Batman: The Ultimate Evil

First of all, I'm a writer, so when I read a book, and review it with five stars, its passed a pretty rigorous test, based on story, character development and plot. Secondly, I am a pretty big Batman fan, big enough to have my own latex costume, and thusly, I read this book with an eagle eye, making sure that it stuck to the character and settings well. And I must say, this is definitely within my top five favorite books of all time. Not of right now, or of the year, but of all time. And I've read alot of books. Mr. Vachss, contrary to some of the other reviews written about this book, is well versed not only in the evil that is child molestation and pedophilia, but also Batman himself. This book is first a Batman novel, and it portrays the Dark Knight in an extremely familiar and faithful way, one that I personally really enjoyed. Sometimes I'll pick up a Batman book, and just from the first sentence or so, you can tell that this author has a different image of Batman than you do. But this book nails MY Batman dead on. Cool, uncompromising, but passionate. And secondly, this is a book with a very deep message, one meant to raise awareness. It explores the very real aspects of the child sex slave industry going on in third world countries right now. Some have criticized that Vachss is too good at writing about the child sex industry and not good enough at Batman, and I am refuting that right now. This book is driven by a Batman who is very much the Batman we are all used to and would like to see in our world. Anyone who claims that Vachss doesn't know Batman, should really read some comics and re-evaluate that thought process, because this author portrays the Batman very, very well. In short, you have an amazing Batman novel, one that in my opinion, is one of the best Batman novels ever written. But you also have a novel with a message, something that Batman himself would want people to know about, so that it can be fought, not by superheroes, but by people like you and me. I cannot tell you how rewarding this book is, you just have to read it and see for yourself. It touched me very deeply, in my soul, and that is an experience that I will always remember. I only hope that you can have that experience for yourself.

This book is a departure in feel from the Batman series as we've always known it but this is a book that I feel, though written before the movie, would certainly fit with the Batman we are given portrayed by Christian Bale. This book also does something that the DCVerse fails miserably at, true depth to the character of Martha Wayne. Through the subject of this novel, the author gives us a Martha who is more than the woman at Thomas Wayne's side. This woman is both the mother of Bruce Wayne but in her fight, we find the mother of Batman and that is a HUGE thing. It's been years since I read this book and I can still remember it clearly, it will stick with you and in a good and powerful way. Kudos to the author for writing it.

It is a good book for any Batman fan. The book is awesome. I liked how batman went out of the normal rescue, like saving people, stopping a crime. It is way different from any other book I have read. It is about abuse, Child Abuse. It is my favorite BATMAN book of all time.

I picked this book up as a Bat-fan and thought it would be an ok read for a boring afternoon. I was so wrong. It was a wonderful book and I couldn't put it down. Thank you Andrew Vachss for giving Batman back the compassion and fire that Hollywood has killed in the past decade. No, this is not an all out action, beat dozens of bad guys into bloody plup kind of book that most people associate Batman with; this is Batman the Detective, who is going after people who are lower than the slime on sewer walls. And he does it with style and boundless determination, knowing that if even one child can be saved from this Hell, then he will have made a difference. That is what matters.

I am a true Batman fan and so I was scavaging every book store I could find for a Batman novel. When I came across Andrew Vachss's world of the Dark Knight, I was instantly grasped and never let go. Through reading this story I was exposed to an evil that I never really knew much about or knew existed. Batman is a true hero in a world filled with so much darkness and cruelty, and Vachss fits him into our world. A realistic novel with realistic crime. Pick it up when you get the chance.