'd like to say....bullshit. The fact that a book from the 90s is even broaching this, especially while painting the character, Seymour, in a positive and sympathetic light, is amazing. And I'd also like to note to the complaints surrounding this line ("Oh, so only gay people get aids?") No, of course we don't, which is the entire point--he's a straight male virgin who has aids, and this was probably put in for the teen readership of the time as a lesson to them. This is the 90s equivalent of Christopher Pike waving around a rainbow flag and shouting into a megaphone "Not only gay people get aids! Educate yourselves!" Of course it's easy for a modern audience to take this out of context, but it was an act of allyship probably included in the book to defend gay people and educate about the reality of aids, and it's unfair to strip it of context, especially while ignoring that Sita herself is bisexual and has had many male and female lovers, which is mentioned several times in the book. It is downright progressive for its time, especially considering teen books and children's books were still lumped together so this was considered children's publishing.
The Last Vampire has got great action scenes, an interesting protagonist who isn't exactly like every other heroine out there ever (but I guess some people think that's a bad thing, lol) and it's a book from that time in the mid-to-late 90s right around where I was born when book packagers were churning out these fantastic paranormal series for teens by the bucketloads. This is one of the much better ones. It doesn't even feel too dated aside from one or two paragraphs about disk drives and floppy disks in the middle of the book, LOL. What a time.
That said, before I get into it....YES, this review WILL contain spoilers for this book that was literally published over two decades ago.
The Last Vampire really reminds me of Interview With The Vampire--we're basically hearing an immortal recount their memoir from creation to present day. The story stretches back 5000 years in scope, and Alisa's voice is convincing both as an immortal from another time and as a creature slightly removed from humanity but still capable of intense emotions. I've seen a few people say she's "a Mary Sue" and a special snowflake, purely because she knows she's attractive and powerful, which, come on.
Really? Are we still packaging misogynist double standards into our opinions of books where any woman with self-confidence who doesn't constantly shit on herself is bemoaned as a bad character?
The thing is it's not even just female characters anymore; any character who is powerful, confident, or accomplished is hated by a large portion of readers and fans. The entire Marvel fandom has a fucking war every time the discussion of overpowered characters, especially overpowered female characters, comes up, and I genuinely hate it. Our current culture romanticizes self-hate and incompetence. I like heroes who are allowed to be heroes, who are allowed to be skilled and accomplished, or heroes who are just allowed to be unique characters with unique issues and problems, who aren't forced to talk shit about themselves every five minutes so I as the reader can feel like they're like me. A character does not have to be like every other anxious self-depreciating nerdy reader out there to be relatable, nor should they. At this point almost every character is like that, and it feels like blatant pandering.
Confident characters have a place in stories. Powerful characters have a place in stories. Sita is an interesting, unique main character, and her experience is that of an outcast on the fringes of society. When the entire book is framed as the last vampire ever telling her story because she feels like it might end soon, reflecting on her 5000 years of life. Why would you expect her to be some stuttering wallflower with confidence issues or a whimp? Why would you expect her to be like other girls? And on that note, let's talk about the whole "not like other girls" trope.
Sita does, admittedly, note that she's not like the girls around her. She also notes that she's not like the other teens around her. Or the men around her. Or literally anybody around her. If she was only like this to females, maybe it would be fair to read it as her having some issue with other women and call it that trope, but she's like this with everyone, because the entire point is that she is alienated from everyone. She is removed from humanity. She's the last vampire. She's ancient. Everyone is like an ant to her. Again, I gotta ask, what else could you expect from this book?
I think the biggest problem for a lot of people will be the instalove, which:
1) The intense popularity of the 'omg I hate instalove!' trend is a perfect example of being careful what you wish for. It was so nice to see readers demanding authors actually develop couples instead of just smashing them together and insisting they're in love, but then it became so popular to hate instalove that literally any storyline dealing with infatuation or love at first sight, even if it is absolutely explained and justified in-world, is met with a knee-jerk reaction of "This is bad!" even when it genuinely suits the story at hand or is well-written and explored with care.
2) Infatuation and instalove are not the same thing.
3) A book possessing a trope you personally do not like does not make that book poorly written, it means it's not to your taste and there's a difference.
I get it, it can be annoying, and Ray IS the weakest part of this book for me. I find him and Sita much more interesting as a creator/fledgling than as lovers. That said, her infatuation with him is much less nonsensical when you take into account the actual context of the book and world, which is that, first of all, it is common for Sita to take an instant liking to charming and beautiful humans and keep them as friends and pets of sorts, which she mentions doing several times throughout the book, and two, he reminds her eerily of her dead husband from when she was a human who she never got to see again and has missed for five thousand years, and third of all, she thinks her life may be coming to an end soon and has been feeling sentimental, which she notes in the literal opening chapters. Her infatuation with him makes absolute sense. And considering she has an alluring effect on humans and is basically hypnotic, and some people are naturally more curious about or drawn to her inhuman nature, so do his feelings for her.
As for Sita admitting to killing his father and Ray simply replying that she loves him...he's clearly trying to make sense of her motives and understand what she's thinking and how her mind works. He's confused because she's telling him something that directly conflicts with his understanding of her, and he's reasoning things out out loud and trying to communicate with her. He's not batting aside the issue of her killing his father, he's trying to grasp which emotions she feels and why, and reason with her decisions. He also makes it clear he doesn't want to talk about his father again and sets a clear boundary around it. He does know his father tried to blackmail her first, and, as unhealthy as it is for him to forgive or set aside what she did....where else is Ray going to go? He's a teenager who just broke his girlfriend's heart and found out his side chick is a vampire AND killed his dad AND they're both being hunted by some ancient monster, seriously, what are his options? Especially when their enemy arrives before he can even make any decisions or fully process the info anyway?
Sita essentially stalking him and being obsessed with him is predatory, but she's written that way on purpose. I don't think the inhumanity of it makes the story less entertaining, especially when it's a genre staple. And he does posses an eerie resemblance to her ancient dead husband who she never got over...another genre staple/cliche. But it does explain her actions. I don't think Ray trying to puzzle them out himself makes it a bad book. Personal taste notwithstanding.
