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Chain Letter #1-2
Chain Letter: Chain Letter / The Ancient Evil
When Alison first got the chain letter signed “Your Caretaker,” she thought it was a sick joke. But then it became clear that someone, somewhere knows about that awful night when she and six friends committed an unthinkable crime. And now that person is determined to make them pay.
One by the one, the chain letter comes to each of them, demanding dangerous, impossible deeds. No one wants to believe that this nightmare is really happening, but then the accidents start. And the deaths.
Finding the truth behind the stalker’s identity seems to be the only option, but even that might not be enough. The Caretaker has a prodigy who is even more frightening than the first, and this time he wants more than retribution. He’s out for blood.
--back cover
One by the one, the chain letter comes to each of them, demanding dangerous, impossible deeds. No one wants to believe that this nightmare is really happening, but then the accidents start. And the deaths.
Finding the truth behind the stalker’s identity seems to be the only option, but even that might not be enough. The Caretaker has a prodigy who is even more frightening than the first, and this time he wants more than retribution. He’s out for blood.
--back cover
456 pages, Paperback
First published July 23, 2013
150 people are currently reading
1141 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Pike
261 books5,467 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
April 17, 2020
"The phone rang. All of them jumped. Boy, they made lousy heroes."
Chain Letter: Chain Letter; The Ancient Evil (Chain Letter, #1-2)
by Christopher Pike
I had read both these books in my youth but decided it was time for a reread. And I still, after all these years, adore Pike.
Pike writes great YA mysteries and the wonderful thing about his writing is the humanity he gives his characters. They all come alive, under his pen, and as a result, some of his characters have stayed with me over many years as I often think of them, in a way like friends.
Neil is one such character. Neil, along with a group of other kids, were involved in a terrible tragedy the tear before. They covered it up and now all this time later, someone calling themselves "your caretaker" is sending them letters. Letters asking them to do horrible things..or their secret will not stay that way.
At first, the tasks are funny or not to difficult. But as time ticks on, the severity of the tasks escalate. Unable to figure out who is sending the letters, the group must look to themselves as more clues come out to reveal the caretaker maybe someone within their own circle..
I adored part one. It has..well..just about everything one could want. It is part two that I disliked and I will try to explain why. That is also why I rated the two books together at a three.
In part one, everything is wrapped up. I felt that a part two was not even needed. But in part two it suddenly turns into a super natural horror story with bodies piling up and lots of plot holes. I was mystified and really did not get it.
SPOILERS:
Part two, for me, made no sense. Who was Sasha really? Was she Jane ? How did she know every thing that was going on yet Joan was able to fool her about the blanks in the gun? Why was Neil allowed to come back to save Allison but not Fran and Kip? Was Brenda in the box now? And what exactly WAS the box? Did Allison and Tony get back together? How could they ever get beyond the trauma of all the deaths?
I respect Mr. Pike so much..I mean I LOVE his work. But I wish, if he was going to make a part two, it had made a little more sense and not gone into super natural territory. It was not believable and had so many plot holes. Also, it just wasn't very enjoyable to read about.
I also could not stand Tony in part two. Yeah, I mean he is supposed to be possessed but the horrible names he calls Allie and the slut shaming..could have lived without that.
That being said..I adore Neil. I just do. He remains one of the most exquisitely drawn characters in YA Mystery history and I loved the scene with Allie in the cabin by the lake. That almost made part two worth it although I really wish Pike had not killed off any of the old gang.
It was great to revisit this series. I think I will always be a Pike fan and if you have yet to read The Chain Letter and have not met Neil yet..you are missing out. Highly recommended.
September 14, 2022
Not impressed with how they edited these books to make them "modern" in this bind up.
October 4, 2018
Chain Letter was first published in 1986 but between now and then, I have the strong belief Pike cleaned up the manuscript to make the book better suited for modern audiences. (I did purchase this book as a 2013 edition, but there is no direct mention of edits.) The language is a bit dated, characters aren't whipping out their cellphones and snapchatting every ten seconds, and pop culture references aren't exactly current (a go-to movie for a night at home is Wizard of Oz) but I never had trouble following.
In Chain Letter, Alison and her six friends receive a letter saying they have to perform deeds or else face the consequences, because a year ago they committed a terrible crime and now they have to pay. My main concern with books that have such a huge main cast is that people will fade into the background or end up flat (i.e. oh yeah, he's the one who makes the jokes ... and then all he does the entire book is make jokes). But Pike did a wonderful job in making sure each character had ample time to develop amidst the "deeds." I'm stunned to say I can actually remember all the characters' names without looking back at the book, which *never* happens for me (Fran, Brenda, Alison, Tony, Joan, Neil, Kipp). Each does play a role in the book, so no one feels superfluous.
What I have always enjoyed about Pike's writing is that he won't put in a detail unless there's a reason. In his mystery/thriller/horror books, like this one, those details are put in to mislead you or drop clues towards the villain. If you pay attention, the villain can be deduced (which I love! I appreciate when mystery books give you a chance to figure out who did it) BUT at the same time it's not too obvious.
The real questions is, does the book live up to its horror genre? (I mean, I'm saying it's horror, I'm not 100% sure that's its original classification). I was definitely spooked in some parts. When Alison, Fran and Brenda find the first letter, there's certainly an unsettling vibe. They have no clue who this "Caretaker" is, but this person has set up an elaborate plan to punish them.
Throughout the book, the characters react differently to the deeds (and some eventual punishments). The "unthinkable crime" is not as terrifying but the thoughts that the characters attach to it are (especially considering what is happening to them now). But the spook-factor really picks up halfway through the book. You can sense that the Caretaker is getting frustrated and just wants results because the punishments get more deadly and suddenly I'm regretting reading this book at night, alone.
I would say, though: if you loooove horror and watch it all the time, no, you'll definitely equate this book to mild salsa. Which doesn't mean you shouldn't read it, but just letting you know how to sense out the level of terror.
Chain Letter is definitely creepy, and the villain *actually has all the reasons to be doing this* like this was such a well constructed villain. I realize how often I complain about badly characterized villains, well, this villain does not fit that complaint.
Read this book if you like to be creeped out, if you enjoy a little heart racing flutters of fear, or if you like villains that have the good reasons. (The ending was pretty solid too.)
Four and a half crowns because (and I'm going to get a little vague here or else you would have all the spoilers) the plot sped up at one point for reasons unexplained. It didn't make my reading experience bad but the plotting could just have been a little cleaner on that.
Join me on my book journey!
In Chain Letter, Alison and her six friends receive a letter saying they have to perform deeds or else face the consequences, because a year ago they committed a terrible crime and now they have to pay. My main concern with books that have such a huge main cast is that people will fade into the background or end up flat (i.e. oh yeah, he's the one who makes the jokes ... and then all he does the entire book is make jokes). But Pike did a wonderful job in making sure each character had ample time to develop amidst the "deeds." I'm stunned to say I can actually remember all the characters' names without looking back at the book, which *never* happens for me (Fran, Brenda, Alison, Tony, Joan, Neil, Kipp). Each does play a role in the book, so no one feels superfluous.
