[.ca] Sacrifice (ISBN 0679764100)

Read This Book:
Andrew Vachss has quitely become one of my favorite writers in the last few years....His book Sacrifice (like all the novels in the Burke series) is hard hitting and an excellent read. He pulls no punches and takes no prisoners. While the subject matter may be difficult to read, his stark writing style brings the point across brutally and simply. The character of Burke is a tough SOB and is a cross between a modern day Robin Hood and the Terminator. He may be a career criminal but you'll find yourself rooting for him to avenge the innocense and KICK BUTT! Once again, I say...READ THIS BOOK.

Hooked me on Burke for life:
This was the first Vachss book I ever read, it was given to me when at the age of thirty I finally got that horrid childhood disease, chicken pox. While laid up with 104 for a fever and wanting to die, my father gave me a copy of Sacrifice to help pass away the hours. Within the first 20 pages the pox were forgotten and a Burke fan was born for life. I knew a pedophile. For years we tried to convince 'the right people' that this person was indeed a pedophile. Unfortunately no one listened and his money bought his release. How I wish I knew a Burke in the real world. What impressed me the most about this book was its truth. It is evident from the start that Mr. Vachss has spent time in the trenches, that his stories are sadly based on a grim part of life most people would rather not acknowledge. The message in his words is conveyed through the gruff gentleness of Burke. The loyalty between Burke and his group is a loyalty very few people share. His voodoo accurate as well, this is simply a high quality novel that will disturb the reader, make the reader think and introduce the reader permanently into The Zone. Read this book.

Burke and Vachss at their Best:
In "Sacrifice", Andrew Vachss sheds the fluff of his excellent earlier books and goes right for the jugular. "Sacrifice" is a artistic triumph as Vachss takes his creation through a mission to Hell in minimalist bursts of semi-automatic prose. Sparse, intense and visceral -it is creepy and chilling even by Vachss' standards. There are plenty of sharp turns in the novel, and Vachss somehow manages to keep Burke from becoming cartoonish (or a prose version of the Punisher/Jedge Dread) in his vigilante-esque cartharsis and its devastating effects. Its very grim and very good - one of my favorite Burke novels. Also recommended: "Blue Belle", "Hard Candy" and "Footsteps of the Hawk".

Burke Descends into Hell:
"Sacrifice" is the darkest novel in the Burke series. It is also a turning point. Since each Burke novel builds on its predecessors, Burke's figurative descent into hell at the end of the book was bound to have a traumatic effect on him. "Satan's Child" is arguably the most disturbing creation that Author Vachss has created in the entire series. I've read all of the Burke novels, and by and large I prefer the earlier books to the later entries. Overall, I would rank "Sacrifice" somewhere in the middle.

Admire the author, but lukewarm about his novels:
I've now read 3 Vachss novels, all early works, and at the end of each one I wrestled with the question of whether or not to read another one. I picked this one after reading the favorable reviews here and I did find it to be better than Blue Belle and Strega. All of these books have had some appeal to me. They present some hard boiled guys like the main character Burke who have been to prison and are still criminals, but who now mainly just take advantage of \ochild stalkers\c and other creeps in various scams. This frees them to do what they really like to do which is bring certain of these creeps to rough justice. I find that to be an entertaining and appealing story theme. This book goes into an unusual direction in that there is an abused multiple personality child who is a killer. This leaves room for lots of interesting and edgy action. My problem with these books is that while I admire the author as someone who works to help abused children and writes stories that can educate others about what kind of evil people operate in these areas, I just don't find his writing ability to be at the level of top crime authors. The word pictures just aren't as clear, the character development is so-so and there are usually a few over the top features that detract from the overall realism of the story. So, my 4 star rating is given mainly for the good features I listed, while my conclusion is that I'm not now leaning toward reading any more Vachss books.