In
the beginning, when Andrew Vachss first jarred readers' sensibilities
by opening their eyes to the “true horror” of sharks circling in
our very own swimming pools—namely, mistreated/abused children and
the predatory scum responsible for twisting their innocence and trust
into monstrous retaliation—critics accused him of writing “urban
fantasy”. At the same time, he also turned the crime fiction genre
on its ear by presenting these revelation via his series character
Burke, who many initially saw (incorrectly) as a sort of rogue
private eye. In truth, Burke was an ex con who had seen first hand
the truths surrounding “the children of the secret”. Aided by his
“family of choice”—a band of inner city vigilantes working the
fringes of (and often beyond) the law—Burke is driven by a never
ending quest (much like Vachss's own life's work) to expose/destroy
the evil that poisons society's youngest and most vulnerable.
And
now, even as his revelations have long since been widely recognized
for their truths—and, what's more, have become one of the most
commonly used plot devices (with variations) in crime/mystery fiction
over recent decades—Vachss has come full circle by writing a
genuine
urban fantasy with a strikingly memorable new protagonist. In a
dystopian future, Carbon is also an ex con and a highly skilled
private investigator prior to that. It is his investigative skills
that gets his prison sentence cut by the Government, freeing him to
track down a twisted killer whose own special skills present a high
level threat that goes beyond just murder.
Once
again passing back and forth through the Membrane that separates the
City from the Sector, operating at levels and utilizing contacts that
few even have knowledge of, Carbon works to satisfy the requirements
of the contract that gained him his freedom and also to achieve a
personal goal that will net him even greater freedom. Before he is
through, he must travel into the Pure Zone—where magick and sorcery
exist but other tools of the trade that Carbon has counted on in the
past, like his gun, are useless. He must rely on his wits, raw
strength, and newly acquired powers—as well as a bond forged with
an unexpected ally in a formerly abducted/enslaved child—to
navigate this strange world (complete with its own disturbingly dark
underbelly) before returning to where he started, with the answers he
needs for himself and to satisfy his contract.
This
is a bold, imaginative work—pushing the basic PI elements forward
into a dark future—told in prose as hard as the protagonist's name
and as sharp as an obsidian carving blade. Not to be missed. Strongly
recommended.
