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The Last Vampire #5
Evil Thirst
Alisa's daughter, Kalika, has transformed into a blood-thirsty monster with powers far beyond Alisa's. It is Alisa's task to track her down and destroy her, yet Alisa still has trouble believing her daughter is totally evil. She still hopes to save Kalika, even if it means risking her own life--and perhaps the lives of everyone in the world.
179 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1996
19 people are currently reading
1634 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Pike
261 books5,470 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 87 reviews
February 13, 2022
Everything about the fifth installment of the last vampire are perfect mixture of thriller, action and other elements that made up this book. The icing Pike threw this time, was the moment Alisa realized the reason Kalika going after this child, of how wrong for ancient creatures like her in judging her own daughter. It led Alisa to feel that God must had prepared a special hell for her for that misjudgment. Then efforts she put to get back that child to rectify things and hope for God forgiveness.
So Alisa just a former human being and later; immortal creature which could do wrong and misjudged. In my opinion, Christopher Pike introducing a new concept to this series which, even immortals also come with faults and flaws.
So Alisa just a former human being and later; immortal creature which could do wrong and misjudged. In my opinion, Christopher Pike introducing a new concept to this series which, even immortals also come with faults and flaws.
June 9, 2015
Kalika is off doing her thing and it appears she’s hell-bent on destroying the world and getting her hands on this newborn baby because of reasons. You’ll be sitting on the why of that one for a while but, I think, it’ll be worth it. It’s one of those full cycle things that ends up working itself out. At least with Pike he doesn’t leave things dangling for long so you won’t have to wait too long while reading for your answers.
In EVIL THIRST is where it just starts to broach the little bit out there but it’s kept to the background. You end up with a look into Alisa’s life while she was in ancient Egypt with a prophet named Suzama. There you’ll meet a man named Ory and he’s into some scaly reptilian things that give him power and that’s much of the extent of the weirdness. It put a funny picture in my head and I couldn’t help but laugh but it wasn’t TOO far out there that I was scoffing.
Pike tackles things like the Second Coming with a rather blasé attitude and I like that. This group of people are chasing around these scriptures supposedly written by Suzama when Alisa was hanging out with her because it talks about Jesus being reborn in modern-day California and they believe themselves to be the people to protect him from the Dark Mother. Of course all arrows point to Kalika being the Dark Mother set to bring down baby Jesus. It’s really not a campy storyline and it’s handled with enough distance that all you get is a story, nothing preachy at all and I liked it even more for that.
Seymour gets to be a bit more of a presence in this book but even with his own transformation he’s still Alisa’s sidekick and serves as leverage to be used against her when it’s convenient. I’m okay with it. He’s an okay character to read but he definitely serves a pretty obvious purpose.
Alisa spends the book not only looking for her friend and the baby in question but really mulling over whether she’s going to hesitate when it comes to doing what needs to be done with her daughter and it really tears at her. She sets a seemingly failproof plan in place so her daughter gets destroyed if she isn’t able to do it but of course that backfires horribly.
We’re getting closer to the end with EVIL THIRST and it’s becoming clear in the storyline that things are coming to a head. Will it all end with Alisa going off into the sunset to continue living her vampire existence or is something bigger on the horizon not even she could see coming? I guess I’ll just need to keep reading to find out.
4
In EVIL THIRST is where it just starts to broach the little bit out there but it’s kept to the background. You end up with a look into Alisa’s life while she was in ancient Egypt with a prophet named Suzama. There you’ll meet a man named Ory and he’s into some scaly reptilian things that give him power and that’s much of the extent of the weirdness. It put a funny picture in my head and I couldn’t help but laugh but it wasn’t TOO far out there that I was scoffing.
Pike tackles things like the Second Coming with a rather blasé attitude and I like that. This group of people are chasing around these scriptures supposedly written by Suzama when Alisa was hanging out with her because it talks about Jesus being reborn in modern-day California and they believe themselves to be the people to protect him from the Dark Mother. Of course all arrows point to Kalika being the Dark Mother set to bring down baby Jesus. It’s really not a campy storyline and it’s handled with enough distance that all you get is a story, nothing preachy at all and I liked it even more for that.
Seymour gets to be a bit more of a presence in this book but even with his own transformation he’s still Alisa’s sidekick and serves as leverage to be used against her when it’s convenient. I’m okay with it. He’s an okay character to read but he definitely serves a pretty obvious purpose.
Alisa spends the book not only looking for her friend and the baby in question but really mulling over whether she’s going to hesitate when it comes to doing what needs to be done with her daughter and it really tears at her. She sets a seemingly failproof plan in place so her daughter gets destroyed if she isn’t able to do it but of course that backfires horribly.
We’re getting closer to the end with EVIL THIRST and it’s becoming clear in the storyline that things are coming to a head. Will it all end with Alisa going off into the sunset to continue living her vampire existence or is something bigger on the horizon not even she could see coming? I guess I’ll just need to keep reading to find out.
4
October 6, 2018
I can’t believe how fast we’re getting through these! Admittedly, a lot of Pike’s books are very short, but we’re averaging a little over one book per week. If you haven’t been with us so far, I’m re-reading these with Roberta from Offbeat YA, and it’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had doing a buddy read (though all of them have been fun <3). There’s nothing like reading books with someone who loves them as much as I do. There are spoilers ahead for The Last Vampire, Black Blood, Red Dice, and Phantom. Spoilers for Evil Thirst will be clearly marked. Trigger warnings: death, blood, gore, body horror, violence.
