Christopher Pike

His Life:

His Books:

"McFadden is probably one of the most original and exciting authors of teenage fiction this decade," one writer commented. "His writing is flawless, his ideas breathtaking, and there's a mystique about him that's hard to pinpoint. He knows what his readers want and never fails to deliver." McFadden is "a terrific read," another critic, who adds that "there's not much out there that . is. . . . Every book he does has its own identity."

Few authors can lay claim to inventing a genre, but Christopher Pike can. Although there had been mysteries for teens forever, Pike's Slumber Party broke the mold and created something new: the teen thriller.

Slumber Party, his first young adult novel contains the elements which would make his future work, and those of his many imitators, so successful. Pike takes his characters (six single girls) and puts them in a deserted setting (a snowed-in ski lodge). He lays out unexplained happenings (a snowman that melts), starts making characters disappear (all that's left of one is a ski), and adds a supernatural element (an Ouija board). The climax involves the girls about to be killed, not by some outside force, but by one of their group. Now, it is eight years later and she wants revenge. This basic idea: group of kids, deserted setting, unexplained happenings, disappearing characters and supernatural elements would be the guts of Weekend and remain elements of just about all of Pike's popular novels.

In Chain Letter : a group of kids are out driving when they accidently kill someone. A letter comes telling the group they will be punished and then one by one each group member is terrorized. The services the "caretaker" demands on the teens are not so much to punish them as to embarrass them: a straight A student is to fail a test, another is to "streak" through school, and another is to come to school dressed in a clown suit. Chain Letter is easily one of Pike's best, inspiring a sequel Chain Letter 2: The Ancient Evil.

Final Friends -- "I read every book in the Final Friends trilogy. It was great! With every turn of a page, something new happened that would change everything you had suspected to be real. Pike's a wonderful author. I really enjoy reading anything he writes. His characters are easy to relate to. If you like a good mystery I'd highly recommend you read this series."

Remember Me --When Shari Cooper awoke at home after being at her girlfriend's birthday party, her family acted like she wasn't there. They didn't hear a thing she said. They wouldn't even look at her. Then the call came from the hospital. Her father and brother paled. Her mother started to cry. Shari didn't know what was wrong. Not until she followed them to the hospital. There she found herself lying on a cold slab in the morgue. The police said that it was suicide.

1994 Title: The Last Vampire

Summary from a fan: "A story told by an ancient vampire, Alisa, (who also happens to be a beautiful blonde bombshell) this book is absolutely riveting. I know I could not put the book down, I had to finish it in one setting and have now read the rest in the series. Never has there been such a unique or oddly realistic seeming story of horror. Alisa is one of the best characters I've ever read, certainly the best that Pike has ever created. It was so fun to read about how an ancient vampire interacts in a modern day high school, and you begin to feel almost as invincible as Alisa seemingly is. But this is no Buffy the Vampire Slayer type of thing here, this story interwines very spiritual aspects of life and goes very deep into who Alisa really is."

1994 Title: Black Blood,

From School Library Journal "A generally entertaining yarn about a lovely, 5,000-year-old vampire. Sita had thought that she and her companion, Ray, were the last vampires on Earth. However, a murderer who favors dismembering and draining the blood of his victims is stalking Los Angeles, and Sita realizes that her assumption is incorrect. Only she has the power to stop this creature from his evil path? But. he's much stronger than she expected, and she finds herself in a life-and-death struggle. Overall, though, Pike's fans should enjoy the story immensely. Sita is a clever and resourceful heroine and the story is infused with slyly appealing humor.?"

1995 Title: Red Dice

From a reader: "The quality of the book is many times better than the first two, in every possible way. The story of Arturo is sad and depressing, yet it is exciting when she finds out he is still alive. I never would have known that a book as bloddy as so would cause me to shed tears at the end. I would have never blieved that Sita would change herself back to a human after all that time, yet I was happy for her. I have read #4 and I am very pleased with her decision. I cannot wait for the next two."

1996 Title: Phantom

After five thousand years she was again mortal. The dead alchemist's experiment has worked. Alisa is no longer a vampire, but a frail and confused human. Not only that -- she is pregnant. The baby grows in her at supernatural speed. As the stranger watches. The stranger from the past. But what child will Alisa's seed produce? A demon or an angel? Alisa does not know. But the stranger does. He knows everything that ever was. And he knows everything that is to be.

1996 Title: Evil Thirst

From a reader; "The two main characters are Alisa, a five thousand year old vampire who is going against her very own daughter to stop her from getting her best friend's baby Christ. Alisa can't believe it herself that the world has now a new Missiah. So now Alisa tries best with her power to try and stop her daughter from killing the new Missiah. However, to do this Alisa gets help from a group to help shoot down Kalika. The great thing about that is that it is a war between two equally powerful beings - one with knowledge and one with strength."

1996 Title: Creatures of Forever

Alisa the vampire confronts her most mysterious foe in an otherworldly force that promises to destroy or save her when it forces her to choose between sacrificing herself and saving others.

A reader says, "I thought that Pike couldn't have written it better. The whole damn series was absolutley amazing. I loved the ending....even though it was sad. It just closed up the series even though I wished he would have made a 7th and 8th and so on......Thank you Pike for writing these books! I really wish I could hear more adventures of Sita though"

1988 - Gimme a Kiss

Called Pike's nastiest book, Gimme A Kiss, played heavily off the humiliation/revenge theme with its main character's diary being photocopied and passed around school. It also includes another Pike staple: the faked death. In an audacious act, Pike had a character in Fall Into Darkness use Gimme A Kiss as inspiration for her revenge plot.

