Product Description
Burke is back in his most tightly wound, electrifying thriller to date. In Blue Belle, a savage gang is hunting and killing teenage prostitute. A murderous martial arts expert is trying to set up a deal with Burke's friend Max. And complicating it all is Belle, a voluptuous exotic dancer who has worked her way into Burke's heart. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Almost bad enough to make you want to quit
The Vachss/Burke combo follows the exploits of a dark, disparate group of misfits in the underbelly of New York. That's the attraction of this series. And the band is back in this third installment but their roles and the basic plot of the novel get diluted when Mr. Vachss deviates into the soft porn genre with the introduction of Belle: an annoying, needy, whiny, woman with a masochist streak in her.
Cut out the repetitive, tiring, boring sections devoted to Burke/Belle's sexual encounters and the book could end up being 100 pages lighter and with a better flowing story. Belle's story could have easily been a 4 page sideline; instead it becomes a second sory that actually detracts from the main story line.
I almost gave up on this but stayed the course in the interest of the continuity of the series. If you are new to the Burke saga, don't start with this one.

BURKE#3 Great Series
I can not figure out why more people don't read Andrew Vachss' Burke series.They are great stuff in the genre, darker, yes, but oh so much fun.BLUE BELLE is the third book; the books stand alone, but are so much better if read in order.This book hits a Vachss theme as Burke goes after a New York City child molester.This guy, Mortay, is really bad and dangerous.But Burke has his crew, Michelle,the Mole, and Mama all return.See New York City's nastier side through Burke's eyes.Oh so much to see.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Vachss always delivers!
The gang's all here doing what they do best.Blue Belle is great.I've been reading the Burke series for years but out of order.It took a while to find Blue Belle but it was worth the wait.

The Good, the Bizarre and the More Bizarre
This book is in the same genre as Flood and Strega.It is very insightful into the dark side of human nature.The dialogue is wonderfully tight with witty one-liners, but somehow it doesn't all hold together.

The basic appeal of Vachss is that his 'good' and 'normal' characters are the unique and the bizarre.There's the prof, an ex-con who only speaks in rhymes.Max the silent is a deaf-mute who is a karate expert.Michelle, is a transvestite who loves her son.Her son lives with the Mole, a German Jew who escaped the death camps and now lives in an underground maze guarded by attack dogs.He's an electronic whiz.All of these folks are fringe people, outside the law but GOOD.It's the system, the bureaucrats, the yuppies who are bad.It is this aspect of his writing that speaks to me.

Subterranean sadists meet their match
The Burke novels present some of the bleakest urban fiction to be found anywhere, and this book is no exception. Burke and his ragged but deadly crew of assistants are up against the Ghost Van, which prowls the mean city streets at night snatching prostitutes and other nocturnal unfortunates, never to be seen again. Furthermore, the Ghost Van is protected by a shadowy death fighter who may even be a match for Burke's compadre Max the Silent.

Burke has to play this one alone, as the Prof is hospitalised by the death fighter, and Max is iveigled out of town. The story loses some of the rich interplay between these characters and becomes a straightforward duel to the death between Burke and the Ghost Van's protector. The loss of character interaction makes the dark violence stand out even more, not to the story's benefit. ... Read more

Product Description
"Vachss is a contemporary master."--The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Vachss' writing is like a dark roller coaster ride of fear, love and hate."--The Times- Picayune

A hit man defies the confines of a life sentence to avenge his sister's batterer.An immaculately dressed man hires a street gang to extract his daughter from a Central American prison, for reasons as mysterious as they are deadly.A two-bit graffiti artist with a taste for Nazi-ganda finds himself face-to-face with three punks out to make a mark of their own--literally--with a tattoo needle.

From neo-noir master Andrew Vachss comes Everybody Pays, 38 white-knuckle rides into a netherworld of pederasts and prostitutes, stick-up kids and fall guys--where private codes of crime and punishment pulsate beneath a surface system of law and order, and our moralcompass spins frighteningly out of control. Here is the street-grit prose that has earned Vachss comparisons to Chandler, Cain, and Hammett--and the ingenious plot twists that transform the double-cross into an expression of retribution, the dark deed into a thing of beauty. Electrifying and enigmatic, Everybody Paysis a sojourn into the nature of evil itself--a trip made all the more frightening by its proximity to our front doorstep.

