Snag Your Copy Real In Memphis: A Tale Of Territory, Treachery And Turbulence Envisioned By Stevie Pearson Formatted As Paperback

so this is my first review and its mostly because I was asked to, I cook for a living now and have never had the skill set to write so bear that in mind as you read this, I dont claim to know what Im talking about, But this book all in all is pretty damn cool, You dont really have to be a wrestling fan either because not a lot of it is really about whats going on in the ring, If you like crime and suspense then without ever having sat in front of a wrestling program on Saturday morning as a kid you should be able to enjoy this.
The twists, turns, playing under the table, and overall backstabbing constantly going on should hold anyones attention, If you are a fan though then its even better, I enjoyed just trying to decide which real life wrestler he had based his character wrestlers on, I may have decided that Hex was based on Earnie Ladd, He gives a good explanation of wrestling jargon for readers unfamiliar with words like Face and Heel so there is no getting lost in that, This book is still fairly raw, though I had no issue enjoying it, At times it becomes apparent that the author isnt actually from Tennessee with some of the dialogue, But considering the author is from the UK Id say he did well, The characters are absolutely over the top unbelievable at times but if you know anything about real life Pro wrestling youd know that many actual wrestlers are actually far more messed up than anything Mr Pearson could dream up, so its not as much a stretch as you might think.
This series is supposed to continue and I think itll be more refined in the years to come, Definitely worth reading whether you are a fan or not of the spectacle that is pro wrestling, You wont be bored. Probably the best wrestling fiction novel put out that I've ever read, having said that it's the only one I think I've ever read, unless you count the Hulk Hogan autobiographies!, I was told about this book by a friend of mine and after putting it off for ages, I decided to give it a look and see if it was any good.


A southern gothic tale with ultimately a tale of skeletons in the family closet, betrayal, greed, forbidden love and selfishness, along with compassion and coming of age, there is a lot of things that go on here, unlike today's wrestlers back then people lived the gimmick in and out of the ring and it shows with Nelson Knucks and doing a police motorcycle cop gimmick like the Big Boss Man who gets involved in a real life robbery of a gas station and that results in a shoot out leaving him comatosed, he's also the company's Booker, a match maker of sorts and without him the company struggles for direction, its promoter Harvey Wallbanger whose shameless behaviour acts as a linchpin for the whole story, is involved in a dispute with a young aspiring wrestler Sam South, who yearns for the top spot in the territory to appease his estranged father, he's a former wrestler who found God and his son wants his affection, a contrived set up which turned out to be rigged so he would leave the business embarrassed ends up with him dying of a heart attack, which causes an obvious rift between the two, this is the crux of the story, there's also a continuation of the paternal theme as Brandyn Golden and her father, the top star Rod Golden, whose a shambolic man offscreen and far from the hero he plays onscreen, and has obvious sexual desires for his daughter a teenage tearaway, and her rebellious nature creates much chaos in his work and home life, especially with his wife Melissa.


Hex Clearfield who I'm sure was a dead ringer for the big cat Ernie Ladd, goes from being the big potential signer and new star to causing problems with the tip due to his huge contract, needless to say it goes to his head and this causes top star The Monroeville Mauler to react violently as he runs him over, Mauler is a racist it seems as his trailer park dwelling is caked in the rebel flag and he wants the world title to impress his elderly mother but because of his rap sheet can't be booked in certain states so can't be considered for the world title, So naturally this adds conflict when the newly signed talent is a big black man, this results in a hit and run on Hex, who fens being hurt to receive a full contract pay out which he uses to give to his former boss Milton Morton, the Texan promoter whose business is on a downturn, so Harvey has generously offered to help him run in the lesser areas of Memphis.


Milton is a shrewd guy who decides to try and buy Bull South's share of the Memphis territory, after Bull South's son Sam dies and he wants nothing to do with wrestling, All the double crossing and underhanded dealings come to a head when Harvey Wallbanger and Bull South's feud intensifies with Bull South kidnapping Harvey's sister Vixen Vegas with the intent of murdering her and this ends in a shoot out of sorts.


There are stories within that might be considered controversial by some on first reading, due to the world of wrestling being vert different to how it is now, some fans would struggle with the content of the attitude era today with all the sex and violence, so be warned as the writer has created a nihilistic hellish landscape full of unpleasantness and darker themes, but a compelling one also.
And even though its set in the real world it does feel oddly fantastic because it does incorporate certain elements from fairytales,

I read this book the other day after hearing the author on a podcast Marks with Mics and felt compelled to read it as the author had referred to it as “Professional wrestling equivalent of Game of Thrones” A bold statement but one that I would struggle to disagree with after reading.

This book begins with a focus on Sam South, Hes a second generation star who isnt getting much of a push, even though his father was a big star, he records a conversation about money that the promoter and his accountant are talking about and blackmails the promoter to get a push, But sadly it all awry as the promoter Harvey Wallbanger and Bull South Senior, Sams father set the whole thing up to get the boy to leave wrestling humiliated, it all goes horribly wrong of course and were left with a whole bunch of unusual characters jockeying for position in the Memphis wrestling territory.