What I have always enjoyed about Pike's writing is that he won't put in a detail unless there's a reason. In his mystery/thriller/horror books, like this one, those details are put in to mislead you or drop clues towards the villain. If you pay attention, the villain can be deduced (which I love! I appreciate when mystery books give you a chance to figure out who did it) BUT at the same time it's not too obvious.
The real questions is, does the book live up to its horror genre? (I mean, I'm saying it's horror, I'm not 100% sure that's its original classification). I was definitely spooked in some parts. When Alison, Fran and Brenda find the first letter, there's certainly an unsettling vibe. They have no clue who this "Caretaker" is, but this person has set up an elaborate plan to punish them.
Throughout the book, the characters react differently to the deeds (and some eventual punishments). The "unthinkable crime" is not as terrifying but the thoughts that the characters attach to it are (especially considering what is happening to them now). But the spook-factor really picks up halfway through the book. You can sense that the Caretaker is getting frustrated and just wants results because the punishments get more deadly and suddenly I'm regretting reading this book at night, alone.
I would say, though: if you loooove horror and watch it all the time, no, you'll definitely equate this book to mild salsa. Which doesn't mean you shouldn't read it, but just letting you know how to sense out the level of terror.
Chain Letter is definitely creepy, and the villain *actually has all the reasons to be doing this* like this was such a well constructed villain. I realize how often I complain about badly characterized villains, well, this villain does not fit that complaint.
Read this book if you like to be creeped out, if you enjoy a little heart racing flutters of fear, or if you like villains that have the good reasons. (The ending was pretty solid too.)
Four and a half crowns because (and I'm going to get a little vague here or else you would have all the spoilers) the plot sped up at one point for reasons unexplained. It didn't make my reading experience bad but the plotting could just have been a little cleaner on that.
Join me on my book journey!
January 12, 2011
I LOVE THAT THEY ARE RE-RELEASING THESE BOOKS!
November 7, 2020
First read Chain Letter, #1 as a teenager, but never got to read the sequel, so was excited to find the two of them combined at the library book sale. Not a bad book, if you're still in your teens, as an adult the character's decisions were a bit questionable. Reminded me of both I Know What You Did Last Summer and Pretty Little Liars. The sequel got really weird at the end, went in a totally different direction than the first book and I thought it was totally unnecessary. I think Pike would have been better off leaving Chain Letter as a stand alone book, The Ancient Evil would definitely not have garnered him much in the way of fans.
August 4, 2018
Trigger warnings: death, cancer, car accident, drink driving, violence, self harm, fire, threats to an animal, threats to a loved one, psychological manipulation, slut shaming, misogyny.
3 stars for Chain Letter, 1 star for The Ancient Evil, which was a hot mess.
So here's the thing: I *loved* Christopher Pike when I was a young, impressionable teen. It was the next step from Goosebumps and Agatha Christie, because the characters had The Sex and went to parties where they drank and OMG IT WAS SO RISQUE.
So when we got this for work, I decided it was about time I reread it. And Chain Letter was.......not terrible. It's hideously dated and I wish they hadn't tried to update it, because it just means that everyone talks like it's the 80s but they occasionally have mobile phones. They never use them like actual teenagers would, but they HAVE them and apparently that's important.
So. Chain Letter was...eh. It was fine. It was mildly spooky, it went places I didn't quite expect, and there were plenty of twists and turns.
But The Ancient Evil? That book was a fucking TRASHFIRE.
Also, there's a ton of occult/Satanic stuff in The Ancient Evil that I didn't expect at all and while I give zero fucks about it, I'mma have to delete this book from the catalogue at work. So...thanks a lot for writing a sequel when one definitely wasn't needed, Christopher Pike.
3 stars for Chain Letter, 1 star for The Ancient Evil, which was a hot mess.
So here's the thing: I *loved* Christopher Pike when I was a young, impressionable teen. It was the next step from Goosebumps and Agatha Christie, because the characters had The Sex and went to parties where they drank and OMG IT WAS SO RISQUE.
So when we got this for work, I decided it was about time I reread it. And Chain Letter was.......not terrible. It's hideously dated and I wish they hadn't tried to update it, because it just means that everyone talks like it's the 80s but they occasionally have mobile phones. They never use them like actual teenagers would, but they HAVE them and apparently that's important.
So. Chain Letter was...eh. It was fine. It was mildly spooky, it went places I didn't quite expect, and there were plenty of twists and turns.
But The Ancient Evil? That book was a fucking TRASHFIRE.
Also, there's a ton of occult/Satanic stuff in The Ancient Evil that I didn't expect at all and while I give zero fucks about it, I'mma have to delete this book from the catalogue at work. So...thanks a lot for writing a sequel when one definitely wasn't needed, Christopher Pike.
May 17, 2015
3 stars go to Chain Letter while one is for Ancient Evil xD
Chain Letter
I loved the mystery in this book. It was reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars and it was very intriguing. The idea of a person sending chain letters to a group of friends containing dares that have extreme consequence if not performed as the sender requested. That leaves the friends in a very tight spot of what to do about this problem.
within this mystery, there's a bit of romance between Allison Parker and Tony Hunt. I loved their relationship and how really good they were together.
The plot had such a surprising twist by the end and it was really surprising. I did not see it coming.
Ancient Evil
The second book continues the mystery of the chain letter sender. Even though I thought that ended with book 1, he/she came back with even more extreme demands That was pure insanity. Soon, we learn why these demands are this way and if you're clever you'll have a hint from the book's title xD
Anyways, I didn't like this book as much as the first one. And I did not like how the romance was handled. Also, I did not like how it ended, it was very confusing. However, the mystery was wrapped up nicely.
Chain Letter
I loved the mystery in this book. It was reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars and it was very intriguing. The idea of a person sending chain letters to a group of friends containing dares that have extreme consequence if not performed as the sender requested. That leaves the friends in a very tight spot of what to do about this problem.
within this mystery, there's a bit of romance between Allison Parker and Tony Hunt. I loved their relationship and how really good they were together.
The plot had such a surprising twist by the end and it was really surprising. I did not see it coming.
Ancient Evil
The second book continues the mystery of the chain letter sender. Even though I thought that ended with book 1, he/she came back with even more extreme demands That was pure insanity. Soon, we learn why these demands are this way and if you're clever you'll have a hint from the book's title xD
Anyways, I didn't like this book as much as the first one. And I did not like how the romance was handled. Also, I did not like how it ended, it was very confusing. However, the mystery was wrapped up nicely.
June 14, 2022
In this book, a group of friends share a horrific experience and shortly after receive a chain letter from “The Caretaker” telling them to complete unpleasant tasks or else their secret will be exposed.
This story grabbed me right away and the pace and plot kept my attention throughout. I would definitely say that the first book (Chain Letter) was more intriguing and harder to put down than Ancient Evil (the second book) was, because I was more invested in trying to figure out who “The Caretaker” was. I truly enjoyed both books, but I think Chain Letter is more tame in comparison to Ancient Evil.
What I Liked:
🔹I didn’t know who “The Caretaker” was until it was revealed
🔹The writing style
🔹The pace
What I Didn’t Like:
🔹Ancient Evil wasn’t as good as Chain Letter
This story grabbed me right away and the pace and plot kept my attention throughout. I would definitely say that the first book (Chain Letter) was more intriguing and harder to put down than Ancient Evil (the second book) was, because I was more invested in trying to figure out who “The Caretaker” was. I truly enjoyed both books, but I think Chain Letter is more tame in comparison to Ancient Evil.