1992 - Monster
The critics say, " Monster is his first full-blown horror novel and a masterful one. It begins with a bang: a teen girl enters a party and shotguns away two classmates because they are monsters. The rest of the book is a rave-up: all red eyes and raw meat. It is outstanding horror, and fine young adult fiction."

In Monster, "a brilliant horror story," according to Jonathan Weir in Books for Keeps, Mary shoots three teens at a party, claiming they were monsters. Mary's best friend Angela doesn't believe her until the evidence becomes overwhelming. Then Angela decides to take over where Mary left off.

"Do you like a mystery? Do you like a murder mystery? Do you like an exciting murder mystery? Well if you do, read Spellboud. This is an exciting book with some action. When I read this book there was nothing to do to get me away from reading this book. In the story love is combined with daring acts. When the story begins a young lady has been murdered by a supposed grizzly bear. Was it really a grizzly or was it something else? What kin of spell was cast? This book is a really good book and I recommend that you read it. I really like this book so I know you will. "

"Fall into Darkness" begins in a courtroom. Sharon McKay has been accused of killing her best friend, Ann Rice, but Sharon knows she's innocent. Ann had apparently died from a fall from a cliff, but there's no real proof of this because her body was never found. So, it's up to Sharon's attorney, Johnny Richmond, to prove that she didn't push Ann off the cliff, rather Ann jumped to her death.

The book switches between the present (the trial) and the past (just before, and up to, Ann's death). The reader soon learns Ann harbored a strong hatred for her best friend Sharon. She blamed Sharon for breaking her brother's (Jerry Rice) heart, which ultimately lead to his suicide one year ago. However, nobody knows about Ann's pent-up anger--least of all Sharon--, except for Ann's boyfriend, Paul Lear. He's the only one Ann confides in about her need for revenge.

"I've read almost all of Christopher Pikes adult and young adult books, this was my favorite. The story starts right away, and after you've begun you won't be able to put it down until your finished. It's a back-prickler, sure to have you checking under your bed at night. The story take place in the future when and a group of scientists and astronauts decide to travel to Mars to see if there really is other life forms, and what became of the last group that took this voyage. What they find will shock you. Along with the Mars plot, another story relating to this book is written by one of the characters, Lauren's little sister. How they all tie together will amaze you. If this book doesn't frighten you, you probably didn't read it. Mr. Pike has really outdone himself with this novel, I still can't believe it didn't win more awards. It may seem far-fetched at first but once you really get into it, it becomes kind of real. All of these reasons are why I gave it a 5 star rating. "

He did not want to kill. Dusty Shame was a high school senior, and a serial killer. Already he has murdered three young women, and he has more planned. Yet Dusty did not want to hurt anybody. There was something inside him, or perhaps outside him, that compelled him to kill.

Sheila Hardolt has lost her best friend to Dusty's insane attacks. It will be her task to probe the clues Dusty has left at the site of each of his murders. Clues that will point her into the past -- to a time when a large portion of mankind lost all sense of decency. There she will find the seed of Dusty's evil compulsion.

"The story is told from the point of view of Josie "Goodwin" (does that tip you off that she's the heroine?) She is on a trip to Greece with her father, her friend Helen Demeter, and her dad's much younger girlfriend from Beverly Hills named "Silk". Josie hates her.
The basic tone of this book is fun, although it does get serious later on. There is nothing in it that made me cringe and have nightmares when I read it at age 12, a long time ago. It's a pretty sweet story, and it portrays a thought provoking,modern Olympus. I used to love to read Greek mythology and he does a wonderful job capturing the flavor and folklore of the stories. It feels like something that he put a lot of thought into, and being a good storyteller, he really shines in this story. I think he must have gone to Greece and liked it. You and me both, Mr. Pike. "

The grave is not the end of the story.

It begins with an innocent young man being led deep into the woods by a mysterious young lady. There he is attacked by a cruel cult, stripped of his clothes, thrown naked into a coffin, and buried alive to the sound of strange chants.

It continues with a pretty girl meeting a fascinating guy. A guy who is not like other guys. Who hardly seems to blink...or breathe, and who emits a cool presence even in the midday sun.

David, 28, is recovering from a bad breakup with his girlfriend, when her body is discovered on the beach near his home. He is accused of her death, but he knows she can't be dead because she keeps leaving messages on his answering machine.

From a reader, "I was so happy to have a Christopher Pike in my hands again. I am hoping that his hiatus is over and we can start looking forward to more frequent publications. (5 years since the last book.) Pike is a master of the horror/fantasy genre and this book lives up to my high expectations. Please don't make us wait so long for another, Mr. Pike! "

Some recommendations from a Pike reader
" Am 18 and have been reading Pike since I was 10 - still head for Young Adult section to look for any new Pike books. With each new novel, a little bit more of the author becomes clear. Fans will notice that he interweaves parts of previous novels into each book, such as character names etc. Although I myself am not religous, I have become used to the relgious/spiritual undertones in his more recent novels. My favourite novels are the beautiful SATI and Midnight Club and his classic Monster Also brillant are the Last Vampire series (first is best)/The Wicked Heart and Die Softly. Try to read a variety of his novels, particularly his earlier ones if you are just starting on Pike, as they cover widely different subjects, from Sci-Fi to murder mystery to romance to life and death. Pike is a truly magnificent author, who genuinly understands his readers. Will happily still be browsing Young Adult section come my 30th b/d!"