"Vachss [is] in the first rank of contemporary American crime writers."--The Kansas City Star

"Andrew Vachss has become a cult favorite, and for good reason."--Cosmopolitan ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Everybody Paid In Full
In this collection of short fiction, Vachss' prose reminds us that evil is real, as tangible as a lethal insect crawling in our direction.The situations are as close to home as fiction can get -- protecting one's self from a vicious rumor and accidentally killing the teller in the frenzy; murdering pedophiles in exchange for getting one last shot at the thug who ravaged a family member -- and show that every single person alive is in some way, shape, or form touched and tormented by crime.

The book is divided into three sections: basic stories, tales of symbolism mixed with substance from the Underground Series, and stories and one novella featuring Vachss' soldier of fortune, Cross.The first section arguable carries the greatest weight of the collection as the author weaves passioniately dramatic tales of revenge with as few words as is humanly possible with dazzling effectiveness.While the Underground stories do leave some readers with little more than a sense of bewilderment, Vachss manages to leave even the casual reader wanting more.The Cross series presents a troupe of right-minded 'mercs' doing more for the cause of justice than perhaps most uniformed men and women do every day.Also, the Cross characters are so vividly drawn it would be terrific to see this team of avengers brought to the cinema screen.

While the characters and situations presented here may not be to everyone's taste, Vachss deftly shows us how widespread evil is in the modern world.He reminds us that, just as vile desires have created a sex slave state that exists around the globe, it's also touched casual souls on quite possibly every street in the United States.He drives his point home -- everybody pays -- with amazing weight in these brief tales that it'd be hard for any reader to resist the temptation for soul-searching his own past for the price already paid.

Everybody Pays
If you're a friend of mine, and you're not familiar with Andrew Vachss' writing, I usually suggest one of his collections of short stories to start with -- either *Born Bad* or *Everybody Pays*.That's because I consistently hear only one of two reactions to his work.Either it's something along the lines of "too dark," "too intense," "too scary," "too brutal," or "too *real*" . . . or it's "Has he written any more books?"Clearly, I fall into the latter category.For those that fall into the former, with short stories, you can take it five to ten pages at a time.

Because Vachss' writing *is* "too real."And that makes it all the more important for us to read.His research is his life, and all of the brutal, ugly corners of this earth he has been -- from the midnight human meat markets of New York City to the genocidal killing fields of Biafra -- confronting evils few people dare to even acknowledge voluntarily.But for all of the darkness, in his short stories, Vachss always seems to find some beauty -- an orchid amongst the spent shell casings.

Vachss is a warrior poet, on a mission to save children from abuse.His sword is his writing, and his haiku is the short story.If the purpose of writing is to communicate one's experience of reality so accurately that the reader feels like he or she has actually experienced it, then Vachss is one of the most skilled writers of all time.And if you liked *Born Bad*, you will believe he has perfected the art of the short story after reading *Everybody Pays*.

So, read Vachss to be entertained, scared, intellectually stimulated, angered, inspired to take action, enlightened, strengthened, nourished, or healed.Read it simply because it is great writing.Read it to be *educated* -- you will learn more from one of his books than from a whole semester of criminology courses.Read his work for all of the reasons there are to read.But *do* read it.And then *try* to turn away from the reality it reveals.

Rips the nerves wide open
Nobody frees the truth from the mud the way Andrew Vachss can. I've had enough of pain and abuse as plot-points, and I can tell you that *this* writer's never goes near that kind of exploitation.Instead, he shows the reader the anatomy of evil -- so we can *recognize* it when we see it in the real world.His fictional work ends up giving the reader a crystal clear set of textbooks on the evil that preys on our society.Why?Because after the diagnosis, the cure becomes obvious.Buy the book!