Kalika is now fully grown, and she may be the biggest threat Sita has ever faced. To protect Paula’s unusual baby from her daughter, Sita enlists the help of the Suzama Society, a group dedicated to protecting the messiah when he’s reborn on this earth. Ordinarily, Sita would scoff at such groups, but she knew the gifted prophet Suzama from her days in ancient Egypt, and the society is working from one of her buried scriptures. Yet Sita has hesitated to kill her daughter in the past. She wants to think Kalika isn’t entirely wicked, but even their combined forces may not be enough to stop the evil coming for Paula’s child.
I didn’t realize until I was reading these to review them that the series slumps a little in the middle, at least for me, but Evil Thirst comes back with a wicked vengeance. The plot is fast-moving and contains some of the most graphically gory scenes of the entire series. Pike rarely pulls punches on the violence, and he and Sita are in all their glory in this book when Sita comes up against Kalika for a second time, is practically buried alive in ancient Egypt, and faces off against evil in the final suspenseful confrontation. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s hugely entertaining.
Did I mention that I’m Team Kalika? After Sita, she’s probably my favorite character in the series. Her scenes are always level-ten creepy, with her eerie detachment and genuine amusement over bloodshed. It’s not the first or even the second time Pike has invoked a deity into his characters, but they’re far from similar. Krishna looks at life as a story or a play, but he’s never without compassion for the players. Kalika looks at life as a story where she can do whatever she likes without consequences, and she’s so powerful that it’s basically true. I enjoy the way he blends various theologies to come up with something new, and I love that his baby messiah is Hispanic.
At this point, it’s hard not to wonder whether Sita is totally right in her assumptions about Kalika and the Suzama Society, who the heroes and villains are, and Pike keeps us guessing right up until the final confrontation. There are also several flashbacks to Sita’s time in Egypt with Suzama and an ancient group of villains called the Setians. For some reason, history is so much more interesting when it has a kickass female vampire in it. It’s not clear how it all ties together until it’s almost too late. Cue me weeping over my breakfast at the surprising intimacy of some of the final scenes, and then cackling a chapter later when Sita finally confronts the villain. I love it when she taunts her victims, and this one is especially satisfying. This might be my favorite in the series after Black Blood.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. TURN BACK BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.
I read these so long ago that I don’t remember if I was surprised when I found out that Kalika had been trying to protect the baby the entire time. However, it’s practically a different book when you read it with that in mind (bless Roberta for her endless patience while I continually bombarded her with evidence that Kalika isn’t the villain). Close readers will notice that Kalika keeps her promise to Sita not to kill more than she has to when she leaves the innocent Dr. Seter and Seymour alive. I also suspect she knows that Sita will survive the fall from the balcony (one of the most horrifying scenes ever), but she still needs to slow her down. Pike even hints at the villains with their names: Setians/James Seter.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
Kalika is now fully grown, and she may be the biggest threat Sita has ever faced. To protect Paula’s unusual baby from her daughter, Sita enlists the help of the Suzama Society, a group dedicated to protecting the messiah when he’s reborn on this earth. Ordinarily, Sita would scoff at such groups, but she knew the gifted prophet Suzama from her days in ancient Egypt, and the society is working from one of her buried scriptures. Yet Sita has hesitated to kill her daughter in the past. She wants to think Kalika isn’t entirely wicked, but even their combined forces may not be enough to stop the evil coming for Paula’s child.
I didn’t realize until I was reading these to review them that the series slumps a little in the middle, at least for me, but Evil Thirst comes back with a wicked vengeance. The plot is fast-moving and contains some of the most graphically gory scenes of the entire series. Pike rarely pulls punches on the violence, and he and Sita are in all their glory in this book when Sita comes up against Kalika for a second time, is practically buried alive in ancient Egypt, and faces off against evil in the final suspenseful confrontation. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s hugely entertaining.
Did I mention that I’m Team Kalika? After Sita, she’s probably my favorite character in the series. Her scenes are always level-ten creepy, with her eerie detachment and genuine amusement over bloodshed. It’s not the first or even the second time Pike has invoked a deity into his characters, but they’re far from similar. Krishna looks at life as a story or a play, but he’s never without compassion for the players. Kalika looks at life as a story where she can do whatever she likes without consequences, and she’s so powerful that it’s basically true. I enjoy the way he blends various theologies to come up with something new, and I love that his baby messiah is Hispanic.
At this point, it’s hard not to wonder whether Sita is totally right in her assumptions about Kalika and the Suzama Society, who the heroes and villains are, and Pike keeps us guessing right up until the final confrontation. There are also several flashbacks to Sita’s time in Egypt with Suzama and an ancient group of villains called the Setians. For some reason, history is so much more interesting when it has a kickass female vampire in it. It’s not clear how it all ties together until it’s almost too late. Cue me weeping over my breakfast at the surprising intimacy of some of the final scenes, and then cackling a chapter later when Sita finally confronts the villain. I love it when she taunts her victims, and this one is especially satisfying. This might be my favorite in the series after Black Blood.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. TURN BACK BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.
