Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
Vito uses some sick sadistic SOBs, but for Smoke he sends his craziest. Denny “Murderous Eyes” Cruz, Stick and Moss are coming to kill Smoke after they remove his eyes and otherwise torture and mutilate him. As a bonus they will also rape his girlfriend Lola in front of him before maiming her. However, Denny sees Smoke as a hero who escaped the literally dead end of their occupation for the good life of luxury with a sexy woman and considers how he can get a piece of that instead of camaraderie with killing apes who will probably come for his killer eyes one at a time one day.
This action packed crime thriller starts off with plenty of Smoke that leads to a delightful abundance of fire until the climatic confrontation, but throughout contains a wonderful contrast between the residents and regular visitors to Portland and the thug invasion. Not surprisingly readers will root for Smoke and Lola to win, but also want Denny to convert. Though graphically flowing in blood, fans of hard core tales will want to read this battle between criminals as the outcome remains in doubt (with the Vito mob having the overwhelming edge) until the final twist.