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With the possible exception of James Ellroy, Andrew Vachss is themystery writer with the darkest heart and the most troubled soul. Like his 10 other books about the enigmatic outlaw private eye called Burke, Choice of Evil deals with unpleasant subjects--ritual murder, pedophilia, sexual deviance--the full force of which are never dampened by attempts at tactor taste. Vachss is not an author to look away from the nasty, or try to soften any of life's lowest blows.

That said, his latest does start off on a light note when Burke's giant mastiff, Pansy, is grabbed in a police raid. Burke and his motley crew of helpers--people with names like Mole, Crystal Beth, and Max the Silent--stage a raid on the animal shelter, and in a zany scene worthy of Lawrence Block or Donald Westlake, set free a herd of caged canines. All too soon, however, darkness descends as Crystal Beth--Burke's main squeeze and an activist for abused women--is killed at an outdoor rally, apparently by someone who hates homosexuals. Following this atrocity, a vigilante calling himself Homo Erectus declares war on gay bashers, and also on pedophiles who seek to link their cause to gay rights. Burke is hired to find this vigilante and keep him safe before the cops nab him.

Mentioning pedophilia to Burke is like waving a red flag at a bull: he can (and does) go on for many pages about this particular evil as he and a friendly lesbian dominatrix link Homo Erectus to a supposedly long-dead killer from Burke's own past.

To absorb the full force of the Burke canon, read other books in the series:Safe House, Blossom, Blue Belle, and False Allegations. --Dick AdlerBook Description
A rally in Central Park, a protest against gaybashing. A murderous drive-by. Five people down, two dead. One of them Crystal Beth, girlfriend of Burke, the most haunted and darkly talented man-for-hire in the city.

First the gay-bashers celebrate . . . then they start dropping. Claiming responsibility is the mysterious "Homo Erectus," whose identity is as unknown as his mission is clear.

Burke is unsurprised when the cops pull him in for questioning--"I was born a suspect." But he is now also homeless and homicidal, a gun without a target, unable to find the shooters who killed his last chance at love, and drifting near the brink of the ultimate despair he calls the Zero.

Most citizens see Homo Erectus as a serial killer with a political agenda. But to some, he's become a hero. Like the police, they desperately want to find him. But unlike the police, they want to help him disappear before the dragnet tightens. They hire Burke for the job. Which is when things really get ugly. For as Burke tracks the killer, he stumbles across the unmistakable footprints of the man who was the city's most feared assassin before his own death--an ice-cold murder machine whose very name still inspires terror in the city's underground. The whisper-stream is divided in its verdict: either Wesley never really died . . . or he's found a way to come back.

In Choice of Evil, Burke strays closer to the edge than he ever has before, and closer to the most twisted workings of the human heart and mind. It is also Andrew Vachss's most haunting and frightening novel to date.Download Description
The murder of his bisexual girlfriend at a gay-rights rally leaves Burke with only one choice: revenge. But he has competition: someone going by the name Homo Erectus has begun a killing campaign against any and all gay-bashers -- the same breed that killed Burke's lover.The police want Homo Erectus caught and convicted, and they think he could be Burke. The gay-rights community wants Homo Erectus to be shielded from the law, and Burke is their choice for the job. Burke finds himself simultaneously an avenger, a suspect, a conspirator. But as Burke pursues Homo Erectus -- whose crimes seem morally defensible to some -- the murderer begins to reveal an even darker side to himself: he is striving to be a consummate killer, engaging in murder not for the sake of the kill but merely for the art. And it's an art he will perfect by delving into the world of the supernatural, and ultimately toying with the spirit of a man Burke had long ago watched go to his grave.In "Choice of Evil", Andrew Vachss gives us Burke at his edgiest, and moving closest to the edge: coming face to face with the most horrific workings of the human heart and mind. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

REALITY IS SCARY ENOUGH
This is the eleventh novel in the Burke series--which are always written in the first person--but this is the only one in which the antagonist gets center stage. It is truly frighting when he steps into the mind of this individual, and what is even more haunting to know is that such sub-human creatures walk among us everyday. From its first pages you know this one is going to be different, and the Burke series is now starting to move in a direction that takes him out of his comfort zone.

Scary, entertaining, and always truthful. Andrew Vachss says so much with such an economy of words.

Dead and Gone is the next chapter in the Burke series, and it's one hell of a follow-up.

A dark, creepy thriller! Another winner for Vachss!
Man oh man, Mr. Vachss!!! You just refuse to allow your protagonist, ultra anti-hero Burke, more than one novel's worth of happiness in a romantic relationship. You keep killing-off his women! At least allow them to live and love together for 2 books' worth! Imagine my chagrin to find, before page 20 in "Choice of Evil," that you had deep-sixed Burke's latest, Crystal Beth (I keep thinking crystal meth...what were you thinking???). She appeared in your previous bestseller "Safe House," a lovely lady, half Inuit, half Irish, a kind and gentle activist for abused women, determined to stand by her man...and love him no matter what. Tell me, how am I supposed to believe that in what seems to be a drive-by hate shooting at a gay pride demonstration, with 3 dead, that Crystal Beth coincidentally happens to be one of the victims??? You lost credibility with me on that one. I mean, out of hundreds, Crystal Beth manages to get hit? Otherwise, "Choice of Evil" is a terrific book, as always! For readers of this review...I really didn't spoil anything because, as I previously stated, this horrific event occurs by page 20. And... there is much more non-related action which take place before that. Are you curious? I won't tell.There's a Job-like character in the comic strip Lil Abner, "Joe Btfsplk," who walks around with a cloud over his head and jinxes everyone he comes into contact with. More and more I am reminded of Joe when I read about Burke and his romantic counterparts.

