411 Book Review: From Parts Unknown

Posted by Josh Nason on 06.28.2004

A review of this interesting fictional wrestling book...

For someone that used to be a journalist for a living, I sure don't do a hell of a lot of reading. I don't know why, really. I enjoy it and nothing beats a good book but finding time to actually commit to reading is very tough to do for me.

So when author ... asked me to do a review of his wrestling-themed book, From Parts Unknown (iUniverse- Lincoln, NE), I was a bit hesitant but excited because hey...who doesn't like a free book? At best, it could help revive my love of reading. At worst, I get a new doorstop. After clearing through this 236-page read, I can honestly say that the time spent was worth it.

While sci-fi in nature, Unknown would make a good read for any wrestling fan as its similarities to current characters in the business make it fun to imagine what characters mirror them in today's landscape. Based in 2031, the book centers on Championship Gladiators Inc. (CGI), a fictional fed that differentiated themselves from WWE on real fighting that also involved storylines. Fighting several times a week on tv, Gary Blackman's CGI is the hottest sport in the country, competing in big stadiums across the country.

The major characters are your basic heels and faces, but different than today's landscape in that they don't interact backstage and aren't friends. Why? Because people actually can get killed in the ring and do later on in the book. Sirois introduces us to CGI Champion Kyle Flyte who heads up the face faction while Lord Vornakai (a dead-ringer politically for HHH) is the leader of the heel group. Blackman plays the middle, trying to control both sides' violent urges while playing to his own desire to make CGI even bigger. The dimensions of the talent are done very well and you really get to imagine these guys in real life. While the dialogue lacks a bit a times, this more than makes up for it.

Vornakai wants to take over as CGI Champion but none of his charges are able`to upset Flyte. A would-be wrestler, Stephen Barker, is brought in and is forcibly drugged with a special banned hormone that turns him into a muscular psychotic fighter (similar to early Kane) that loses his memory and`cannot talk. He becomes Submission and the duration of the book focuses on Vornakai's control over him in hopes of winning the CGI title and gaining the company's power as a result. What follows is predictable but very well-written. The back story of Barker and the repercussions of his disappearance on his family help draw everything to a dramatic conclusion that unlike most WWE matches, is satisfying.

If you have an active imagination and are looking for a good fictional book to read, pick up From Parts Unknown. Good characters and a good storyline provide what I believe is one of the better underground wrestling books out there that is more enjoyable because of the similarities to the current-day WWE talent. For someone that hasn't read in a while, I was glad that From Parts Unknown now resides in my library. For your library, pick it up at www.amazon.com.