The Stunted Man

By: Ari Loeb

Narrated by: Jason Douglas

Aging stuntman Lex Mercier battles addiction and his own demons while searching for his last shot at redemption on a dangerous gig with Universal Pictures. But will his fractured mind and broken body allow him to perform? Can he ultimately quell his addictions and conquer his darkest fears? Or will his misery overtake him . . .

Written from an insider's perspective on the stunt industry, The Stunted Man invites you to peek behind the curtain at the men and women who risk their lives to bring you the high-octane cinema you love.

Horror fans, metalheads, and iconoclasts will revel in Lex's journey throughout the dark alleys, haunted film locations, and seedy sub-terrains of New Orleans, as he explores the depths of depression, the haunting allure of stunt work, and the ultimate cost of chasing one’s dreams.

If pop culture makes you uncomfortable, you will absolutely love this book.

WINNER! "Best Psychological Horror 2024" —American Fiction Award
WINNER! —Literary Titan Award

©2024 Ari Loeb (P)2024 Ari Loeb

Critic reviews

"Compelling, poetic, and very funny." —Nicolas Cage

Beautiful

The story is captivating. I couldn’t put it down. The narrator did a great job and keeps you engaged. I highly recommend this book!

Wildly Entertaining - Dark and Dangerous

Absolutely gut-wrenching and dripping with style. A thoroughly exciting deep dive into the dark world of stunts. The writing catapults the reader into world. The roller coaster ride is visceral - sometimes nauseatingly so. Loved it from start to finish!

Pour Me a Drink

From the very beginning, this book grabs you by the throat and never lets you go. The protagonist, a down-on-his-luck stuntman with a penchant for drugs and bad decisions, becomes a lovable antihero you just can’t help but root for. It was great meeting Lex Mercier, and his interactions with the world were often hilariously inappropriate, or just weird. But it’s delivered in such a casual, devil-may-care tone of voice that you feel like you’re right there with him, a co-conspirator in all his misadventures.

What struck me most was how this book made me feel like the devil on the dude’s shoulder. With every questionable choice, I found myself not only understanding his motivations but rooting for him to make things worse in the most entertaining way possible. This was unexpected for me. Whether he was taking a hit of something that I wasn’t even sure what it was, or antagonizing someone in a bar or on set, there was a giddy excitement in seeing just how far he could push things before they exploded in his face—and they usually did.

The reader was great. His voice had this scratchy real-life charm that fit the main character perfectly, and the pacing felt like a picture-perfect match for the vibe of the book: fast, reckless, and with just enough swagger to make you forget how close things were to falling apart.

The language, the descriptions, the internal questions struck a perfect balance between foul-mouthed and genuinely funny. I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud, not just because the situations were absurd, but because the humor was quick, unexpected, and cutting.

That being said, there’s an underlying darkness to the story. It doesn’t shy away from the consequences of constantly living on the edge. I’m not giving more away, but I was sorry when this story ended on more than one level.

Ultimately, Lex keeps you riding high on his relentless energy. By the end of each night’s listen, I found myself looking forward to meeting Lex again the next evening, curious to see what misguided turn his life would take next.

In short, The Stunted Man is a raw, vicious, and sometimes sobering journey with a character you’ll hate to love. It’s vulgar in all the right ways, laugh-out-loud funny, and it manages to inject just enough depth to keep the chaos grounded in reality. Whether you’re in it for the stuntman’s antics, the unexpected, or just the sheer thrill of seeing how far things will go before they crash and burn, this book delivers on all fronts.

For anyone who enjoys a story with edge, humor, and characters that live life like a car perpetually skidding around a corner, this is the audiobook you don’t want to miss. The night I finished the last listen, I needed whiskey, bad.

Hilarious, dark and beautifully written

Glamorama meets The Wrestler. I got some Brett Easton Ellis and Chuck Palanuik vibes though the author has a distinct voice of his own. Get an authentic, behind the scenes peek into the making of a big budget action/horror film through the eyes of a drug addled, washed up stunt man trying to survive one last job. A flawed anti-hero who loves cats, is his own worst enemy and has impeccable taste in metal.

Highly recommend The Stunted Man 

The Stunted man
What a fabulous piece of audio and literary artistry. I finished the book 2 days ago and felt I should digest it a little before writing the review. It is fascinating, and filled with wonderful characters. I confess that in the beginning all I wanted to do a slap somebody. But then it opened up, and I was hooked. His language and the way all the realities folded into one suddenly became crystal clear. Constantly surprising, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, but pretty much always interesting. In an audiobook the reader is an essential part of the “ read “and can destroy everything. This reader was excellent. I will always be grateful for the cat(for me, the love interest), she was essential. Ari Loeb, please write more!

Compelling story

I had read the authors first book, Thunder, AZ. So when another title popped up here, it piqued my interest. The story started out pretty quickly and really drew me in. I don’t know anything about the stunt business, but, combining that background with a very, very personal story by the main character, I was hooked. I listened to this book in two days.and some great twists and turns let me tell you! I just want to add also, that the reader matches the material perfectly. Do yourself a favor and check out this page Turner of a story. You won’t be disappointed!

A perfectly executed "wall scorpion"

Ari takes you on a submersible deep into the weird ferocious world of stunt people, a trip hosted by Lex--a deteriorating, self-destructive man-teen going through one hell of a midlife crisis. Clearly written by an insider, Ari not only has the details down, he also has a knack for visceral prose as well as a wry humor and the skill to make you feel like there's something waiting in the shadows--that feeling of dread is ever-present, and gets you to keep turning the pages, even when the book feels like a straightforward account of a man without much of a plan save for ensuring there's an emergency supply of cocaine in the empty aspirin bottle, as well as enough CBD to help his body endure yet another specialized crash onto a wall ("wall scorpion"), preferably while on fire. Not a book for everybody--but the testosterone the story is marinating in isn't a toxic flex, it ultimately reads as a last ditch effort by the narrator to hold on to a life he knows deep down is slipping away. "Time is a river..."

Recommend the audiobook, read by Jason Douglas--a deliciously surly, amusing, war-weary read that evokes 300-pound big-bearded Lex effortlessly.

Captivating story

This is the second novel I’ve read by Ari Loeb and his writing style is fantastic and engaging. His character and story development in this novel had me wanting to read more. I finished the novel in two days - it had me hooked. And the ending really threw me for a loop. I’d be remiss not to mention the narration which was phenomenal, making this entire listening experience captivating and satisfying. Looking forward to his next novel…

Entertaining the whole way through

It takes a lot to keep me engaged in a story and this one kept me laughing and wondering what ridiculous thing would be coming next. Made my 6 hour drive very entertaining! Highly recommend for a quick and funny read/listen.