In this, Andrew Vachss' 11th Burke novel, our dark hero, who seems to grow more morose with each episode (and can you blame him?), calls vengeance the name of the game. Burke wants to "get" Crystal's killer(s). So does someone else. Enter a shadowy psychopath with Homo Erectus as his/her moniker. He...or she appears determined to wipe all gay bashers and pedophiles from the face of the earth. At first police believe Burke is the "doer." After all, his major hatred is reserved for pedophiles. And gay bashers killed his girlfriend. Gradually, the killer's MO, his signature, is that of Wesley, the ice-man who wouldn't know an emotion if it slammed him in the face. Wesley, a brilliant assassin who never missed, used to be Burke's homeboy. The two met in prison and found they are both past "Children of the Secret." But Wesley is dead. Or is he? As the body count climbs, and it climbs high, Burke is hired to track the serial killer, and of all things, to help him escape.

While not as brilliant as Mr. Vachss earlier novels, "Flood" & "Strega," "Choice of Evil" is well plotted and provides an excellent read. The usual suspects appear here: Max the Silent, a mute Mongolian version of Conan the Barbarian with creative ways of communicating; Pansy, Burke's Neapolitan mastiff, just like the kind that came over the Alps with Hannibal; the Mole, a pasty-faced genius who lives in a bunker beneath a high-tech junkyard; Michelle, a gorgeous former transvestite who recently "took the plunge;" Terry, Mole and Michelle's adopted son; the Prophet, a wise old scam artist who has logged-in too much time behind walls and was Burke's original mentor; Mama Wong, group doyenne and Chinese restaurateur, "keeps her prices high and the ambiance foul to discourage yuppies." She cares for the gang and holds Burke's stash; I should add that our hero drives a souped-up Plymouth, another important character. It usually looks like it's been painted with rust. Strega, a persona from the past, makes a guest appearance here, and former DA Wolfe, for whom Burke has a major jones, returns to tease fans into believing that maybe there's a chance for the two of them to make-it in a relationship...that is if Mr. Vachss doesn't kill Ms. Wolfe off in the next installment.

Another winner for the author, who is a lawyer and major advocate for abused children.
JANA

A good crime novel
As a stand alone novel, it is perhaps too heavy with references to previous novels but the disturbing nature of the story is strong enough to prevent those moments from becoming too distracting. The story is actual a mystery, as Burke (the protagonist) attempts to find the killer of his girlfriend Crystal Beth and discovers that her death is actually a great deal more horrific given who the murderer may be.The plot is not only an exploration of what kind of adult a State run (specifically New York) childcare department can produce but also the seamy criminal culture of pedophiles and serial killers.Be forewarned this book is not a comfortable read.Mr. Vacchs skill is enough that a great deal of the book is read with a fair amount of dread as one damaged character appears after another, with the character Burke being the axle of which this wonder-wheel of strange and unusual individuals revolve.So what's to like about this book?It's a crime genre novel and if you enjoy that kind of book it is well done and swimming with enough criminals and insinuated violence to make your skin crawl.The dialogue reads the way people speak so there is a flow that makes you the 3rd person in the scene, but there can be a bit of a struggle as characters interrupt each other's dialogue to express their own thoughts.In regard to the cast of characters, it's hard not to appreciate the loyalty Burke and his adopted street family share, but it's an uncomfortable appreciation given the nature of many of the relationships between the characters, most of them being practicing criminals.There is enough hints in Burke's thoughts that you know he has been made by his violent childhood circumstance and as an adult he's decided that this is the life he will lead, doing crimes and occasionally killing criminals that fall into the categories he finds abhorrent.Burke seems to be two people, either he is just a criminal with a vengeance streak or he's a victim turned criminal to get close to his source of vengeance.In either case Burke can be a depressing and vengeful character in this novel, as the reader begins to realize it doesn't really matter if he is either of those two people, (vengeful criminal or victim turning to crime for vengeance.One can't help suspecting that no matter what good comes from his actions Burke doesn't have a chance in hell of ever being happy or particularly stable.What this novel did succeed in doing is galvanize me to buy past Burke novels to fill in some of the character gaps.All in all, this book kept me turning the page and wondering what Burke's next novel will be about.

Not The Same Burke
.."Choice of Evil," though full of the urban misery and blues we've come to expect, doesn't pack the same punch.Granted, it would be hard to top "Sacrifice."

Burke's women either leave or die.So, Crystal Beth dies in what seems to be a drive-by at a gay pride rally.We get Burke the Sleuth, but not the Avenging Angel.The online search for the killer teases us with the possibility of Wesley's return..

What I miss in recent Vachss is the destruction of children as a plot element; lately it's left in the background as a short-hand device for character development.True to form, there's the Next Twisted Woman - a dominatrix named Nadine.their dialogue is a departure from the usual Burke-woman banter; Burke seems downright crotchety.His impatience with female posturing is at an all-time high.Nice to see Strega again, though.She still scares Burke 'cause she's a reminder that despite his resignation, he still desires...

