The Stunted Man by Ari Loeb
Abandoned House (August 2024)
Reviewed by Danica Davidson
The Stunted Man is well-written, informative, funny, emotional, dark and engrossing. It follows Hollywood stuntman Lex Mercier, who is working on the film Everyone’s Frankenstein — and finding plenty of horror in real life, nothing supernatural needed.
While Hollywood is often portrayed to the public as being filled with glitz and glamour, Lex offers a more brutally honest behind-the-scenes portrait. He’s in his forties, which is past the prime for stuntmen, who tend to be quite young. And his body is killing him from all sorts of injuries he’s sustained over the years in his line of work.
Lex is often blunt and colorful in his descriptions and doesn’t sugarcoat his thoughts. His dry sense of humor and commentary on people are enjoyable, and the dialogue crackles and feels real. While Lex can come off as crude and difficult, he shows his softer side with the very real love he has for his elderly cat, Wolfblood (nicknamed Bloody). He will go out of his way to take care of her.
One of the things that’s really interesting about The Stunted Man is that the author, Ari Loeb (interviewed here), has himself worked as a stuntman in Hollywood. Throughout the book Lex gives commentary on how movies are made and how stunts are performed, and this comes from Loeb’s own knowledge. The tidbits are always interesting and never bog down the story with too much detail. On the contrary, they make it all the more real because you can picture how things are getting done.
The Stunted Man will make readers stop and think about what stunt people actually have to do and the dangers they put themselves in so we can be entertained. It will also make readers better understand the levels of skill and athleticism needed to pull off these accomplishments. The book does a good job of getting across Lex’s various aches and pains, bringing empathy and giving understanding to why he continues to self-medicate with various substances, even when it’s dangerous for him. But do you want to live in pain, or do you want some relief? With the reality of these stark choices, he makes his decisions.
I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Jason Douglas, whose previous credits include live-action horror titles like The Walking Dead (which Loeb also coincidentally worked on) and voiceover work, especially for anime like Dragon Ball Super. He perfectly captures Lex’s voice and attitude. Whether you go for the audiobook or read the novel yourself, it’s a great experience.
