QUEENSBERRY JUSTICE
THE FISTS OF SHERLOCK
HOLMES
With the publication of Queensberry
Justice: The Fight Card Sherlock Holmes Omnibus, Andrew Salmon brings
together not only his three Fight Card
Sherlock Holmes novels, but a plethora of original related articles, three
new Fight Card Sherlock Holmes short
stories, a cover gallery, and much more. Beautifully produced and chock full of
great Sherlockian stories and other ephemera, Queensberry Justice is a fitting culmination to the current
iteration of the Fight Card series.
I was delighted to have been part of the process of
organizing, editing, and producing this fantastic piece of Sherlockiana. Featuring
a stunning wraparound cover from artist Mike Fyles, Queensberry Justice is everything we envisioned it would be.
The idea of putting Sherlock Holmes in the boxing ring was a
natural for the Fight Card series,
but it took some history before Watson would record Holmes’ first time to toe
the line.
The now fifty book strong Fight Card series was conceived during a late night phone call in
late 2011. The wide-ranging conversation between myself and prolific writer Mel
Odom had worked around to our shared passion for Robert E. Howard’s two-fisted
boxing tales featuring Sailor Steve Costigan. These tough, tight, action-filled
stories had been published as 25,000 word novelettes in the pulp magazine Fight Stories during the '30s and '40s.
In those years, the fight pulps and other sports specific
short story magazines, competed for newsstand space with the likes of The
Shadow, Doc Savage, and hundreds of other themed titles ranging from aerial
combat to westerns to romance to weird science to superheroes to horror and
shudder pulps. Each of these magazines was identified by the garish colors of
their lurid covers and the rough paper on which they were printed.
In one of those moments of shared inspiration, Mel and I
decided to try our hand at a couple of tales similar to the pulp boxing stories
we admired. Knowing there was no longer a traditional market for 25,000 word
novelettes, we decided we could utilize Amazon’s burgeoning e-book platform to
send the novelettes out into the wild.
We had a blast writing the first two Fight Card tales—Felony Fists
and Cutman—which were published in
January 2012. Then came a surprise—the stories not only resonated with readers,
but also with writers.
Young lions on the verge of burgeoning writing careers and a
few established pros asked if they could take a crack at a Fight Card story. Going with the generated momentum, Mel and I put
together some basic guidelines. Fight
Card stories would be 25,000 to 30,000 words in length; They could take
place anywhere in the world, but needed to be set in the pulp era of the ‘40s
and ‘50s; Boxing had to be at the center of each Fight Card story, not just a background. Stories didn’t have to be
about the heavy-weight championship of the world (they could be about a battleship
title in the Navy, a bar championship in the Bronx, or between two rivals in
Peoria, PA, for the love of a girl), but the resolution had to come in the
ring. Stories would be rated PG13.
With these ideals, emerging noir master Eric Beetner wrote
the third Fight Card entry, Split Decision, which he would later
follow up with the sequel, A Mouth Full
of Blood. Both these stories epitomized the goals of the Fight Card series, setting the standard
for all Fight Card books to follow.
Eric has since gone on to wide critical acclaim with novels like The Devil Doesn’t Want Me, When The Devil Comes To Call, Rumrunners, and Leadfoot.
Australian pulpmeister David Foster was the first writer to
take Fight Card international. King of the Outback followed the rivalry
between travelling boxing shows in the 1950s Australian Outback and the rise of
an Aboriginal boxer. Later David would take Fight
Card to South Africa in Rumble In The
Jungle, then back to Australia with The
Fists of Ned Kelley. David also shouldered much of the formatting and cover
creation duties for the series. He has also gone on to success under his James
Hopwood pseudonym with his Jarvis Love espionage novels (The Librio Defection, The
Danakil Deception, The Ambrosia Kill).