As Vachss moves an aging Burke further away from ground-zero vengeance, he moves into Thomas Harris-style psychological intrigue.Give me the hellish terrain of "Sacrifice" and "Hard Candy."Reempower him as the bloody-handed avenger of the Children of The Secret.

A novel of the twisted workings of human hearts
A rally in Central Park to protest against gay bashing encounters a murderous drive-by resulting in five people down and two dead. One of the dead is Crystal Beth, Burke's girlfriend. Claiming responsibility is someone calling themselves "Homo Erectus". Burke is unsurprised when the cops pull him in for questioning because he is homeless, homicidal, a man gun and unable to find the shooters who killed his last chance at love. Choice Of Evil is a novel of the twisted workings of human hearts, the dark side of the human experience, and the bleak life offered marginal men and women caught up in webs of fear, bigotry, violence, and evil. ... Read more

Book Description
From the modern master of noir, Andrew Vachss, comes this heart-topping and bestselling new thriller that completely reinvents the Burke series.

Urban Outlaw Burke barely survives an attack by a professional hit squad that kills his partner. With a new face, Burke goes into hiding. And on the hunt. Dead and Gone takes him from the streets of New York City through a cross-country underground, and deep into his own tortured past. The violent journey ends in a place that exists only in the dreams of the darkest degenerates on earth.Download Description
When urban fringe dweller Burke goes on an assignment to trade cash for a missing child, he's drawn into a trap designed with bullets and blood. Now his beloved dog Pansy is dead and he lies in a hospital bed hovering in a netherworld of nightmares and hallucinations close to death, far from the family that loves and protects him. When the police issue a death certificate for Burke, the dark angel of the powerless goes deeper underground than ever before to find out who ordered the hit on him and avenge his faithful companion.The only trail leads through the Russian mob to the parents of the kidnapped boy. But in order to connect the dots, Burke needs the help of an ex intelligence officer, a Russian speaking Chinese girl named Gem, and childhood friend who finds patterns where others see chaos. At the end of this dark tunnel Burke discovers a world where the Russian mob, neo-nazi skin heads, and other low-lifes intersect and where the hit on Burke is a minor sideshow in a major scheme to create the ultimate sanctuary for the twisted and perverse. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

I ONLY WISH IT WERE FICTION
The twelfth novel in this series knocks the wind out of you from the start and never lets up. It's not long before Burke is out of his element and far from home, and it's the first time in this world that we see him lose his sense of security. And this unsettles us--because unlike most books--it reminds us that these characters don't exist in a vacuum.

The journey will take you deeper into Burke's past and open another chapter in his life. Without giving away plot points, Vachss demonstrates a link between Nazism and pedophiles; one that really exists, but for reasons you cannot possibly imagine.

It's thought provoking, chilling stuff, and it will make you angry.

Get real...
His name is Burke. If you've read Vachss before, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, you still know. He's that `good' guy who's so hardened from life's blows he's almost bad. He's the living refutation of the old maxim that lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place. Poor Burke--what hasn't he suffered? Well, I guess you have to cut Vachss a break; after all these Burke novels, he's got to keep coming up with new chips to put on his hero's shoulders, new secrets to reveal, fresh atrocities once suffered. Burke's past is a minefield of post traumatic stress that a fly couldn't land on without detonating; you practically can't ask him if he wants a refill on his coffee without expecting a punch in the mouth. Virtually everything causes him to flash back on some horrific childhood molestation or beating. It's safer to ignore him altogether.



Anyway, that's Burke. Still angry. Still rescuing kids, still chasing down pederasts, still erupting into marginally appropriate rages, even after all these years. More power to him, I guess.



As for *Dead and Gone,* well, this time around he's lured into an ambush. I won't go into details because it ruins the surprise, even though the blockhead who wrote the copy for this novel gives it away right there on the back cover. Burke is grievously wounded, blah blah blah. He struggles grimly to recover, yada yada yada. He's driven by what he's always driven by: the thirst for revenge.



Okay, you know you've got to suspend disbelief when you're reading a novel like this. For all its so-called `gritty realism,' it's basically a macho fantasy. The realism only extends to such things like getting the weapons specifications correct, accurately describing the logistics of a boat ride from Key West to Oregon, knowing the latest street nicknames for heroin. Any other contact with the real world is purely incidental. So it is that Burke happens to know an entire community--an entire community!--of underground experts in virtually every specialized field you can imagine. In fact, one seems to materialize out of thin air whenever the situation requires. Need a plastic surgeon, a computer genius, a couple of tons of dynamite. Either Burke knows a guy or he knows a guy who knows a guy. And all these folks are living in the shadows, bad guys ((or gals)) who are really good guys ((or gals)), and they've all been victims of abuse. It's like Robin Hood and his Band of Merry Men. They only hurt the evil and help the innocent. They're called the `Children of the Secret.'



