Welcome to the Christopher Pike Room.
Are you ready for the weird?
Christopher Pike was especially popular during the 80s and part of the 90s. He wrote all his masterpieces - namely the Remember Me and Last Vampire series - during those two decades. He also seemed to burst with inspiration, or ideas (often really weird ones, I have to admit) back then, while his writing has become sparse since the turn of the century. Maybe this is the main reason why he doesn't seem to appeal to the younger readers of nowadays the way he did to the 80s' and 90s' teens. Also, he's rather uneven when it comes to writing, there's no denying it. And the "novel" and "first person" formats suit him far better than the "short story" and "third person" ones. Having said this, I love the man. I love Shari (Remember Me). I love Sita (The Last Vampire - now Thirst). I can't stop reading one of his books for the first time before I reach the very last page. I get sucked into his weird universe. What can I say LOL.
And - please keep in mind that, while everyone seems to write vampire stories and dead girl stories nowadays, Pike was fleshing out his Sita and Shari as early as 1994 and 1989. He was a pioneer, wasn't he?
Update - October 28th, 2015: as you might know, Christopher Pike has been on Facebook for a while now - and I'm glad the admins made the page public, so one can read his posts even without joining the site ;). But! The news of the week is, Christopher Pike joined Wattpad! And while I'm writing this, he is indeed active on the site. Simon & Schuster even decided to post all of Remember Me (the first installment) on Wattpad, as a tool for gaining more - and younger - fans. So Pike is probably going to become an item again...well, that's what I hope, anyway 🙂.
Update - October 28th, 2015: as you might know, Christopher Pike has been on Facebook for a while now - and I'm glad the admins made the page public, so one can read his posts even without joining the site ;). But! The news of the week is, Christopher Pike joined Wattpad! And while I'm writing this, he is indeed active on the site. Simon & Schuster even decided to post all of Remember Me (the first installment) on Wattpad, as a tool for gaining more - and younger - fans. So Pike is probably going to become an item again...well, that's what I hope, anyway 🙂.
Update - May 22nd, 2018: Christopher Pike has been deserting Wattpad since Strange Girl was published, or shortly after (for a while, the frenzy of promo strategy that S&S forced on him - and then... complete and utter silence). He's not become an item again - S&S even dropped him, for crying out loud. On his Facebook page he says he's working on a ton of stories at the same time, that he will ultimately self-publish. Welcome to the 2000s, Chris 😟.
Here is an updated and chronologically ordered list of Pike's books - the ones I don't own yet are in bold. For Pike's novels aimed at more mature readers, you are welcome to enter the Adult Room. Reviews coming in time.
STANDALONES:
Slumber Party (01/85) *thriller/mystery
Cheerleaders #2: Getting Even (02/85) [part of the multi-author, 47-book series Cheerleaders]
*contemporary -> [I don't plan to read this one LOL] [2022: OK...I bit the bullet...]
Weekend (02/86) *thriller/mystery
The Tachyon Web (10/86) *sci-fi
Last Act (04/88) *thriller/mystery
Spellbound (04/88) *supernatural, horror, thriller/mystery
Gimme a Kiss (07/88) *thriller/mystery
Scavenger Hunt (07/89) *sci-fi, horror
Fall into Darkness (01/90) *thriller/mystery
See You Later (08/90) *sci-fi, time travel, supernatural, horror
Witch (12/90) *paranormal, horror
Die Softly (04/91) *thriller/mystery, horror
Bury Me Deep (08/91) *supernatural, thriller/mystery, horror
Whisper of Death (12/91) *supernatural, horror, post apocalyptic
Master of Murder (07/92) *thriller/mystery
Monster (11/92) *sci-fi, horror
Road to Nowhere (03/93) *contemporary with a twist, supernatural
The Eternal Enemy (05/93) *sci-fi, time travel
The Immortal (07/93) *supernatural
The Wicked Heart (11/93) *horror
The Midnight Club (04/94) *contemporary with a twist
The Lost Mind (08/95) *thriller/mystery, supernatural
The Visitor (10/95) *sci-fi, supernatural
The Starlight Crystal (02/96) *sci-fi, time travel, post apocalyptic
Execution of Innocence (05/97) *thriller/mystery, horror
The Star Group (12/97) *sci-fi, supernatural
The Hollow Skull (02/98) *sci-fi, horror
Magic Fire (06/99) *sci-fi
The Grave (09/99) *sci-fi, horror
The Secret of Ka (09/10) *fantasy
Strange Girl (11/15) *contemporary with a twist, paranormal
SERIES:
(in chronological order, with regard to the publishing date of the first book in every series)
CHAIN LETTER (now repackaged as one book):
Chain Letter (05/86) *thriller/mystery
Chain Letter 2: The Ancient Evil (04/92) *thriller/mystery, supernatural, horror
FINAL FRIENDS (now repackaged as one book in UNTIL THE END):
Final Friends 1: The Party (09/88) *thriller/mystery
Final Friends 2: The Dance (11/88) *thriller/mystery
Final Friends 3: The Graduation (01/89) *thriller/mystery
REMEMBER ME (now repackaged as one book):
Remember Me 2: The Return (09/94) *supernatural
Remember Me 3: The Last Story (02/95) *supernatural
THIRST (originally THE LAST VAMPIRE):
Thirst No.1 *urban fantasy, horror
[omnibus containing the first three original books in The Last Vampire series: The Last
Vampire (05/94), Black Blood (11/94), Red Dice (05/95)]
Vampire (05/94), Black Blood (11/94), Red Dice (05/95)]
Thirst No. 2 *urban fantasy, horror, sci-fi, time-travel
[omnibus containing the second three original books in The Last Vampire series: Phantom
(05/96), Evil Thirst (07/96), Creatures of Forever (09/96)]
