Thirst No. 1 - Christopher Pike

TITLE: Thirst No.1 (Includes: The Last Vampire, Black Blood & Red Dice)

AUTHOR: Christopher Pike

SUMMARY: As to blood -- ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me. I do like that as well, warm and dripping, when I am thirsty. And I am often thirsty....

Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.

Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life.... - From Publisher

REVIEW: Nostalgia was my sole purpose for picking up this book. When I was much younger than I am now, Christopher Pike was not the sort of author my parents approved of. So, I'd take the books out of my school's library and hide it in the deep recesses of my knapsack and pull it out to read in my closet, which was also my favorite place in my room. Apparently I have a little Lane off of Gilmore Girls in me. As I'd read I always felt so stealthy and reading was much easier to sneak past my parents than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer when it aired.

The three books that are in Thirst No. 1 were originally published in the 90's and I really feel like writing has improved greatly, like by leaps and bounds. Now granted, when Red Dice was originally published (1995) I was young when I snuck it home, so perhaps it's just the age difference that originally had me thinking it was an awesome book. Or maybe not.

According to Chapters they are (original books) geared for kids from 10-12. I would never let my 10-12 year old read this book (like mother like daughter??). The content is far too heavy for a 10 year old. The character is relishing in the blood lust, shows no remorse for the death she causes and then makes love, this does not scream pre-teen to me. I wouldn't say it's YA either, which currently is what Thirst is labeled under for reading level. The style of writing is very childish with choppy sentences, poor characterization, no description and the plot wasn't one you sank into. It was all over the place. It's an odd mix of older content in young writing.

I feel like there are some (especially after reading some reviews on various sites) that would love this series, I was not one of them. My favorite part was my favorite part from reading it years and years ago. Where Sita is locked in the cage with Joel and has her 'black widow' moment. And if I'm truly honest that was my big reason for picking this book up. Like I started off stating it was all nostalgia. Unfortunately, the nostalgia wasn't worth it, in my opinion and there is no way I'll be picking up Thirst No. 2.

RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