More good things came Fight
Card’s way when the now bestselling Terrence McCauley (Sympathy For The Devil, A
Murder of Crows) joined the team. Terrence’s novel, Prohibition, featuring ex-boxer turned organized crime enforcer
Terry Quinn, had been published to growing critical buzz. Terrance wanted to
write the prequel to Prohibition,
which would focus on how Terry Quinn became an ex-boxer. He wanted to write the
story as a Fight Card novel, but the
time period was the 1920s—outside the established Fight Card era of the ‘40s and ‘50s.
Prohibition was a
terrific novel and Terrence was clearly headed for bestsellerdom. There was no
way an arbitrary guideline was going to stop Fight Card from getting a marquee writer on board. Terrence’s Fight Card entry, Against The Ropes, was terrific. It also opened the vistas for
other Fight Card tales.
A second Fight Card
brand, Fight Card MMA, was quickly
established. These books featured the same two-fisted Fight Card action, but in the octagon cage instead of the squared
circle. Next came Fight Card Now,
with contemporary boxing stories. Then Fight
Card Luchadors filled with the showmanship, traditions, and action of
Mexican masked wrestlers. Even a Fight
Card Romance offshoot made an appearance to the acclaim of a whole new
audience.
It was now a question of where Fight Card would go next...
In early 2013, a group of Fight Card authors serendipitously gathered together at the Pulp
Ark convention in Arkansas. A discussion of involving historic and iconic
figures in the Fight Card compendium
led to a light bulb explosion of an idea—Fight
Card Sherlock Holmes.
A discussion began regarding canonical connected incidents
tying Sherlock Holmes to the world of Victorian pugilism—and there were a
number—through which Fight Card could
logically enter the world of Sherlock Holmes.
In The Adventure of the
Solitary Cyclist a brawl breaks out when Holmes is sucker-punched with a
backhander from a drunken lout named Woodley. Holmes proceeds to wipe the pub
floor with Woodley, telling Watson, “The next few minutes were delicious. It
was a straight left against a slogging ruffian. I emerged as you see me. Mr.
Woodley went home in a cart.”
In The Adventure of
the Empty House, Holmes makes an off-hand mention regarding a fistic
encounter with a man named Mathews, “who knocked out my left canine in the
waiting-room at Charing Cross.”
In The Sign Of the
Four, Holmes reminds ex-prize fighter McMurdo of their first encounter: “I
don’t think you can have forgotten me. Don’t you remember the amateur who
fought three rounds with you at Alison’s rooms on the night of your benefit
four years back?”
“Not Mr. Sherlock Holmes!” roared the prize-fighter. “God’s
truth! how could I have mistook you? If instead o’ standin’ there so quiet you
had just stepped up and given me that cross-hit of yours under the jaw, I’d ha’
known you without a question. Ah, you’re one that has wasted your gifts, you
have! You might have aimed high, if you had joined the fancy.”
“You see, Watson, if all else fails me, I have still one of
the scientific professions open to me,” said Holmes, laughing.
When it came to making Fight
Card Sherlock Holmes a reality, there was never a doubt who the author of
these special tales should be. Andrew Salmon was an integral part of the New
Pulp movement, whose Sherlockian pastiches were among the best being written.
Andrew was also familiar with the Fight
Card series, having read and reviewed a number of the entries.
An email to Andrew outlining the concept of Fight Card Sherlock Holmes led to an
excited exchange. He enthusiastically agreed to take on the project. In short
order, the game was afoot with Watson guiding Andrew’s furiously typing
fingers—Sherlock, with fists raised and a sure knowledge of Baritsu, was
squaring up to take on all comers.
Set in London, England, 1884, the first Fight Card Sherlock Holmes tale, Work Capitol, expands the tale of what happened when Sherlock
Holmes stepped into the exhibition ring against retiring prize fighter McMurdo.
It also explores the encounter at Charing Cross when Mathews knocked out
Holmes’ canine tooth in the waiting-room.