And I'm even willing to buy it. Although, in *Dead and Gone* I think Vachss overuses the device until it becomes a parody of itself. Fact is, Burke spends a lot of time just hanging around places while this or that reclusive outlaw genius figures out where Burke is supposed to go next and upon whom he's supposed to wreak his homicidal tantrum of vengeance. It's a good thing he's picked himself up a spunky girlfriend, a thumb-sucking Cambodian cutie named Gem. Yes, she literally has a thumb-sucking habit. But she doesn't suck her own. She sucks Burke's! She's perfectly okay with her new boyfriend's brooding depressions and psychotic overreactions. His erectile dysfunction--no problem! She'll work with him on that. And she'll go the whole 9 yards, no Viagra shortcut for her. By the end of the novel, she's gotten so used to the unpredictable emotional weather around Burke that when she feels the instantaneous subzero drop in room temperature that tells her she's inadvertently said something to displease her angst-filled new boyfriend, she drops her shorts and bends over for a spanking. He obliges. `Did I suffer enough,' she asks. I kid you not. Burke may have had it rough as a kid, but, man, he's living large now.



You'd think that after swallowing all this, you'd be able to swallow the pay-off of this novel, but Vachss seems almost to be daring you, if he's not trying to choke you altogether. Really, he needs to dip back into the Great Big Book of PC Villains and find himself some new bad guys. Pedophiles, yawn, but fine, if we must, and, after all, that is Burke's whole thing. Even if we must force ourselves to believe that they exist in numbers that would dwarf the population of India, China, and half the United States combined. But I cannot, I simply cannot accept that we still fear the takeover of our government by neo-nazis. Isn't one bogeyman enough? Does Vachss have to throw in the other old bugbear, too? And, on top of it all, in defiance of all reason, propose that white supremacists and pederasts are actually forming an alliance, that they're uniting to form a....well, you'll just have to read it for yourself. It may be too dumb for words, but Vachss has managed to write it down all the same.



Well, I've written a lot about this book and I really didn't dislike it for what it was...which isn't much. Just a bit of entertainment, some mental popcorn, not to be taken too seriously. I can't imagine anyone reading too many Burke novels in a row, however; they're all too much the same. Maybe one every three years or so would be enough. I'll get back to you then.

Uneven, but any Burke novel is a treat
This is the twelfth Burke novel by my reckoning - "Pain Management" is the thirteenth - and it's a little different. While some readers may find that hard to accept, it is implicit in Andrew Vachss' style of merciless realism. Without giving too much away, Burke's elaborate defences finally let him down as he accepts one job too many. It spells the end of his life in New York, and very nearly the end of his life period. Things drifted a little out of focus for me as Burke sets out to track down those responsible, winding up in Portland, Oregon with a new identity and a new girlfriend. But then the momentum builds again, relentlessly, to an elegantly understated climax. On the way, we get some more flashes of Burke's early life when he and Wesley befriended a saintly boy with a talent governments would kill to lay their hands on. And pay a flying visit to a place that is almost literally out of this world.

Vachss' style can't be everyone's favourite, or he would be top of the best-seller lists. But I for one rate his books as one of the things that make life worth living.

Not bad, but same ol same ol.
This is who knows what number in the Burke series. Although each book is a self-contained mystery, you're really best reading the earlier books first to get a handle on the characters and the flashbacks that occur.

But by this book, things seem a little tedious. Burke spends too much time brooding, and thinking. Yeah we get, bad stuff happened to you, bad stuff happens to other people. You're tortured, you want to hurt others. We get it. Move on already.

The action is pretty slow in this book too, after the inital chapter book spends about a third of the book just 'laying low' and another third slowly tracking down those who hurt him. (read: a lot of waiting, and following. yawn)

Still the character of Burke and his relentless pursuit of those who hurt and prey on children is admirable, even if his methods are usually not. (Although you have to wonder if those people get what they deserve.)

ALMOST AS GOOD AS BLUE BELLE
VACHSS IS EXCELLENCE - SOME OF HIS BOOKS ARE MORE DISTURBING THAN OTHERS AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM.BURKE IS A CHARACTER OF A LIFETIME.WITH BURKE , VACHSS HAS ENSURED HIS PLACE IN CONTEMPORARY MYSTERY WRITING AND CAN REST ASSURED THAT HE WILL KEEP MAKING MONEY FOR HIS TRUE PASSION IN LIFE, HELPING CHILDREN. ... Read more

Book Description
When Another Chance to Get it Right debuted on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1993, Dark Horse was deluged with phone calls as people clamored to buy the book. Now, nearly a decade later, Dark Horse is proud to offer an updated edition of the acclaimed collection of short stories, poetry, and allegory. This new edition boasts an all-new, never before published Vachss-penned prose story called "La Corazón del Niños," along with illustrations and a magnificent new cover by Geof Darrow (The Matrix I, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions). The beautiful drawings add a different dimension to this celebration of the potential of parenting, a dimension that's rarely seen in the genre, making it as much inspirational as it is instructional. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Wonderful, honest, challenging
This is a simple book, with a simple premise and wonderful illustrations. It is written in the clear and honest prose for which Vachss is so well known. It also hits home with every story. If you want to know what honor, courage, and love look like, this is your book. Most books, I lend; this one, I buy multiple copies and give them away, over and over again.

Every parent should read...
Every person who ever wants to have children of their own by blood, or the more saintly act of adopting those children who need the love of someone who cares... needs to read this book.I have given a copy to everyone Iknow who has ever had children, including my Mother.