At this point in the vampire genre....why do you even pick up a vampire book if you think it's going to be full of healthy human/vampire relationships? Those relationships are never going to be equal or healthy and that's not ever going to be a staple of the genre. Edward and Bella were fairly well-adjusted in comparison to some of the vampire couples out there, that's probably as good as it's going to get. If you can't cope, or you want every character to be a 100% well-adjusted role model (but not TOO well-adjusted or TOO confident or then they're a Mary Sue, remember!) vampire books probably aren't for you.
I'd also like to briefly touch on the aids plotline: a minor male character has aids and I think in some earlier editions of the book (this line is not present in my omnibus copy printed in 2009 or so) Sita asks him how he got it because he doesn't seem gay. A lot of people are up in arms about this being homophobia and as a certified homosexual I'd like to say....bullshit. The fact that a book from the 90s is even broaching this, especially while painting the character, Seymour, in a positive and sympathetic light, is amazing. And I'd also like to note to the complaints surrounding this line ("Oh, so only gay people get aids?") No, of course we don't, which is the entire point--he's a straight male virgin who has aids, and this was probably put in for the teen readership of the time as a lesson to them. This is the 90s equivalent of Christopher Pike waving around a rainbow flag and shouting into a megaphone "Not only gay people get aids! Educate yourselves!" Of course it's easy for a modern audience to take this out of context, but it was an act of allyship probably included in the book to defend gay people and educate about the reality of aids, and it's unfair to strip it of context, especially while ignoring that Sita herself is bisexual and has had many male and female lovers, which is mentioned several times in the book. It is downright progressive for its time, especially considering teen books and children's books were still lumped together so this was considered children's publishing.
The Last Vampire has got great action scenes, an interesting protagonist who isn't exactly like every other heroine out there ever (but I guess some people think that's a bad thing, lol) and it's a book from that time in the mid-to-late 90s right around where I was born when book packagers were churning out these fantastic paranormal series for teens by the bucketloads. This is one of the much better ones. It doesn't even feel too dated aside from one or two paragraphs about disk drives and floppy disks in the middle of the book, LOL. What a time.
September 20, 2016
I'm going to get fangirly in this, and also make a few comparisons to Twilight, just sayin'. It's SO much better. It's long and there are lots of spoilers.
I've decided to unearth my Christopher Pike collection from my parents' basement, and the first book I went to was The Last Vampire, as I just finished reading that other young adult vampire series, Twilight. Basically, it's about 600 fewer pages, and so much more goes on...and the writing is worth a damn.
First, Pike's main character, a 5000-year-old beautiful vampire named Sita narrates the story in a way that explains all that being a vampire entails from kicking ass to living through history and demonstrating that no matter how inhuman she may be, she can still love and care for things and people. She's not unfeeling and murderous. Though, she is a murderer. She relates how she lived in the South during the Civil War and how soldiers roped her up and dragged her through a swamp while talking about what they would do with her later - and how she killed all twenty of them in particularly grueling ways for their treatment of her. During part of the book she pretends to be a high school student (she has looked about 18 years old for 5,000 years), and she almost shoots down a teacher during the gym archery practice because he's sleazy, hits on her, and she knows that he takes advantage of his female students. Basically: SHE KICKS ASS.
And you know what? There's sex. It's not gratuitous but Sita ends up naked a few times - once to wipe off the blood of a few assailants that attacked her, another time to seduce someone who has information she needs. But she doesn't sleep with him then, because she realizes that he reminds her of her husband in her human life, 5,000 years ago in ancient India.
"His remark - so simple, so innocent - pierces me like a dagger. No one in many years has said something as charming as 'I like you' to me. The sentiment is childish, I know, but it is there nevertheless. I reach to kiss him again, knowing this time I am going to squeeze him so tight he will not be able to resist making love to me. But something makes me stop."
Later, she realizes she loves this man, and she does have sex with him because she believes she's going to be assassinated soon (ps she's not THE last vampire). Sex is not a subject that's simply tread on and then avoided in the book, a la Twilight. And it's not something ridiculously gratuitous and offensive - it makes sense. I read these books when I was about twelve or thirteen, and all the sex (and violence, gore, and there's a storyline with a character with AIDS) was nothing that impeded on my morality - something that I simply couldn't take while reading Twilight.
And it's NOT BORING. Reading about Bella made me roll my eyes constantly with how much repetitiveness there was in the writing (stop idolizing Edward please) and how she had absolutely no personality. I think the fact that she was clumsy was supposed to make up for this? No. Sita, on the other hand, is fully drawn and embodies so many traits that make up the vampire she has been for 5,000 years. She is confident, observant, intelligent, caring, thoughtful and her awesome powers as a vampire only enhance these things with more of that kick-assness. Basically: I totally wanted to be Sita when I read this growing up. There's also so much action in the book, that only comes along in Twilight at the end when Meyer realized she probably needed something resembling a plot. The Last Vampire begins with Sita killing a man who has been following her; the story begins rolling from the first sentence, as the mystery opens with an anonymous person who is trying to track her down. She must figure out who it is, and why.
I haven't even talked about the way Pike has used India as a backdrop to Sita's beginnings and the way he infuses the story with Indian lore - like Krishna, whom Sita has met and refers to as a god, and possibly God. It's not so much religion that takes the main stage here, but faith and believing in something even if you believe you have no right to believe in anything.
Of course, this is a young adult novel - you have to take it for what it is in terms of writing and subject matter. This is no great feat in literary history, but it's miles above the drivel that is Twilight. I still love it, and I'm excited to continue the series.
I've decided to unearth my Christopher Pike collection from my parents' basement, and the first book I went to was The Last Vampire, as I just finished reading that other young adult vampire series, Twilight. Basically, it's about 600 fewer pages, and so much more goes on...and the writing is worth a damn.
First, Pike's main character, a 5000-year-old beautiful vampire named Sita narrates the story in a way that explains all that being a vampire entails from kicking ass to living through history and demonstrating that no matter how inhuman she may be, she can still love and care for things and people. She's not unfeeling and murderous. Though, she is a murderer. She relates how she lived in the South during the Civil War and how soldiers roped her up and dragged her through a swamp while talking about what they would do with her later - and how she killed all twenty of them in particularly grueling ways for their treatment of her. During part of the book she pretends to be a high school student (she has looked about 18 years old for 5,000 years), and she almost shoots down a teacher during the gym archery practice because he's sleazy, hits on her, and she knows that he takes advantage of his female students. Basically: SHE KICKS ASS.
