Customer Reviews

Choice of Evil

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Any book by Vachss is part of a crusade against the exploitation of children, sexually or otherwise. That is a worthy cause, and in addition, the books are good. In many ways, Vachss is an eye-opener. He takes readers to places which are so hideous that they are hard to imagine, and he tells those readers not to accept the foulness and cruelty that children all over the world must endure on a daily basis. "Choice Of Evil" confronts the moral problems that arise when a super-intelligent mind deliberately choses to be evil, and the ugly results of such a person's actions. The book is disturbing, but extremely thought-provoking, and on top of that, it is a serious page-turner. Vachss is never dull. This novel is not an exception to that rule.

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

Andrew Vachss has a gift for exposing the ugliness masked under pretty gilding, and the glory of love hidden by hard exteriors. He knows the difference between talk and action, and he tells you the truth in a way you cannot forget. This novel presents a new level of excellence in his writing.

Vachss never fails to deliver a powerful story built to bowl the reader over. CHOICE has a multi-layered and complex plot that builds on the story of bisexual Crystal Beth, first introduced in the previous novel, SAFE HOUSE, and her effect on Burke, whom she loved. Vachss' writing, as always, is spare, yet richly evocative. Whether this is your first taste of Vachss, or the one you've been waiting for, you won't be disappointed!

The Burke series is generally a great one. Vacchs, an attorney who represents juveniles only, and who has a professional resume that proves he knows first-hand the horror that abused children experience, always generates an aura of reality in his writing. The cruelty to children depicted in the Burke books is truly disturbing, because you know as you read it that this stuff really goes on. Burke, a hard-bitten criminal, has enough redeeming qualities to make him a great anti-hero. Among those redeeming qualities are a sense of deep loyalty to his "family" -- the close friends he has chosen (and who have chosen him), who will stick together in the face of any adversity. The other major redeeming quality is his simmering fury directed at abusers of children. The two come together in this book after Burke's girlfriend is killed at a gay rally and he goes on the vengeance trail, which of course leads him into the child abuse underworld. The primary flaw in this novel is the strained dialogue between Burke and an important secondary character, Nadine, who is a gay domninatrix with a bizarre sexual fascination with Burke. His tough-guy posturing with her is more or less in character, but it grows tiresome by the half way point, and continues unabated from there. Nevertheless, Burke is always a good read. As one of the other reviewers points out, however, it is hard to follow all the characters unless you've read the other books. I'd start with the first and read them in order. There is a linear development of the characters and plot that will make the book much more enjoyable if you know it going in.

A fast-paced and dark descent into a fascinating story. When Burke's bisexual girlfriend is killed at a gay rights rally, he vows to find the culprit. When a serial killer starts murdering fagbashers and child molesters by using the killing motifs of a dead friend of Burke's, Burke wonders about how dead his friend actually is. This being the first book by Vachss I read, I was a bit confused about the characters, but it didn't daunt me from pursuing the story, rather it made me more intrigued about this Burke guy and his relations with his friends. What I most like about this book is the depths of the characters, they're fully fleshed and yet mysterious enough to warrant curiosity. After a couple dozen pages, I couldn't put the book down if I'd tried.

In "Choice of Evil" Vachss cleverly uses the ghost of his most memorable supporting charachter, the assassain Wesley, to fuel his best Burke novel since "Hard Candy" (not coincidentally, the one that killed Wesley off). Vachss's knife edge prose is as hardboiled and authentic as any modern detective fiction. This novel also keeps up with the evil we see in today's headlines. Overall, one of the better entries in the Burke series.

I've just finished Andrew Vachss' great new suspense novel, CHOICE OF EVIL. The plot is subtle and noirish, and sexually inquisitive in a way that Kubrick motioned towards in "Eyes Wide Shut," but was a little too slick to achieve.

In the rest of his life, Vachss is a lawyer for children, and unlike the bleating hordes who attack adult sexuality by talking about "protecting kids", he has no beef with *any* form of consensual sex between adults. CHOICE OF EVIL displays his magnificent ability to show the bright line between the play of adults and acts done to children. He has always been very aware of and friendly toward the safe/sane/consensual folks. Best of all, he's written novels with sexual scenes so vibrant and exciting that a reader saving Vachss' books for bedtime is guaranteed a sated sleep.

CHOICE OF EVIL is absolutely terrific. It's a book for adults in every sense of the word. Once you get a taste, you'll savor every bite.

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.

This latest, like his last two books, have left me depressed. No, it's not the subject matter. I keep reading and waiting and hoping for something to happen - and it never does. There's no payoff. Nothing.

And it's so sad because Vachss has created such unique, rich and readable (almost addictive) characters and stories. But I think he's run out of steam.

The early Burke novels were clever, and dark and complex, and like nothing else. Now, they are simply boring. "Choice of Evil" is all talk, most of it re-hash from previous books. You work through the book, through the tedious word play, hoping that any page now Vachss will dip into his arsenal of characters, twists, or grab-you-by-the-throat action. But it never happens. There's no danger - the book is all talk, up to the lame, three paragraph climax.

I have read everyone of Andrew Vachss novels, and shared them with many friends. I doubt, though, that I'll rush out to buy the next one. I'm sad to say that , just like Pansy, this sereies is getting old and tired.