What I Liked:
🔹I didn’t know who “The Caretaker” was until it was revealed
🔹The writing style
🔹The pace
What I Didn’t Like:
🔹Ancient Evil wasn’t as good as Chain Letter
March 9, 2014
CHRISTOPHER PIKE HASN'T DISAPPOINTED ME YET!!! LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!! :D TH ENDING WAS A KILLER!!
PArt 1: Chain Letter - Alison PArker, Brenda Paxson & Fran Darey are friends in a larger circle - their other friends include Joan, Tony, Neil Hurly & Kipp. So Fran gets a chain letter in the mail & there's 3 columns - after completing the tasks in Column 1, which will appear in the paper everyday, they get moved to Column 2 & then 3. So neither of them wants to believe it & it all relates back to something that happened the previous summer. So they tell the guys & ofc, there's suspicion that it's someone in their group but if it's someone from the outside; they're screwed. What happened the summer before was on their way back from a concert, Tony was driving & they got lost in the desert area & hit a guy & they looked & they guy was dead so they buried him there in the desert - Neil was the only one who wanted to go to the police but they rest of them didn't agree - but they didn't know if the guy was already dead or if they'd killed him - Neil's also got a bad leg; some cartilage damage & he's saving up for surgery - Fran's first task was to replace the school mascot's head with a goat - like paint it over & she did - Kipp's next; it said to flunk his next calculus exam & he aced it. And his car crashes as punishment but he's okay. Brenda's task is to tell the drama director that he's the worst director in the world & she's in the play & so she does it & is kicked off. Alison really likes Tony but he'd seen Joan a few times & they've been kissing & stuff lately. Tony's task is to come last in the next races; he's a runner on the track team & he comes in 1st for the first race but the 2nd one he blows it after passing out; his drink had something in it & he's sent to the hospital. Neil was supposed to get sick in class & Joan had to come to school dressed as a bozo clown & that wasn't bad. Alison had to flub her opening lines in the play & she didn't & the whole set fell down instead :O So the cycle's complete & now everyone's in Column 2. Now the task will be in he paper but written backwards. Fran's is to streak naked through the school at lunch & Ali suggests that she should go away for a few days. She goes away & Kipp's task is to tell everyone he cheated on the SAT & tell M.I.T. Fran disappears in the meantime :O There's an accident at Kipp's house when he refuses to do the task & the police find blood in his room all over the floor & Kipp's gone. Brenda's task is to tell every teacher in the school to go to hell & she does it. Neil's task is to burn down the school - he refuses & there's a fire at his house and he dies in the fire & they identified him based on his emerald ring that he always wore. The funeral happens & OMGGG NEIL WAS MY FAVE!!!!! He loved Alison & the bitch was so wrapped up in her own life & he wanted her to have his ring <3 Ms. Hurly, Neil's mom, tells them the truth of what had been going on - Neil hadn't had cartilage damage but cancer in his leg & it started spreading & all the times he'd missed school was for chemotherapy & the last X-rays showed he had a tumour in his brain. Joan's task is to spread a rumour she's gay. Alison's home alone one night & her parents are in NY & someone starts knocking on the door & then at the back door, axing it down like in her dreams & she tries to get out through the front door & someone grabs her hand when she reaches through the broken glass to get the pin out that was stuck into the front door to trap her inside & she's got a gun & only 2 bullets - & she goes upstairs, bleeding & the person follows her up & she shoots a gun at the door & thinks she hit the person & thought it was Joan but no one's there so she runs out to her car & ofc, the car isn't working & she runs off into the rain & there's a house in their area (they live in a literally deserted area as part of a new residential place) & she goes in cuz she heard ppl laughing & music inside but no one's there & the person grabs her & they wrestle & she tries to get out of the house & uses her second bullet which she totally missed & she sees THE CARETAKER, AS HE'S BEEN REFERRING TO HIMSELF ALL THIS TIME - THE CARETAKER SHE SAW HIM & SHE FALLS & IS KNOCKED OUT & HE GETS HER! Meanwhile, Tony realizes there's extra letters in the task messages & puts them together so it reads 'Go To Police Please Tony Or I Will Die Yours Neil Hurly' & e digs up the grave where they buried that man & puts it together - the grave's empty so Neil didn't die in the house fire - & he'd put the man's body there & that's the body they'd found & OMFGGG I KNEW IT - I STARTED SUSPECTING IT AT ONE POINT & OMFGG NEIL'S MY FAVEOURITE CHARACTER & IT'S REALLY SAD & I DIDN'T HATE HIM OR ANYTHING - So Tony goes to Alison's & knows he's too late & ALi wakes up & all the others are there - trapped but alive & Neil comes & Ali uses his crush against him & he's angry at Tony b/c Tony asked her out when he knew that Neil liked her - what a shit & he says that they all have to return to where it started, to the man's grave & he's gonna put them out with something using a needle & Tony bursts in & he'd been watching & felt terrible - Neil's got a knife to Ali's throat & Tony unties the others & tells Neil to let Alison go & Fran offers herself instead - Fran also loved Neil. & after all this talking stuff, Neil just dropped the knife, tired of it all & Tony grabbed him before he fell & says he'd take care of Neil, his best friend. EPILOGUE: Ali has neighbours move in & Tony tells her what happened with Neil; he took him to a cottage someplace & they talked about everything except the chain letter & Caretaker stuff & Neil died in a chair the day before.