Uneven and not as good as "Born Bad"
I'm a huge Andrew Vachss fan and I loved his first collection of short stories entitled "Born Bad."Unfortunately, "Everybody Pays" just isn't as consistent or as good.By now, Vachss has come to wear his anti-abuse feelings on sleeve so obviously that many of these stories take far too predictable turns.Many of them are also far too short (some only a couple of pages) to have any real impact.The "Underground" series is sci-fi that makes little sense.The "Cross" stories aren't as realistic or satisfying as Vachss' Burke novels.That said, the book is at least an entertaining read for Vachss fans.Even when he's not at his best, he is at least interesting.

storytelling beyond compare
These stories are so simply told and so deeply empathetic that Mr. Vachssseems to speak straight into your heart.Gorgeous short tales aresprinkled all through the collection, and the very first story,"Proving It", is a perfect gem of romance.Every friend I havegiven this book has thanked me -- read it soon! ... Read more

Product Description
A pulse-quickening new crime novel featuring Burke--scam artist, private investigator, sometime killer--whose sole passion is defending children who fall victim to New York City's darker appetites, Footsteps of the Hawk finds Burke the pawn in a conspiracy involving two rogue cops and a grisly string of sex crimes. Reading tour. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Another great entry
This is another great entry in the Burke series.Well written, gritty and exciting.Vachss does it again!

BURKE#8 HE IS BACK
FOOTSTEPS OF THE HAWK is the eighth book in the Burke series and asbig fan I say Burke is back.Back to NYC and back with his gang of henchmen.Burke is best in NYC.(By the way, read the books in order.Really, it is a must.)This book is about cops, good, bad, phoney and the story moves a rapid pace. A hot dectective asks Burke for help.Max the Silent, Mama, the Prophet, the Mole and the others are back it this novel, I think they are my favorite 'team' in mysteries.If you are in to dark stories, gritty stories about the mean streets on New York City, Burke is your man.

Vachss at his Vengeful Best
First and foremost, Footsteps of the Hawk is a high octane, burn-your-weekend crime novel that will hook you into Vachss' work and world forever.Second of all, Andrew Vachss has expanded my mind.Really.At one of his readings, Andrew Vachss described his books as "non-fiction thinly disguised as fiction."The world his characters navigate is violent,nihilistic and unforgiving.And tragically real.But it is this context that makes Vachss' assertion of the potential of the human spirit and its capacity to love in spite of overwhelming degradation, cruelty and horror --that makes it such compelling stuff to read.

(This is his eighth book, and where it's not necessary to read them in order, here they are up to Footsteps of the Hawk: Flood, Strega, Blue Belle, Hard Candy, Blossom, Sacrifice, Down in the Zero).

Not Vachss' best effort...but OK haiku!!
As a huge Andrew Vachss fan who would love to adopt his main man, Burke (and "make his pain go away" - I'll take Pansy too!), I never thought I would see the day when I would give one of this author's novels a below average rating. But, hey...we all have off days/months/years. "Footsteps of the Hawk" is the eighth consecutive Burke book I have read and the only one I am not enthused about - not the usual 5 Star read, in other words. I will continue on, however, gobbling-up the series in order until there is no more...and then will wait until Mr. Vachss is kind enough to supply a new novel for those of us who need a fix.

"Footsteps of the Hawk" features two rogue cops with individual agendas. They both dedicate too much of their valuable time searching for Burke. With these folks, five minutes would be too much time! They actually know where to find him...occasionally, and won't get off his back. Detective Belinda Roberts, who can be extemely seductive when she wants to be, (Burke sees right through her, of course), wants our man to arrange a jail break to free a guy accused of a series of grisley murder/rapes. She swears to the con's innocence. Don't they all? Detective Jorge Morales comes accross as a major psycho who has a jones for Burke....one that makes him want to eliminate Burke permanently. He is fixated, one might say. He is also ugly and out of control...beneath an obsessively controlled facade. Ready to explode. Could Morales have "done" the women?

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. (Hah!) For those who have not met Burke before - and here is definiterly not the place to make his acquaintance - he is a 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....a righteous man.