Having met Mr.Vachss and told him my acts of spreading his insights, wisdom, andwarnings, he was delightfully pleased at my efforts.

Every word in thisbook is placed perfectly.Not a phrase can be misconstrued.In itsexecution of prose, there is none in literature refined more to an essenceof purpose than in these 64 pages.Each vignette is more poignant than thelast.

The artwork is extremely appropriate and offers enough to attractyou, draw you in , and keep you connected to each story or lesson.Eachartistic compliment has a specific merit to the story they accompany.Payspecial attention to the "artistic focus effects" from GeofDarrow (Pgs 26-43).They are a masterpiece than should be studied.

Mypersonal favorites in thew collection of prose and pencil/pen are pgs 8-10,and 48-51.One speaks on the philospohical scale of children as a futureand past; and the other is far more personal to the author and reader. Both will leave the interested reader with a great deal of introspection. But the lessons learned within will affect how the reader thinks and actsaround children.Those they know and love, and those they will never know,and never suspect, are hurting.

Lyrical and moving
This book is a beautiful set of stories and essays about how to protect children from abuse.Given the subject matter, it would be easy to pass this book by.It's easy to hold the preconception that there is nothingmore that can be said about child abuse, or that there is nothing we can doto stand against it.

Nothing can be further from the truth, and Mr.Vachss proves it with prose so clean and direct that it reads like thesparest poetry.I've read this book with my own children, and it has giventhem an understanding and sympathy that will serve them well all theirdays.DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS BOOK!

Beautiful Content Presented Beautifully
Read anything by Andrew Vachss--novels, short stories, comics--and you get the picture: Vachss is the antithesis of the Sensitive New Age Guy. It's a sure bet the latest book review will contain some variation of 'Vachssmakes [fill in favorite 'noir' or 'hardboiled' author here] look like[Emily Post...a sewing circle...the minutes of a Cub Scout meeting...etc.etc. etc.].'

Another Chance to Get it Right--a 'children's book foradults'--is an altogether different literary critter.

In a series ofvignettes (with illustrations by noted graphic artists including PaulChadwick, Geof Darrow, Gary Gianni and others), Vachss presents truths bothblunt and bright about the common experiences--and the great diversity--ofchildren and childhood.

If you think Vachss is 'too dark,' this is theperfect starter book to blast your preconceptions. The text is concise andeloquent, and shows a tenderness perhaps unexpected to fans of the Burkenovels, while the accompanying art provides an occasionally whimsical,always powerful complement.

If you have the chance to get thisbook...DO IT. ... Read more

Book Description
Andrew Vachss' writing has been described as "red-hot and serious as a punctured lung" (Playboy), "hypnotically violent ... made up of equal part broken concrete block and razor wire" (Chicago Sun-Times), and "short and choppy, like the ticking of a time bomb" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer).

This brand new book contains fifteen of Vachss' most compelling, life-at-ground-zero stories, brought to life by an outstanding line-up of comics' most talented writers and artists. This exciting book also contains Half-Breed, a never-before-published story by Vachss, with illustrations and a new cover by Geof Darrow, conceptual designer for the motion pictures The Matrix I, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Trite, moralistic tales with no concept of reality
I seem to be the one voice of dissent when it comes to this collection of short grphic peices. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I found Vachss stories to be completely lacking in any redeaming volue what so ever. The stories them selves are less than surface level involving no depth of charater, or exploration of ideas. How to best explain it? Ah, got it! Do you remember sitcoms from the early 90's, were at the end everyone has learned a very important lesson about drugs, or gangs, or sneaking out to parties? Mix that with the sort of "poetic justice" you would find in "Tales from the crypt" and you have "Hard Looks". Except there is no kitchy irony involved, no chuckles at how silly and ridiculus this sort of stroy telling is, Vachss is dead serious. After reading the book I was ahgast to find out that Vachss was at one point a fedral investigator, AND a social worker. This book is apparently how he thinks the world works, or should work. I would suggest not buying this garbage. If you really must read it, I'm sure your public or a local college library will have a copy. Head over one day and flip through it, you'll see what I mean.

P.S. Vachss actually uses the "escaped hook-handed crazy man" (http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/hook.asp) legend in one story, only he throws in a rape at gun point to make it all "Hard" and "Edgy". I mean come on! Why do people like this tripe!

"Look Down, or Look Hard"
Andrew Vachss is a problematic short story writer.His style is so frontal and minimalist that often the stories are over before they have penetrated intellectually.Instead, the reader experiences a sudden burst of emotion or horror, leaving a stunned silence in its path.To be honest I prefer his novels, which give the reader a grace period before the roller-coaster starts down the first big drop.

'Hard Looks' is really a compilation - 15 stories extracted from a Dark Horse comic-book series of the same name.Most of these stories actually appeared originally in two short story collections - 'Born Bad,' and 'Everybody Pays.'Six of the stories are strait text, the rest are adaptations of Vachss' stories to the graphic format.The largest percentage were adapted by Neal Barrett, Jr., but a broad spectrum of other authors are represented, from Joe R. Lansdale to Charles de Lint.

Each story, graphic or not, is as tough as one can make a recreation of Vachss' work.The stories are about people who are suddenly brought face to face with the reality that underlies their fantasies, whether it is a kid who dreams of being a big tough in the neighborhood or a woman working in a phone-for-thrills studio.The only goodness that happens is on those rare occasions when evil loses the struggle.In Vachss' world, that isn't often enough.

