Rating: 
Summary: Not So Good
Review: I am a fan of James Lee Burke, Alan Furst, Robert Parker, John Sandeford, etc., and I really hoped to like this novel by Andrew Vachss. It's a lot of fun to discover a new series of books you know you are going to like?Sad to say, I couldn't finish this novel. I found the tone confusing. Sometimes the writer seemed to be making fun of the main character, and sometimes he seemed to be taking him seriously. There were irrelevant asides, such as the story about the lawyer defending the dog. The story seem forced, and not nerely as funny as the author wanted it to be. I had the feeling the writer was trying too hard to make me laugh. And what's with all the impossible and implausable gadgets, the alarms all over the office, the secret entrances? All of this kind of stuff seemed Mickey Mouse, as though Vachss had been reading too many comic books. There are lots of excellent, beautifully written novels in the mystery/detective genre. This is not one of them. I got the feeling the writer doesn't take writing seriously.
Rating:
Summary: Not So Good
Review: I am a fan of James Lee Burke, Alan Furst, Robert Parker, John Sandeford, etc., and I really hoped to like this novel by Andrew Vachss. It's a lot of fun to discover a new series of books you know you are going to like? Sad to say, I couldn't finish this novel. I found the tone confusing. Sometimes the writer seemed to be making fun of the main character, and sometimes he seemed to be taking him seriously. There were irrelevant asides, such as the story about the lawyer defending the dog. The story seem forced, and not nerely as funny as the author wanted it to be. I had the feeling the writer was trying too hard to make me laugh. And what's with all the impossible and implausable gadgets, the alarms all over the office, the secret entrances? All of this kind of stuff seemed Mickey Mouse, as though Vachss had been reading too many comic books. There are lots of excellent, beautifully written novels in the mystery/detective genre. This is not one of them. I got the feeling the writer doesn't take writing seriously.
Rating: 
Summary: The Starting Point Of Burke
Review: I am someone who has read the entire Burke series, and many of Mr. Vachss other unique, disturbing, and informative novels about the inter relation between Child Abuse of all kinds and Crime, of all kinds. It isn't for everyone. It's violent, sad, disturbing, and enraging work, by turns. It's also disturbingly true, as anyone who has worked in the court, criminal justice, or mental health system will instantly recoginize. It's also very compassionate towards wounded children in ways that are not an insult or false monument to their suffering. These are the thoughts and perceptions of a character and author that are all too aware of the worst human tendecies, and have some distinct, and direct ideas about how to address them. Flood is a good starting point. If you can handle the particulars of this peice, you can handle the others, as it seems Mr. Vachss work stays consistently challengeing to our society and its screwed up values. While similar to Thomas Harris' work in its technical details and clinical accuracy, Mr. Vachss lacks the formers weird sense of voyeurism and grosteque detail for it's own sensational sake. Anyone who wants some idea of why and how "senseless" crime happens, and what it ultimately costs it's particpants, victims, and society, this is a good clue. Wake up and smell the napalm....
Rating: 
Summary: Great, engrossing, and gritty!
Review: I just read this book and just couldn't put it down. I'm a big James Ellroy fan, and Andrew Vachss does for New York what Ellroy does for LA. Gritty and hard-boiled, with great dialogue and a cast of misfit characters - Max the Silent, the Mole, and even Pansy - and of course Burke, the paranoid, ex-con detective who knows all the angles. I'm hooked!
Rating:
Summary: Unique and Original
Review: I recently revisited the first book in Vachss' BURKE series -- FLOOD. This book still holds up and shows what an inventive and original writer Vachss really is. When it was originally released it was a tour de force of masterful and original crime fiction. Something that the genre was seriously lacking -- precise, hard-hitting writing combined with anger and outrage at the crimes visited upon society's innocents. Many years later the book still stands as a uniquely original and compelling piece of fiction-fact. We all know *now* the truth of what Vachss writes. To try and compare him to anyone else writing in the crime-fiction genre just isn't possible and does other authors a disservice. FLOOD is a one of a kind masterpiece and Vachss is a one of a kind writer, who writes from ground zero in the war against the predators who prey on the innocents.
Rating:
Summary: Vachss has written a noir tour d' force!!!
Review: I stumbled upon the noir of Andrew H. Vachss quite by accident. I was browsing the section of mystery/noir novels, and found an entire slew of Vachss' books. I scanned the covers, and found them all in the hard boiled vein I appreciate. However, I decided to scan the Amazon reviews of Vachss' books before I would purchase one. The reviews intrigued me, and taking the advice of a reviewer I decided to read the first novel in the series Flood. And it was an incredible read!!! The main character a private detective known as Burke, comes to the assistance of a young woman named Flood. She is searching for a psychotic freak known as the Cobra. A child molester/killer who has murdered her closest friend's child. Burke accepts the job, and the reader is taken into an underworld of S&M, perversion, and snuff films, that will leave the reader both horrified, and enraged that the human monsters Vachss describes do actually exist. The reader should keep in mind that Vachss, a lawyer specializing in child abuse cases, from what I have been able to learn based his noir on many true life situations he had found himself involved in. Burke assisted by his crew of streetwise characters, who many would regard, like Burke himself as an anti-hero, create an elaborate trap for the Cobra. Allowing Flood the chance for her revenge. This book is truly noir for the late 20th Century. Vachss wants his book to upset you, but also to make you think, about life in our cites, and in particular of our nations children. And the all too glaring problem of child abuse, and kidnapping, which happens every day. Vachss' writing style is clipped and in the hard boiled style of the best of noir writers. However, the book did tend to loose momentum towards the end chapters, and once finished did leave me with the feeling of wanting to learn more about the fate of Flood. Regardless, Vachss does an excellent job, of detailing a side of our society, which we too often turn a blind eye too. In the balance, I'm glad I decided to read Flood, and I will continue to visit with Burke, and his crew in Vachss' other novels.
Rating:
Summary: A book I read in one sitting!
Review: I've known about Vachss for years, and picked up this book at a thrift store ... I had nothing to do one Sunday, so I picked it up at 10 a.m. and started reading. I finished it at 4 p.m. An incredibly good read. Burke is a great main character, the best fictional detective since Kinky Friedman. The story moves with twists and turns to a scene of revenge! Reading this right before McVeigh's execution underlines the fact that some people deserve to die! I'm here to find the rest of the books in the Burke series. This one made a convert out of me!
Rating:
Summary: Is Amazon paying no attention at all!?!!
Review: If Amazon is at the point where ad hominem attacks and making fun of author's disabilities can get onto its website as a "customer review," then I am sure there will be no problem in my calling "anti-mamet" a pusillanimous little punk. That mama's boy wouldn't know good fiction if it clocked him one. Obviously he still hasn't learned to read well enough to string nouns and verbs into a coherent sentence, let alone a legitimate book critique.
Rating:
Summary: This is the real deal!
Review: If you don't believe Vachss knows what he's writing about, you're flat out wrong. Check out his web page and educate yourself. This is one of the best. Jump into the Burke series here and just keep going. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: He Walks the Walk and Talks the Talk
Review: In the introduction to one of his story collections, Andrew Vachss says words to the effect of, "I don't write well, but I write for a good reason." In this opening novel for the Burke series, he writes wonderfully. Like many readers, I have persisted in buying more recent works, but have been disappointed by work that is lazily polemic, and, more disturbingly, populated by increasingly damaged and disturbed women. Flood is a wonderful character, capable of meeting a murderous pedophile on his own terms. The code of honor among outcasts is heartbreaking and believable. And yes, Mr. Vachss writes for a very good reason--to help fund his advocacy work for children.
|
