Rating: 
Summary: Batman: Ultimate Evil
Review: Andrew Vachss is an important writer of crime fiction who know his way around a good detective story:fast action, interesting characters and sharp resolution. In his series of Burke novels he has proven himself a worthy advocate for children in abusive settings.In Batman:The Ultimate Evil he does much the same. The Batman character can be replaced by any similar character and we would have much the same story. The novel takes on the issue of sexual abuse of children. Batman the hunter of criminals takes on the issue with a vengence. The character development is somewhat spotty, as I said Batman can be replaced with any vanilla crimefighter and the result would be much the same. The author exposes his issues to an audience that normally would not read novels as has been said in another review of this book. The information Vachss provides is important in that it exposes the reader to information he would not normally have access to. Child abuse is a major cause of crime in later years. This much has been proven by sociological research. The sexual abuse of children has to be stopped as it is ruining whole generations. If it takes a comic book character to show this to the world then so be it. Vachss purpose is a noble one. The issues are real. I only wish Mr. Vachss had fleshed this one out with one of his stronger characters. The story seems a little too contrived with the Batman as the protagonist. I only hope that the readers won't pass up the major issues by looking only at the comic book surface of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: I Get the Point Already!
Review: Batman: the Ultimate Evil is hands-down the worst Batman story I have ever read. Vachss sermonizes about the evils of child molestation on almost every page, almost completely ignoring the Batman legend in the process. So, what you're trying to say is, child molestation is bad, right? Okay, I got the point by page twenty! You don't have to keep telling me. The story centers on Batman's crusade against kiddie porn. Turns out Bruce Wayne's mother was a crusader as well, long before this was generally seen as a problem. (In other words, obvious plot device.) So Batman ventures to Southeast Asia to break up a ring of child molesters/pornographers. (?) (!) This is Batman, right? The Dark Knight of Gotham fighting crime under the Asian sun. And with gadgets that even some die-hard Batman fans may find too hard to swallow. As I said, Vachss is preachy on the subject. But beyond that, this is not a bad book. It's a bad Batman book. The only reason to make the hero Batman is because Vachss assumed that no Batman fan would read a *real* novel about the subject. I find that incredibly insulting. He might have been right about readers that only read comic books, but I read diverse material (including Batman because I love the character). Before reading this book I might have actually considered reading one of Vachss' "real" books. Not now. Sorry, Andrew, you struck out.
Rating:
Summary: WORST BATMAN BOOK EVER!
Review: I got halfway through this book and had to put it back in my bookshelf. All this guy writes about is adults molesting children, which doesn't interest me at all! It was incredibly boring, and talked about stuff that just bored me to the point where i was falling asleep, while i was trying to read it. Like when batman was at the prison and it scanned every little thing in there, i just didn't know what was going on anymore. I even started skipping ahead to see if it got more interesting....but it didn't. If you're looking for a book that'll put you to sleep, this is it!
Rating: 
Summary: I got this for my thirteenth birthday
Review: I originally read this book when I was thirteen when my brother bought it for me. It didn't make a big impact then cause it was a little over my head. I've reread it a couple of times and really like the book. I just don't think that the author really got both sides of batman really well, bruce didn't seem like bruce and batman seemed a little too vindictive. Overall it was a great book and I think everyone who likes batman a little should read it. Because most people who like books that are detectives books would love this.
Rating:
Summary: I got this for my thirteenth birthday
Review: I originally read this book when I was thirteen when my brother bought it for me. It didn't make a big impact then cause it was a little over my head. I've reread it a couple of times and really like the book. I just don't think that the author really got both sides of batman really well, bruce didn't seem like bruce and batman seemed a little too vindictive. Overall it was a great book and I think everyone who likes batman a little should read it. Because most people who like books that are detectives books would love this.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected...
