The Last Vampire delivers on what I have come to expect from Pike; complicated characters with dubious morals in fucked up situations. Alisa, also known as Sita, was a bit grating as the main character, although she did grow on me over the course of the book. Starting out she was a little bit too obnoxiously good at everything. My eyes rolled more than a few times. I would have liked it better if she struggled with computers. It would have given her a degree of fallibility that I felt was missing. She needed some sort of Achilles heel. An all-knowing, superpowerful 5,000-year-old vampire who can’t find a power button to save her life is something I could get behind. Beyond that, my chief complaints are that the ending felt rushed and I never completely bought into the love story. All that aside, I still enjoyed this book more than I didn’t. I particularly liked Sita’s relationship with Seymour. The Last Vampire may not be my favorite of Pike’s efforts, but it was far from his worst. It kept me guessing as to where the plot was heading, kept me entertained with a fast-moving plot, and continuously raised the stakes throughout the book. The ending was certainly abrupt, but it also went a long way toward ensuring that I will read the rest of the series. I’ll be posting my review of The Last Vampire 2: Black Blood next week!

Score: 3.5

My full review with memes, snark, and spoilers can be found here: https://www.danstalter.com/the-last-vampire/

Number One testing cadets: VIBE CHECK Spock: the vibes are adequate

Pike from somewhere else on the ship: STOP VIBE CHECKING CADETS

Phil Boyce, from med bay: PLEASE VIBE CHECK THE MED CADETS THEY FEAR NO GOD AND THEYRE USING THEIR ANATOMY KNOWLEDGE TO TRY AND LEARN TO NERVE PINCH EACH OTHER

Bruce Greenwood

Do the tests continue when Kirk becomes captain? Or does Spock sadly welcome cadets without vibe checking them?

Oh are you kidding? Kirk LOVES this form of testing! Even if he *didnt* idolize Pike and Number One, he fucking *adores* the idea of testing staff not by their grades or standard scores, but by their unique traits and morals! He and Spock design each test themselves (with McCoy and Scotty weighing in depending on the section the potential crew member is going into), and, on occasion, videochat Pike/Number One for ideas. It’s not the Exact Same as before, but it brings Spock both joy and peace, even if he won’t admit it for a good few years

Number one tailored the tests specifically for each applicant so imagine her with a couple of cadets assigned to do whatever is necessary to pull off the tests

Sometimes she designs tests that Pike is like “Una, What The Fuck”

The first time she’s talking to Pike about tests with Spock present, Pike goes to admonish her for one insane agility test. Before he can say a word tho, Spock pipes up with something like “The test might be more apt and a fair challenge if the cadet would be required to use the Jefferies Tubes to override the programs”.

Una *grins*, bc that’s Good, and Spock gives her the ‘I’m smiling on the inside’ eyebrow. Pike suddenly Fears For His Life