Hey! My book review is up! (part 5)

http://www.chud.com/ideas/bookreviews7.php3

And THAT's where you can READ it!

Oddly enough, when I heard that he was developing this for film I didn't get all that excited, because a part of me knew that it would never make it.

I mean, come on, it's a lot easier to novelize things like torture and the killing of children than it is to put them on the screen.

Still, has anyone out there read Vachss?

Oh, and there's this nasty rumor going around that Vachss wrote a REALLY crappy Batman novel for money.

I don't wanna hear a word about it. It is not true! I caaan't HEEEEAAARRR yooooouuuu!!!

A-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!!! A-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!!!!

No need for you to go to the bookstore, chenzz...

Be patient, watch for the blue-suited man in the white truck with the Eagle's head on it.

All will be well...

...And as far as the book's cover goes...that was the original-run 1985 version, back in the day when every novel had to have a crap cover. The Vachss books were ALL recently re-released in trade paperback through Black Lizard's Vintage Crime imprint, with EXCELLENT blurred photo covers. The downside, of course, being that they run 12-13 bucks a pop, but if you keep them nice they are a treasure.

Also, if anyone out there likes dark short stories, buy 'Born Bad', where the stories clock in at like, 2 to 5 pages a piece and every one of them will beat you like you paid for it. They are tasty. My 2nd favorite short story in the WORLD (the first being Ellison's 'A Boy and His Dog') is in 'Born Bad', and is titled 'Alibi'.

C'mon, there have to be more Vachss fans out there than THIS...

Oh, and I told you, don't mention that Batman novel again. I'm fucking warning you...

(See, if you'll notice, I KNOW all about the novel, and have read everything the man has written fiction-wise...I am just hoping to deny its existence as much as I possibly can in the hopes that the world will erase it...with prejudice. See, even VACHSS hates that book, and with fine and dandy reason: It sucks)

I believe from the bios and interviews that I read that he was trapped in the FIELD in Biafra (yes, as part of an aid group, if I recall), his character Burke was a Merc in Biafra. Sorry I didn't make the distinction clearly enough.

And here's something more to whet the palate of those not yet experiencing Burke:

If motherfuckers would let me be, I swear I would be a polite, respectful person.

–Burke, Footsteps of the Hawk


See? Man what a pretty character!

Yes, everyone who has yet to do so, go to www.vachss.com and check it out. Even the interviews with him, he's a hardass motherfucker who borders on the outright edge of rude to interviewers and others who waste his time.

Of all the people I admire that I would like to meet, I don't think that he is among them. And hell, I even support his causes (CIVITAS, CAREACT) and have spent money and time on them, and I STILL don't think that entitles me to think that I am in his class of do-gooder.

Look into it, folks...not only will you be entertained, you will be righteously and viscerally angry at the world that WE have created.

Neil Bung:

Hard Candy will be a little difficult to follow without first having read 'Strega', because there are aspects of Strega instrumental to Hard Candy...however, on the flip side, I am of the belief that Blue Belle and Hard Candy should have been ONE book, not two, and I think that you will be hard pressed to restrain yourself from going out immediately and buying Hard Candy as soon as you finish Blue Belle.

Still, if you can, read Strega first.

And Blofeld: Are they of me?

...and that effectively derailed this thread for several days, thanks Blo!

But back to what we were talking about...anyone else read any of these? Or any Vachss, for that matter? Of the Burke novels the only that are filled with lack are 'False Allegations' and (and I think I am the ONLY one who feels this way) 'Strega'. Now I know that I just recommended Strega to Senor Bung, and it certainly is WELL-WORTH the read, in fact, problems only arise with it after one has read the entire series. It's the second book in line, and it seems that he deviated from the characterizations that he had developed in 'Flood', but returned to in the third book, 'Blue Belle', therefore there is a disparity in 'Strega' that is a little jarring, but the book is necessary for reasons of linear storytelling...or rather story appreciation. 'False Allegations', on the other hand, reads like an essay or treatise on a specific kind of legal maneuver, only told through the character of Burke. It harms. I mean, it really, really, does. Did I buy it? Yep. Hardback? Yep. Did I weep when word came down the pipe that it was the last Burke novel? Oh hell yeah, because what a shitty note to end on! Good thing its like, 11th in the series. The two following it more than made up for it, and the excerpt from 'Dead & Gone' is just the taste I needed to get me through the summer...

And finally, there is the one full-length NON-Burke novel, 'Shella', about a hitman named Ghost searching for his lost love. It is a perfectly haunting American gothic tale, crossing burned landscape and shattered souls, all told from Ghost's utterly null perspective. It's one of my favorite oddly-atmosphered novels of all time, and a story of what kind of love is left after life has been destroyed. Truly worth reading...the kind of book that just flat wears you out.


Alright, so hit me...there's gotta be more Vachss readers out there than this...

...and if not, become so.