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An avid fight fan
and amateur boxer, Robert E. Howard wrote stories about the prize
ring that hit with the impact of a Muhammed Ali punch. In his
humorous fight stories, the hulking sluggers Sailor Steve Costigan
and Dennis Dorgan trade jabs with brawlers from a dozen countries
in shadowy ports from Hong Kong to the Gulf Coast. In other tales
that mix action with keen character study, Howard writes of hungry
young fighters who aim to win the championship, or die trying.
In “Apparition in the Prize Ring,” the ghost of legendary
bare-knuckle fighter Tom Molyneaux helps a 20th Century black
champion, Ace Jessel, in Ace’s most desperate moment.
The merchant ship Sea Girl is the home of Sailor Steve Costigan,
champion of the Seven Seas, who plies the boxer’s trade
in waterfront rings all around the world. With his bulldog Mike,
Sailor Steve takes on all comers – one night sparring with
Bat Slade in old Manila’s Pit of the Serpent, the next,
wiping out a den of international thieves and murderers in China’s
Alley of Rats. Like Howard’s other turbulent heroes, from
Conan to Black Turlogh, Sailor Steve is always ready to wade into
a fight, whether to uphold the honor of the fleet or to win a
kiss from a beautiful woman.
Dorgan, fighting champ of the Python, is Steve Costigan’s
equal in brawn and brashness. Blood flows in the back alleys of
Singapore when a double-cross lands Dorgan in a plot to defraud
a local high-roller. In Fusan, the murderous Yellow Cobra gang
quails before Dorgan’s gloved fists. And in Hong Kong, gunsmoke
rolls and fists fly when Denny unwittingly leads an international
chase after the greatest treasure of the Far East, the priceless
Mandarin’s Ruby.
“The ferocity of a tiger!” What he lacks in guile,
Iron Mike Brennon makes up for in courage, determination, and
an iron jaw that can withstand a punch that would flatten another
man. Iron Mike wants to win the championship, but how much longer
can he take the impact of crushing blows from other iron men of
the Joe Louis and Mike Tyson breed? His prize is in sight –
if he can survive the unexpected treachery of the person closest
to him.
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