The other major characters we meet along the way include a monstrous psychotic biker called the Monroeville Mauler whose terrifying attitude towards life doesnt end in the squared circle, Rod Golden whose the soon to be former champion whose worried about losing more than just his world title as his life spins out of control with the aid of his delinquent daughter and adulterous wife.


The whole book is split up into short sections, thus making it very suitable for today's short attention spans, The voices are all believably portrayed each has their own character and manner of speaking, Nelson Knucks serious commitment to his gimmick even in times of peril, Keratin Styes drunken ramblings, Hex Clearfields Littefingeresque manipulations and charm, and especially Bull Souths religious rantings and damaged paranoid grief stricken mind vicious malevolence, Pearson has created a heavy bunch of characters worthy of George R.
R Martin himself, and the setting being the world of wrestling is inspired and fresh, I would love to see this tale play out on TV in a film or a series one day.


You couldnt have a wrestling book without some over the top characters, settings, fights, drug use, sex and other antisocial themes synonymous within the Kayfabe era and as I understand it the book is one of ten books and definitely has scope for other stories, Stories which I would certainly be interested in reading, This was a crackling good read, full of laughs, and worthy of the reader's respect as well.

Stevie Pearson is an author Ive had the joy of meeting at London comiccon, and Ive also had the privilege of reading and reviewing his books here and now.
Wrestling Noir Real in Memphis is his first release and the first one Ive read so far, a book dripping in Southern atmosphere that intertwines a story of family and loss, love, hope, pain and conflict all within the world of lates Territorial professional wrestling.


Real in Memphis follows as group of unusual characters all trying to get to the top of their business and make as much money as possible, we have the Memphis group which is ran by four people, Harvey Wallbanger the promoter, Nelson Knucks, the booker a sort of director or playwright who puts the matches together Keratin Stye an aging former star whose got some creative pull and sadly is a drunken rummy and the world champion and top star Rod Golden whose hanging onto his youth desperately, all of which go through many unusual activities and have to face the dire consequences of their decisions.


As a British guy, The Southern states of America have always fascinated me for its cultural diversity and the melting pot nature of many of its states, and in few places is this more applicable than Tennessee, Tennessee is NOT a hillbilly hick town, its more of a blues hub, so its not full of heehaw cowboy rednecks and thankfully theres little of that insulting stereotype to be found here.

This story is steeped in the atmosphere and beliefs of that place, evoking an almost palpable sense of location and a powerful Southern Gothic vibe that drips from every page.
Pearsons writing is great at capturing this, and is also highly readable too,

I dont know the authors exact background but throughout this book, it feels like he knows this setting very well the people and places depicted herein feel authentic.
I got the impression that the author had also thoroughly researched the Wrestling and travel elements of the story, and it really felt like Pearson had made an effort to present these figures as authentically as he could.


Family also plays a large role in these stories both off and on the road, whether its the damaged relationship between Keratin Stye and his partner Ruby Tuesday and the love triangle between them and his tag team partner Dahlia Sacs who Keratin affectionately calls “Peg leg” which gets revealed later on why, you get the story from all three sides and that gives it a bit more oompth, I found the betrayal and revenge folderol of that story for example I felt was both realistic and poignant if a little fanatical.


Ultimately, it is this sort of emotional core which is the books greatest strength, elevating the entertaining story of Professional Wrestling in the South and giving it a sincerely heartfelt punch.
The characters are wellwritten and easy to empathise with, particularly in regards to protagonist Sam South and his estranged father, and the way the pentup aggression and heartbreak he feels leads him down the dark path.
In this manner, the story feels as much about coming to terms with ones own personal destiny with loss and confronting the unavoidable grief it brings, and the book has real resonance as a result.


VERDICT: Real in Memphis is an engaging read, infused with a potent Southern states atmosphere and some terrific scenes of thrilling drama, The author takes some challenging issues such as death and heartbreak, and the emotional trauma both of those things inevitably cause and weaves a compelling story that combines these tough themes with the classic depictions of noir.

In short if I hadnt have met Stevie Pearson, I wouldve have assumed he was a former journeyman wrestler, as this story feels like someone lived through it, rather than created it.

This is a complex story of the fake world of wrestling in Memphis in the's with many characters providing the web to weave the story,
There are greedy promoters for whom money is everything and would go to any lengths to prove that it is a legitimate world and the wrestlers themselves where many of them have a fractured family lives and some as evil or violent as their fake public persona.

The novel tries to go into underbelly of this world and expose its gritty and manipulative underbelly and show the lives of the participants

both good and bad.
It is a novel that is certainly not for the faint hearted,
Though it was a certainly gritty but too much for my taste, Maybe it didn't click for me because I am not a big fan of the wrestling world, Sometimes the narrative felt like full of cliches and did not resonate as the characters seem to be living their personal lives according to their performance expectations Again in this due to almost no interest in this world or sport.

The story of Sam South does make an impression in this web, a kid in this circuit who wants to make it big in this world though knowing the web of deceit lies of this world just to impress his estranged retired wrestler father who was a big name in this world and pays a heavy price also because he is one of the few who have a slice of morality and conscience to start with.
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