[omnibus containing the second three original books in The Last Vampire series: Phantom
(05/96), Evil Thirst (07/96), Creatures of Forever (09/96)]
Thirst No. 3: The Eternal Dawn (10/10) -> *urban fantasy, horror
Thirst No. 4: The Shadow of Death (08/11) -> *urban fantasy, horror
Thirst No. 6: ????? (??/??) -> *urban fantasy, horror
Thirst No. 7: ????? (??/??) -> *urban fantasy, horror
Thirst No. 8: ????? (??/??) -> *urban fantasy, horror
ALOSHA:
Alosha (10/04) *fantasy
The Shaktra (10/05) *fantasy
The Yanti (10/06) *fantasy
Nemi -> [the planned fourth and last book that hasn't been written yet] *fantasy
WITCH WORLD:
SHORT STORIES:
Collect Call I & II
[in Pines, Tonya et al.: Thirteen: 13 Tales of Horror by 13 Masters of Horror, 1991]
[in Pines, Tonya et al.: Thirteen: 13 Tales of Horror by 13 Masters of Horror, 1991]
Death of Despair, The Fan from Hell, Last Dawn, Timespell, Revenge, Dark Walk
[in Christopher Pike's Tales of Terror, 1997]
The Burning Witch, The Tomb of Time, Bamboo, The Thin Line, The Tears of Teresa
[in Christopher Pike's Tales of Terror 2, 1998]
[in Christopher Pike's Tales of Terror 2, 1998]
Saving Face
[in Abrahams, Peter et al.: 666: The Number of the Beast, 2007]
NOTE: Pike is also the author of a juvenile series called Spooksville, in 24 volumes, which spanned from 1995 to 1999. As Spooksville is aimed at a younger audience, I decided not to read it.
[in Abrahams, Peter et al.: 666: The Number of the Beast, 2007]
NOTE: Pike is also the author of a juvenile series called Spooksville, in 24 volumes, which spanned from 1995 to 1999. As Spooksville is aimed at a younger audience, I decided not to read it.
lol, I have the Cheerleaders book he wrote! I was such a huge fan of Pike's growing up that I tracked it down the first time through our high school's inter-library loan system (this was before the internet was up and running the way we think of it now) and then I tracked down another copy through either ebay or paperback swap several years ago for my Pike collection. The only books on this list that I haven't read is the Alosha books, although I do own the first one. Final Friends is probably my favorite thing he's ever written, but I just love him!
ReplyDeleteI love your Cheerleaders story ;D. I would read the book myself if it came into my hands for free of course LOL...but I suppose it's not typical Pike. On the other hand, he was always inclined to be mean to the category...literary vengeance, it seems, since he made a comment of Facebook about cheerleaders not caring for him and his friends at school, if I'm not mistaken.
DeleteLet's face it...we are all secretly addicted to Mr. CP, more or less ;). In my case, the thing is even worse, because I became a fan in my, erm, "old age" - you might say.
ReplyDeleteHi! I discovered your blog by A Writer's Dark Corner. I read her posts about Pike, and actually I never heard about him. Anila had posted this link, if someone wanted more information about Cristopher Pike. If I am not bothering you, I wanted to ask you what Pike book you can recommend to me. I love weird stories, but I cannot bear really scary books. I feel a bit skeptical about "Thirst", since Anila loved the book, and I know how much of a hardcore horror lover she is.
You're not bothering me ay all! I'm always glad to recommend books - especially Pike ones LOL.
DeleteWell, if you're not a fan of hardcore horror, it may be a bit difficult to get into his books. Most of them have horror elements, or come close to that. "Thirst" is a fantastic series, with a really badass heroine and lots ot twists and turns, but it is indeed aimed at people with a high tolerance of gore. On the other hand, I've never thought of myself as a horror fan before I "met" Pike...and actually, I can't seem to stomach Stephen King. I wouldn't call "Thirst" a YA series anymore, or maybe it never really was in the first place - but even then, I can safely read those books, while King is too disturbing for me.
If you want to try some Pike, I'd suggest you start with his "softer" books, like "Weekend", "Last Act", "See You Later", the "Final Friends" series (now republished as an omnibus with the new title "Until the End"), "Red Queen" (the 1st installment in the "Witch World" series), and first of all, the "Remember Me" series (book 2 and 3 are fillers, but the 1st one is fantastic!). Ready for something stronger? Try "Spellbound", "Fall into Darkness" and "The Midnight Club". Also, I haven't read them yet, but I believe "The Eternal Enemy" and "The Starlight Crystal" can fit the bill.
Happy reading and thanks for visiting! :)
I remember reading a Pike book around 20 years ago. I believe it was marketed as more of an adult book. I only remember bits and pieces of the story and am having a hard time finding it. It was about a girl, something to do with space and an ancient civilization. I believe she had a link with an important being(possibly a princess) from another time/dimension and the book kept switching from the current day girl to the other dimension girl. There was also something to do with both girls being in love but the other dimension girl's lover may have been captured or killed. Does this sound at all familiar to anyone? I'd love to read it again.
ReplyDeleteHi Jaysen,
Deleteyou're talking about The Season of Passage - which was, indeed, an adult book, and a creepy one at that! It's one of my favourite Pike novels :). Like you said, it's an oldie, but it shouldn't be hard to locate a copy. I bought mine a couple of years ago. Good luck!
Yes! Thanks so much! I am going to search for it today.
DeleteGlad I helped :). Good luck again!
Delete