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Good cause, bad book
Review: I picked this book up at the Dollar Shop, and I think I may have overpaid for it. Mr. Vachss is a child advocacy crusader, so apparently he feels that qualifies him to write about the <i>Caped</i> Crusader. Thus, this novel is intended to raise awareness of the pedophilia/Thai child exploitation problem�and the non-fiction child sex tourism report included as an appendix drives this point home. While this is certainly a worthy cause, that in no way makes up for the mediocrity of the book. Unlike other Batman novels I have read, this book is not written by one of the writers of the comic book, and it shows. Mr. Vachss seems to be hung up on the <i>image</i> of Batman, and hasn't taken the time to learn more about the character of the man. As a result, the story tends to focus on gadgets over character, and Batman's portrayal ranges from mildly to wildly inaccurate. (Since when does Batman, who studied the martial arts in Japan, not read or even <i>recognize</i> Japanese? Since when would Batman supply even nobly-caused rebels with <i>guns</i>? He hates guns, they were used to kill his parents.) And that's not even getting into the "revelation" about Batman's parents, which is one of the cheesiest plot devices I've ever seen. (Since when would Batman need his mother to have been a crusader against child exploitation in order to be one himself?) One wonders if Mr. Vachss prepared for writing this book by watching the movies�particularly the Joel Schumacher movies. In short, this book reads like bad Batman fanfic, and does its cause a disservice by being such a piece of tripe.
Rating:
Summary: Good cause, bad book
Review: I picked this book up at the Dollar Shop, and I think I may have overpaid for it. Mr. Vachss is a child advocacy crusader, so apparently he feels that qualifies him to write about the Caped Crusader. Thus, this novel is intended to raise awareness of the pedophilia/Thai child exploitation problem'and the non-fiction child sex tourism report included as an appendix drives this point home. While this is certainly a worthy cause, that in no way makes up for the mediocrity of the book. Unlike other Batman novels I have read, this book is not written by one of the writers of the comic book, and it shows. Mr. Vachss seems to be hung up on the image of Batman, and hasn't taken the time to learn more about the character of the man. As a result, the story tends to focus on gadgets over character, and Batman's portrayal ranges from mildly to wildly inaccurate. (Since when does Batman, who studied the martial arts in Japan, not read or even recognize Japanese? Since when would Batman supply even nobly-caused rebels with guns? He hates guns, they were used to kill his parents.) And that's not even getting into the "revelation" about Batman's parents, which is one of the cheesiest plot devices I've ever seen. (Since when would Batman need his mother to have been a crusader against child exploitation in order to be one himself?) One wonders if Mr. Vachss prepared for writing this book by watching the movies'particularly the Joel Schumacher movies. In short, this book reads like bad Batman fanfic, and does its cause a disservice by being such a piece of tripe.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Worth Reading
Review: I would say I enjoyed this book, but the subect is to serious for that description. I found it thought provoking, hard to put down, and extremely well written. The writing is gritty, but for Batman, and this story line, that works.
There is an interesting addition to the history of Batman, by way of Martha Wayne's history, and and the motivation for the murder of Martha and Thomas Wayne. I won't say more and ruin it. . .
The descriptions of Batman/Bruce Wayne and the other characters are dead on and you feel like you know the character. The descriptions on the settings are just as good. The dialouge is also realist and well done.
I'd recommend this stoyr to any ADULT Batman fan, but only if you're in the mood for some serious reading. This is not a light, fast, escapist read. But it is WELL worth taking the time to read.
Rating:
Summary: Simplistic and clichéd
Review: If there's a hero that deserves to be praised, that is Batman. There's a lot that has been said about his persona, alter-ego, symbolism, etc.; that's why, being such a deep and grown up character, it is a shame that he has to stand this simplistic, boring and obvious story. That the story is about child pornography? Yes, it is, but the way it is treated is so absurd that it's almost the Reader's Digest version of the problem. It's not exactly the same, but in Batman's Night Cries (a much much better story) the problem of child molestation is presented in a much more mature and interesting form, and dealt with in a form we suppose Batman would. Mr. Vachs has never been that good so not much can be expected, but this story is a waste of money, and, worst of all, a waste of an incredibly interesting character.
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