I read these so long ago that I don’t remember if I was surprised when I found out that Kalika had been trying to protect the baby the entire time. However, it’s practically a different book when you read it with that in mind (bless Roberta for her endless patience while I continually bombarded her with evidence that Kalika isn’t the villain). Close readers will notice that Kalika keeps her promise to Sita not to kill more than she has to when she leaves the innocent Dr. Seter and Seymour alive. I also suspect she knows that Sita will survive the fall from the balcony (one of the most horrifying scenes ever), but she still needs to slow her down. Pike even hints at the villains with their names: Setians/James Seter.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
July 29, 2019
3 ½ Stars
Evil Thirst is the fifth book in The Last Vampire series by Christopher Pike. After the intriguing developments in the previous instalment, Alisa/Sita has to track down her daughter, Kalika, who has disappeared. Kalika is so powerful, more so than her mother, and has an insatiable thirst for blood. Alisa wants to believe her daughter has some redeemable qualities and is in two minds about eliminating her. She would love to ‘save’ her- but to do so she wouldn’t just be risking her own life- but the lives of everyone else in the world too. What does she decide?
These books have been in my bookcase ever since my daughter was a teenager, and I came across them again while rearranging my bookcases recently. I had read the first few books many years ago now, and couldn’t really remember them- and since I wanted to finish the series, I decided to read all 6 books back to back.
The book/series has quite an original premise, with interesting and somewhat quirky characters, and a well-crafted storyline. This has a fast, action-packed plot- which makes it quite a quick and easy read. There is some mystery, a little suspense, drama, some sci-fi elements, and plenty of intrigue.
So, if you love paranormal, fantasy, vampires, young adult stories, with action and adventure, then this is definitely the story/series for you!
Thank you, Christopher Pike!
Evil Thirst is the fifth book in The Last Vampire series by Christopher Pike. After the intriguing developments in the previous instalment, Alisa/Sita has to track down her daughter, Kalika, who has disappeared. Kalika is so powerful, more so than her mother, and has an insatiable thirst for blood. Alisa wants to believe her daughter has some redeemable qualities and is in two minds about eliminating her. She would love to ‘save’ her- but to do so she wouldn’t just be risking her own life- but the lives of everyone else in the world too. What does she decide?
These books have been in my bookcase ever since my daughter was a teenager, and I came across them again while rearranging my bookcases recently. I had read the first few books many years ago now, and couldn’t really remember them- and since I wanted to finish the series, I decided to read all 6 books back to back.
The book/series has quite an original premise, with interesting and somewhat quirky characters, and a well-crafted storyline. This has a fast, action-packed plot- which makes it quite a quick and easy read. There is some mystery, a little suspense, drama, some sci-fi elements, and plenty of intrigue.
So, if you love paranormal, fantasy, vampires, young adult stories, with action and adventure, then this is definitely the story/series for you!
Thank you, Christopher Pike!
June 12, 2024
Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο, ίσως να είναι το καλύτερο της σειράς. Ωστόσο, υπάρχει ένα μεγάλο θέμα. Λόγω των αρκετών flashbacks, προδίδεται σχετικά εύκολα το πιο είναι ο "κακός" που έχει η πρωταγωνίστριά μας ν' αντιμετωπίσει. Πιστεύω πως ο Pike θα μπορούσε να έχει χειριστεί λίγο καλύτερα αυτή την παράμετρο, έτσι ώστε πράγματι να μιλάμε για ένα εντυπωσιακό μέρος αυτής της σειράς, με έντονες ανατροπές και τη δράση να βρίσκεται συνεχώς στα ύψη.
June 27, 2020
I don't understand why Kalika couldn't have just been more clear and less vague to Sita...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2025
Somehow I'd forgotten that this is very much tied to what Pike does in The Listeners to the point that I was doing the whole confused, "wait, isn't this the plot of... ohhhhhhhhhh" reaction thing. I'm sure the cat was very entertained.
This is the book that gave one of our cats her name, even if my father didn't realize it. Even if no one else knew, I knew. Muhaha... ahem.
I think most of this one holds up pretty well, but we are definitely being dragged into the deep end of Pike's fascination with spirituality, which is going to shape a lot of his stuff and already has since The Listeners predates this.
Sita is very much sure that her daughter is evil to the point of being beyond redemption, but because Kalika IS her daughter, she literally can't pull the trigger and this costs a whole bunch of people their lives. There is an upside to this, beyond a particularly gruesome takedown that was perfect for Halloween reading, but I won't ruin it for you. I've never been sure on how to feel about Sita's blindspots concerning Kalika. On the one hand, it makes total sense. Sita's historically known for missing the obvious, especially when it's right in front of her and she's not ready to listen/open her eyes, but as a reader it's also like, dude, you brought Seymour into this so he could give you clarity on things and then you never listen to him and then things always go to shit, just like he told you they would. ALWAYS. If this were an animated series, Seymour would have a running tally of how often he's right and his advice is ignored.
This might also be the first book in the series where I do not really care all that much about any of the new characters introduced in Alisa's life (I was going to say any at all, but I'm always a sucker for a flashback and this series always gives backstory), so there's that. I'm docking a star because all the metaphysical light/glowing/floating has always been one of those things where my brain just cannot suspend disbelief long enough, so I just check out to keep my brain from commenting too much on it. It's there, it's a thing, there are aliens, it's fine. Vampires, aliens, and the two are kinda but not really related? Sure, why not.
I wanted bloody destruction with a tinge of heartbreak for Halloween, and that's what I got. All of this is tempered somewhat by my recollection of what comes next, but that's for future!us to deal with.
Pike loves a good swan dive from a balcony onto concrete or a pool, doesn't he?
This is the book that gave one of our cats her name, even if my father didn't realize it. Even if no one else knew, I knew. Muhaha... ahem.
I think most of this one holds up pretty well, but we are definitely being dragged into the deep end of Pike's fascination with spirituality, which is going to shape a lot of his stuff and already has since The Listeners predates this.
