Rating: 
Summary: Master Vampire
Review: This is going to become one of my favorite books. Whitley Strieber has breathed new life into the vampire myth, just as he did with the Hunger, only this time it's richer, more innovative and even more fun. The book also has an attitude about sexual freedom that's extremely refreshing, loving and open-minded. It's a wonderful, joyous, deliciously scary experience to read the Last Vampire and I loved it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a Sequel
Review: This is not a sequel to the novel "The Hunger" that I have read more than any other piece of fiction (with the possible exception of Shirley Jackson's, "Haumting of Hill House"). The names may be the same as in The Hunger, but there are some very large inconsistencies with the "facts" presented in the first novel. Facts involving Miriam, her family and the nature of her species have been reworked to a less satisfying result. This was apparent within the first twenty pages or so. The film, which I thought took a nasty and detrimental detour from the facts of the novel (no matter how divine Catherine Deneuve was as Miriam), now more closely resembles the original world of Miriam Blaylock than does The Last Vampire. The Hunger I can read over and over and marvel at the brilliance of the writing and the novel twist on the vampire myth ( I don't think the word "vampire" even appears in the first novel). The Last Vampire, on the other hand, I am having a hard time even getting though once. I may be able to find something satisfying in this novel, but it can't be as sequel to The Hunger.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so wicked ?
Review: This is the first novel I have read of this author, I just happened to pick up as I love Vampire Novels. I was a little disappointed it has none of the action of Laurel Hamiltons Anita Blake series and none of beautiful eroticism of Anne Rice. It started off really well, but I didn't like the way it ended. I think I will read more of strieber's novels though. My favourite part of the novel was the description and tour of Miriams nightclub it was enthralling.
Rating:
Summary: Is Strieber obsessed with lesbian aliens?
Review: Though initially The Last Vampire grabbed my attention, it devolved quickly (as do most of Striber's books) into an inane example of what a generally good writer produces when out of fresh ideas. It seems that Mr. Strieber has been out of fresh ideas ever since he switched gears from the original Hunger and Wolfen by switching to the alien themes of Communion et al. He allows this theme to slip ino The Last Vampire in minute threads throughout. This, intertwined with his emphasis on Lesbian sex (which was done well in the movie version of The Hunger) gives The Last Vampire an unorganized read.
Rating:
Summary: Oh, What Might Have Been...
Review: Two hundred pages into "The Last Vampire" I was completely enthralled. Strieber's vampire mythology is both innovative and stunning. Mirian Blaylock is memorable; Paul Ward is intriguing for his moral ambiguity. All was good.Then it all went to hell. I can only speculate that Strieber became lazy: how else can we explain the glaring inconsistencies in the story? At one point Mirian suggests that there are some 100 or so Asian vampires. Then the number is, oh, about sixty. Finally, the Asian coven is destroyed with the death of, oh, seventeen of the "pure bloods." And the entire European vampire population is decimated by killing a handful of vampires in Paris and, off camera, Berlin. Gee, after fifty thousand years you might think there would have been a few more. Finally, the entire vampire population of the United States is also destroyed (again, off camera). But wait...there's more (or, in this case, less). Wondrous as it is, Strieber's mythology postulates that all pure blood vampires are ageless. In this case, all pure bloods would be newborns. How can it be that some are young and some are older (Rice completely avoids this conundrum by not having any pure bloods: since her vampires can not have sex, all vampires are, in Strieber's nomenclature, "blooded")? There are problems as well with Miriam: sensitive at first, she becomes, as the novel progresses, both ruthless and cruel. Paul Ward is abruptly transformed from a clear-headed vampire hunter to a puppylove slave to Miriam. What a shame. There is so much to admire here: the Book(s) of Names; the language of Prime; the suggestion that vampires are "from the stars" and gained control of Earth (and human evolution) some fifty thousand years ago. Delightful. But the uncertain ending and internal inconsistencies largely negate these virtues. I have not read "The Hunger," but I intend to: my hope is that, in his earlier novel, Strieber was every bit as good as he is in "The Last Vampire," but perhaps not as lazy.
Rating: 
Summary: Can we even have a bit of continuity?
Review: Very much a disappointment, I am glad I saw the sequel in a book store rather than waiting months for it's release. If you have never read The Hunger, maybe you could enjoy this book. Although I have read, and reread The Hunger many times over. Who is this new Miriam, and does she have Alzheimer's disease. The Hunger's Miriam transformed her lovers into 'vampires' for companionship, since her race as she knew it was basicly wiped out. She mentions not coming across any of her kind in a very long time. In The Last Vampire, there are various safehouses of Vampires, apparently there were quite a few of her race alive and accessable. Where were they in the first book, they do not seem like a fresh discovery in this new version. She also tells a very moving tale of her family's death in The Hunger. Now in The Last Vampire, they died in a different manner and time space. I could not get past all the changes in her background, let alone her gutless and weak persona now in The Last Vampire. Perhaps if Miriam was not the main character, this book would have been ok, but with all the inconsitancies it was very disappointing. Oh, and as for the 'clift-hanger' ending, which just shouts sequel, I don't think I will bother waiting for it. Who knows, in a new sequel Miriam may grow fangs and turn into a bat.
Although, I very much enjoy this author's work, I hope he will reread both of his books with Miriam before he finishes another sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Ok, let me see...
Review: When I read the Hunger (very recently) I came to the conclusion that Anne Rice ripped Streiber off completely, that everything I liked about Lestat actually came from Whitely. I gave the Hunger to my wife and she agreed. Now, with the Last Vampire...did Streiber rip off John Steakly and John Carpenter from Vampire$???? I mean there were scenes that (as I remember) were taken whole out of Vampire$ the book! LV is kind of a split personality book. I liked it, though not as much as Hunger and Miriam Blaylock is too cool for words. If this has been optioned for a movie, it will be interesting to see who makes it....
Rating:
Summary: Major inconstistencies disappoint
Review: Where to begin. First of all, the cover jacket describes Paul Ward as an Interpol agent, but he is CIA in the book. Eumenes is described as Miriam's Egyptian Keeper lover in this book when, in The Hunger, he was a dying Greek slave that Miriam rescued in ancient Rome. Her father perishes in the explosion of Thera in The Hunger, but then is described as dying during the Hindenburg explosion. I think Strieber should have re-read the Hunger before writing this book! And then there are problems with the Last Vampire that do not have anything to do with the Hunger. It simply is not believable that Paul Ward, who has hunted down vampires for years, would not question his own Keeper traits (rough tongue, fast healing etc.). And how is that he can go to a club where a reporter disappeared investigating vampires and not be suspicious at all, until he is trapped of course. Completely unbelievable. Sad but his broad view of how vampires controlled human history is more credible than the actual story of the present day!
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