Part 2: The Ancient Evil - Fran gets another chain letter - practically the same as the one Neil sent them but who can it be this time? Someone in their group or on the outside? Ali & Tony are fighting because she might want to go to NY for school & he's pissed that she's gonna leave him. Now from Column 3, they'll go to the box in the chain letters & Ali's name isn't on the list which is weird. But the punishment is death if they don't complete the task - Fran's is to drown her puppy. Tony meets a new girl, Sasha & she gives massages. NEW POV FROM AN ERIC VALENCE - his dad's an officer & gives him the codes to get into all the case files & Eric's finds Neil Hurly's case & is suspicious because if NEil had been wearing an emerald ring in the fire, it would've been destroyed for sure - so he decides to investigate. Fran was in a car accident & her dead was decapitated from her body. Kipp's task is to burn his sister's entire right arm - meanwhile, Tony goes to a nightclub with Sasha & she takes him over to Ali's, saying he does want to see what she's doing. And Kipp goes away for a few days as well, there's nothing else for him to do. Ali goes on a walk in these woods & unbeknownst to her, she goes to the cottage that Neil died in & meets a strange guy that emanated love & he tells her she has to go to where it all began & that there's 2 places - so she goes to Neil's old house & Eric is there & he takes her for coffee & she tells him everything & he tells her what he thinks & his suspicions. Tony & Sasha saw them later on when he dropped her off at home & she gave him FRIENDLY HUG & Tony's all like Fuck Alison - like how dumb is this boy?!?!? & Eric searches all missing persons reports for the previous year in July & they find a James Whiting & that's their dead guy. In his dreams, Tony sees Kipp being put on fire by the caretaker & his dreams are full of screams where there's this wall & on one side, there's suffering & the other side is forsaken & he's going toward the wall. Kipp is actually killed a few days later & they have Fran's funeral - Brenda & Kipp were dating, poor girl. Brenda's task is to cut off her trigger finger & give it to Joan with her letter - AND SHE DOES IT OMFGGG :O ALI & ERIC GO SEE James Whiting's wife; Carol & she tells them the whole story - how James got involved in drugs & blew all their savings & he was having an affair with a girl named Charlene & there was this cult business going on & Charlene needed James to be her victim in a ritual murder to be a witch & Charlene disappeared after & then the police wanted Carol to come by a morgue & identify a body, who they believed was Charlene & it was, supposedly. And they tell her what Ali & her friends did & Carol doesn't blame them & they want to go talk to Charlene's parents next - the Clemenses'. There, they talk to Charlene's father & Charlene's name was actually JAne & Ali sees a pic of Charlene & freaks out - IT'S FUCKING SASHA!!!!!! OMFGGG :O SO SHE'S NOT DEAD - And now Ali thinks Neil's not dead & they have to check that man's grave so they head there - Tony's still having all these fucked up dreams & he's had sex with her so now she has some kind of mind control over him & Sasha did the same kind of thing to Neil by kissing him & Neil had once mumbled something about something inside his head, making him do all of it, this voice - but she couldn't fully control him because he was truly good & shed only kissed him, whereas with Tony, they'd had sex. Joan shows up with the gun & gives it to Tony, loaded - So Sasha tells him to read his task, which i to BLOW ALI'S BRAINS OUT - & he's shocked but under her control & SASHA IS THE CARETAKER :O & she tells him that Ali's gonna turn him in to the police & that she's digging up Neil's body & he doesn't believe her so she takes him there - Tony's about to shoot her there & they're having a confrontational thing - & Eric pulls the witch into the grave hole - they'd hit something squishy & were head deep so Neil's body was there, but Tony didn't bury him that deep so maybe it's not Neil?? & so Ali hits Tony & the witch with the shovel & runs to her car, where the witch puts her hand through the window & yanks off a handful of her hair & there's embalming fluid inside the girl, leaking out - that's how Fran's head got decapitated, she was in the car with her. She remembered that the stranger she's met was Neil in another form but it was him & he'd said they could break the chain only with love & so Ali gives up & Neil was dead actually in the grave i think. Tony's totally under the witch's spell & points the gun at Ali & she tells him she'll always love him & pulls the trigger herself & she's bleeding out, shot in the chest & that's when tony snaps out of it & he puts the gun to the witch's temple & shot her. Ali's passing out & felt someone good coming - the stranger shows up - the witch, that Caretaker is dead & the stranger is Neil in another form & Tony begs him to save Alison so Neil tells Tony & Eric that Joan didn't put real bullets in the gun but even an empty shell shot at such close range - the wood piece would still harm a person so that's why the witch is dead but Ali's gonna be okay- her skin would be torn up but the wound wasn't fatal & he says to see it how you wish it & when asked, he tells Tony he'd see him again one day. Then he walks into the night & is gone & Tony's overjoyed that Ali's alive - Tony's so fucking stupid why couldn't Ali & Neil end up together - Eric said he wanted to check the gun but Tony tells him to leave is & they'd see it how they wished it & that to him, it's a miracle.
WOWWWWW!!! CHRISTOPHER PIKE JUST KILLED IT!!!!!!!!
NEIL <3 such a aohvajfivjfov i loved him
PArt 1: Chain Letter - Alison PArker, Brenda Paxson & Fran Darey are friends in a larger circle - their other friends include Joan, Tony, Neil Hurly & Kipp. So Fran gets a chain letter in the mail & there's 3 columns - after completing the tasks in Column 1, which will appear in the paper everyday, they get moved to Column 2 & then 3. So neither of them wants to believe it & it all relates back to something that happened the previous summer. So they tell the guys & ofc, there's suspicion that it's someone in their group but if it's someone from the outside; they're screwed. What happened the summer before was on their way back from a concert, Tony was driving & they got lost in the desert area & hit a guy & they looked & they guy was dead so they buried him there in the desert - Neil was the only one who wanted to go to the police but they rest of them didn't agree - but they didn't know if the guy was already dead or if they'd killed him - Neil's also got a bad leg; some cartilage damage & he's saving up for surgery - Fran's first task was to replace the school mascot's head with a goat - like paint it over & she did - Kipp's next; it said to flunk his next calculus exam & he aced it. And his car crashes as punishment but he's okay. Brenda's task is to tell the drama director that he's the worst director in the world & she's in the play & so she does it & is kicked off. Alison really likes Tony but he'd seen Joan a few times & they've been kissing & stuff lately. Tony's task is to come last in the next races; he's a runner on the track team & he comes in 1st for the first race but the 2nd one he blows it after passing out; his drink had something in it & he's sent to the hospital. Neil was supposed to get sick in class & Joan had to come to school dressed as a bozo clown & that wasn't bad. Alison had to flub her opening lines in the play & she didn't & the whole set fell down instead :O So the cycle's complete & now everyone's in Column 2. Now the task will be in he paper but written backwards. Fran's is to streak naked through the school at lunch & Ali suggests that she should go away for a few days. She goes away & Kipp's task is to tell everyone he cheated on the SAT & tell M.I.T. Fran disappears in the meantime :O There's an accident at Kipp's house when he refuses to do the task & the police find blood in his room all over the floor & Kipp's gone. Brenda's task is to tell every teacher in the school to go to hell & she does it. Neil's task is to burn down the school - he refuses & there's a fire at his house and he dies in the fire & they identified him based on his emerald ring that he always wore. The funeral happens & OMGGG NEIL WAS MY FAVE!!!!! He loved Alison & the bitch was so wrapped up in her own life & he wanted her to have his ring <3 Ms. Hurly, Neil's mom, tells them the truth of what had been going on - Neil hadn't had cartilage damage but cancer in his leg & it started spreading & all the times he'd missed school was for chemotherapy & the last X-rays showed he had a tumour in his brain. Joan's task is to spread a rumour she's gay. Alison's home alone one night & her parents are in NY & someone starts knocking on the door & then at the back door, axing it down like in her dreams & she tries to get out through the front door & someone grabs her hand when she reaches through the broken glass to get the pin out that was stuck into the front door to trap her inside & she's got a gun & only 2 bullets - & she goes upstairs, bleeding & the person follows her up & she shoots a gun at the door & thinks she hit the person & thought it was Joan but no one's there so she runs out to her car & ofc, the car isn't working & she runs off into the rain & there's a house in their area (they live in a literally deserted area as part of a new residential place) & she goes in cuz she heard ppl laughing & music inside but no one's there & the person grabs her & they wrestle & she tries to get out of the house & uses her second bullet which she totally missed & she sees THE CARETAKER, AS HE'S BEEN REFERRING TO HIMSELF ALL THIS TIME - THE CARETAKER SHE SAW HIM & SHE FALLS & IS KNOCKED OUT & HE GETS HER! Meanwhile, Tony realizes there's extra letters in the task messages & puts them together so it reads 'Go To Police Please Tony Or I Will Die Yours Neil Hurly' & e digs up the grave where they buried that man & puts it together - the grave's empty so Neil didn't die in the house fire - & he'd put the man's body there & that's the body they'd found & OMFGGG I KNEW IT - I STARTED SUSPECTING IT AT ONE POINT & OMFGG NEIL'S MY FAVEOURITE CHARACTER & IT'S REALLY SAD & I DIDN'T HATE HIM OR ANYTHING - So Tony goes to Alison's & knows he's too late & ALi wakes up & all the others are there - trapped but alive & Neil comes & Ali uses his crush against him & he's angry at Tony b/c Tony asked her out when he knew that Neil liked her - what a shit & he says that they all have to return to where it started, to the man's grave & he's gonna put them out with something using a needle & Tony bursts in & he'd been watching & felt terrible - Neil's got a knife to Ali's throat & Tony unties the others & tells Neil to let Alison go & Fran offers herself instead - Fran also loved Neil. & after all this talking stuff, Neil just dropped the knife, tired of it all & Tony grabbed him before he fell & says he'd take care of Neil, his best friend. EPILOGUE: Ali has neighbours move in & Tony tells her what happened with Neil; he took him to a cottage someplace & they talked about everything except the chain letter & Caretaker stuff & Neil died in a chair the day before.