Victorian Slang for a crime punishable by death, Work Capitol sees Holmes and Watson
chase a diabolical murderer through the dark, illicit, world of Victorian
bare-knuckle boxing. To solve the case, Holmes is forced to take a desperate
chance by toeing the scratch line opposite London's most dangerous
pugilist—Ezekiel Tanner.
Published in December 2013, Work Capitol, was an immediate success, garnering critical acclaim
from Sherlockians and reviewers alike. Sherlock had the taste of fighting blood
in his mouth, and plans began for a second tale of Holmes in the ring.
The extensive research done by Andrew for Work Capitol revealed a plethora of
pugilistic ideas to get Holmes to toe the line. Andrew’s fingers on the
keyboard and Sherlock’s fists began flying and the game was afoot once more.
December 2014, saw the publication of Fight Card Sherlock Holmes: Blood To The Bone. Picking up in
Deptford, England, in 1888, Holmes is asked to look into the disappearance of
Richard Stokes—one half of a carnival tag-team boxing duo. The boxer’s
desertion has left his loving wife and pugilistic ring partner, Eby Stokes,
homeless and penniless, desperate to know what happened to her spouse.
Watson believes the matter to be a common case of
abandonment—convinced Holmes' interest is an excuse to fight boredom by trying
his hand in the boxing booths of a visiting circus. However, when they are
almost killed, the duo trace Stokes’ disappearance to a boxing club disbanded
in shame more than sixty years earlier.
Determined to find out why Stokes abandoned his wife; what
possible significance the long extinct Pugilistic Club could have in the
matter; and who was behind the fiery attempt on their lives, Holmes and Watson
join forces with Eby Stokes, plunging into a deadly mystery threatening the
foundation of the British Empire.
This second Sherlockian adventure in Victorian fisticuffs
was particularly special. Through Andrew’s creative imagination and writing
skills, the amazing Eby Stokes became a woman to rival Irene Adler on every
level.
Reading Blood To The
Bone, Eby Stokes comes to life as only an inspired character can. There had
to be a third Fight Card Sherlock Holmes
escapade, if only to bring Eby back for a second round. Furthermore, with the
first two pugilistic Holmes tales being successfully published in consecutive
Decembers, fans clamored for a third Christmas gift to Sherlockians the
following year.
Andrew took some time to figure out where Holmes and the
fistic arts would again cross paths. There also needed to be some thought given
to the next appearance of Eby Stokes—her presence not being taken lightly.
Before long, Watson whispered in Andrew’s ear and a new complex tale of
skullduggery and fisticuffs began to unfold.
Fight Card Sherlock
Holmes: A Congression Of Pallbearers begins in London in October 1894. A
pair of cryptic messages lead Holmes and Watson to a destroyed photographer's
studio and into an assassination attempt. Their only clue to unravel the
mystery is a damaged photograph plate bearing a post-mortem portrait of a dead
shipping magnate and his grieving widow. With no time to lose, Holmes and
Watson plunge into a boiling cauldron of international intrigue. Joined again
by the redoubtable Eby Stokes, they are in for the fight of their lives—a fight
where brains must match brawn to turn a deadly tide—with death and destruction
threatening to explode from the looming shadows of a war to end all wars. A Congression Of Pallbearers is truly a
masterwork from a master of the Holmesian tales.
With these three Fight
Card Sherlock Holmes novels, Andrew Salmon has both honored and expanded
the Sherlockian canon. His work is in the top flight of the Fight Card series alongside stories from
some of the brightest authors writing today.
Will Sherlock return to the ring? Will Eby Stokes continue
to serve Queen and Country? Will Watson channel another two-fisted conundrum
through Andrew’s keyboard? The answers to these mysteries are waiting to
unfold. Until then, toe the scratch line with this omnibus edition of Fight Card Sherlock Holmes novels and
remember to keep punching and never drop your guard...
looks very interesting, i will look into this for sure~ glad i saw this post!
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