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 off way too much and his usual tight writing style suffers for it. The storyline is much too convoluted, and even Vachss' usually strong cast of characters cannot shore-up this piece of fiction enough to make it more enjoyable.

Actually, there is one scene that is excellent, featuring Mama Wong and her granddaughter Flower. Mama is group doyenne and mother, of sorts, to Burke's "real family" - a Chinese Jewish mother and restaurateur. She "keeps her prices high and the ambiance foul to discourage yuppies," cares for the gang and holds Burke's stash. She is teaching calligraphy to the little girl who is copying an ancient haiku:

"the ferret hunting
eyes on the ground, never hears
footsteps of the hawk."

Best part of the novel.
JANA

One of His Best
Vachss started out as one hell of a crime writer ("Strega", "Blue Belle"). But by "Down in the Zero", he looked as played out as the Rolling Stones. "Footsteps" showed he's still capable of writing brilliantly.

What makes this novel great is that it shows Burke has changed considerably from the person he once was (no longer carying a gun, keeping his temper in check), yet the change is completely plausable because, at his core, he's the same person (tough and cynical). Vachss's humor is as sharp as ever. So is his prose. ... Read more

Product Description
A beautiful outlaw hires Burke to shield one of her charges from a vengeful ex with fetishes for Nazism and torture. But the stalker has a protector who can shut down her operation for good.Amazon.com Review
Safe House, the latest in Andrew Vachss's series ofBurke novels, begins when Burke's "brother," Hercules, ispaid to scare off a neo-nazi stalker and accidentally kills the wrongguy. Burke finds himself unwittingly drawn into a world of whitesupremacists, stalkers, and safe house networks.What ensues is anintense rush to cover Hercules' tracks and, at the same time, bringdown a New York City white supremacy ring.

Safe House offers up Vachss's repertoire of repeatcharacters. The most fascinating are Burke's prison"family," the Prof, Max the silent, the Mole, Michelle,Clarence, Mama, and, of course, Burke himself, who is as hard-edged asever.The family's willingness to help one another, even die for oneanother, is the emotional string that ties the books together.Thereare also two new female characters, Vyra, the affluent Jewishhousewife and Crystal Beth, half Inuit, half Irish safe housemadam. Though not as believable as their male counterparts, Vyra andCrystal Beth have powerful secrets of their own and add a soft, humanelement to the story.

Like other Vachss novels, Safe House embraces the dirty, grimlife of the ex-con for hire.The most compelling aspect of Safe Houseis Vachss's no-holds-barred writing style.He spares nobody'sfeeling and minces no words in this rough, gritty and often painfullyraw crime story. --Mara Friedman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

BURKE SERIESBOOK TEN
If you area fan of Andrew Vachss and I am, you look forward to the next book, so was the way with SAFE HOUSE.Buke in NYC with all his crew, Mama, Prof, Max, Michelle, Clarence, his whole crew.And we meet Wolfe again and Vyra and introducing Crystal Beth.I like the book in NYC and with the crew, they all add so much.This book was a little slow and had lots of social info which is always a staple of Vachss books.Nazis, and abused women, Feds, and boms, could you ask for more.RECOMMENDED. On to CHOICE OF EVIL.

publisher error in 2 copies(books)received
publisher error forced return of 2 books - haven,tfound good copy yet
will buy when found.

Dysfunctional Doc Savage has gotten old.
There's something mildly comforting about a new
Burke novel, because you should know what you're buying by now.
A twist on the hardboiled detective, an antihero with a heart
of pyrite, a hard exterior protecting a tough interior protecting
a broken inner child.

I've been in on the Burke novels since the first one, Flood,
was dropped in my lap.I kinda liked the half-assed detective
character, and I was willing to go along with Vachss' evolution
of the character and his environment, but this novel represents
a definitive "mining of the old".

It's just short of becoming a parody of itself, and I don't
like it.Vachss has stripped down his usual dialogue and
character interactions down to the bone; it's really as if he's
now writing these novels from a template, where he plugs in
the scenario and picks from the usual menu of plot devices.