And you know what? There's sex. It's not gratuitous but Sita ends up naked a few times - once to wipe off the blood of a few assailants that attacked her, another time to seduce someone who has information she needs. But she doesn't sleep with him then, because she realizes that he reminds her of her husband in her human life, 5,000 years ago in ancient India.
"His remark - so simple, so innocent - pierces me like a dagger. No one in many years has said something as charming as 'I like you' to me. The sentiment is childish, I know, but it is there nevertheless. I reach to kiss him again, knowing this time I am going to squeeze him so tight he will not be able to resist making love to me. But something makes me stop."
Later, she realizes she loves this man, and she does have sex with him because she believes she's going to be assassinated soon (ps she's not THE last vampire). Sex is not a subject that's simply tread on and then avoided in the book, a la Twilight. And it's not something ridiculously gratuitous and offensive - it makes sense. I read these books when I was about twelve or thirteen, and all the sex (and violence, gore, and there's a storyline with a character with AIDS) was nothing that impeded on my morality - something that I simply couldn't take while reading Twilight.
And it's NOT BORING. Reading about Bella made me roll my eyes constantly with how much repetitiveness there was in the writing (stop idolizing Edward please) and how she had absolutely no personality. I think the fact that she was clumsy was supposed to make up for this? No. Sita, on the other hand, is fully drawn and embodies so many traits that make up the vampire she has been for 5,000 years. She is confident, observant, intelligent, caring, thoughtful and her awesome powers as a vampire only enhance these things with more of that kick-assness. Basically: I totally wanted to be Sita when I read this growing up. There's also so much action in the book, that only comes along in Twilight at the end when Meyer realized she probably needed something resembling a plot. The Last Vampire begins with Sita killing a man who has been following her; the story begins rolling from the first sentence, as the mystery opens with an anonymous person who is trying to track her down. She must figure out who it is, and why.
I haven't even talked about the way Pike has used India as a backdrop to Sita's beginnings and the way he infuses the story with Indian lore - like Krishna, whom Sita has met and refers to as a god, and possibly God. It's not so much religion that takes the main stage here, but faith and believing in something even if you believe you have no right to believe in anything.
Of course, this is a young adult novel - you have to take it for what it is in terms of writing and subject matter. This is no great feat in literary history, but it's miles above the drivel that is Twilight. I still love it, and I'm excited to continue the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2015
Νουβελα σε πρωτοπροσωπη αφηγηση απο την οπτικη γωνια μιας σκοτεινης εκδικητικης ηρωιδας. Μας αφηγηται με μια ελαφρως καυστικη, καπου καπου χιουμοριστικη νοτα το παρον που βιωνει αλλα με αρκετα flash back στο παρελθον της.Ετσι τα κομματια που ενωνουμε μας βοηθαει να ξεδιαλυνουμε το μυστηριο που την περιβαλλει. Παρά τις λιγες σελίδες του, καταφερνει να δώσει στον αναγνωστη οσα αυτος μπορει να αποζηταει απο ενα βιβλιο αυτου του είδους, δραση, ερωτα, μυστηριο, δραση, δραση, δραση! Η Σιτα, αρχαια και υπεροχη με πολυ μικροτερες αναστολες απο τις συνηθισμενες μπαινει στη ζωη μας σκοτωνοντας τον αφελη πατερα του αγοριου που μετεπειτα θα ερωτευτει!!! Αυτη ειναι η Σιτα, ενδιαφερουσα, εκδικητικη σκληρη κ επιτελους δεν μοιαζει με καμια αλλη, μια κ μοναδικη.
May 22, 2019
The Last Vampire
This is one of the worst 'vampire YA' i've read so far.
The main character - a 5000year old vampgirl - is arrogant and was bragging about her special abilities all the time. Ray - - became her one true (second) love of all time,instant love warning. They barely knew each other (just days!). The plot was boring. The old dangerous vampire not interesting and the main characters felt like minor characters - I could not connect with them nor care for them.
This is one of the worst 'vampire YA' i've read so far.
The main character - a 5000year old vampgirl - is arrogant and was bragging about her special abilities all the time. Ray - - became her one true (second) love of all time,
October 13, 2017
Sita sure is full of herself and likes to brag a lot. I like coming at the vampire mythology from India. This book is what sparked my interest in (beautiful) Hinduism back in the day. The story is ok. About as good as you can expect from YA of this era.
August 27, 2018
I’m doing a buddy re-read of this series with Roberta from Offbeat YA, the only other diehard Christopher Pike fan that I know, and it’s every bit as fun as expected. I have difficulty overcoming my Pike bias at the best of times, but there’s no chance of it in this case. The Last Vampire series was one of my first forays into horror and paranormal, and I don’t think I’ll ever really get over some of the first books I loved. (Note: The first three novels in this series have been republished and renamed Thirst.) Trigger warnings: death, gore, violence, blood.
Sita is the last of her kind, the last vampire still walking the earth–or so she thinks. At five thousand years old, there’s little in the world that can threaten her, but when a private investigator starts looking into her past, she begins to feel hunted. Someone put him onto her trail, and that person seems to know more about Sita and her abilities than anyone should. She decides to use the detective’s son to try to find this person and discovers an ancient enemy, one that may bring about Sita’s end and the final extinction of vampirekind.
All bias acknowledged, I think the series holds up well for being more than twenty years old, and it remains my favorite YA vampire series of all time. Pike takes the best parts of vampire mythology–super strength and senses and a fierce bloodlust–and discards the rest, and he’s managed to create an absolutely fascinating main character. Sita is one of the toughest female leads I’ve ever come across; she’s strong, powerful, beautiful, and deadly. Pike leaves the monster in his monsters, and Sita kills easily and without mercy. While the body count is always high, she’s far more than a depthless killer, and she’s capable of loving fiercely and forever. She’s flawed; her arrogance and impatience cause at least half the problems in the book. I’ve read some reviews that find her over-confidence off-putting, but I think Pike gave us one of the toughest, most badass female characters I’ve ever read, and I’m happy that I had Sita as a literary role model before I was even paying attention to things like female representation.
