Suplex & Sorcery

by June Orchid Parker

Can’t a girl wrestle in peace? Not when she’s Varika, the most beloved barbarian in town. A masked heel called the Sorcerer arrives, yearning to send her crying back to her homeland. Now she must bury him and his minions in the ring—or lose everything she holds dear outside it.

Genres: Sword and Sorcery, Fantasy

130 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 2026

Reviews

[aja · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was fun! definitely more modern in tone than i typically prefer but it works well with the subject matter and i had a good time. really nice to see a love of women having such a pervasive presence, in both a "the narrative treats women like people" way and also "our narrator is a lesbian" way. it is possible sword & sorcery! who'd've thunk

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, this book was SUCH a fun read! Imagine a barbarian warrior who is a gladiator in a fantasy not-Greece (why not not-Rome? I dunno!), but instead of Roman-style gladiators, it is WRESTLING, much like modern professional wresgtling! Complete with story lines, feuds, even a sort of "kayfabe" - and the heel of this story is a sorcerer with actual sorcery! It's sword-and-sorcery fantasy, but as the title promises, it is actually SUPLEX and sorcery! It seems like the concept shouldn't work, BUT IT DOES! So much fun!

[Douglas Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute hoot of a read. In this novella, Parker summons up a world reminiscent of ancient Greece where sorcery is real and, obviously, folks love a good pro wrestling show. Varika is the lovably awkward barbarian "babyface" booked to wrestle the minions of a mysterious magic-wielder in a program that is quickly revealed as more than just a show. Fun, quirky characters and a light touch made this one a joy.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think if I were a bigger wrestling fan, then I would have enjoyed this more. Instead, the wrestling angle kept me largely out of immersion for the majority of the story. I ended up spending way too much time trying to figure out how much was supposed to be “fake” vs. how much was just Varika’s point of view as a potentially unreliable narrator.

The result was that I had a hard time getting into the story, but I don't regret reading it.