Perhaps I'm simply tired of Burke's world.The Prof's rhyming
is truly awful now, and I no longer find it a simple thing to
suspend disbelief during most of the book.I think the only
character preserved from my broad brush happens to be Max,
and I suspect it's partly because he doesn't speak, but mostly,
because Vachss now treats him as a deus ex machina and as such,
he's mostly an object rather than a person.

I know this is not good news for loyal readers.However,
I have to write 'em like I see 'em, and this world has run its
course.Perhaps Vachss will take some time off, re-examine
where Burke is and where should be, and come up with something
fresh.He needs it.

A Bit Confusing
This is another Burke story. Burke is a formidable man who has surrounded himself with a vast network of professionals. But Burke is a criminal and a highly organised one at that.

This story starts off with a favour for a fellow ex-con. The ex-con has accidentally killed an abusive husband whom he was supposed to be warning away from his battered wife. The story then quickly progresses to the safe house of the book's title and the battered women who are sheltered there. At first it appears that the rest of the book would be about Burke and his partners providing protection for these women, but before you know it, the focus shifts on to a neo-Nazi movement. With the constant changes of focus, I found the plot a little hard to follow as I tried to remember the motivation behind what was taking place.

This is hardboiled all the way as Burke displays a willingness to do just about anything as long as it means getting the job done. A little more attention to explaining what was going on and a little less to attitude would have gone a long way.

Not that bad!
The street word on this Burke novel was that it, like FALSE ALLEGATIONS and CHOICE OF EVIL, was spoiled by an excess of didacticism and a paucity of plot and action.When I finally located and read a copy, which was not easy, by the way, I found the word to be exaggerated.

There is indeed a plot, which blends white-supremacist movements with the societal problems of stalking andspousal abuse.To help out old friend Herk and new friend Crystal Beth, Burke and his "family" find themselves needing to murder a couple of bad guys in cold blood and put all their lives on the line to derail a plan to level a Federal building in NYC with half a dozen truckloads of explosives.

Burke finds himself working with an enigmatic undercover figure who calls himself Pryce, and who is multiply connected to the local and state police, and Feds, in extraordinary ways.There is a hint that Pryce may enter Burke's life again, once he gets a new face; let's hope he does.

In summary, this is another chilling Vachss tour of the underbelly of our society. If you have a strong stomach, it's a tour you won't regret taking. ... Read more

Product Description
Electrifying, compelling, and ultimately terrifying, Two Trains Running is a galvanizing evocation of that moment in our history when the violent forces that would determine America’s future were just beginning to roil below the surface.

Once a devastated mill town, by 1959 Locke City has established itself as a thriving center of vice tourism. The city is controlled by boss Royal Beaumont, who took it by force many years ago and has held it against all comers since.

Now his domain is being threatened by an invading crime syndicate. But in a town where crime and politics are virtually indivisible, there are other players awaiting their turn onstage. Emmett Till’s lynching has inflamed a nascent black revolutionary movement. A neo-Nazi organization is preparing for race war. Juvenile gangs are locked in a death struggle over useless pieces of “turf.” And some shadowy group is supplying them all with weapons. With an IRA unit and a Mafia family also vying for local supremacy, it’s no surprise that the whole town is under FBI surveillance. But that agency is being watched, too.

Beaumont ups the ante by importing a hired killer, Walker Dett, a master tactician whose trademark is wholesale destruction. But there are a number of wild cards in this game, including Jimmy Procter, an investigative reporter whose tools include stealth, favor-trading, and blackmail, and Sherman Layne, the one clean Locke City cop, whose informants range from an obsessed “watcher” who patrols the edge of the forest, where cars park for only one reason, to the madam of the county’s most expensive bordello. But Layne is guarding a secret of his own, one that could destroy more than his career. Even the most innocent are drawn into the ultimate-stakes game–like Tussy Chambers, the beautiful waitress whose mystically deep connection with Walker Dett might inadvertently ignite the whole combustible mix.

