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Elvis Saves
Author: Bill Yancey
Published by Xlibris Corporation
ISBN 0-7338-0085-6 (Hard cover) 0-7338-0086-4 (Soft cover)
Elvis Saves is a work of fiction. After having read the book, I was not entirely sure exactly what type of fiction it was, as elements of fantasy, science-fiction and crime all seem to be present in this, Bill Yancey's first book. Bill admits to not ever having been a fervent Elvis fan, but he did a reasonable amount of background reading before venturing into the story and this has clearly paid off in the factual references with which it is embellished.
The time of the events related is not specified, but the Turner-Disney Productions company has taken charge of Graceland and has been experiencing falling revenues. In an effort to increase public interest, the company arranges a scam involving lightning and Elvis impersonators. Things go wrong, however, when the real Elvis (or, at least, his body) disappears, along with the star Elvis impersonator.
This leads to an involved saga which gives rise to a number of questions: Has Elvis been reincarnated? Is that Elvis driving across the USA, accompanied by a man he calls "Colonel"? Will a reincarnated Elvis appear at a mammoth comeback concert in Los Angeles and will he proclaim there his message of world peace? And why is an attractive young lady trailing this Elvis incarnation together with a private detective?
The story actually fits together well, though why Elvis is not mobbed outside Graceland when he seems to perform a miracle and why a state trooper fails to recognise him is rather puzzling. Towards the end of the book the truth about all the characters is revealed, only for another poker-playing mystery-man to appear in Switzerland, about whom readers must reach their own conclusions.
What makes "Elvis Saves" very special is that, as far as I am aware, this is the first Elvis book to be made available both in traditional book format (hardback and paperback) and in PDF (Portable Document Format), a file format for computers. Both formats can be ordered on-line from the publishers website at www.Xlibris.com. The PDF version is considerably cheaper and, if ordered, is delivered by email. PDF allows a book to be read on the screen of any computer (the format is the same for Macintosh, Windows, DOS, Unix...) using a free utility called "Adobe Acrobat". Unfortunately, Xlibris only provides a very basic PDF version, without making full use of the possibilities offered by PDF. Of course, if you have the PDF version, you can print all or part of the book rather than having to read it on screen.
If you like Elvis fiction, you'll surely enjoy "Elvis Saves"; if you've never ventured into Elvis fiction, then "Elvis Saves" is a good place to start.
David Neale
Copyright 1998