That’s not to say that the representation across the board is good. One of the biggest flaws of this novel is also one of its greatest strengths. It’s a paradox, as Sita is so fond of saying. Sita’s origins begin in India, and there’s a lot of Indian culture and spiritualism woven into the text and her character, including an encounter with Krishna several thousand years ago. On the one hand, this provides a fascinating layer to the story that I’ve never found anywhere else, and it’s one of the things I love about the novels. On the other hand, Sita is pale, blonde, and blue-eyed. There’s some hand-waving about Aryans settling in ancient India, but the truth is that there’s no reason Sita couldn’t have been a gorgeous, badass Indian heroine. I doubt it’s malicious; representation wasn’t as closely monitored in the 90’s as it is now, and I think the truth is just that Pike likes writing about cute blondes. It also edges into cultural appropriation territory, since Pike himself is not Indian, although he has been deeply influenced by Indian culture/religion and the new age. Again, it’s never felt like anything but a loving homage to me, but it may be an issue for some readers–and maybe it should be. I’m probably not the person to say.
Pike’s novels remind me what can be done with short, to-the-point sentences. They’re rarely flowery but often insightful. I’ve seen some readers complaining that Sita’s dialogue is wooden or stilted, and it’s true that Sita’s voice isn’t like any other voice in a novel. I feel like it only adds to her realism though, and Pike expertly captures that Sita is not human, not eighteen, and not really anything we can understand. She doesn’t think like a human; she thinks like a five thousand year old predator. Despite his spare prose and the short length of the novel, I still find myself pulled into the story and the action scenes, even when I already know what happens. There’s no shortage of gore, and even with my high tolerance for horror, I still cringe a little at some of the gruesome details. YA novels are rarely so gritty, which is another thing that sets the series apart. The stakes get higher for her (no pun intended) as the novel proceeds, and it’s absolutely chilling to see her mercilessly confronting her adversaries.
The other characters are equally compelling. I have lukewarm feelings about the love interest, but that’s usually the case. Admittedly, that romance does happen quite fast, but Sita also notes that at her age, she enters relationships quickly (and also leaves them just as quickly). I’ve always been in love with Seymour, her nerdy best friend who shares an almost psychic bond with Sita and documents her adventures. I also love Yaksha, Sita’s creator who appears in some of the flashback scenes. He’s one of the most nuanced villains I’ve ever met. Like Sita, he can be terribly destructive, but just as she’s never able to completely villainize him, neither are we. The flashback creation scene brings a lot of depth to both of their characters, as it allows us to see Sita’s own culpability in her circumstances. (Also, Yaksha’s creation scene is still one of the scariest I’ve ever read. That is nightmare quality stuff.) All in all, I love the series as much as ever, and I think it holds up well in terms of plot, writing, and most of all, character.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
Sita is the last of her kind, the last vampire still walking the earth–or so she thinks. At five thousand years old, there’s little in the world that can threaten her, but when a private investigator starts looking into her past, she begins to feel hunted. Someone put him onto her trail, and that person seems to know more about Sita and her abilities than anyone should. She decides to use the detective’s son to try to find this person and discovers an ancient enemy, one that may bring about Sita’s end and the final extinction of vampirekind.
All bias acknowledged, I think the series holds up well for being more than twenty years old, and it remains my favorite YA vampire series of all time. Pike takes the best parts of vampire mythology–super strength and senses and a fierce bloodlust–and discards the rest, and he’s managed to create an absolutely fascinating main character. Sita is one of the toughest female leads I’ve ever come across; she’s strong, powerful, beautiful, and deadly. Pike leaves the monster in his monsters, and Sita kills easily and without mercy. While the body count is always high, she’s far more than a depthless killer, and she’s capable of loving fiercely and forever. She’s flawed; her arrogance and impatience cause at least half the problems in the book. I’ve read some reviews that find her over-confidence off-putting, but I think Pike gave us one of the toughest, most badass female characters I’ve ever read, and I’m happy that I had Sita as a literary role model before I was even paying attention to things like female representation.
That’s not to say that the representation across the board is good. One of the biggest flaws of this novel is also one of its greatest strengths. It’s a paradox, as Sita is so fond of saying. Sita’s origins begin in India, and there’s a lot of Indian culture and spiritualism woven into the text and her character, including an encounter with Krishna several thousand years ago. On the one hand, this provides a fascinating layer to the story that I’ve never found anywhere else, and it’s one of the things I love about the novels. On the other hand, Sita is pale, blonde, and blue-eyed. There’s some hand-waving about Aryans settling in ancient India, but the truth is that there’s no reason Sita couldn’t have been a gorgeous, badass Indian heroine. I doubt it’s malicious; representation wasn’t as closely monitored in the 90’s as it is now, and I think the truth is just that Pike likes writing about cute blondes. It also edges into cultural appropriation territory, since Pike himself is not Indian, although he has been deeply influenced by Indian culture/religion and the new age. Again, it’s never felt like anything but a loving homage to me, but it may be an issue for some readers–and maybe it should be. I’m probably not the person to say.
Pike’s novels remind me what can be done with short, to-the-point sentences. They’re rarely flowery but often insightful. I’ve seen some readers complaining that Sita’s dialogue is wooden or stilted, and it’s true that Sita’s voice isn’t like any other voice in a novel. I feel like it only adds to her realism though, and Pike expertly captures that Sita is not human, not eighteen, and not really anything we can understand. She doesn’t think like a human; she thinks like a five thousand year old predator. Despite his spare prose and the short length of the novel, I still find myself pulled into the story and the action scenes, even when I already know what happens. There’s no shortage of gore, and even with my high tolerance for horror, I still cringe a little at some of the gruesome details. YA novels are rarely so gritty, which is another thing that sets the series apart. The stakes get higher for her (no pun intended) as the novel proceeds, and it’s absolutely chilling to see her mercilessly confronting her adversaries.
