The Midnight Club

Here it is. Christopher Pike's masterpiece. Yes, he's a teen horror writer. No, his books won't outlast Austen's or Dickens.' So what? Like Stephen King, he's a damn good writer, one of the best of our era, and in Midnight Club he's at his peak. Read this one for its sheer inventiveness, read The Last Vampire for action, and read Whisper of Death for the ultimate chill. Read all of them for expertly crafted setting and mood, tight plotting, and characters that are both unpretentiously created and totally compelling. While most of his characters are "normal," their traits are heightened enough from those of ordinary people to make them truly engaging. This book has everything from comedy to sci-fi to drama to romance, and it also marks the point when Pike's "Eastern mysticism" kick started to go overboard. But here, it's just enough. Like Roald Dahl, Pike succeeds because he doesn't write "down" to his audience. It's a travesty that he's lumped in with R.L. Stine, which is like lumping in Stephen King with Dean Koontz. One's a great original; the other's just very proficient in the genre, sending boxes down the assembly line. Read Pike and you'll feel a master at work.

This book isn't scary at all, its just mysterious and suspensefull. It seems more like a romance story because it's very sad. It was a very interesting story and shows how people go through life and make the decision to be scared of death or not. I would rate this story 5 out of 5 because Christopher Pike makes you feel like you're really at the hospice.

This is one of my all-time favorite books! Normally I'm not a fan of Christopher Pike but this particular book is incredibly insightful and full of heartbreaking and heartwarming stories. Ilonka is a patient at a hospice for teens and 20-somethings, Rotterham Home, she has made friends with other patients Kevin, Sandra, Anya and Spence. Every night at exactly midnight the five of them gather in the library to tell stories. Basically, telling stories is the only fun they can have, in a hospice, everyone is waiting to die. Each one of the five friends has a different form of fatal cancer. Then, they discover that one of the members of their club is leaving the hospice to go back to normal life!At the same time, Ilonka begins to have dreams of past lives, she remembers vividly life in Ancient Egypt, Asia and medieval Europe. The strange thing is that all the lives are connected to Kevin, a member of club Ilonka felt that she always knew from the first time she met him. Kevin's continuing story revolves around an angel and the misguided woman he loves, a story which is strangely parallel to the lives that Ilonka remembers.Then, one of the members of the midnight club dies, but not before they tell Ilonka a true story which begins a mystery and the ultimate resolution to the sad stories that plague Ilonka's past.Absolutely touching and revealing story. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 14 though, this books should really not be in a children's catagory. I recommend it to anyone 14 to 114! This is just such a fabulous, fantastic story! Christopher Pike really hit on a timeless story with this book!

I must agree with the review posted by the reader from Iowa City, this is definently a book for all ages. It touches many senses, mostly love. Although it may sound depressing or morbid to read about teens in a hospice waiting to die, you find as you read, it is neither. You find yourself loving each character more and more with every turn of the page, and knowing they will live eternally in your mind and heart after the book is over. Their strength and bravery is touching and commendable, and after reading this novel, you will see what is really important in life is love and making the most of each day. The dramatic portrayal of each character is amazing. The stories told by the midnight club are also very memorable, with that notable Pike twist, and horror. Over all, this book is wonderful, and touching, it will leave you with a sense of warmth, and love, and a life lesson.

As a teen, I read countless books by Christopher Pike. Most of them have since been packed away in boxes or given to younger friends and relatives to enjoy. The Midnight Club, however, remains on my bookshelf (its cover is nearly torn off from so much use). Pike expands his horizons in this book, departing from his usual themes of horror and death. Though the book is all about kids who are dying, the prevalant theme is life. Pike gives us a great truth in a story told with deceptive simplicity: it is not the number of years we live that makes our lives meaningful, but instead the way we spend those years and the other lives we touch. Don't be dissuaded from picking up this book because of the YA classification--a must-read for all ages.