In a stunning departure from his usual territory, Andrew Vachss gives us a masterful novel that is also an epic story of postwar America. Not since Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest has there been as searing a portrait of corruption in a small town. This is Vachss’s most ambitious, innovative, and explosive work yet.Amazon.com Review

Amazon.com Exclusive Content

Justice, Rage, Retribution & Vachss
Best known for his series about Burke, a careercriminal with a uniquely larcenous family, Andrew Vachss has penned astandalone novel sure to win new fans and delight those familiar withhis earlier works. Set in the year 1959, Two Trains Running isa complex moral tale of family, violence, love, and atonement. Readour Amazon.com exclusiveinterview with Vachss.

Two Trains Running was selectedby Amazon.com as their No. 1 Editors' Pick in Mystery & Thrillers for2005.

See the entire Burkeseries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

Big disappointment for a big Vachhs fan
I've read most of the Burke series of books at least twice.This book was very disappointing.I think he tried to cover too many bases, and ultimately nothing seemingly happens.This is one of those books when you get to the end you say, "Is that it?"Not sure why the time stamp was so important since there was never any real climax or denouement to the book.I'll still read his books, but wouldn't recommend this one.

Greg Ingram

Don't Bother!
If you read Vachss for his Burke series, don't bother with this long-winded and ultimately pointless disappointment!I couldn't even finish it (which is EXTREMELY rare for me) - the endless dialogue finally put me to sleep.Really - don't buy it!Save your money for the next Burke novel!

Dark american crime history
I had to read Two Trains Running twice, to keep from missing something.The multi-plots and history bits keep you wondering where the story is going, until the end.Then it hits you like a hook to the ribs that you never saw coming.Different from the usual Burke series, but stirs up lots of actual activities that many would like to keep buried.--Doug Setter, author of One Less Victim

Hated it
I have been reading Andrew Vachss' books for over a decade and have enjoyed the entire Burke series (although the earlier books were better than the later ones), but Two Trains Running did nothing for me.

I found that the book was just too convoluted and trying too hard to do a James Ellroy in complexity of characters and depth. It just didn't come across well at all.

Sin City
OK, so maybe I've just crawled out from under a rock, but I'd never heard of Andrew Vachss.And then I started reading Ken Bruen's bare-knuckled crime fiction, and kept running across Bruen's frequent and reverent references to Vachss. I figured it was time to find out what was impressing the venerable Bruen so much.

I find myself agreeing with Bruen's superlatives."Two Trains Running" is a remarkable novel that can be enjoyed on several different levels.On the surface, it is a kick-butt pulp crime fiction, a hardboiled and tight-lipped gem reminiscent of Jim Thompson or Raymond Chandler.A level deeper, you've got an authentic slice of late-Eisenhower America that includes the racial tension, gangs, drugs, and corruption not often depicted in the old "Happy Days" nostalgia typically associated with this era that was setting up the mayhem for the turbulent 60s.And then, running through it all is a near supernatural undercurrent that can only be described as weirdness - a surreal tone that reminds one of the brutal and bizarre "Sin City", Frank Miller's comic book nightmare brought to garish life on the big screen.

The story unfolds in Locke City, and decaying mid-America mill town run by wheelchair-bound boss Royal Beaumont and his unmarried sister Cynthia. Unlike most pulp fiction which it mimics - or perhaps parodies - Vachss' "Two Trains" is epic in scope - long and convoluted, with multiple subplots and even more messages to sort through and ponder.Beaumont brings to town Walker Dett, an enigmatic hit man hired to thwart encroachment by an emerging Mafioso. It is soon clear that Dett is not what he seems, but what he is is an entirely different matter.And if you're like me, he will having you guessing right up to the last bloody page.