The other characters are equally compelling. I have lukewarm feelings about the love interest, but that’s usually the case. Admittedly, that romance does happen quite fast, but Sita also notes that at her age, she enters relationships quickly (and also leaves them just as quickly). I’ve always been in love with Seymour, her nerdy best friend who shares an almost psychic bond with Sita and documents her adventures. I also love Yaksha, Sita’s creator who appears in some of the flashback scenes. He’s one of the most nuanced villains I’ve ever met. Like Sita, he can be terribly destructive, but just as she’s never able to completely villainize him, neither are we. The flashback creation scene brings a lot of depth to both of their characters, as it allows us to see Sita’s own culpability in her circumstances. (Also, Yaksha’s creation scene is still one of the scariest I’ve ever read. That is nightmare quality stuff.) All in all, I love the series as much as ever, and I think it holds up well in terms of plot, writing, and most of all, character.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
September 2, 2021
I used to work as a bookseller, and the number of pearl-clutching parents we had come in, lamenting "the state of children's literature these days" was...many. Every new Zoella novel or transitory work put out by whatever YouTuber was en vogue that month was treated like it was ruining the written word and that children "just don't read how they used to".
Bullshit.
There has always been great children's literature, and there has always been terrible children's literature. Just because we enjoy one, doesn't mean we don't get to enjoy the other. And this book, dear readers, is terrible. But did nine-year-old me love it? Absolutely.
My husband and I both read The Last Vampire as kids and have fond memories of it. It's the kind of children's book that is easy to read, and full of PG-13 violence and sex. Both of us remembered it being super racy to our juvenile minds, but on re-read, it's really incredibly tame, especially given that I was reading Anne Rice books only a couple of years after this.
Coming back to The Last Vampire as an adult really showed how poorly this book has aged. Honestly, the quality of even trashy books for kids has improved markedly over the last decade. The writing in this novel is clipped and forced, the dialogue is pretentiously unrealistic, there is no character development to speak of (everyone is instantly in love, there are no stakes, and apparently murdering someone's parent is no big deal), and there are some pretty archaic views and representations of the book's characters - not to mention the book's protagonist is meant to be a 500-year-old Indian woman but her people are "the original Aryans" so of course she's white, blonde, and has blue eyes. Ahh, the 90's, how I do not miss your lack of diversity.
The Last Vampire is just not good. I'm not sure if it's out of print, but it definitely should be. For all the hand-wringing that modern parents do about the quality of children's books today, they are definitely better, and thankfully more diverse than when I was growing up. Did reading trashy books like this ruin my life or form my future reading habits? No. I enjoyed the book at the time, and now that I know better, I don't.
So, I guess what I'm saying is, some books belong in the past, with fond memories of enjoying them, and probably shouldn't be revisited. Don't judge your adult reading habits on the books you liked when you were a kid. We all learn and grow. And if you're a parent, just let your kids enjoy a popcorn read once in a while. It certainly won't kill them, and they'll definitely learn to love reading. Not everything has to be a learning opportunity; even in reading, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of fun.
Bullshit.
There has always been great children's literature, and there has always been terrible children's literature. Just because we enjoy one, doesn't mean we don't get to enjoy the other. And this book, dear readers, is terrible. But did nine-year-old me love it? Absolutely.
My husband and I both read The Last Vampire as kids and have fond memories of it. It's the kind of children's book that is easy to read, and full of PG-13 violence and sex. Both of us remembered it being super racy to our juvenile minds, but on re-read, it's really incredibly tame, especially given that I was reading Anne Rice books only a couple of years after this.
Coming back to The Last Vampire as an adult really showed how poorly this book has aged. Honestly, the quality of even trashy books for kids has improved markedly over the last decade. The writing in this novel is clipped and forced, the dialogue is pretentiously unrealistic, there is no character development to speak of (everyone is instantly in love, there are no stakes, and apparently murdering someone's parent is no big deal), and there are some pretty archaic views and representations of the book's characters - not to mention the book's protagonist is meant to be a 500-year-old Indian woman but her people are "the original Aryans" so of course she's white, blonde, and has blue eyes. Ahh, the 90's, how I do not miss your lack of diversity.
The Last Vampire is just not good. I'm not sure if it's out of print, but it definitely should be. For all the hand-wringing that modern parents do about the quality of children's books today, they are definitely better, and thankfully more diverse than when I was growing up. Did reading trashy books like this ruin my life or form my future reading habits? No. I enjoyed the book at the time, and now that I know better, I don't.
So, I guess what I'm saying is, some books belong in the past, with fond memories of enjoying them, and probably shouldn't be revisited. Don't judge your adult reading habits on the books you liked when you were a kid. We all learn and grow. And if you're a parent, just let your kids enjoy a popcorn read once in a while. It certainly won't kill them, and they'll definitely learn to love reading. Not everything has to be a learning opportunity; even in reading, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of fun.
July 4, 2010
I couldn't finish it, it was so freakin' dumb. Yes, I realize it is written for teens, but give them some credit, they still want something well written without blatant inaccuracies --- Inaccurate you say, it is a vampire novel, and last time I checked they don't exist -- well, near the beginning, Mr. Pike has his main character (who is SOOOO very annoying) say she has read Dracula, has even met Mr. Stoker -- but he had it wrong, because the sunlight is not her mortal enemy ---- READ THE BOOK!!!! good old drac did spend time in the daylight -- though it makes him weaker -- or even see Coppola's movie, even he got that part right -- ARRRRRG, if you are going to reference a classic, make damn sure you know what you are talking about. And another thing...his nerd's name?? SEYMOUR -- could you be any more cliche mr. pike??
Ok, hated this book, maybe someone else will find something redeeming -- I just couldn't, and I will NOT be adding Christopher Pike to my must read list.
Ok, hated this book, maybe someone else will find something redeeming -- I just couldn't, and I will NOT be adding Christopher Pike to my must read list.
May 20, 2009
I wish I could remember who recommended this book to me so I could smack them upside the head! What an atrocious, awful book!