Sita is very much sure that her daughter is evil to the point of being beyond redemption, but because Kalika IS her daughter, she literally can't pull the trigger and this costs a whole bunch of people their lives. There is an upside to this, beyond a particularly gruesome takedown that was perfect for Halloween reading, but I won't ruin it for you. I've never been sure on how to feel about Sita's blindspots concerning Kalika. On the one hand, it makes total sense. Sita's historically known for missing the obvious, especially when it's right in front of her and she's not ready to listen/open her eyes, but as a reader it's also like, dude, you brought Seymour into this so he could give you clarity on things and then you never listen to him and then things always go to shit, just like he told you they would. ALWAYS. If this were an animated series, Seymour would have a running tally of how often he's right and his advice is ignored.
This might also be the first book in the series where I do not really care all that much about any of the new characters introduced in Alisa's life (I was going to say any at all, but I'm always a sucker for a flashback and this series always gives backstory), so there's that. I'm docking a star because all the metaphysical light/glowing/floating has always been one of those things where my brain just cannot suspend disbelief long enough, so I just check out to keep my brain from commenting too much on it. It's there, it's a thing, there are aliens, it's fine. Vampires, aliens, and the two are kinda but not really related? Sure, why not.
I wanted bloody destruction with a tinge of heartbreak for Halloween, and that's what I got. All of this is tempered somewhat by my recollection of what comes next, but that's for future!us to deal with.
Pike loves a good swan dive from a balcony onto concrete or a pool, doesn't he?
July 10, 2022
This book was really good and I enjoyed reading it, looking forward to reading his other books!
July 27, 2015
Book 5 of this series is one of the better books overall. The main problem with it however, is that if you have read the previous four, as soon as Sita has a flashback, you realize who the villain will be. The effect is that the reader is strung along for an engaging story with mysterious elements, at which point a deus ex machina is created that explains everything. The reader is left wondering how our main character with the photographic memory failed to remember something as important at this. One other gripe, is that if you have also read the "Remember Me" series, the villains at the end of this one will seem familiar to you; however that isn't too bad in itself as it ends up creating a sort of canon that all of Pike's book seem to be taking part in. Aside from these criticisms, I enjoyed this book more than book 2 or 4, but slightly less than books 1 and 3. Hopefully the next even numbered installment ends up being better than its predecessors.
February 12, 2013
Sometimes these books go on really long, complicated, philosophical tangents that I just cannot be bothered to follow along on. I noticed that I end up skim-reading pages at a time until they get back to the main story line.
The main story line. I say the term "story line" a bit tongue-in-cheek. A lot happened in this book; there was more action, more people, and, dare I say it(??), I think I even found it mildly entertaining.
Was still pretty rubbish, though.
The main story line. I say the term "story line" a bit tongue-in-cheek. A lot happened in this book; there was more action, more people, and, dare I say it(??), I think I even found it mildly entertaining.
Was still pretty rubbish, though.
April 29, 2021
I've said it b4 but I LOVE this series!! Fast paced stories that r never boring and they keep building and building on each other. This story has gotten so crazy but so good!
The story's gotten so detailed and gone so far I'm like, "How did he think of this?" Lol. And now it's turning from a vampire story to like some alien/extraterrestrial story Lmao. Can't wait to see where it goes.
I was totally right about James and that last chapter was crazy!
The story's gotten so detailed and gone so far I'm like, "How did he think of this?" Lol. And now it's turning from a vampire story to like some alien/extraterrestrial story Lmao. Can't wait to see where it goes.
I was totally right about James and that last chapter was crazy!
June 24, 2019
I read these books back in the 90s when they originally came. The Mother's name was Sita in this books, not Alisa. But they're still one of my most favored series ever! I'm just waiting for my niece to get old enough so we can read them together!
November 12, 2010
The fifth in the series... prepare to have your belief well and truly suspended as aliens from outer space are suddenly introduced. I bought the reincarnations of Krishna and Kali.... but aliens?
December 4, 2014
Love it a lot!!!
November 2, 2025
I remember being unimpressed with the previous book in this series, and weary of the idea of a trilogy of Alisa v Kalika shenanigans. Mercifully, Pike cut us a break, though his way of backing out of this corner is apparently to just make shit up.
This book opens 3 months after the end of the previous one. Alisa confirms to us that she saved Seymour's life with the vial of blood from Paula's child, and that Kalika vanished before she could do anything else. She is worried about her daughter's whereabouts, both as a mother and as an enemy. It's hard for her to wrap her head about the idea of her daughter being 100% evil, but given what we were shown in the previous book - up to and including Seymour's death - I'd say we pretty much have to believe what we see.
Alisa's attention has been attracted to a Suzama Society meeting, a small group led by a brilliant scientist who claims to have found a piece of ancient Egyptian scripture that foretold not only the previous birth of the messiah (as Jesus), but also that the messiah has been re-born, right here in California! Alisa attends the meeting and wants to meet the elderly man who has devoted his career to this heretofore unknown scripture, which he keeps secreted away because he believes he's on a mission to find and protect the new Christ child. The doctor is protected pretty fiercely by his incredibly young and handsome son, James, so Alisa reluctantly includes him and Seymour in her plans.
Once she sees the scripture and realizes that it's the real deal, she formulates a plan to use the Suzama Society to unearth and kill Kalika. You see, Alisa knew the real Suzama back in ancient Egypt, so the idea that her friend and the high priestess of Isis predicted that she would one day give birth to the monstrous Kalika is both interesting and frightening. Now more than ever she believes it is her destiny to kill Kalika and save Paula's baby, who is indeed the second coming of Christ.