Part 2: The Ancient Evil - Fran gets another chain letter - practically the same as the one Neil sent them but who can it be this time? Someone in their group or on the outside? Ali & Tony are fighting because she might want to go to NY for school & he's pissed that she's gonna leave him. Now from Column 3, they'll go to the box in the chain letters & Ali's name isn't on the list which is weird. But the punishment is death if they don't complete the task - Fran's is to drown her puppy. Tony meets a new girl, Sasha & she gives massages. NEW POV FROM AN ERIC VALENCE - his dad's an officer & gives him the codes to get into all the case files & Eric's finds Neil Hurly's case & is suspicious because if NEil had been wearing an emerald ring in the fire, it would've been destroyed for sure - so he decides to investigate. Fran was in a car accident & her dead was decapitated from her body. Kipp's task is to burn his sister's entire right arm - meanwhile, Tony goes to a nightclub with Sasha & she takes him over to Ali's, saying he does want to see what she's doing. And Kipp goes away for a few days as well, there's nothing else for him to do. Ali goes on a walk in these woods & unbeknownst to her, she goes to the cottage that Neil died in & meets a strange guy that emanated love & he tells her she has to go to where it all began & that there's 2 places - so she goes to Neil's old house & Eric is there & he takes her for coffee & she tells him everything & he tells her what he thinks & his suspicions. Tony & Sasha saw them later on when he dropped her off at home & she gave him FRIENDLY HUG & Tony's all like Fuck Alison - like how dumb is this boy?!?!? & Eric searches all missing persons reports for the previous year in July & they find a James Whiting & that's their dead guy. In his dreams, Tony sees Kipp being put on fire by the caretaker & his dreams are full of screams where there's this wall & on one side, there's suffering & the other side is forsaken & he's going toward the wall. Kipp is actually killed a few days later & they have Fran's funeral - Brenda & Kipp were dating, poor girl. Brenda's task is to cut off her trigger finger & give it to Joan with her letter - AND SHE DOES IT OMFGGG :O ALI & ERIC GO SEE James Whiting's wife; Carol & she tells them the whole story - how James got involved in drugs & blew all their savings & he was having an affair with a girl named Charlene & there was this cult business going on & Charlene needed James to be her victim in a ritual murder to be a witch & Charlene disappeared after & then the police wanted Carol to come by a morgue & identify a body, who they believed was Charlene & it was, supposedly. And they tell her what Ali & her friends did & Carol doesn't blame them & they want to go talk to Charlene's parents next - the Clemenses'. There, they talk to Charlene's father & Charlene's name was actually JAne & Ali sees a pic of Charlene & freaks out - IT'S FUCKING SASHA!!!!!! OMFGGG :O SO SHE'S NOT DEAD - And now Ali thinks Neil's not dead & they have to check that man's grave so they head there - Tony's still having all these fucked up dreams & he's had sex with her so now she has some kind of mind control over him & Sasha did the same kind of thing to Neil by kissing him & Neil had once mumbled something about something inside his head, making him do all of it, this voice - but she couldn't fully control him because he was truly good & shed only kissed him, whereas with Tony, they'd had sex. Joan shows up with the gun & gives it to Tony, loaded - So Sasha tells him to read his task, which i to BLOW ALI'S BRAINS OUT - & he's shocked but under her control & SASHA IS THE CARETAKER :O & she tells him that Ali's gonna turn him in to the police & that she's digging up Neil's body & he doesn't believe her so she takes him there - Tony's about to shoot her there & they're having a confrontational thing - & Eric pulls the witch into the grave hole - they'd hit something squishy & were head deep so Neil's body was there, but Tony didn't bury him that deep so maybe it's not Neil?? & so Ali hits Tony & the witch with the shovel & runs to her car, where the witch puts her hand through the window & yanks off a handful of her hair & there's embalming fluid inside the girl, leaking out - that's how Fran's head got decapitated, she was in the car with her. She remembered that the stranger she's met was Neil in another form but it was him & he'd said they could break the chain only with love & so Ali gives up & Neil was dead actually in the grave i think. Tony's totally under the witch's spell & points the gun at Ali & she tells him she'll always love him & pulls the trigger herself & she's bleeding out, shot in the chest & that's when tony snaps out of it & he puts the gun to the witch's temple & shot her. Ali's passing out & felt someone good coming - the stranger shows up - the witch, that Caretaker is dead & the stranger is Neil in another form & Tony begs him to save Alison so Neil tells Tony & Eric that Joan didn't put real bullets in the gun but even an empty shell shot at such close range - the wood piece would still harm a person so that's why the witch is dead but Ali's gonna be okay- her skin would be torn up but the wound wasn't fatal & he says to see it how you wish it & when asked, he tells Tony he'd see him again one day. Then he walks into the night & is gone & Tony's overjoyed that Ali's alive - Tony's so fucking stupid why couldn't Ali & Neil end up together - Eric said he wanted to check the gun but Tony tells him to leave is & they'd see it how they wished it & that to him, it's a miracle.
WOWWWWW!!! CHRISTOPHER PIKE JUST KILLED IT!!!!!!!!
NEIL <3 such a aohvajfivjfov i loved him
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 28, 2017
3.5 out of 5 stars
So this was two books in one. If I was ranking separately it would probably be Chain Letter 4 stars Ancient Evil 2.5 stars so I rounded it out to a 3.5 stars. The first book made sense. There was logic to it all and there was some sense of ok this all came around to make a point in the end. The second one had to much mystical elements and was honestly unnecessary and had too many added characters in it.
So this was two books in one. If I was ranking separately it would probably be Chain Letter 4 stars Ancient Evil 2.5 stars so I rounded it out to a 3.5 stars. The first book made sense. There was logic to it all and there was some sense of ok this all came around to make a point in the end. The second one had to much mystical elements and was honestly unnecessary and had too many added characters in it.
May 15, 2015
When Alison first got the chain letter signed “Your Caretaker,” she thought it was a sick joke. But then it became clear that someone, somewhere knows about that awful night when she and six friends committed an unthinkable crime. And now that person is determined to make them pay.