May 30, 2009
i LOVED this book when I was younger, and to this day I pick it up for a quick fun read. It wasnt until I was older did I appreciate all of the Hindu influence and relationship between Sita and Krishna. When Twilight became huge, I distanced myself from it because of its similar tones. I did see the movie of Twilight and the whole time thinking... Why wasn't "The Last Vampire" ever made into a movie series??? It has much more passion and the story has about 800 times more "meat" (from what I have heard). I am off to read Twilight so that I can better my comparison, as I have just been bitch slapped by my best friend. Love you Richelle!!! :)
December 3, 2008
my all time favorite series of books. i don't care what you think. i am in love with the main character, and her interactions with Krishna inspired a lot of the thoughts i went on to have about life and spirituality. i have 'maya' tattooed on my wrist.
these books began my life long infatuation with vampires, and NOTHING created since then has come even close! No movie, no book, no tv show, nothing. THIS is how a vampire story should be. honestly, i read ann rice after this, and was sorely disappointed. but people are stuck on her and her style, what can i say.
these books began my life long infatuation with vampires, and NOTHING created since then has come even close! No movie, no book, no tv show, nothing. THIS is how a vampire story should be. honestly, i read ann rice after this, and was sorely disappointed. but people are stuck on her and her style, what can i say.
August 12, 2007
I ended up finding this book in my school library as a child, and liking vampire novels the way I did, I decided to read it.
I was a little surprised, it was awfully violent during some parts, and for some reason had a slight science fiction feel to me.
I liked the book even though it seemed like a little bit of a rough start to a series (as most people don't tend to like Sita/Alisa as a main character due to her self-absorbedness).
I was a little surprised, it was awfully violent during some parts, and for some reason had a slight science fiction feel to me.
I liked the book even though it seemed like a little bit of a rough start to a series (as most people don't tend to like Sita/Alisa as a main character due to her self-absorbedness).
February 5, 2021
Continua il mio amarcord fra la narrativa per ragazzi anni '90, ancora con un libro di Christopher Pike. Questa volta però, i mitici Super Junior mondadori hanno decisamente steccato! "L'ultimo vampiro", come già ci preannuncia il titolo, rientra nel filone spinoso dei romanzi di vampiri con personaggi adolescenti, precursori del famosissimo "Twilight", e con un ritmo sincopato e uno stile di scrittura che più che narrare sembra riassumere a grandi linee un romanzo molto più corposo, mischia insieme amori (assurdi) adolescenziali, induismo (???), vampiri, criminalità organizzata e lampi di genio stile Wile il Coyote. Se il mix vi incuriosisce ve lo consiglio.
June 13, 2012
Pros:
Can't really think of any.
Cons:
1. The writing. It was cold and clipped and weird... Which is okay for the narrator, who is a very old vampire. It makes sense for her to have a strange "voice". Unfortunately that is not all it is: When we get to the American teenage dialogue, they sound exactly the same. They all have the same voice. They all speak in complete sentences, with complete words. There are no colloquialisms that I know of.
Example: I scratch on his window with my hard nails and give
him a scare. He comes over to investigate, however. He is delighted to see
me. He opens the window and I climb inside. Contrary to popular opinion, I could have climbed in without being invited.
"It is so cool you are here," he says. "I have been writing about you all day."
2. The Indian mysticism. There was too much for my liking. Sure others might like it, but I was hoping for more of a VAMPIRE story. Stupid me.
3. I don't get the "love story". She sees the guy, she likes the guy, she goes to bed with the guy; Tadah! they're in love. Nuh-uh, that's not how it works!
2 stars for the effort. Won't be reading the rest.
Can't really think of any.
Cons:
1. The writing. It was cold and clipped and weird... Which is okay for the narrator, who is a very old vampire. It makes sense for her to have a strange "voice". Unfortunately that is not all it is: When we get to the American teenage dialogue, they sound exactly the same. They all have the same voice. They all speak in complete sentences, with complete words. There are no colloquialisms that I know of.
Example: I scratch on his window with my hard nails and give
him a scare. He comes over to investigate, however. He is delighted to see
me. He opens the window and I climb inside. Contrary to popular opinion, I could have climbed in without being invited.
"It is so cool you are here," he says. "I have been writing about you all day."
2. The Indian mysticism. There was too much for my liking. Sure others might like it, but I was hoping for more of a VAMPIRE story. Stupid me.
3. I don't get the "love story". She sees the guy, she likes the guy, she goes to bed with the guy; Tadah! they're in love. Nuh-uh, that's not how it works!
2 stars for the effort. Won't be reading the rest.
September 18, 2013
When I started reading The Last Vampire, I felt that it had a lot of potential. Alisa AKA Sita was a very powerful, witty and selfish character which actually made me excited about the book.
Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectation. I felt that the storyline and the plot lacked a lot; everything was rushed; not to mention the silly love between Sita and Ray. They instantly fell in love and would die for each other, and what? They have only known each other for 5 minutes? *roll eyes*.
It was very frustrating! You do not even get to see the characters develop. Let us talk about the villain, Yaksha… I have never seen someone lamer than him. One time, she described him as a self-centered powerful man, and the next he’s some sad weakling who just wants to die?
I can’t believe when I started this book, I was raving about it to my friend; I was very mistaken!
Also, there were a lot of details in the book that were totally unnecessary. I felt that Christopher Pike just added them to increase the number of pages. I wish he did that with something better and interesting.
I know that this book was written on 1994, but seriously it was definitely not something that I want to read.
1/5
Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectation. I felt that the storyline and the plot lacked a lot; everything was rushed; not to mention the silly love between Sita and Ray. They instantly fell in love and would die for each other, and what? They have only known each other for 5 minutes? *roll eyes*.
It was very frustrating! You do not even get to see the characters develop. Let us talk about the villain, Yaksha… I have never seen someone lamer than him. One time, she described him as a self-centered powerful man, and the next he’s some sad weakling who just wants to die?
I can’t believe when I started this book, I was raving about it to my friend; I was very mistaken!
Also, there were a lot of details in the book that were totally unnecessary. I felt that Christopher Pike just added them to increase the number of pages. I wish he did that with something better and interesting.
I know that this book was written on 1994, but seriously it was definitely not something that I want to read.
1/5
February 25, 2023
Didn't resonate well with this one I'm afraid. The writing style isn't bad, there's some good imagery and it flows well, but I found the main character very unlikeable, the plotline a bit unfeasible and trying to cover too many bases (highschool, detectives, kick ass action, historic romance, bombs, deals with the devil etc), and the narration a bit emotionless and staggered. It tries to avoid vampire clichés but in itself follows a lot of other clichés which is a shame. The horror element doesn't quite hit, and the main character is a blonde stunner seemingly just for the sake of it even though she supposedly comes from India initially, and her colouring would be completely different if that was the case. I hated all the supposedly religious parts, it talked so much about Krishna without actually giving much reason for it, it was actually pretty convoluted and confusing.