As we are on the rollercoaster with Alisa in the present day, we also learn another chapter of her earlier life: when she studied with Suzama, and accompanied her to the royal palace when she was invited to interpret the queen's dream. This put Suzama in direct opposition to Ory, the high priest who held the king's ear, and it was Sita's job to protect Suzama from Ory and his reptilian Setians, who are evil incarnate and interested in taking over the human world, power for power's sake.
Alisa makes a lot of mistakes in her quest to run her child to ground, but ultimately discovers that her fatal mistake was in misreading the entire situation. Turns out that Kalika isn't the evil one in this scenario, James the son of the Suzama Society founder is! James is using Alisa to find Kalika and steal the Christ child, because he is really a reincarnation of Ory and their mission in life is to capture this baby for their own nefarious ends. Alisa realizes this too late, after James seriously wounds her and Kalika and takes the child. He's also given his "father" a fatal heart attack and attacked poor Seymour (seriously, this kid goes through SO MUCH in this series, poor boy!) on his way out the door.
Other revelations include the fact that Paula is a reincarnation of Suzama, and Mike the dude who guarded the ice cream truck is also some sort of itinerant oracle who helps Alisa find the baby. Kalika gives her mother the final hints about how to destroy James and save the child as she also give her her life's blood in order to save her and give her the chance to avenge not only her death, but Sazuma's from 5000 years ago.
Alisa does indeed find and kill James and save the child. She also finally grants Seymour's greatest wish and saves him this time with her own blood, thus making him a vampire at long last.
This was an epic story and I read it all in one sitting. I enjoyed the parallel plot from ancient Egypt, but I do not like Pike successfully reformed Kalika from a bloodthirsty evil entity into a misplaced angel who was actually doing her job re: the baby. What about all those people she killed? Her murders in this book are especially gory, ngl.
And where do we go from here? Now that Kalika has been vanquished and the baby John saved, what else is there for Alisa to do? And will Seymour make it to the end of this series alive? We have one more OG book to find out!
This book opens 3 months after the end of the previous one. Alisa confirms to us that she saved Seymour's life with the vial of blood from Paula's child, and that Kalika vanished before she could do anything else. She is worried about her daughter's whereabouts, both as a mother and as an enemy. It's hard for her to wrap her head about the idea of her daughter being 100% evil, but given what we were shown in the previous book - up to and including Seymour's death - I'd say we pretty much have to believe what we see.
Alisa's attention has been attracted to a Suzama Society meeting, a small group led by a brilliant scientist who claims to have found a piece of ancient Egyptian scripture that foretold not only the previous birth of the messiah (as Jesus), but also that the messiah has been re-born, right here in California! Alisa attends the meeting and wants to meet the elderly man who has devoted his career to this heretofore unknown scripture, which he keeps secreted away because he believes he's on a mission to find and protect the new Christ child. The doctor is protected pretty fiercely by his incredibly young and handsome son, James, so Alisa reluctantly includes him and Seymour in her plans.
Once she sees the scripture and realizes that it's the real deal, she formulates a plan to use the Suzama Society to unearth and kill Kalika. You see, Alisa knew the real Suzama back in ancient Egypt, so the idea that her friend and the high priestess of Isis predicted that she would one day give birth to the monstrous Kalika is both interesting and frightening. Now more than ever she believes it is her destiny to kill Kalika and save Paula's baby, who is indeed the second coming of Christ.
As we are on the rollercoaster with Alisa in the present day, we also learn another chapter of her earlier life: when she studied with Suzama, and accompanied her to the royal palace when she was invited to interpret the queen's dream. This put Suzama in direct opposition to Ory, the high priest who held the king's ear, and it was Sita's job to protect Suzama from Ory and his reptilian Setians, who are evil incarnate and interested in taking over the human world, power for power's sake.
Alisa makes a lot of mistakes in her quest to run her child to ground, but ultimately discovers that her fatal mistake was in misreading the entire situation. Turns out that Kalika isn't the evil one in this scenario, James the son of the Suzama Society founder is! James is using Alisa to find Kalika and steal the Christ child, because he is really a reincarnation of Ory and their mission in life is to capture this baby for their own nefarious ends. Alisa realizes this too late, after James seriously wounds her and Kalika and takes the child. He's also given his "father" a fatal heart attack and attacked poor Seymour (seriously, this kid goes through SO MUCH in this series, poor boy!) on his way out the door.
Other revelations include the fact that Paula is a reincarnation of Suzama, and Mike the dude who guarded the ice cream truck is also some sort of itinerant oracle who helps Alisa find the baby. Kalika gives her mother the final hints about how to destroy James and save the child as she also give her her life's blood in order to save her and give her the chance to avenge not only her death, but Sazuma's from 5000 years ago.
Alisa does indeed find and kill James and save the child. She also finally grants Seymour's greatest wish and saves him this time with her own blood, thus making him a vampire at long last.
This was an epic story and I read it all in one sitting. I enjoyed the parallel plot from ancient Egypt, but I do not like Pike successfully reformed Kalika from a bloodthirsty evil entity into a misplaced angel who was actually doing her job re: the baby. What about all those people she killed? Her murders in this book are especially gory, ngl.
And where do we go from here? Now that Kalika has been vanquished and the baby John saved, what else is there for Alisa to do? And will Seymour make it to the end of this series alive? We have one more OG book to find out!
June 21, 2022
And just like that, I'm almost done with my re-read of the series. Though unavailable when I first discovered this series, I managed to get my hands on this copy through an online source specializing in rare books.