A couple of words of caution: this is a long and complex novel that should not be read casually or sporatically.Vachss paints this masterpiece with lots of parallel stories and a rich set of characters, told in a staccato shorthand that may have you scratching your head and thumbing back through pages to pick up the thread.It is beautifully blunt and as far from politically correct as you can get, so the more sensitive readers may be offended by frequent use of racial slurs blatant bigotry.But in the end this is a brilliant example of crime fiction smashed together with cutting social commentary, a vivid and intelligent story that will not easily be forgotten.Bravo, Mr. Vachss.
... Read more

Product 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.
... 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

Customer Reviews (22)

Incredible!
An absolutely amazing, wholly original masterpiece of modern fiction. I can't recommend this story enough. 10/10

Hard boiled crime fiction
This is haunting tale of hard-core crime fiction.The main character, Ghost, is a psychopath brought up by the foster care system.He is a quiet, thin man who seems slow-witted.But, he possesses a steely calmness and fast reflexes which makes him dangerous.After being separated from his one love, Shella, he is offered information to her whereabouts.In exchange for this information, he must infiltrate a cult of white supremacists and kill their leader.The novel covers the hate crime, rape and child abuse.I found this story intriguing and shocking as it was based on actual true cases.

Doug Setter, Bsc.
Author of One Less Victim: A Prevention Guide and Stomach Flattening

Dark, Bleak, and Wonderful- Sadly Enough
This was the first Vachss book I ever read, and it shocked me. It was wonderful, but terrible. I don't know. You either get it, or you don't. This book is so simple. It shows the true power of words (much like Hemmingway did)- no more, no less, nothing extra. No fluff. If you want a happy book, go read Dr. Seuss or something. If you want a book that just strikes you to the core, read this. Then go read more Vachss.

nice departure from the Burke series
This book is pretty good overall. I read alot of Vachss, and they do tend to become somewhat similar after a while, however this one is kind of different. The main character is very intense, as all of Vachss's main characters are, and ther storyline is very good, with a few small issues. All in all, if you like Vachss's Burke and Cross series, you'll like this one too.

Well written story about a bleak world.
Vachss writing is spare and brutally to the point (no Anne Rice syndrome here). The world he writes about is bleak, devasting and brutal. In Shella he delves into the world of a young boy abandoned at places where he lived with fear and the constant threat of abuse and grew up to be a cold-hearted, brutal killer for hire who is known as Ghost. Only Shella, a street toughened dancer, ever saw beneath the hard shell. They are separated when Ghost is thrown in jail and now that he's out his one goal is to find Shella.

This is an interesting look into the life of a killer. How cold-heartedly it happens out of necessity and survival. The book is bleak (have I said that already?) and disturbing. This was a difficult to put down book but it's not one I'd like to revisit due its complete sense of despair. ... Read more

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

Customer Reviews (5)

Pure dreck
No seriously, it's just awful. I won't even say "for the fans only" because as a fan you won't want to waste your time or money, let alone compromise your good will towards the franchise. No really do stay away. This is just a cash grab and the story and artwork prove it. 1/5 stars.

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

Product Description
When millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne experiences a revelation about his childhood and transformation into Batman, he follows a trail of perversion to Southeast Asia to destroy the Ultimate Evil . . . or die. By the author of Down in the Zero. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Not The Kid's Batman
This is a very, very dark novel. If you saw the recent film, "Watchmen" and thought it was dark; it pales in comparison to Batman: The Ultimate Evil. Batman is at war with pedophilia and child abuse of all manner. Read it, but don't let it lay where the kids will pick it up, thinking it's a novelized comic book.

The Horror.....
Dear god, where to begin...

Well, going in here as someone who has read some of Vachss' other work, and even enjoyed it in a (bad, pulpy sort of) way, I thought he might just have the mix of pulp camp and darkness to write a fun batman story. I've always sort of figured Vachss was writing with tongue at least partially in cheek, but this makes me think maybe he's been serious all along. I've also read Batman stories by people who want you to read him entirely seriously, ignoring that we're talking about a millionaire who becomes the world's best ninja and fights people who dress like clowns and penguins (whatever Frank Miller's recent crimes against the comic medium, the guy understood this when he wrote "The Dark Knight Returns"). This book combines the worst of Vachss' ridiculous posing with the most serious writing of batman I've ever seen, but has the saving grace of being unintentionally hilarious.