One by the one, the chain letter comes to each of them, demanding dangerous, impossible deeds. No one wants to believe that this nightmare is really happening, but then the accidents start. And the deaths.
Finding the truth behind the stalker’s identity seems to be the only option, but even that might not be enough. The Caretaker has a prodigy who is even more frightening than the first, and this time he wants more than retribution. He’s out for blood.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: favorite author from middle school; intriguing, thrilling action in the first book; a different sort of intriguing in the second
When I was in middle school, I loved Christopher Pike's novels. I snatched them up any chance I got; I had a collection of paperbacks from him. There was something awesome about the mystery and fear his writing instilled; a sort of adrenaline-jump, I guess. I always read his books in one sitting.
I decided, since I hadn't read these two yet, to give them a shot. The first half of this book was much like I remember from middle school: a thrilling sense of mystery, terror, and surprise as the pages went on and the characters changed. Grew. Found themselves in their strengths...and their weaknesses.
Christopher Pike always strives to take the route less-traveled in his writing. He throws in plot twists and unexpected endings, while still maintaining a sort of cheesy, "alright, the book's over, now let's wrap it up in two sentences" sort of stance. These books are not unlike the rest of his writing in this regard.
The second book of this series, however, went far BEYOND what I'd been expecting going in. Because now, instead of being just another human doing ghastly, horrible things to others (mind you, in the first book, Neil didn't REALLY do nasty things to the others; all was forgiven there)--now there's something else. An unknown evil. An evil that lurks even beyond death.
I'm not sure what I feel about the second half of this book. I enjoyed the first part as well as I could; some of the writing is cheesy or sloppy, but overall the first portion of this took me on the journey I remembered from middle school.
But where the first half is only SOMETIMES sloppy, the second falls into a sort of writing disarray. The descriptions are simpler; the writing is almost mundane. It feels as if Christopher Pike had this idea on how to close this series out...but halfway through, decided he didn't LIKE it so much after all. The introduction of the supernatural, while not unexpected for this author--he's written entire series devoted to ghosts, vampires, and the like--caught me off guard, as I'd not been expecting it in this book.
Overall, while I enjoyed the first portion well enough, I don't feel the second half added anything of import to the story. In fact, it seems almost like a cop-out. For whatever reason, Christoper Pike decided this book needed something more...but I'd have been happy without it.
One by the one, the chain letter comes to each of them, demanding dangerous, impossible deeds. No one wants to believe that this nightmare is really happening, but then the accidents start. And the deaths.
Finding the truth behind the stalker’s identity seems to be the only option, but even that might not be enough. The Caretaker has a prodigy who is even more frightening than the first, and this time he wants more than retribution. He’s out for blood.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: favorite author from middle school; intriguing, thrilling action in the first book; a different sort of intriguing in the second
When I was in middle school, I loved Christopher Pike's novels. I snatched them up any chance I got; I had a collection of paperbacks from him. There was something awesome about the mystery and fear his writing instilled; a sort of adrenaline-jump, I guess. I always read his books in one sitting.
I decided, since I hadn't read these two yet, to give them a shot. The first half of this book was much like I remember from middle school: a thrilling sense of mystery, terror, and surprise as the pages went on and the characters changed. Grew. Found themselves in their strengths...and their weaknesses.
Christopher Pike always strives to take the route less-traveled in his writing. He throws in plot twists and unexpected endings, while still maintaining a sort of cheesy, "alright, the book's over, now let's wrap it up in two sentences" sort of stance. These books are not unlike the rest of his writing in this regard.
The second book of this series, however, went far BEYOND what I'd been expecting going in. Because now, instead of being just another human doing ghastly, horrible things to others (mind you, in the first book, Neil didn't REALLY do nasty things to the others; all was forgiven there)--now there's something else. An unknown evil. An evil that lurks even beyond death.
I'm not sure what I feel about the second half of this book. I enjoyed the first part as well as I could; some of the writing is cheesy or sloppy, but overall the first portion of this took me on the journey I remembered from middle school.
But where the first half is only SOMETIMES sloppy, the second falls into a sort of writing disarray. The descriptions are simpler; the writing is almost mundane. It feels as if Christopher Pike had this idea on how to close this series out...but halfway through, decided he didn't LIKE it so much after all. The introduction of the supernatural, while not unexpected for this author--he's written entire series devoted to ghosts, vampires, and the like--caught me off guard, as I'd not been expecting it in this book.
Overall, while I enjoyed the first portion well enough, I don't feel the second half added anything of import to the story. In fact, it seems almost like a cop-out. For whatever reason, Christoper Pike decided this book needed something more...but I'd have been happy without it.
March 25, 2016
You could not trust any one. Throughout the entire book, I was suspecting every single person who stumbled across the page. But finally I was able to narrow it down to a select few, and all of them were members of the group. While I thought I had my top suspects near the end, I made the mistake of not trusting my gut right off the bat, because of an incident that happend that caused me to wipe a name off my list. Turns out, I had the right person on my list all along but had written them off.
This book did have a, 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' vibe to it. Somone knew what the involved party did, and is threatening to out them. But the group is given daunting task that just get worse and worse. First, the tasks were only to affect them in ways that could change their career choice. But soon, the demands became more personal to the specific person.
The first part of the book had a shocking, but also a bittersweet ending. But unfortunelty the group had little time to relish in their new found bliss, before terror would strike at them again, only to be ten times worse.
Believing the nightmare to be over, the group graduated from high school, and planned for their futures. But all of that would have to be put on hold, because another chain letter had arrived in the mail, only this time each demand is life threatening. I was not expecting 'The Ancient Evil' to take the turn it did, but it was great! I knew that one of the characters was most likely the source of the letters, but wasn't expecting the path this character would take. I also may have misjudge a member of the group, they were definitely a lot more cleverer, and thoughtful than I thought they were. They preformed a very sneaky trick, that can even count as following the rules, depending how you look at it.
But the letters weren't the only drama that occurred, but young love was a strong topic, and also quite a dramatic one. There's a tight knit group mixed with boys and girls, and feelings are going to get hurt, because someone is going to want one group member, but that one person will want another. People will point the fingers, blaming everyone's hurts on someone else, and it's just a hot, young mess. But it's high school, what do you expect.
The book was filled with twists and turns that took you on a whirl wind. I especially liked that the clues were encrypted, and the group had to decode them. But I liked that you were also showed the encrypted messages, so you could dissect it yourself before reading what the message said.
This book overall, was exciting and thrilling, I just didn't want to put it down. It is a definite recommend if you're into suspense and mystery, because it will for sure having you guessing who the culptire is.
December 22, 2024
CHAIN LETTER: Chain Letter was fun and campy. It was very much like I Know What You Did Last Summer but with chain letters. It was a quick read, and I loved that the Caretaker’s tasks got more severe after the first round of humiliating tasks that each of the main characters did.
The only thing I didn’t like was that there was an attempt to make the Kindle version more modern. It took me out for a second because up until I read the word DVD player I thought that it was the ’80s since none of the characters act like 2013 teens. I feel like trying to update the book was such a weird thing to do, because if you’re going to bother doing it at all, why not just make the letter an email? It would’ve made more sense instead of just throwing some modern tech in an ’80s book to make it more relatable to 2013 teens. It just made me want to read the original book because I need to know if anything else was changed.