My new favorite in the series, "Evil Thirst" finds Sita allied with an organization that is dedicated to helping protect a very special baby.
Or are they? Is this organization really on the right side of history? And what does Sita's daughter have to do with all of this?
A quick read and engaging, if you can find this book (or the omnibus that contains it), please do yourself a favor and read it.
My new favorite in the series, "Evil Thirst" finds Sita allied with an organization that is dedicated to helping protect a very special baby.
Or are they? Is this organization really on the right side of history? And what does Sita's daughter have to do with all of this?
A quick read and engaging, if you can find this book (or the omnibus that contains it), please do yourself a favor and read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2025
I’m attempting to read the original six Last Vampire novels by Christopher Pike in October! Book Five: Evil Thirst. 🫗
What’s to be said about this book? It’s a complete bloodbath. Alisa’s love interest turns out to be her Setian enemy from ancient Egypt reincarnated. She inhabits a celestial body and invades a spaceship full of snakes sent from a Hell planet. (I’m not joking.)
In other words, absolutely bonkers.
Seymour really steps it up in this one, which was incredibly overdue. Also, can we please get justice for Kalika?!
Only one more to go, and I hope Pike pulls out all the stops for the finale. 😂
Onto the last!
What’s to be said about this book? It’s a complete bloodbath. Alisa’s love interest turns out to be her Setian enemy from ancient Egypt reincarnated. She inhabits a celestial body and invades a spaceship full of snakes sent from a Hell planet. (I’m not joking.)
In other words, absolutely bonkers.
Seymour really steps it up in this one, which was incredibly overdue. Also, can we please get justice for Kalika?!
Only one more to go, and I hope Pike pulls out all the stops for the finale. 😂
Onto the last!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2017
First reading = approximately 1996. Second reading = January 2013. Yes, even more so than #4 before this, I definitely do not remember reading this one. I absolutely remember not finishing the next book #6, but I thought I had read all these when they first came out. This one isn't as good as #4, but the climax was absolutely engaging. Some great battles and blood in this one.
April 28, 2025
I do feel that with each book it gets more intense and 'hardcore'.
Because of the short length of the books, it does tend to move quite fast and often can feel a bit overwhelming, and rushed. Whilst the plot does develop a lot more in this, with some new added characters. I did feel that the constant background lore sort of overshadowed the present a little bit.
Because of the short length of the books, it does tend to move quite fast and often can feel a bit overwhelming, and rushed. Whilst the plot does develop a lot more in this, with some new added characters. I did feel that the constant background lore sort of overshadowed the present a little bit.
March 6, 2018
This book talks about how Alisa has to find the scrips of books that are ancient. She has to defeat her daughter that is not so evil after all. Alisa needs to find the script before her daughter does.
September 10, 2017
More of the adventure
May 3, 2018
I loved this series when I was in junior high.
November 25, 2019
Least fave so far, but I did love it when
April 27, 2023
My least favorite in the series. I have one more book in the second bind up and then I'm putting this series on pause for a few months
December 2, 2025
All of Sita’s adventures earn five stars from me. I have read this series multiple times and I think this is the best one so far:
January 14, 2023
This series is getting weirder than I remember...so um...there be spoilers ahead...
Human again after five thousand years, Sita goes by Alisa and thought she could have a normal life with the man she loved and a daughter like before.
Turns out her daughter, Kalika, is an avatar of the goddess Kali. She's also a vampire-human hybrid.
Ray isn't her father...he's actually a ghost as well. A phantom...an illusion of delusion in poor Sita's mind. When he was going under the name Andrew Kane, Arturo slept with Sita while she was still a full vampire and he was a human-vampire hybrid.
Got that so far?
Sita took a human named Eric Watkins to feed her daughter and ended up keeping him captive in her home. Sita's friend Paula Ramirez was pregnant and both Kalika and Ray were way too concerned about the baby she was carrying.
Kalika took Seymour Dorsten hostage and killed Eric to get her mother to tell her what hospital the child was going to be born at. Sita lied to buy some time to get Paula and her newborn son the chance to get away. Sita learns that Paula had almost a divine or alien abduction pregnancy but her son is human and she takes a vial of his blood for a reason she can't understand.
She arrives to meet Kalika without the baby as she said she would and Sita watches her throw Seymour over the Santa Monica Pier. He doesn't drown but then Kalika basically stakes him and he dies on the shore in Sita's arms as her daughter disappears.
She almost gives Seymour a cremation on a funeral pyre but Sita can't light the fire. Instead, she takes the vial with the baby's blood and pours it over Seymour's fatal wound and down his throat before going off to pray.
She returns and Seymour is alive and well. Oh and Sita found some leftover frozen blood of Yaksha's in the ice cream truck where Eddie Fender was keeping him and used Arturo's alchemy machine to become a vampire again. Kalika kicked her ass before using Seymour as Sita's real weakness.
Up to speed...good because my brain almost exploded last book and by the end of this one too but we'll get to that soon.
Three months after all of that, Sita and Seymour go to a lecture from a doctor named Donald Seter.
He has founded a New Age group called The Suzama Society and written a book but his interview on the radio has Sita's attention. One because he claims to have possession of an ancient Egyptian scripture written by the seer Suzama giving the details about the rebirth of Jesus Christ.
The bigger reason: Seter says the child was born the same day as Paula Ramirez's son.
With her first-hand knowledge of Suzama, Sita is able to give enough information to get the doctor's interest as well as that of his adoptive son, James, and his followers. Especially when she asks to see the scripture to see if it mentions why her daughter is so interested in the child.