If you've read any Burke books, you know that Burke is the world's most serious badass who gets more tail than anybody and lives in a Manichean world where there are good guys (him and his fellow honorable thieves) and bad guys (who are usually Nazis, child molesters, liberal psychiatrists, or some combination thereof). Writing Batman, the world's greatest playboy millionaire ass kicker, must have been a dream come true. We discover that Batman's martial arts training allows him to sense molecular changes in the air around him and beat anyone in hand to hand combat. He has technological tools that can detect changes in someone's dream patterns to determine if they've been molested as children. All plausibility goes out the window in chapter one, and proceeds until Batman heads to Southeast Asia to fight the child sex trade there. I wish I was making any of this up. The prose is like a bad, 3rd rate combination of The Maltese Falcon and Jeph Loeb era Batman comics. Some moments are completely too much, like when a criminal who was abused as a child sees Batman going to wreck havoc on organized child molestation and says something like "go....make them pay...Make them all pay!"

Would I recommend this? Well, no, but it could be funny if you just want something that's like a print version of MST3K. You and friends could hold a reading where one of you reads from it while others mock and laugh. I can't think of a single other use for it, and even that one runs the risk of embarrassment if someone sees that you own this.

A Truly BAD Idea
I began reading the comic mini-series version of this story.I didn't finish.

I looked at a copy of the book, made sure it was the same story, and put it back.

I have no idea if the overall book is readablewhat i do know is that the way in which Vachss twists the Batman origin story makes this book worthless.

Yes, Vachss is deeply concerned with the plight of abused children.Yes, he is a children's advocate.But his fiction - both here and in his "Burke" novels - is simplistic, relying on telling us how horrid the situationis, rather than showing us.

And his version of the Batman origin - that the Waynes were killed by a hitman sent by an organisation of wealthy pederasts and child pornographers, because his mother an "investigative sociologist" (whatever that is) about to expose them - throws away the essential power of that origin; its anononymity.*Anyone* might have walked down that dark alley after that movie that night, and the anonymous mugger waiting there might or might not have decided that they looked wealthy enough to bother with.

Any child could have found himself crying over the bodies of his parents.

Anybody.You or me.

Anf that's the powerful image that Vachss throws away.

Super Reader
A look through the eyes of the Batman at the horrendous world of the child sex trade, and child abuse in parts of Asia.

This involves crime so nasty that it takes Batman out of Gotham and pursuing this particular bunch of criminals across the world. It has a few things to say about the politics and law-enforcement environments that surround such activities.

Life altering-if you're of a mind to be altered
Before reading Mr Vachss' take on the Dark Knight I was only superficially aware of the problem of child prostitution.After reading this book my eyes were opened.If you really think superheroes fight evil, then you absolutely have to hope they'd fight these monsters- far more evil in my opinion than any "supervillan"
A letter written to Mr Vachss shortly after reading this (and everything else of his I could lay hands on) showed me that not all superheroes wear tights.They're underpaid, overworked and unappreciated social workers and children's advocates
... Read more

Product 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 Geofrey Darrow, conceptual designer for the motion pictures The Matrix I, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Grim, Hard, Eye-opening
I have read this book half dozen times and it still gives me the creeps.This is past horror of the vampire, were-wolf monster or hack and slash fantasies.Big deal.These based-on-fact stories give you a look at the real human monsters.It makes you do a double take at some of the headlinesand wonder if they are talking about some of the predators mentioned in Hard Looks.If Vachss' job in writing this collection is to shock and anger, then he is doing a hell of a job.

Doug Setter, Bachelor of Human Ecology, author of One Less Victim and Stomach Flattening

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! ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of short stories mapping the hell outside our bedroom windows. This particular hell is populated by a stalker, an inner-city gunman and a serial killer, amongst others. ... Read more

Product Description
Andrew Vachss' pre-Flood novel A Bomb Built in Hell was written in 1973. It was rejected by every publisher, one of whom described it as a "political horror story," others of whom berated it for its "lack of realism," including such things as Chinese youth gangs and the fall of Haiti. And the very idea of someone entering a high school with the intent of destroying every living person inside was just too ... ludicrous. It remained unpublished until 2000, when Amazon.com serialized it.

Readers of Vachss' Burke series will immediately recognize Wesley, the main character of A Bomb Built in Hell. This is his story.
... Read more