Vegas Knockout: a novel in stories
Vegas Knockout, P Moss second book, may be fiction, but in this anything-can-happen-on-fight-night town, the premise is a gem: Killer Kong, an undefeated fighter who has already killed one opponent in the ring, is going up against The Champ the most popular fighter of all time in a title bout at the MGM Grand that s being billed as the fight of the century, a fight that was sold out the minute tickets went on sale. Kong has pledged to kill The Champ in the ring and the betting is wild, with some even making bets outside the sports books over whether or not the death will occur.   Technically, Vegas Knockout is a collection of 16 short stories, all (more or less) centered around the big fight. Some of the characters in this collection of stories were characters in Moss first book, Blue Vegas (see review here). And many of the characters in these stories converge on one another, so that by the end, loose ends are being tied up, with characters in some stories meeting characters in other stories for a grand finale.   I liked Moss first book and I like this one even more. Like Blue Vegas, this book focuses on the people who live in Las Vegas. It s a view from the inside, which is a lot different from the tourists perspective. --Write-AholicLas Vegas favorite Renaissance man, P Moss, is back with another book. His last full-length work, Blue Vegas, is a novel. This one, Vegas Knockout, is a novel in stories. That means a common narrative (a blockbuster boxing matchup) weaves through the chapters, as Moss introduces us to an eclectic cavalcade of characters. There s the out-of-town journalist, the little Elvis, the elderly Chinese chef, the nightlife kingpin and the pancake-obsessed clown each affected by the big fight in one way or another. Moss knows his subjects and locations from the inside out. So when he writes, One day Kid got hungry from waiting and wandered down the street into Frankie s Tiki Room, we feel confident that that s precisely where Kid went. Because P Moss owns Frankie s Tiki Room. The Double Down Saloon, too. Told you he was a Renaissance man! Vegas Knockout s press release says the book searches for the soul of a city built on vice and explores the most existential questions of the neon oasis. Well, Vegas writers have been on this search for the past 100 years. And most in the local lit community would say they ve all come up short. But if anyone stands a chance at succeeding, wouldn t it be the guy who owns the Double Down? --Las Vegas WeeklyYou never quite know what you're going to get when visiting the Double Down Saloon -- even when it's advertised.  Last night was the book launch for Double Down owner and CityLife Books author P Moss' second effort, Vegas Knockout. The punk, downtown and literary cognesceti converged at the Fruit Loop dive, mostly there to watch Attack Ships on Fire perform the book's soundtrack, get Moss' John Hancock on their own copies of his boxing-themed, stories-as-a-novel work, as well as hear him read from it. And he did, in a way befitting both author and setting: from pages stapled to the evening's emcee and renowned local performance artist, Jenn O Cide. And when we say stapled to Jenn O Cide, we mean stapled to her bare arms, forehead and bosom. "Oh, tits!" said Moss, upon reaching the second page of the excerpt from which he read.  Watching a little person apply the pages to Miss Cide wasn't the most grimacing moment of the night, however. Another little person, a burlesque dancer named Firefly, might've stolen the whole show by showing off her, um, impressive skills. To kick off the proceedings, she stripped down to her ta-tas and danced barefoot atop of a pile of broken glass. And then slid across it, like a runner sprinting for home plate. And then landed a splits directly onto the pieces themselves (to cries of "TWAT!" from the crowd).  The dancer somehow emerged smiling, free from the blood and scratches any regular person would have produced from such a feat of insane derring-do. Firefly would later happily exploit herself further by completely deep-throating a three-foot-long balloon, and hoisting herself atop the towering Jenn O Cide in a nod to Max Max Beyond Thunderdome, a la Master Blaster, as DJ Rex Dart blasted Aunt Entity/Tina Turner's "We Don't Need Another Hero."  Welcome to literary Thunderdome, Las Vegas. --Las Vegas CityLife