PIT FC

This novella follows eight skilled fighters taking part in an illegal MMA–style championship.

The Pit, in an unspecified wooded area, is the site for a four-day series of fights with a hefty purse. The Pit Fight Championship is streamed to millions, though the people who put the event together remain anonymous. The eight participants have nicknames for the event, but also stay anonymous and pair off in bouts each day until the final tournament determines the winner. Both Two Hawks and Dmitri Petrovich enter the Pit FC undefeated. A few of the fighters start the championship having never won a single match; one of them, Artemeli Skryke, has never fought before but vows to prove he’s a worthy opponent. Among the eight is one woman, Juniper Jinn, who’s looking to punch and kick her way to Grand Champion and a $100,000 prize. The participants, who don masks or face paint, engage in brutal fights that end when someone taps out or is knocked out; a draw is also a possibility. They wind up with cuts, bruises, and broken bones, though it takes quite a lot for one to drop out of the Pit FC. In their downtime, the fighters, also including Whirlwind Dervish, Warhole Eleven, Hijinks Olsen, and Pickup Truck Huck, live at a camp, where they hang out together and occasionally hook up. One of them will win the crown.

Action in Haukos’ story is abundant and distinctive. Taut, lucid descriptions keep everything popping: “She bucked free of the suffocating pressure, and he sat up into the mount, hips bearing down into her torso. He threw a strike to the body with his left fist, then dropped into her face with the right elbow.” Each fight is unique. While the novella presents a behind-the-scenes glimpse into participants’ lives, it comes with only nominal insight into their lives beyond the four-day fight. They fish, regularly exercise, or play cards, but anything outside of their camp stays a mystery. In the same vein, the streamed event’s unnamed female interviewer, appearing in numerous scenes, predominantly focuses her attention on the bouts; we learn little else about her. That said, the story treats readers to occasional glimpses of characters’ true personalities. Two Hawks, for one, talks about opponents respectfully and doesn’t resort to trash talking like others do; several cast members are interested in Juniper and the interviewer. And while these characters sometimes drop nuggets of their real lives in interviews, more than one is unquestionably hiding something about themselves. A spinoff is possible. Where exactly this narrative unfolds isn’t known, but the “infamous French circuit” is apparently the place for death matches. Nevertheless, the ending is abrupt and a touch bizarre, although it’s certainly one readers aren’t likely to forget anytime soon.

A compact, high-impact tale that doesn’t delve too deeply into its characters.