[Fight Card 01] • Against the Ropes

The year is 1925 and pugilistic prowess is discussed anywhere and everywhere. On the tough streets of New York City, boxer Terry Quinn is on the rise. The heavyweight title is within his grasp but the gangsters pulling the strings in the fight racket have other ideas and will do whatever it takes to get Quinn in line.

Now the above plot is certainly nothing new in fight pulps but what Terrence McCauley does with it most certainly is. Quinn is no knight in shining armor but he does have personal dignity and watching his journey through the ever deepening mire of corruption, intimidation, murder and rackets makes for compelling reading. He may not be a saint but you do root for him as he struggles with choices that will affect not only the rest of his life but the safety of the people he cares about.

The pace is quick, the action intense and Quinn's fate is pulled off with feeling. Hard answers to hard questions drive a story that isn't going where you think it is and make for one heck of a ride you don't want to miss.

Set up as a prequel to his novel, Prohibition, it's easy to think that Against the Ropes is more a marketing ploy than a solid stand alone work. Jaded readers will expect a cliff-hanger ending as a means to 'force' you to buy the novel from Airship 27.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Sure, the two works deal with the same lead character but Against the Ropes tells its own complete story and I did not feel slighted in the least having not read the follow-up novel. You don't have to read the next story after finishing Against the Ropes, it satisfies on its own, but you'll want to. Terry Quinn is that engaging a character and I suspect the reverse is also true. If you came to the work through Prohibition, you'll want to pick up this Fight Card yarn to see where it all began.

The bottom line is that Against the Ropes is one of the strongest Fight Card offerings and that's saying a lot as all of the installments I've read have been dynamite. Don't miss it.