ANCIENT EVIL: I found Ancient Evil to be both weird and boring. This had all of the same characters as the first one, with two new characters that are sort of just there to move the plot. Most of the characters from the first book are barely in this, and everybody feels so flat compared to the first one.
Half of the book is just Alison and Tony teen drama, and then the other half is a satanic cult that likes to send out chain letters (I’ll probably never understand why a satanic cult would do that in the first place).
I’d skip this one and just read Chain Letter, as this one feels unnecessary.
The only thing I didn’t like was that there was an attempt to make the Kindle version more modern. It took me out for a second because up until I read the word DVD player I thought that it was the ’80s since none of the characters act like 2013 teens. I feel like trying to update the book was such a weird thing to do, because if you’re going to bother doing it at all, why not just make the letter an email? It would’ve made more sense instead of just throwing some modern tech in an ’80s book to make it more relatable to 2013 teens. It just made me want to read the original book because I need to know if anything else was changed.
ANCIENT EVIL: I found Ancient Evil to be both weird and boring. This had all of the same characters as the first one, with two new characters that are sort of just there to move the plot. Most of the characters from the first book are barely in this, and everybody feels so flat compared to the first one.
Half of the book is just Alison and Tony teen drama, and then the other half is a satanic cult that likes to send out chain letters (I’ll probably never understand why a satanic cult would do that in the first place).
I’d skip this one and just read Chain Letter, as this one feels unnecessary.
June 1, 2015
so the first book in this 2 in 1 book thing called the chain letter was pretty boring. the characters were a little flat to me but he did a good job describing them and really made you make the connection between their names and personalities throughout the story. the way that the chain letter ended, and also knowing that there was the second book called the ancient evil, i automatically knew that there was something supernatural about to happen. the second book was a complete page turner omg. with the satanic rituals and people coming back to life and all of that, it was pretty crazy. i legit couldn't put the book down. christopher pike is my favorite author and it surprised me when I didn't like the first chain letter, but he definitely twisted it around like the great author he is and made the second one (the finale) a huge success. i only gave it 4 stars, however, because the first book wasn't all that great like it was good and laid a good foundation as well as set you up for the second book, but it was a bit boring. overall it's a great series though. super happy to have read yet another great book from Christopher pike.
February 4, 2013
I really liked the first book 'Chain Letter.' I kinda had and idea who the caretaker was but some situations left me second guessing so I was a bit surprised to find out for sure.
The air of mystery the book was great at the start and it kept building up until the climax which left me very creeped since I was reading it at midnight.
However I feel that 'The Ancient Evil' was not as good. It felt like it was more rushed through then the first one. While it tied up some plot points from the first book like who the dead body was.
Ultimately I lost interest when we find out who 'The Caretaker' is in this book and the cult got introduced. Where the first creeped me out because it dealt with a human phsycopath the second disappointed me because it became about a satanic cult and I felt ruined what I enjoyed so much about the first one.
So I gave this 3 stars since I did enjoy the first one.
The air of mystery the book was great at the start and it kept building up until the climax which left me very creeped since I was reading it at midnight.
However I feel that 'The Ancient Evil' was not as good. It felt like it was more rushed through then the first one. While it tied up some plot points from the first book like who the dead body was.
Ultimately I lost interest when we find out who 'The Caretaker' is in this book and the cult got introduced. Where the first creeped me out because it dealt with a human phsycopath the second disappointed me because it became about a satanic cult and I felt ruined what I enjoyed so much about the first one.
So I gave this 3 stars since I did enjoy the first one.
July 28, 2014
Much better than the Final Friends series! I was worried I had lost the magic of Pike, but this book reaffirmed it.
June 19, 2017
Ancient Evil was definitely better than Chain Letter. Though both were very well written.
September 10, 2019
Chain Letter-3.5 stars
Ancient Evil-1.5 stars (why the supernatural crap cop out at the end??)
Ancient Evil-1.5 stars (why the supernatural crap cop out at the end??)
January 6, 2020
Chain Letter by Christopher Pike was definitely worth the read. It is about a group of kids that get a letter that threatens them. It basically tells them if they don't do the dare on the letter, the group's secret will be exposed to everyone which would ruin all of their lives.
(Spoiler alert) The big secret is that one night when they were drunk they hit and killed a man with a car in the middle of nowhere. They buried him in the desert and no one ever found him, however someone had to of found out because of the chain letter. (Spoiler over)
A mystery person writing the letters refers to themselves as the "Caretaker". Somehow the caretaker knows a lot about each of the friends in the group and some of the teens start to think it is one of them that is acting as the caretaker.
(Spoiler Alert) Neil, one of the friends that was there that night ends up being the caretaker. He felt guilty about the murder and decided his friends should share that guilt. He had terminal cancer and ended up faking his death by using the body of the person they hit with the car, and then almost killing all his friends in an abandoned house before Tony talks him out of it. Neil ended up dying of his terminal illness a week later. (Spoiler over)
This book was definitely a good read, I liked the mystery in it and not really knowing who the caretaker was for a long time. I was trying to figure it out but I didn't know for sure before the book revealed it. The mystery was thrilling and I liked the way the characters acted and tried to figure out who the caretaker was throughout the book. I would definitely recommend reading this book.
(Spoiler alert) The big secret is that one night when they were drunk they hit and killed a man with a car in the middle of nowhere. They buried him in the desert and no one ever found him, however someone had to of found out because of the chain letter. (Spoiler over)
A mystery person writing the letters refers to themselves as the "Caretaker". Somehow the caretaker knows a lot about each of the friends in the group and some of the teens start to think it is one of them that is acting as the caretaker.
(Spoiler Alert) Neil, one of the friends that was there that night ends up being the caretaker. He felt guilty about the murder and decided his friends should share that guilt. He had terminal cancer and ended up faking his death by using the body of the person they hit with the car, and then almost killing all his friends in an abandoned house before Tony talks him out of it. Neil ended up dying of his terminal illness a week later. (Spoiler over)
This book was definitely a good read, I liked the mystery in it and not really knowing who the caretaker was for a long time. I was trying to figure it out but I didn't know for sure before the book revealed it. The mystery was thrilling and I liked the way the characters acted and tried to figure out who the caretaker was throughout the book. I would definitely recommend reading this book.
June 23, 2020
Why I'm interested in this book at the first place
One of the books listed under These 13 Terrifying Children's Books Will Still Scare You As An Adult Today , an article via Ranker (link).
This is the second book in conjunction with Halloween 2020.
What do I think of this book... now that I've done reading it
For this review, I only read The Chain Letter.
The first thing that comes to mind: the movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).
As the story centered around high school teens, the theme are as follows (in no particular order):
Moral sense vs teenage emotions
Friendships
Teenage love and angst
*in DJ Khaled's voice* Another one
Do 👏 not 👏 drink 👏 and 👏 drive. Pronto.
+
-
Get this
1. If you're a fan of/seen the movie.
2. If you're in the nolstagia of (emailed) chain letters.
One of the books listed under These 13 Terrifying Children's Books Will Still Scare You As An Adult Today , an article via Ranker (link).
This is the second book in conjunction with Halloween 2020.