I feel like this novel can't decide if it's teen or adult, but in any case I can't gel with it I'm afraid. The end was very abrupt and easy too. Not for me.
I feel like this novel can't decide if it's teen or adult, but in any case I can't gel with it I'm afraid. The end was very abrupt and easy too. Not for me.
July 11, 2014
3.5 stars for enjoyment factor.
Nothing hugely groundbreaking here, but it probably was 20 years ago! Now vampires are a common literary staple. Writing was ok, and the story was entertaining. It's book popcorn: tastes good, eaten before you know it, but not really that filling.
I would be a little displeased about the cliffhanger if I didn't have the other books. :)
Nothing hugely groundbreaking here, but it probably was 20 years ago! Now vampires are a common literary staple. Writing was ok, and the story was entertaining. It's book popcorn: tastes good, eaten before you know it, but not really that filling.
I would be a little displeased about the cliffhanger if I didn't have the other books. :)
August 4, 2012
This was a fun summer read for me. Strong female vampire and I really like her storied history. Also, I kept thinking, "This is the way vampires should be!".
Easy reading, fun, and kept me entertained.
Easy reading, fun, and kept me entertained.
Read
April 22, 2019Extremely biased. Read it when I was a kid and enjoyed it a lot. If I read it again, I'd probably not like it as much, but eh whatever. It was tons of fun.
March 30, 2021
More like a 2.5
Buddy read with my friend Raul from Latin Lector for #MarchMysteryMadness
I am making my way through my collection of Christopher Pike novels accumulated from my youth through my adult years. This was one I hadn't read when I was growing up, so I was very interested in getting into it. Unfortunately while there were a few things that I found interesting, there were more things that bothered me about this story.
I do have the rest of this series, so I will read them but this one was a bit disappointing. The next one sounds more like interesting, so hopefully I'll enjoy that one a bit more.
Buddy read with my friend Raul from Latin Lector for #MarchMysteryMadness
I am making my way through my collection of Christopher Pike novels accumulated from my youth through my adult years. This was one I hadn't read when I was growing up, so I was very interested in getting into it. Unfortunately while there were a few things that I found interesting, there were more things that bothered me about this story.
I do have the rest of this series, so I will read them but this one was a bit disappointing. The next one sounds more like interesting, so hopefully I'll enjoy that one a bit more.
May 7, 2019
J'ai adorer ce premier tome ! C'est frais, bien écrit, avec des descriptions. La plume de l'auteur est fluide, bien structuré, et addictive. Les personnages sont attachants, fort, courageux, malin s. Parfois certaines choses arrivent trop vite mais cela n'enlève rien au roman. Les actions et les rebondissements sont très nombreux. L'intrigue est intéressante, et bien traité. Je n'ai pas plu m'arrêter de lire tant j'étais addict ! La fin fini sur du suspense se qui promet un tome deux encore plus ouf ce tome un. Je vous recommande 😍
October 28, 2021
I'd forgotten how much I loved The Last Vampire. Not going to say it's not without problems but good lord do I still love Sita and Seymour.
February 2, 2022
A 5000 yr old vampire meets a teenager for ONE day and she is just in love with him? Okay, right
Besides the stupid YA romance part of this, I thought that the vampire lore was cool. I wish it had just been that and been an adult paranormal book.
Besides the stupid YA romance part of this, I thought that the vampire lore was cool. I wish it had just been that and been an adult paranormal book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2024
3⭐️
111/200
This book was just weird. Plan and simple. It felt like a bad Twilight fan fiction. I however own the whole series, so look forward to me reading whatever this is.
111/200
This book was just weird. Plan and simple. It felt like a bad Twilight fan fiction. I however own the whole series, so look forward to me reading whatever this is.
January 5, 2023
I'm going to give this book one more star because I remember liking it but I did really like it. I wouldn't say it was amazing but only for one reason: I'm not a fan of first person narration.
I see where it is necessary to the story to be told from that point of view but it just always makes the lead character seem so self-centered. I have only ever written one of my own stories from a first person angle but mixed with the more omnipotent narrator.
Vampire books always seem to need that first person narration, orating their story to the world or some single individual.
Louis, Lestat and now Sita or Alisa Perne in this more modern world of the early 1990s.
I'm going to refer to her as Alisa in this book as it how the book blurb addresses her but Sita is her birth name. She goes by another alias of Lara Adams in this book but the first two are how I'm beginning to see the character.
So if I slip and call her one or the other forgive me for confusing you and since this is part of an ongoing series...I may drop some spoilers.
In this first book, Alisa is called into the office of private detective Mike Riley. He has been following her and looking into her past for a client but won't tell her the name.
With all the heightened advantages of being an immortal being, she knows he is lying and recording the conversation. Also she can smell the gunpowder in the bullets of the guns on Riley's person. He's been warned that she's dangerous but has no idea that pissing off this girl who looks no more than eighteen or twenty at most...is not a good idea.
The subject of blackmail for money comes up and Alisa sends a kick into Mike Riley's breastbone...shattering it. Before he succumbs to a bloody demise, Alisa is able to get him to at least tell her a name...Mr. Slim. Alisa can also tell that in his dying words that Mike loves his son Ray and wanted to have the money for him.
Alisa finds a picture of the son and can't help but be drawn to him. A good looking boy who might know how to help Alisa get into the locked files of his now late father's computer...files about her.
She enrolls at the high school to get close to Ray Riley. She dazzles him with her good looks and intriguing personality but he has a girlfriend named Pat. Alisa can sense he is loyal and cares for the girl but also that Ray is interested in getting to know her.
The only other person Alisa meets and carries any interest in getting to know is Seymour Dorsten who is in her co-ed gym class.
He looks like a stereotypical nerd and is smart and into horror movies but he's a nice guy. I like Seymour.
Alisa can also sense that he is ill...at death's door. Seymour is also very sensitive to Alisa's unnatural aura. He can sense the hatred she has for the arrogant history teacher, Mr. Castro, which almost has her shooting him in the head with an archery arrow. He makes her stop and Alisa is intrigued.