The illustration is pure pen and ink, by a variety of artists.While the general styling is gritty and noir, there is considerable variation.One of my few irritations with the book is that while the artists and adapters are given credit, they deserve a better introduction.Especially since only a small part of Vachss' readership is familiar with the modern comic as art.Like any experiment, some stories work better than do others, but over all, this is a very successful effort.Fans will enjoy the graphic insight into a dark work, and, hopefully, this will mark the introduction of one of the our most intense writers to an entirely new readership.

Great Book - Why not both covers?
This is a really nice graphic novel, and I'd expect no less from Vachss and his team of talented artists and writers. But how come we can't get the comics cover by Geof Darrow? I think Amazon should be offering both covers as a special "buy with" option (instead of the old Predator stuff!).

Anyway, the book is great, the story HALF BREED is tight and tense and the drawings by Darrow just suck you into it. The differing styles in the artwork add a nice touch and seem to match the individual stories perfectly.

And there really is something for everyone in this book!

Hard Looks Rules! (where is the Darrow cover?)
I learned about this new edition from the Andrew Vachss website. But Amazon, for *whatever* reason, doesn't have the ultra-hype Geof ("The Matrix") Darrow cover!Hey, Amazon, why can't we have a CHOICE?I mean, this photo cover is very good, but not everyone is so high-art-- some of us Vachss fans WANT the graphics cover!

I got my Darrow cover edition at my local comics shop, and paid full price, which totally [was bad].Get a move on, Amazon!

A Handsomely-Produced Collection of Brilliant Short Stories
HARD LOOKS is an outstanding collection of 17 short stories by attorney/author Andrew Vachss, which makes an unflinching examination of all manner of human depravity while at the same time providing the reader with heroes and hope. The stories (titles include: DRIVE BY; DATE RAPE; LYNCH LAW; HEAD CASE; BORN BAD; CRIPPLE; DUMPING GROUND; and MAN TO MAN) have been adapted to graphic novel format by Joe R. Lansdale, Charles de Lint, Chet Williamson, Jim Colbert, Rose Dawn Scott, and Neal Barrett, Jr. and feature the splendid artwork of Geoff Darrow, David Lloyd, Gary Gianni, Warren Pleece, Jack Pollack, and others. The skillful adaptations and the beautifully-done artwork serve to greatly amplify the power of these hard-edged tales.

For years I have admired the power and strength of Mr. Vachss' novels (FLOOD, STREGA, BLUE BELLE, SHELLA, ONLY CHILD, et al.). This collection, with the freedom allowed by the short story form and its wide range of subject matter, equals or surpasses the intensity of those books.

This edition of HARD LOOKS is available in two versions, one with a photo cover and one with a masterfully-drawn cover by Geof Darrow. I would highly recommend the book featuring Mr. Darrow's artwork. Mr. Darrow's richly-detailed, colorful illustration tells a story (actually, many stories) all its own and is well worth the cover price....

HARD LOOKS ... masterfully adapted, wonderfully illustrated versions of 17 provacative, disturbing, and important short stories from Andrew Vachss. ... Read more

Book Description
Vachss has reinvented detective fiction and, in the person of Burke, his haunted, hell-ridden P.I., has given readers a new kind of hero. Investigating an epidemic of apparent suicides among the teenagers of a wealthy suburb, Burke discovers a sinister connection between the anguish of the young and the activities of an elite sadomasochistic underground. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

"Down In The Zero" is only slightly Above Average
"Down In The Zero" is Andrew Vachss' seventh novel featuring Burke, the hard-boiled, in-your-face, ex-con detective, who still isn't sure on which side of the law he prefers to operate. Abandoned at birth, father and mother unknown, Burke has no real first name. "Baby boy" is the name on his birth certificate. He is a survivor. He's also a standup guy. The novel is set in early 1990s NYC, just after Mayor Guiliani came to office with the intent to clean up the City's mean streets.

I have read the six previous Burke books and have became so fascinated with this complex character, and with the strange folks who people his world, that I will probably go on to read the entire series. I am addicted. If you are a Vachss/Burke fan, or have the potential to become one, I would suggest that you try to read the books in order. Of course, every novel stands on its own, independent of the others, but the growth and development of the characters are continual. There are also references to past events, and for a richer reading experience it is helpful to know the history. If you're just looking for a good read, and not interested in becoming a Burke maven, then by all means, read at random.

Throughout this book Burke mourns the horribly violent death of a little boy for which he feels responsible, (these events took place in a previous novel). He finds himself in a black place - the Zero, he calls it - "a deep black hole you dive into,"and he is unable to climb out. It is not death, but this abyss may be worse than death because one still feels the intense pain of the living.

Then he receives a phone call from a troubled teen who fears for his life. The boy, a rich kid from the Connecticut suburbs is the son of a woman from Burke's past - a ghost from long ago who once saved his skin. He feels like he owes her a favor and so takes a trip to the burbs and the world of the super wealthy. Here he discovers a string of inexplicable teen suicides all linked to a common experience at a psychiatric clinic.