What do I think of this book... now that I've done reading it
For this review, I only read The Chain Letter.
The first thing that comes to mind: the movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).
As the story centered around high school teens, the theme are as follows (in no particular order):
Moral sense vs teenage emotions
Friendships
Teenage love and angst
*in DJ Khaled's voice* Another one
Do 👏 not 👏 drink 👏 and 👏 drive. Pronto.
+
-
Get this
1. If you're a fan of/seen the movie.
2. If you're in the nolstagia of (emailed) chain letters.
March 19, 2022
A huge fan of Chrisopher Pikes YA earlier work.
This is a great opportunity to have Chain Letter and Chain Letter II in the book.
Book 1, while suspenseful and terrorising, is still tame to Book II, which is sickening.
The main part of the story, a group of friends/frenemies are driving home after a concert; they get into a hit and run.
Suddenly, they start receiving Chain Letters telling them to pull silly pranks, or the hit and run will be exposed. Eventually, the tasks become difficult for them to complete, and they start disappearing.
Chain Letter was a brilliant read with characters you could sympathise with. Book II some characters meet gruesome ends. Fran is told to down a puppy, or she will die. So it's sad the cast of characters is culled.
Personally, I would rather Book II was never released. But do give Book 1 a read if you like people paying for their crimes.
This is a great opportunity to have Chain Letter and Chain Letter II in the book.
Book 1, while suspenseful and terrorising, is still tame to Book II, which is sickening.
The main part of the story, a group of friends/frenemies are driving home after a concert; they get into a hit and run.
Suddenly, they start receiving Chain Letters telling them to pull silly pranks, or the hit and run will be exposed. Eventually, the tasks become difficult for them to complete, and they start disappearing.
Chain Letter was a brilliant read with characters you could sympathise with. Book II some characters meet gruesome ends. Fran is told to down a puppy, or she will die. So it's sad the cast of characters is culled.
Personally, I would rather Book II was never released. But do give Book 1 a read if you like people paying for their crimes.
January 22, 2025
2 books in one -- 3 stars total
The Chain Letter - 3.5
Ancient Evil (Chain letter 2)-2.5
This two book bound version has been edited a little bit? since the original releases. However, still feeling pretty dated with some of the kid "slang" and the mall is still a hot hang out. And while the kids have cell phones, they really are still using landlines for the most part.
I do remember reading these back in the 90s.
The story is very much along the lines of "I know what you did last summer" but now a chain letter giving them tasks to do is held over their heads.
The first book is better than the second.
Second takes some weird turns - clearly written during the "satanic panic" era.
The Chain Letter - 3.5
Ancient Evil (Chain letter 2)-2.5
This two book bound version has been edited a little bit? since the original releases. However, still feeling pretty dated with some of the kid "slang" and the mall is still a hot hang out. And while the kids have cell phones, they really are still using landlines for the most part.
I do remember reading these back in the 90s.
The story is very much along the lines of "I know what you did last summer" but now a chain letter giving them tasks to do is held over their heads.
The first book is better than the second.
Second takes some weird turns - clearly written during the "satanic panic" era.
November 30, 2017
I liked this more than I expected. It was awful to get into, but once I did the plot kept me going. I really was curious to see who was sending the letters. Although once the person appeared, I knew it was them. Very obvious. I really do wish the characters had been developed better though. They all felt pretty one dimensional, which is probably why it took me so long to get immersed. I wonder if Sara Shepard read these. I totally get a PPL vibe, so I wouldn't be surprised if this duology was her inspiration. Overall, interesting plot (but I probably won't reread it), subpar characters. 2.75/5
June 30, 2019
3 Stars
Chain Letter contains the two books in the Chain Letter Series By Christopher Pike. It is a Young Adult spooky story with supernatural elements, twists, mystery and more. I couldn’t quite ‘get into’ this story as much as I would have liked. I t was just an OK read for me, and not one of my favourites from Mr. Pike. I felt it lacked a little depth, and it did feel a little outdated. There is a ‘Pretty Little Liars’ x ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’, feel to the first book, and I'm not convinced the 'story' needed the second book at all?
Thank you, Mr. Pike!
Chain Letter contains the two books in the Chain Letter Series By Christopher Pike. It is a Young Adult spooky story with supernatural elements, twists, mystery and more. I couldn’t quite ‘get into’ this story as much as I would have liked. I t was just an OK read for me, and not one of my favourites from Mr. Pike. I felt it lacked a little depth, and it did feel a little outdated. There is a ‘Pretty Little Liars’ x ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’, feel to the first book, and I'm not convinced the 'story' needed the second book at all?
Thank you, Mr. Pike!
April 16, 2020
I really enjoyed part one, but part two was a little scattered and all over the place. Part two left me with many questions and in some ways felt a little disconnected from part one. The only hint we had about a satanic cult from part one was Neil talking about his “brain tumor” speaking to him when it was really Sasha/Jane. Throughout Ancient Evil, I had many questions and felt a little jostled by the back and forth until it eventually clicked. The books as a whole are great reads even though it took me a little bit to get into it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2023
I kind of wish I had gotten the original 1986 and 1992 versions of the books. The 2010 updates didn't seem complete. There were some references to more modern musicians and cd's, but some plot points didn't make sense in the late 2000s (no cell phones mentioned in Chain Letter, the phone call drama in Allison's house at the end of the first book didn't make sense in a world where cell phones were commom, etc.). The British spellings and words (mum instead of mom) were distracting in a story set in California. I still liked the overall story, but I miss the older versions.
June 28, 2018
I ordered this from the library on a nostalgia buzz and I was shocked to see that the cover looked fairly new! I'm so glad that the series has been revitalised! This was one of my favourite Christopher Pike series when I was a teenager.
Re-reading this did not disappoint, it was just as good as I remember! This series is dark, mysterious, gory and full of proper fill-in horror. I still love this series!! :)
Re-reading this did not disappoint, it was just as good as I remember! This series is dark, mysterious, gory and full of proper fill-in horror. I still love this series!! :)
February 25, 2019
Hmmm not sure what to say about this book...i have the two books in one.
Never read a Christopher pike book before so was unsure what to expect.
I did enjoy it. Very odd ending. Not sure how to describe the experience I have given it 4 stars though not entirely sure.
Just very weird. I did not see the way it was going.
I will leave it at 4 stars for now
Never read a Christopher pike book before so was unsure what to expect.
I did enjoy it. Very odd ending. Not sure how to describe the experience I have given it 4 stars though not entirely sure.
Just very weird. I did not see the way it was going.
I will leave it at 4 stars for now
July 7, 2021
At the beginning of the story, the book could barely hold my attention. As the story progressed I could not put the book down. Pike did a great job bringing the characters to life as they faced the challenges in the letters they were receiving. However, book 2 took a really strange satanic turn that I’m not sure how to process. I have so many questions and was left confused.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2023
I read these books when I was actually a young adult, decided to pick up this 2013 version out of nostalgia. It doesn’t mention being edited, but it doesn’t feel like the same books I remember.
It was a fast read, and still written as well as I remember. But somehow felt altered. Could just be my age now, and I relate to different characters than I did then…
It was a fast read, and still written as well as I remember. But somehow felt altered. Could just be my age now, and I relate to different characters than I did then…
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