Christopher Pike (author)
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Christopher Pike is the pseudonym of Kevin McFadden (born November, 1954), an American writer. He is a bestselling author of young adult and children's fiction; his expertise is the thriller genre.
He was born in New York, but grew up in California where he lives today. He dropped out of college and — prior to becoming a recognized author — worked in a factory, painted houses, and programmed computers. His interests include astronomy, meditation, reading, running, and surfing. He is a highly private person; consequently, not much else is known about him.
Initially, McFadden had set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, but was unsuccessful. Fortunately, his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller. This resulted in Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. It was a hit. Next, McFadden produced Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
His other well-known works include The Last Vampire (a series of six books), Remember Me (a trilogy), The Lost Mind, Witch, Bury Me Deep, and Fall into Darkness. The last three titles have also been released on audio. In 1996, Fall into Darkness was made into a television movie directed by Mark Sobel; it starred Tatyana Ali as Sharon and Jonathan Brandis as Chad.
While he is best known as a young adult author, McFadden also writes the popular children's series Spooksville. In addition to that, he has several adult novels published: Sati, The Season of Passage, The Listeners, The Cold One, and The Blind Mirror.
It would not be accurate to limit McFadden to just the horror genre. His books often include elements of science fiction, spirituality, and whodunit. Traces of Egyptian, Greek and Hindu mythology can also be found.
Trivia
- His pseudonym is taken from the fictional character Christopher Pike, who was the captain of the USS Enterprise in the original Star Trek pilot.
- McFadden acknowledges Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Agatha Christie and Stephen King as influences.
- Many of Christopher Pike's books include a reference to an Ann:
- In Master of Murder, the protagonist — who is a writer — inserts references of his sister Ann into his work.
- Chained Together (Chainletter and Chainletter 2: The Letters of Death) is dedicated to Ann.
- The protagonist of Remember Me is named Shari Ann Cooper.
- In Last Act, Rindy Carpenter's middle-name is also Ann.
- Fall into Darkness has an Ann Rice.
External links
References
- Who is Christopher Pike? (http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/library/poetry/94/chris5.html) — a biography on the author as written by Melissa Blease.
- Leslie's Christopher Pike Page (http://www.geocities.com/athens/troy/1434/index.html) — includes a comprehensive biography on the author as written by Leslie.