The Eternal Enemy

by Christopher Pike

Book Overview

A VCR that could tape tommorrow's news. Rela has just bought herself a new VCR. She sets the machine to tape a movie she plans to show at a party she is throwing. But instead of the movie she gets the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671745093
• ISBN13: 9780671745097
• Release Date: May 1993
• Publisher: Simon Pulse
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.2" x 6.9"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Can you change destiny?

Rela has a new VCR and it tapes future news. When she sees herself on the news and learns that she will die, she is scared. Can she change what is meant to be?

Fantastic

This was one of the first CP books that I bought. Not read because I had read a few before this, but one of the first that I saw at the store when it first came out and had to buy. I thought the plot sounded incredibly intriguing.. I had figured out by then that the back covers of his novels just told the extremely watered down, skimpy version of the plot. Or plot points if you will.. So I couldn't wait to find out what was in store for me in this book. It did not disappoint. Rela was incredibly real and easily related to. I could not wait to see what caused her to see into the future through her vcr and what she saw on the tape.. I admit at first that when it got into the robot part of the plot I was a tad iffy because I am not really big on sci-fi. But I swear you don't have to be to enjoy this book. He explains the plot in such a way that you understand it right away and you want to find out more.. I remember that the end shocked me. It still saddens me to think of it. SPOILER Rela was indeed brave to do what she did in the end. She gave up everything to make sure that the human race would survive and that the world would be a better place. She gave up her right to love.. I can not remember her boyfriend's name in the book. Was it Michael.. or maybe Chris even? It has been a couple years since I re-read this.. but I suprisingly remember most of this book accurately because it was that powerful and stayed with me. Anyway, Michael was the love of her life. Throughout the beginning of the book Rela talks about how all she wants in life is to be loved by him. She's not sure if he likes her as much as she likes him. Later it is revealed that he indeed does. But then it gets somewhat complicated, even more so than already... I won't go into that even for the ppl that already know.. One thing that always stays with me is when Michael watches the tape Rela left for him and he finishes it and turns the movie off and says "I'll never be like that. That will never be me." And that is how the book ends. That line has always stayed with me.. much like the plot of this novel.

An incredibly intelligent novel

I LOVE this book. I think the reason people were critizing the "technical stuff" was just because they are too young to understand it. I really feel that this is an adult book trapped behind a teen book's cover. Or at least, a book that is more appropriate for more intelligent teenagers, and adults. It's extremely deep and fascinating, with many levels of meaning. It starts off as a typical teen novel ... You've got the heroine, Rela, and she has typical teenager problems: dealing with her family, a crush on a boy, friends, etc. Then she buys a VCR that can record the future, and you think "Oh boy, this looks cheesy." But soon she begins to have terrible nightmares about the cyborgs of the future, and the novel becomes a tragic vision of a future dystopia that Rela must try to prevent. It also tells the tragic story of her relationship with her grandfather, who only wanted to use technology to save humanity, and ended up destroying it. In the end, all the loose ends tie together and this novel makes more sense than you could possibly have imagined from the outset. Christopher Pike is a BRILLIANT writer.

A must for Pike fans

Christopher Pike has done it again! He has achieved a wonderfulblend of three dimensional characters with an original and captivatingstoryline. I appreciate how he gave the characters such depth. The phych of the novel gets to you and pulls you in. The ending is extremely satisfying and fitting for the novel. A must for Pike fans.

Scary and surprising until the end!

Although this was not the best book that Pike has wwritten it was good. I love his books they are so full of horror and mystery. Usually I can tell the end of the story but in this one I was stumped. I loved this book!