Burke also becomes involved with a woman, Fancy, a friend of his friend and a member of an elite private sex club. She is definitely not a "vanilla sex" lady. Fancy introduces Burke to the world of S&M, D&S, and encourages him to participate. She is even willing to switch for him and play the submissive. This kinkiness all eventually links-up to the suicides in an extremely convoluted way.

P. I. Burke, as always, is the narrator. And the narrative, at times, goes off on a tangent, like Burke's thought processes. This occasional stream of consciousness has always been extremely effective and enhances the detective's persona. However, here Vachss wanders a bit too much and his usual tight writing style suffers for it. While "Down in the Zero" is strong on character development, the storyline is not the best. However, I am into these novels because of my man Burke and the characters who form his "real family." In this area Vachss does not disappoint.

So...if you are a Vachss/Burke fan, don't miss this, although your patience may be tried at times. If you are just looking for a good read, check-out one of the author's earlier books.
JANA

Revised Opinion
Ages ago I wrote a review of this book complaining that the violent sex seemed gratuitous. However, recently I was browsing through Andrew Vachss' website and I learned a thing or two about how he 'uses' sex in his novels. Apparently, when the lives of the characters revolve around sex, then sex in the plot is called for; when sex is not a driving force to the characters, then you won't find much of it in the plot. I'm probably not conveying it correctly, but it made sense to me when I read it! Anyhow, check out his website. It's really an eye-opener.

Andrew H. Vachss, Esq.-Master of the Dark Side
By "Dark Side," I don't mean the occult.Real-life attorney Vachss has an intimate grasp on all that that is offensive to the majorityof us who live quiet, (semi-)organized lives.We gasp and recoil at thereal-life occurrence of a brutal act by one human against another.Theworld of Vachss is the opposite.Therein we are non-plussed by an act ofkindness.His world is real; it is simply a world that most of us chose todeny the existence of. (<-Dangling participle - sorry!) Vachss'fictional characters and situations are damn close to reality.And it'soften tough to take.

In this latest outing, Vachss takes his maincharacter, Burke, to the upper class suburbs to fulfill a longstanding"debt."Burke, an abandoned and abused former ward of the state,(both in childhood and occasionally in adulthood) is a urban survivalist,con artist and city animal.He is also presently mourning his"accidental" killing of a small child. (I told you it was toughstuff to take!) But he adapts to this new, ritzy environment as only a truesurvivor can.(Vachss' fans will recall that he pulled this off before, inexurban Indiana, in "Blossom.")And, as always, he solves theunderlying crisis through a combination of detective work, technological assistance, sheer bravado and unrelenting violence.

The common theme toall Burke novels is moral outrage.Once Vachss has overwhelmed us with thehorror of the situation (and it always involves the sexual and physicalabuse of children), we applaud his character as a vengeful angel.Burkeconsciously believes that he does what he does for the money.Nonsense. He's driven by the demons of his own abusive upbringing.And I wouldn'twant him "cured' for the world...

Keep writing 'em, Andrew.I'llkeep reading them and recommending them.

A good start...
Despite its laid back approach to a mystery, I liked its down-to-earthdescriptions of how the rich think and feel.I would have liked it betterif they had spent a little more time on Burke, but I'm sure I'll get thatin other books.All in all an enjoyable adventure.

Burke in the 'burbs
I have read all of the Burke novels, and this is not one of the better ones.I guess after the absolute horror at the end of the previous book, "Sacrifice," it is understandable that Burke had to back off abit.But his adventure in suburban Connecticut just isn't terriblycompelling and leads to perhaps the least satisfying climax of the wholeseries.Who would have thought that Burke's legendary "Zero" issituated among the strip malls and housing developments!Burke beginnersshould start elsewhere (I recommend "Flood" or "BlueBelle").This one's for hard core fans only. ... Read more

Book Description
Word count: 3455. ... Read more

Book Description
From a writer whose novels have been acclaimed for their unflinching exploration of evil comes a brilliant collection of short stories&#8212;some never before published&#8212;that distill dread back down to its essence&#8212;and inject it straight into the reader's back brain. Andrew Vachss might have scissored his characters from today's headlines: a stalker prowling around an anonymous high-rise; a serial killer whose transgressions reflect a childhood of hideous abuse; an inner-city gunman who is willing to take out a blockful of victims in order to win a moment of acceptance.

Tautly written and endowed with murderous ironic spin, Born Bad plunges us into the hell that lies just outside our bedroom windows.Download Description
From a writer whose novels have been acclaimed for their unflinching exploration of evil comes a brilliant collection of short stories -- some never before published -- that distill dread back down to its essence -- and inject it straight into the reader's back brain. Andrew Vachss might have scissored his characters from today's headlines: a stalker prowling around an anonymous high-rise; a serial killer whose transgressions reflect a childhood of hideous abuse; an inner-city gunman who is willing to take out a blockful of victims in order to win a moment of acceptance.

Tautly written and endowed with murderous ironic spin, Born Bad plunges us into the hell that lies just outside our bedroom windows.

Product Description
First issue of a series of four; terror invades Paloverde Prison. Suggested for mature readers. ... Read more

Book Description
From the Arctic Circle to the equatorial jungles -- from the most isolated wilderness to the overpopulated city -- any place can be a hunting ground. It all depends on your choice of game. For Predator, that game is man, so he heads to the grounds with the biggest trophies: the Paloverde State Penitentiary. They say that when you kill a killer, all his kills belong to you, and Predator's looking to rack up the big numbers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Awful graphic novel: bad story, bad art
While I've only recently started reading graphic novels, I've already had the opportunity to read through virtually every book in the "Aliens" series, "Judge Dredd" series and many of the fabled cross overs "Aliens vs. ________" (superhero or other creature), "Predator vs. _______", etc...

