Okay, legalities first, all cover artwork on this page was designed by Brian Kotzky--who might I add comes up with some killer covers. All books viewed on this page were published by Archway.

Okay--as far as I am concerned, even though I might be getting older, Christopher Pike is the Messiah of young adult fiction, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Why do I idolize this man? Okay, first let me explain something about me. Growing up, I was never allowed to have friends or go out. I came from a very strict, very Portuguese upbringing.
As you can imagine, this left me with far too much time on my hands. So I saved my pennies--literally of course--and became a faithful little bookworm. I read so much that I had the only mother on the planet who complained her teenaged son read too much.

I started off with R.L. Stine, but I tired of him quickly. Even at a younger age I was at a very advanced level. Emotionally, I may have been a child, but mentally I was entirely an adult. I was the one everyone always described as the little old man trapped in a boy's body.
What pissed me off about Stine was that he totally spoke down to his readers. Most of his work sounded like it was written for eight year olds and not teenagers--which is supposedly the target audience of young adult books

Then one day, I was drawn to one of Pike's covers. (And they say you can't judge a book by its cover!) This man had talent to spare, no doubt about it. I was blown away at the way Pike delivered his stories.
What I loved the most about each of his books was that he never spoke down to me. He presented me with very realistic characters dealing with modern day teenaged situations. His people had sex, they cursed, they even got drunk and smoked pot on occasion. This is life today. It might not be a pretty picture, but it's the things young people of today are dealing with at a younger age than they used to. I respected that he wasn't afraid to be real.

The longer I read Pike's work, the more I doscovered my own passion for telling stories. The way he wrote, it was almost like having a conversation with someone, not reading a book. He gave me an outlet to get rid of all the frustration and hate that can be borne of too much time in solitude. It wasn't long before I started with my short stories. I started off with bloodbaths, until I started applying Pike's ability at realness into my own work. As I grew, as I learned, I began to apply situations I dealt with growing up into my work. The horror aspect became more a background to the story than the actual story itself--the one thing that sets Pike apart from most horror writers today.
The main thing Pike taught me was never be afraid to be real. If you think it's something people in the age group can relate to, they most likely will. Real characters are the most important element in creating a story people actually WANT to read. He showed me it was possible to completely change how young people are treated and that it is possible to deliver your story to them in a fashion that makes them actually want to listen to and relate to your message. Never underestimate the powers of a growing mind.

A little about the books I chose to display on this page. The one at the top, The Immortal, was a personal favorite of mine because it incorporated a lot of Greek mythology, which was one of my many passions growing up. It was a myth intertwined with a present day story and I found the style in which it was written to be rather interesting. Kilo--get your ass to the store and read this one, it takes place in Greece and I know your passion for Greek mythology as well.
(And don't any of you be embarrassed by going to buy a young adult book by this man. The great thing about Pike is that he writes in a fashion in which adults can relate to, as well--hence his popularity amongst teens. He knows older people buy his books, too. He even jokes about it a little in Master of Murder.)
The one under that, Witch, was my first Christopher Pike book, the one that spawned the purchase of the thirty others that followed. It dealt, obviously, with witches, but not in a stereotypical sense. I liked the element of ESP sprinkled throughout its pages--another passion of mine growing up. (I'll get into why on my "freaky shit" page.)
The third one, The Midnight Club, was one I could relate to because it was a group of people meeting in the wee hours of the night to tell stories. Not only did I relate to the storytelling aspect, but also the insomniac perspective. Even as a child, I never could sleep. Most of my reading was done between the hours of eleven p.m. and four a.m. by the dim light of a flashlight. I still don't know how I made it through high school with flying colors, considering I averaged three to four hours of sleep a night the entire four years I went.
The final book on this page, The Last Vampire, was part of a six part set. It deals with another passion of mine--can you guess which? It also presented me with an entirely knew style of writing I had actually never seen used before. The entire novel takes place in the present--which you'll notice my prologue does as well.
I give credit where credit is due. The idea to have portions of my book set in the NOW stemmed directly from having read this book. Because my book jumps from the present to the story of the past being told by the main character in the future, I figured Pike's idea would be a good way to differentiate the present situation from the past and future.

Were these books my favorite Pike productions? Yes and no, actually. The thing with Pike is that all his books were favorites. The man can certainly tell a good story. To narrow my favorites of his down to one would be as impossible as trying to decide what my favorite Sublime song is.

Anyway, for those of you that might be interested in seeing why I insist on glorifying this man by harping incessantly about him, but may be too embarrassed to walk into a store to buy a young adult novel--fret not. He also published a few adult novels later in his career.
The Season of Passage was the best of these, that I have read. Sati I enjoyed just because it dealt with spiritualistic concepts--another passion of mine. (As if you couldn't tell.)

From this page you can progress right on to my Lois Duncan appreciation page, or you can check out some more about Pike at other user sites, or you can just go back to my contents page.
Whatever. It's your pick, so just friggin' click.

Lois Duncan (next page)
A very decent Pike fansite, complete with full listing of his works
another Pike fansite--mainly author info on this one
Main Contents