Jesse; The Post-Death Adventures of Elvis Presley

Author: Brian DeVall

Publisher: Aventine Press LLC

ISBN: 1-59330-043-3 (paperback, 283 pp.)

Here's another piece of Elvis fiction, a genre that has certainly become popular in the past few years. There seem to be two main streams of Elvis fiction: that which attempts to weave a story cleverly between the actual events of Elvis's life (Daniel Klein's three "Elvis Sleuth" novels, for example) and the alternative that looks at what might have happened had Elvis not actually died (as in Glenda Ivey's "Wings On A Guitar"). There are, of course, the other tales that use Elvis's name in their titles and almost nowhere else, and even the odd science-fiction type, but basically that's it.

As indicated by the extended title of this new novel by Brian DeVall, "Jesse, The Post-Death Adventures of Elvis Presley" is positioned firmly on the "what might have happened if..." side of the fence. As with Daniel Klein's trilogy, however, DeVall also plans to make these adventures the basis of a series of books, of which "Jesse" is the first.

"Jesse" covers the period of Elvis's death and funeral, which were staged, according to the book, and the first three years following these events. Tom Parker helps Elvis in his wish to leave the limelight and the less than happy life that he is leading, for what he hopes will be a quieter and less stressful existence. As described in the book, this seems to be an unbelievably simple task and the ease with which Elvis's initial goals are achieved is not entirely convincing. Parker arranges for Elvis to receive the new name of Jesse King, hence the title of the book. There follows a fast-paced mixture of ups and downs, love and despair, perhaps rather too many scrapes and fortuitous and less than fortuitous encounters again to be entirely convincing, but then, this is a piece of fiction!

Well, actually, "Jesse" is not entirely a piece of fiction, for DeVall regularly inserts passages of historical background, dealing with both Elvis and the places in which his adventures take place. These pieces are often quite interesting, but I did find them excessive and somewhat intrusive. The Elvisology seems to be gained from the more popular biographical accounts, so that once again we are confronted with the apparently self-perpetuating myth of Elvis having made his first record as a birthday-present for his mother.

As for the story itself, it is certainly readable and entertaining, especially in the second half of the book, when Elvis becomes involved in an FBI operation and comes into contact with another big name from the entertainment industry, whose life he tries to save. This leads to further complications, however, so that not all ends as Elvis would have wished. The book's ending is somewhat contrived, but does clear up a mystery left hanging earlier on and leaves the way open for a sequel.

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