Of all the series I've tried to catch up with, "Predator" has been one of the more difficult.The crossovers are easy to find, but the stand alones, like "Race War" have been harder to locate.After finally getting this book off Amazon (I should note this is my 42nd graphic novel) I was excited.So far only a handful of the previously mentioned series had been disappointing.

Well, "Race War" manages to be one of the worse I've read.

The story is chalk full of badly written characters, major plot holes and a stupifying amount of terrible dialogue.The book attempts to play up racial differences among humans, but its clear that the authors have no concept of what they're portraying: people in gangs talk and dress in stereotypes that no self-respecting "gansta" would ever do.The writers' own naviete is also painful in its portrayal of a lesbian character.Never in any previous graphic novel have I seen such a trainwreck of tacky writing.As I mentioned, the plot, as such, is a complete mess: the authors, in an attempt to make the story interesting, try to keep the audience in the dark until the story is under full steam.Unfortunately, they forget to actually fill in many of the questions they ask and leave the reader befuddled as to why the characters do what they do (other than to heavy-handedly move the plot).

Of course, all of this could be mitigated in some way if the Predator-related action was top notch.But amazingly enough, the Predators themselves aren't seen around very much, so we're left reading about these completely uninteresting characters.

As was mentioned in another review: the art in this graphic novel is atrocious.It starts out at a reasonable level, but by the mid-point it starts to become haphazard and unpolished.Proportions on the characters start to lose cogency and I was left with the distinct feeling that the team working on the novel was in a rush to get it done.

Again, after reading a number of related graphic novels, many including the Predator, I must give "Predator: Race War" very low marks for its sheer incompetence.1.5 of 5.

Pathetic
Which is sad considering how great the beginning was. The story just completely falls apart and is only slightly redeemed by a pretty cool ending. But, as a whole, it fails sorry.

The main reason is that the artwork is just plain horrid. In the opening chapters it's competent enough but as the story progresses it becomes more and more ugly. I could do better than this. It's a shame considering how brilliant other Predator comics looked.

The Predator is a truly awesome and iconic character. He deserves better than this. And so this is one to forget. Check out Predator: Dark River or Kindred instead. Those are really cool. This is not.

Great book!!
I totally "enjoyed" the storyline.I have been a fan of Mr. Vachss for many years and I was very happy to see him involved in a project like this (I am a big fan of the Predator!).
I did not recognize Cross though (for those of you who know Mr. Vachss' work, you know what I am talking about).He looked so unlike the cross I had pictured in my head. He kind of looked a litle bit goofy.Anyway, enjoyed the comic.Mr. Vachss is a great story teller.
Get this book!It might be hard to get it or to find a copy of it, but its soooo worth it!!
If you have never read any of Mr. Vachss' work, go ahead and start reading.You are going to be shocked!!!

Bye.

Zaida

Predator: Race War
Andrew Vachss doing a Predator comic--it's either an absolute natural, or the weirdest combination possible, depending how ya look at it!

The whole thing started when Dark Horse's Randy Stradley planned a storylineinvolving a Predator hunting a serial killer. Since the Predator's victimsare _de facto_ reps of the human race itself, this came down to the *human*killer, in his battle with the *alien* killer, becoming The Good Guy.

AsStradley tells us--and as one would expect--Vachss didn't think much ofthat idea. But that was Ok, because he had an idea of his own. Thus was"Predator: Race War" conceived and, eventually, born, as afive-issue series, collected together here.

The cover is, natch, thefirst thing one sees, and this one, by Ray Lago, is a winner. The Predator,a heavily-armored intergalactic Rastamon, crouches on a prison walkway,menacing and indestructible. It's a thing of beauty, and I'm *not* beingfacetious.

Stradley's adaptation is clean and tight, as it the artworkthroughout--pencils by Raskin & Pelle, inks b Rick Bryant, and colorsby Matt Hollingsworth & Pamela Rambo.

"They say that when youkill a killer, all his kills belong to you," the back cover informsus. "Well, Predator's looking to rack up the big numbers."

What better place to do so than the most maxed-out of maximum securityprisons in the country? Who could possibly stop this dude?

Who else butCross & Crew, familiar to fans of Vachss' short fiction and DarkHorse's _Cross_ series?

Be aware that Cross & crew's depiction is abit different than fans might expect. Tiger has no stripes, fer-instance,and she's drawn a bit...err, *heftier*...than we'd expect. Cross, Fal &Rhino are more in line with the rest of the series, and the Predator isnicely done, especially in "camoflauge" mode.

The "RaceWar" is a double theme: first, the tension and violence along raciallines familiar to those of us who live in The Real World(tm), second, thewar of the *human* race in its various shades against the Predator's alienrace.

The "Gallery" section at the end features the series'covers, paintings by Dave Dorman, which are quite simply *damned* cool.IMNSHO, the covers alone are well worth the price. Do yourself a favor andorder this one. It's a keeper. ... Read more