Christopher Pike
Jan. 27th, 2002 07:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blodeueddHere is me about to admit that I still enjoy certain "Young Adult" novels. You know, the kind that are about 18-year-olds but are written for the 12 to 15 set?[Just a quick note on the latest Christopher Pike book I read, "The Grave" (which I don't think is an appropriate title, by the way). And when I refer to Christopher Pike's books, I'm talking about the Young Adult ones as I haven't read any others.]
When I started reading Christopher Pike’s books, way back when I was eleven or so, I was very happy to find some "teen horror" books that had a supernatural bent to them rather than the usual psycho teen murderer explanation. I mean really, how many blood-thirsty teenagers have to move to Fear Street before the authorities get a clue? Another thing that I found very interesting was that the main character usually dies at the end of his books; instead of too-simple resolutions, good people die. Of course, they always die fulfilled/having saved the world/having saved a loved one/having discovered some great wisdom, but they still DIE.
Ahem. So as I was saying, CP's books were something I read because they were *different*. Now, after having been reading them for so long, I can't help but feel that he should have stopped writing that kind of pseudo-mythical philosophical stuff ages ago, that he's just recycling the same ideas all the time. But whenever I see a book of his I haven't yet read, at the library, I borrow it anyway. Because it's like comfort food, in a way, for the times when I don't want a complex plot or well-realised characters. I know that an 18-year old is going to discover some profound truth about mankind and the cosmos and probably die a violent, bloody death (or at least witness or cause several deaths) in 200 pages or less. Though I suspect it's somewhat odd that I find something like that reassuring.
"The Grave" is only about 190 pages long, and reads mostly like a fusion of "Scavenger Hunt" and, uh... well, one of CP's more "spiritual and in tune with nature" books. It's got the usual blood and gore and sex, though perhaps not in that order. Also, it's structured like every single freaking other one of his books (with one or two possible exceptions): the first half of the book is the main character meeting a somewhat odd stranger or someone they previously knew but who's changed considerably since whenever, and the second half is blood and gore (and sex, occasionally) and being chased and threatened with death while great essential truths are revealed or discovered.
Considering it only took me a couple of hours to read, I won't say it was a total waste of time, but either it's my age or the fact that I've read too many of Mr. Pike's offerings, but he's certainly not getting any better with time. The fact that I've been spoiling myself with excellent adult novels for a long time might also be a factor. Like I said, Christopher Pike is comfort reading, and it will be a while before I'm willing to part with most the books of his that I own.
When I started reading Christopher Pike’s books, way back when I was eleven or so, I was very happy to find some "teen horror" books that had a supernatural bent to them rather than the usual psycho teen murderer explanation. I mean really, how many blood-thirsty teenagers have to move to Fear Street before the authorities get a clue? Another thing that I found very interesting was that the main character usually dies at the end of his books; instead of too-simple resolutions, good people die. Of course, they always die fulfilled/having saved the world/having saved a loved one/having discovered some great wisdom, but they still DIE.
Ahem. So as I was saying, CP's books were something I read because they were *different*. Now, after having been reading them for so long, I can't help but feel that he should have stopped writing that kind of pseudo-mythical philosophical stuff ages ago, that he's just recycling the same ideas all the time. But whenever I see a book of his I haven't yet read, at the library, I borrow it anyway. Because it's like comfort food, in a way, for the times when I don't want a complex plot or well-realised characters. I know that an 18-year old is going to discover some profound truth about mankind and the cosmos and probably die a violent, bloody death (or at least witness or cause several deaths) in 200 pages or less. Though I suspect it's somewhat odd that I find something like that reassuring.
"The Grave" is only about 190 pages long, and reads mostly like a fusion of "Scavenger Hunt" and, uh... well, one of CP's more "spiritual and in tune with nature" books. It's got the usual blood and gore and sex, though perhaps not in that order. Also, it's structured like every single freaking other one of his books (with one or two possible exceptions): the first half of the book is the main character meeting a somewhat odd stranger or someone they previously knew but who's changed considerably since whenever, and the second half is blood and gore (and sex, occasionally) and being chased and threatened with death while great essential truths are revealed or discovered.
Considering it only took me a couple of hours to read, I won't say it was a total waste of time, but either it's my age or the fact that I've read too many of Mr. Pike's offerings, but he's certainly not getting any better with time. The fact that I've been spoiling myself with excellent adult novels for a long time might also be a factor. Like I said, Christopher Pike is comfort reading, and it will be a while before I'm willing to part with most the books of his that I own.
