Andrew Vachs\' Burke novels
 

I've long been a big fan of Andew Vachs and his literary alter-ego, Burke. Andrew Vachs website

for those of you who don't know, Vachs is a crime writer of a particularly hard-boiled type of fiction. His main character, Burke, is a professional thief and former orphan who hunts and sometimes kills child predators.

He has a non-biological family whose support and loyalty are unquestioned in the underground world of New York City: Mama, the tough as nails owner of a Chinese restaurant and matriarch of an underground crime ring; Silent Max, the deaf martial arts expert who may very well be the deadliest man alive; Immaculata and Flower, Max's wife and child; Michelle, a transgendered person and Burke's "sister," the Prof, Burke's mentor and father figure who always speaks in rhymes; The Mole, a Zionist extremist/mechanical genius who lives in the City Dump, and Clarence, a West Indian "brother" who is also being tutored by the Prof. Last but not least is Burke's partner and best friend - Pansy - a 140lb. Neopolitan Mastiff that is the best bodyguard a man could ask for.

Other characters that come and go are Morales, an old-time cop who hates Burke but appreciates his passion for going after freaks; and Wolfe, the assistant DA/female rights advocate who may have a thing for Burke.

These characters are in every one of the 14 or so Burke novels...they all grow and evolve over the course of the novels like you would expect, too. And they are all wonderful, colorful and very real.

In real life Vachs has fought for many years on behalf of child rights and in trying to better the Child Protective Services departments that seem to fail in the service of their intended clients so often. This makes him very passionate about his subject matter and that definitely comes across in his writing.

The writing is sparse and hard-boiled - very Raymond Chandler-like. His stories are incredibly dark and feature villians that rape and kill children, human slave runners, psychopathic pimps and cops, and all sorts of miscreants.

The Burke novels are in chronological order, so it's probably best to start with the first one: Flood

Black Lizard/Vintage Crime trade paperbacks have them all and they are gorgeous, over-sized paperbacks...each book cover is a piece of art in itself.

Fantastic series of novels by a great, great writer. I highly recommend them.

Re: Andrew Vachs\' Burke novels
 

i'm pissed no one's responding to this. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

Re: Andrew Vachs\' Burke novels
 

I'm gonna go buy 'Flood' at the weekend (or Amazon it, at least).

I already have 2 books I've ordered based on recommendations/discussions on OOT/ENT though - 'Created, The Destroyer' and 'Flowers for Algernon', so it'll take a little while to get to it...

PS. I also have to break my OOT/Zone addiction to actually have the spare time to read, but that's a different matter...

Re: Andrew Vachs\' Burke novels
 

I've read most of the Burke books; I got tired and quit a few years ago. The one with the underground domestic shelter and terrorists was the last one I read. They're a bit comic booky for me. That being said there is usually at least one moment and sometimes many more that is just heart breakingly real and well written. My favorite book of his is not from the Burke series but Shella, which again has some overdrawn comic book type stuff in it but it's a well conceived story with a satisfying ending. He portrays emotionally damaged people very well and has richer characters than most crime fiction. His book of short stories, Born Bad, is also good.

raisins

Re: Andrew Vachs\' Burke novels
 

Dom- assuming you've read them how would these compare to weither Robert Parker's Chandler knock off Spenser, or Jonathan Lethem's motherless brooklyn and Gun, with occassional music?

I really liked Lethem's stuff and Enjoyed Parker, but was wondedring whether these were comparable or stronger..

Re: Andrew Vachs\' Burke novels
 

[ QUOTE ]
i'm pissed no one's responding to this. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll respond, but I've got nothing of value to add. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Re: Andrew Vachs\' Burke novels
 

I just realised as I ordered 'Flood' - I've read something by Vachss already. A weird little novel called 'The Ultimate Evil' - featuring Batman!

It's very weird - it's a Batman story about breaking a kiddie pr0n/molestation ring...it doesn't really work, but it was an interesting read, and well-written.

I leant it to a pal, who read it, but returned it with a scowl.

'Did you like it?' I asked.

'Yeah,' he said uncertainly, 'but it was batman and kid-p0rn! What's all that about?!?'


And I knew exactly what he meant.

Re: Andrew Vachs\' Burke novels
 

[ QUOTE ]
Dom- assuming you've read them how would these compare to weither Robert Parker's Chandler knock off Spenser, or Jonathan Lethem's motherless brooklyn and Gun, with occassional music?

I really liked Lethem's stuff and Enjoyed Parker, but was wondedring whether these were comparable or stronger..

[/ QUOTE ]

sorry, Man...I've never read either.

Re: Andrew Vachs\' Burke novels
 

[ QUOTE ]
I just realised as I ordered 'Flood' - I've read something by Vachss already. A weird little novel called 'The Ultimate Evil' - featuring Batman!

It's very weird - it's a Batman story about breaking a kiddie pr0n/molestation ring...it doesn't really work, but it was an interesting read, and well-written.

I leant it to a pal, who read it, but returned it with a scowl.

'Did you like it?' I asked.

'Yeah,' he said uncertainly, 'but it was batman and kid-p0rn! What's all that about?!?'


And I knew exactly what he meant.

[/ QUOTE ]

that's very odd.

Re: Andrew Vachs\' Burke novels
 

[ QUOTE ]

that's very odd.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tell me about it. Check out some of these amazon reviews, they HATE it:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/custome...te&n=283155


It's really not as bad as these people say, but it is odd.

Like I say, well written, and I've ordered Flood, which sounds VERY cool from the blurb and amazon reviews, BTW [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]