What follows is a very wild ride in the present of Sita, Seymour, Dr. Seter, James and their "society" going after Kalika to destroy her before she can find Paula and her son who is possibly Jesus and cause the child harm.
We also get some more of Sita's past of meeting Suzama in ancient Egypt and then get their mythology and religions thrown into the mix.
By the time we get to the ending, we've had reveals and twists, some violence and heartbreak as well as a big one that I'll probably go into more detail talking about the next book.
Also we get some humor to pull me out of the funk and put a smile on my face by the time I'm done reading. Good I need a laugh and a breath before going into the last book.
I'm sure in normal Pike fashion it's a doozy...
Human again after five thousand years, Sita goes by Alisa and thought she could have a normal life with the man she loved and a daughter like before.
Turns out her daughter, Kalika, is an avatar of the goddess Kali. She's also a vampire-human hybrid.
Ray isn't her father...he's actually a ghost as well. A phantom...an illusion of delusion in poor Sita's mind. When he was going under the name Andrew Kane, Arturo slept with Sita while she was still a full vampire and he was a human-vampire hybrid.
Got that so far?
Sita took a human named Eric Watkins to feed her daughter and ended up keeping him captive in her home. Sita's friend Paula Ramirez was pregnant and both Kalika and Ray were way too concerned about the baby she was carrying.
Kalika took Seymour Dorsten hostage and killed Eric to get her mother to tell her what hospital the child was going to be born at. Sita lied to buy some time to get Paula and her newborn son the chance to get away. Sita learns that Paula had almost a divine or alien abduction pregnancy but her son is human and she takes a vial of his blood for a reason she can't understand.
She arrives to meet Kalika without the baby as she said she would and Sita watches her throw Seymour over the Santa Monica Pier. He doesn't drown but then Kalika basically stakes him and he dies on the shore in Sita's arms as her daughter disappears.
She almost gives Seymour a cremation on a funeral pyre but Sita can't light the fire. Instead, she takes the vial with the baby's blood and pours it over Seymour's fatal wound and down his throat before going off to pray.
She returns and Seymour is alive and well. Oh and Sita found some leftover frozen blood of Yaksha's in the ice cream truck where Eddie Fender was keeping him and used Arturo's alchemy machine to become a vampire again. Kalika kicked her ass before using Seymour as Sita's real weakness.
Up to speed...good because my brain almost exploded last book and by the end of this one too but we'll get to that soon.
Three months after all of that, Sita and Seymour go to a lecture from a doctor named Donald Seter.
He has founded a New Age group called The Suzama Society and written a book but his interview on the radio has Sita's attention. One because he claims to have possession of an ancient Egyptian scripture written by the seer Suzama giving the details about the rebirth of Jesus Christ.
The bigger reason: Seter says the child was born the same day as Paula Ramirez's son.
With her first-hand knowledge of Suzama, Sita is able to give enough information to get the doctor's interest as well as that of his adoptive son, James, and his followers. Especially when she asks to see the scripture to see if it mentions why her daughter is so interested in the child.
What follows is a very wild ride in the present of Sita, Seymour, Dr. Seter, James and their "society" going after Kalika to destroy her before she can find Paula and her son who is possibly Jesus and cause the child harm.
We also get some more of Sita's past of meeting Suzama in ancient Egypt and then get their mythology and religions thrown into the mix.
By the time we get to the ending, we've had reveals and twists, some violence and heartbreak as well as a big one that I'll probably go into more detail talking about the next book.
Also we get some humor to pull me out of the funk and put a smile on my face by the time I'm done reading. Good I need a laugh and a breath before going into the last book.
I'm sure in normal Pike fashion it's a doozy...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2021
Second favorite so far in this series. Loved this book!
August 16, 2019
Note: This is my review for the second three books in the trilogy (Phantom, Evil Thirst, Creatures of Forever) repackaged as one in the Thirst omnibus.
Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.
Pros: Original take on vampires. Plenty of kickass action and entertaining (if often bloody) moments. Blends urban fantasy with thriller, history, and more than anything, Eastern spirituality.
Cons: Requires more suspension of disbelief than Book 1. The blend of UF and sci-fi may not work for everyone.
WARNING! Abundance of blood, gore and violence.
Will appeal to: Those looking for a fresh approach to vampires, in what was probably the very first YA/NA series about them.
This series is not perfect. And I won't shun its faults in my review. But for some reason, I can't bear myself to rate it less than 5 stars. It's not author bias - there are a bunch of Pike books I rated 3 stars and even less. But if TLV/Thirst stills works its magic on me almost 20 years after I first read Book 1, and if I'm still peeling its layers after all this time, that should count for something...
I WANT TO BELIEVE
There's a fil rouge to all the Thirst series, and the French metaphor comes in especially handy, since the common denominator is all kinds of enemies (human or not) going after Sita's blood. And there's a corollary to this - Sita having to defend humanity from the havoc her blood could wreak on them. But the 4th and 5th original installments break this pattern (that will resurface in Book 6), focusing on two special births and the need to defend one of the infants from malevolent forces. Plus, for a while, Sita is human again, and for the very first time we see her bonding with another woman (like her apparent insta-love with Ray in Book 1, this could have a huge insta-friendship vibe, if there wasn't a century-old backstory to it). Since from the original separate book blurbs I knew she would go back to being a vampire, I enjoyed my ride with human Sita. In a way, it was even more interesting for me to have that version of her to explore and compare to the one we had known so far. Some things change, some are oh so much alike. It's SO hard to review this part of the story without spoilers, but what I can say is, your enjoyment of Phantom may depend on to what extent you're capable to suspend disbelief, unless the illusion that the title openly references has, indeed, a life of sorts (which I suspect is the case, given the multiple references to "the abyss" as if it were a place that could generate something more solid than a simple hallucination). It still poses a few practical problems, but like Sita with her predicament, we probably aren't to examine the story that closely, or it will blow in our face 😉. Still, even before I formulated my crazy (ingenious?) theory about what goes on in Phantom, I was invested in the story, and a certain part before the very end broke my heart. [...]
