Blood is spilt in every one of these 10 stories, whether as the result of a fight, a car crash, a gunshot wound, the killing of an elk or a mauling by a bear. In one story a man falls from a tree and breaks his pelvis; blood fills his scrotum until it's the size of a baby's head. Written in an urgent present tense, every story starts out tough and gets tougher. Events follow a wild, remorseless logic of their own. Whenever you expect Percy to touch the brakes, he hits the accelerator. Few of the stories end calmly, with the plot neatly wrapped up; Percy prefers to end on a note of ongoing tension. "When the Bear Came" leaves the reader with the memorable image of a giant grizzly straining at the leash that holds it, staring ferociously into the eyes of the man who stands 10 paces away with a levelled rifle.

When, on 30 November last year, Robert Craig (Evel) Knievel died in his bed aged 69, not just America but the whole world lost a legend. He was, after all, the most daring and the most successful stuntman ever to have lived.