I would think that Alisa could probably get Seymour's help to crack into Mike Riley's computer but she is drawn to Ray Riley. She soon realizes that he has the same eyes as someone she knew long ago and even if he has a girlfriend...there could be some fun to have with the young boy.
In between finding out in the present who is after Alisa, we learn of her life prior to being a vampire. When she was known as Sita and witnessed the birth of the first vampire, met and married, had a child and lived in a time when Krishna came to be revered by the time she was turned.
Her husband and daughter lived on without her and died and Sita was turned by the very vampire who's birth she witnessed...the boy she named.
We are swerved from one man looking for her to more than a dozen showing up to take Alisa to the one truly looking for her. It will make her question everything she thought she knew and make her break the vows she made to be...The Last Vampire.
Alisa being the narrator kind of rubbed me the wrong way with how superior she sounded but as we get more of her backstory into her human life and her interactions with Ray and Seymour, it made me like her a little more.
As I stated, I really do like Seymour and this bond he forms with Alisa is more interesting than Alisa and her relationship with Ray.
I get the reincarnation angle we are trying to build and yes I am a sucker for romance that is more than just physical attraction. These two young men are very different but what we see Alisa do for one and then the other are so contrasting.
But that would be telling...
As a start, The Last Vampire is pretty good. The aspect of Hinduism wasn't completely lost upon me in all the talk of Vishnu, Krishna, Rama and etc. Having done research myself for my own works, it didn't make me go all cross-eyed like the sci-fi Pike usually writes about and I actually felt somewhat...smart.
If you like Pike's work and you like vampire fiction, The Last Vampire is a book I would recommend checking out if you haven't already. Or to re-read as I am doing if it has been awhile.
I see where it is necessary to the story to be told from that point of view but it just always makes the lead character seem so self-centered. I have only ever written one of my own stories from a first person angle but mixed with the more omnipotent narrator.
Vampire books always seem to need that first person narration, orating their story to the world or some single individual.
Louis, Lestat and now Sita or Alisa Perne in this more modern world of the early 1990s.
I'm going to refer to her as Alisa in this book as it how the book blurb addresses her but Sita is her birth name. She goes by another alias of Lara Adams in this book but the first two are how I'm beginning to see the character.
So if I slip and call her one or the other forgive me for confusing you and since this is part of an ongoing series...I may drop some spoilers.
In this first book, Alisa is called into the office of private detective Mike Riley. He has been following her and looking into her past for a client but won't tell her the name.
With all the heightened advantages of being an immortal being, she knows he is lying and recording the conversation. Also she can smell the gunpowder in the bullets of the guns on Riley's person. He's been warned that she's dangerous but has no idea that pissing off this girl who looks no more than eighteen or twenty at most...is not a good idea.
The subject of blackmail for money comes up and Alisa sends a kick into Mike Riley's breastbone...shattering it. Before he succumbs to a bloody demise, Alisa is able to get him to at least tell her a name...Mr. Slim. Alisa can also tell that in his dying words that Mike loves his son Ray and wanted to have the money for him.
Alisa finds a picture of the son and can't help but be drawn to him. A good looking boy who might know how to help Alisa get into the locked files of his now late father's computer...files about her.
She enrolls at the high school to get close to Ray Riley. She dazzles him with her good looks and intriguing personality but he has a girlfriend named Pat. Alisa can sense he is loyal and cares for the girl but also that Ray is interested in getting to know her.
The only other person Alisa meets and carries any interest in getting to know is Seymour Dorsten who is in her co-ed gym class.
He looks like a stereotypical nerd and is smart and into horror movies but he's a nice guy. I like Seymour.
Alisa can also sense that he is ill...at death's door. Seymour is also very sensitive to Alisa's unnatural aura. He can sense the hatred she has for the arrogant history teacher, Mr. Castro, which almost has her shooting him in the head with an archery arrow. He makes her stop and Alisa is intrigued.
I would think that Alisa could probably get Seymour's help to crack into Mike Riley's computer but she is drawn to Ray Riley. She soon realizes that he has the same eyes as someone she knew long ago and even if he has a girlfriend...there could be some fun to have with the young boy.
In between finding out in the present who is after Alisa, we learn of her life prior to being a vampire. When she was known as Sita and witnessed the birth of the first vampire, met and married, had a child and lived in a time when Krishna came to be revered by the time she was turned.
Her husband and daughter lived on without her and died and Sita was turned by the very vampire who's birth she witnessed...the boy she named.
We are swerved from one man looking for her to more than a dozen showing up to take Alisa to the one truly looking for her. It will make her question everything she thought she knew and make her break the vows she made to be...The Last Vampire.
Alisa being the narrator kind of rubbed me the wrong way with how superior she sounded but as we get more of her backstory into her human life and her interactions with Ray and Seymour, it made me like her a little more.
As I stated, I really do like Seymour and this bond he forms with Alisa is more interesting than Alisa and her relationship with Ray.
I get the reincarnation angle we are trying to build and yes I am a sucker for romance that is more than just physical attraction. These two young men are very different but what we see Alisa do for one and then the other are so contrasting.
But that would be telling...
As a start, The Last Vampire is pretty good. The aspect of Hinduism wasn't completely lost upon me in all the talk of Vishnu, Krishna, Rama and etc. Having done research myself for my own works, it didn't make me go all cross-eyed like the sci-fi Pike usually writes about and I actually felt somewhat...smart.
If you like Pike's work and you like vampire fiction, The Last Vampire is a book I would recommend checking out if you haven't already. Or to re-read as I am doing if it has been awhile.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2019
Quite the Mary Sue vampire chick. All powerful, all knowing, extremely rich, extremely gorgeous (in a feminine 1994 way that's cringey by today's standards). And yet, Christopher Pike is a compelling writer. The Krishna/Rama origin story is intriguing. It's a fast, short read, which helps. The love story is dumb, but maybe more convincing when I was 15. A nice break between more heavy reading. Like M&Ms.
June 24, 2023
Entertaining and punchy. Loved the central character despite her shady murdering nature. Reads perfectly well as a standalone so am interested to see what the next instalment has in store. 3.5 stars.
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