Whole review here.
Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.
Pros: Original take on vampires. Plenty of kickass action and entertaining (if often bloody) moments. Blends urban fantasy with thriller, history, and more than anything, Eastern spirituality.
Cons: Requires more suspension of disbelief than Book 1. The blend of UF and sci-fi may not work for everyone.
WARNING! Abundance of blood, gore and violence.
Will appeal to: Those looking for a fresh approach to vampires, in what was probably the very first YA/NA series about them.
This series is not perfect. And I won't shun its faults in my review. But for some reason, I can't bear myself to rate it less than 5 stars. It's not author bias - there are a bunch of Pike books I rated 3 stars and even less. But if TLV/Thirst stills works its magic on me almost 20 years after I first read Book 1, and if I'm still peeling its layers after all this time, that should count for something...
I WANT TO BELIEVE
There's a fil rouge to all the Thirst series, and the French metaphor comes in especially handy, since the common denominator is all kinds of enemies (human or not) going after Sita's blood. And there's a corollary to this - Sita having to defend humanity from the havoc her blood could wreak on them. But the 4th and 5th original installments break this pattern (that will resurface in Book 6), focusing on two special births and the need to defend one of the infants from malevolent forces. Plus, for a while, Sita is human again, and for the very first time we see her bonding with another woman (like her apparent insta-love with Ray in Book 1, this could have a huge insta-friendship vibe, if there wasn't a century-old backstory to it). Since from the original separate book blurbs I knew she would go back to being a vampire, I enjoyed my ride with human Sita. In a way, it was even more interesting for me to have that version of her to explore and compare to the one we had known so far. Some things change, some are oh so much alike. It's SO hard to review this part of the story without spoilers, but what I can say is, your enjoyment of Phantom may depend on to what extent you're capable to suspend disbelief, unless the illusion that the title openly references has, indeed, a life of sorts (which I suspect is the case, given the multiple references to "the abyss" as if it were a place that could generate something more solid than a simple hallucination). It still poses a few practical problems, but like Sita with her predicament, we probably aren't to examine the story that closely, or it will blow in our face 😉. Still, even before I formulated my crazy (ingenious?) theory about what goes on in Phantom, I was invested in the story, and a certain part before the very end broke my heart. [...]
Whole review here.
July 30, 2013
Evil Thirst has many of the things I like about the Last Vampire series: various demonstrations of Sita's powers, the improved version; fast-paced action; Seymour, even if he's not really helpful; and the usual flashbacks, not that I love them but I've come to expect them.
Unfortunately I think it gets weirder and weirder with the whole divine nature of the child, the introduction of the cult called the Setians and the reptilian alien race they belong to. Weird I can handle, I think. But what makes me give it the least rating of all the original 6 books is, even though Sita's powers are supposedly superior since her rebirth as a vampire, her mind-reading ability she picked up from Yaksha is suddenly gone. She hardly mentions it. The eh... Hold on.
I can't really explain why I didn't love it without giving it all away. Still, I enjoyed reading Book 5, and moreover it's not like I could skip it. The whole series had my attention and I just keep on reading...
Unfortunately I think it gets weirder and weirder with the whole divine nature of the child, the introduction of the cult called the Setians and the reptilian alien race they belong to. Weird I can handle, I think. But what makes me give it the least rating of all the original 6 books is, even though Sita's powers are supposedly superior since her rebirth as a vampire, her mind-reading ability she picked up from Yaksha is suddenly gone. She hardly mentions it. The eh... Hold on.
I can't really explain why I didn't love it without giving it all away. Still, I enjoyed reading Book 5, and moreover it's not like I could skip it. The whole series had my attention and I just keep on reading...
August 5, 2011
Kudos! It is amazing how Mr.Pike expresses the magic and wonders of this mysterious universe, how the stars above relate closely to every human being, the powers of eternal love, wise people who know more than anyone else in the world, the unexplainable truths about Kalika - all these weird, mystical stuffs, I personally enjoy them very much. But I like the last few pages the best because it is written in such a way that it turns out very much like a movie scene. This entire episode is "progressive" and can keep you awake all night reading it. This book was really great, and you think that you know everything about everyone, who's REALLY who. At the end, when everything clears up, it is so sad and I felt like I wanted to jump in and change what happens. I love Sita's story, and how Mr. Pike tied in the story of her past with this book. My favorite part in this book would either be when Sita is with her friend Suzama in the court talking to the Queen, or when she confronts Kalika when she got a hold of the Christ child. The conflict between mother and daughter is completely gripping. The problem that is set before a favorite character Alisa and a new character Kalika. You really learn to hate Kalika, although at the same time you love her. The more you hate her, the more you'll learn to love her. She's evil. She's passionate. She takes almost totally after her mother. Read it. Love the characters. Hate them. Let the book carry you through emotions you never thought a book could give you. This book was great I never knew what was to happen next and better yet, who would win the battle. I think Christopher Pike did a great job with this particular book. 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 Messiah. 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 against two equally matched power beings one with knowledge and one with strength.
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