About:
Stuntman: A Jason Colson Story by Ace Atkins is a very short story part of The Ranger Universe, this time focusing on Quinn Colson’s father, Hollywood stuntman Jason Colson. Mr. Atkins is a published author, and former crime reporter.
My rating for Stuntman — 4
Buy Stuntman from Amazon.com*
More Books by Ace Atkins*
Thoughts:
If you’re a fan of 1980s Hollywood stunts and the ridiculous stories that go along to justify them, you’d like this story. Jason Colson is very prominent in The Ranger series, more as a ghost than anything else, like every father to his son – now he gets his own story.
As a successful Hollywood stuntman, Jason wishes to revisit the glory days where he hung out with Burt Reynolds and company, making movies and trouble. In all honesty, if you watch those movies, you can tell the whole cast has a blast.
In a world before CGI, the likes of Hal Needham, Colin Follenweider, Dar Robinson, Vic Armstrong, and Wendy Leech among others are legendary. Hal Needham was the inspiration for Brad Pitt’s character in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. His close relationship with Burt Reynolds was the inspiration for the relationship he had with Leonardo DiCaprio’s character.
Stuntman by Ace Atkins is very entertaining, and very short at about 18 pages. It’s sad, yet somehow delightful. Jason Colson is a tragic figure, as he is in the full-length novels, but gets some complexity in this short story. His desire for trouble is in direct contradiction to his straight arrow of a son (which does not make an appearance) and the whole thing could be an amazing sublot in any of the movies Jason made.
I just wish it was longer!
Buy Stuntman from Amazon.com*
More Books by Ace Atkins*
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I bought this book.
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account
