The Iron Man

by Robert E. Howard

The Iron Man has fought since time immemorial -- with but one thought in mind -- to get to his foe and crush him. The centuries, the costumes, the weapons are different. The object is the same. The gore and savagery of Howard's tales of the ring is little removed from those exploits of Conan and Kull and Bran Mak Morn.It is common knowledge that Robert E. Howard was a boxing enthusiast, and his fellow author H. P. Lovecraft tied Howard's interest in sports directly to his "love of primitive conflict and strength ..".In The Iron Man are three of Howard's best tales of the ring -- certainly tales of primitive conflict and strength which are collected in book form for the first time.

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Ebooks, Fantasy, Short Stories, Pulp, Sports

186 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1930

About the author

Robert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. Howard wrote "over three-hundred stories and seven-hundred poems of raw power and unbridled emotion" and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."

He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.

—Wikipedia

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the Jeff Jones cover and slug line "Fantasy/Adventure by the creator of Conan," this is a collection of three stories about boxing with no fantasy element. There's also a fragment of a non-fiction article Howard began. There were pulp magazines in the 1930's devoted to almost any topic and situation that can be imagined, including boxing. Howard was the consummate pulp writer, and the pugilistic stories here are typical of his enthusiasm and style.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this NOT because I am a boxing fan, because I'm not, but because I am a Howard fan. By now, I have read all of his Conan and other sword-and-sorcery stories, his historical fiction, his Westerns, and I think even all of his horror! That leaves his boxing stories. No surprise that the Texan author gets you right into the ring as he describes the fights. You start feeling the pain after a while... This book includes three stories and a very short essay by REH on what makes an "iron man."

[Leothefox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanna read about some guys punching each other?

We got a couple of Iron Men on hand here, mostly Mike Brennon, a boxer who is termed an “Iron Man” because he can't be knocked out. No, he stays conscious while the other guy beats the face off him in match after match. Brennon's manager worries about him and doesn't understand why the Iron Man keeps getting in the ring to take punishment and where he's sending the big money he always gets. What could his secret be?

So, this book is another case of Zebra getting ahold of a handful of related Robert E. Howard stories, slapping a Jeff Jones cover on them, and trying to dupe readers into thinking they're more of his science fantasy. Nope! They're boxing stories!

Howard wrote for a lot of markets and boxing was just one of them. I'd read some of these from him in the past, the humorous ones were most satisfying than these. The trend towards a man destroying himself for right seems to work better for swordsmen and gunfighters than it does for boxers. Although, the Howard brand fatalism is subverted in some ways here, in one instance by romance.

“They Always Come Back” is the story of Maloney, a boxer who becomes a drunken wreck after losing a match to Brennon. He ends up in a Mexican jail and a determined Australian manager convinces him to compete in a boxing match for his freedom. “Fists of the Desert” has another Iron Man named Kirby Karnes who has a bad break with a sleazy manager named Lyman, winds up with a better one, only for the new manager to be kidnapped by gangsters involved with Lyman (it's totally like that Van Damme movie “Kickboxer” only without the gloves coated in broken glass).

For the most part it is standard run Howard stuff, very much about unusual men with their determined toughness. These stories have a bad habit of glazing over in montages about press coverage of these “fistic” exploits. Let's face it, sports just aren't as interesting as pirates of the Hyborian age or other Howard styled high adventure. Had these stories spent less time in the ring and more with the palookas having to fight off gangsters it would have been more my scene.

Zebra's other bait-and-switch Howard collection, “The Vultures of Whapeton” delivered the goods a little better, partly because Howard was truer to his own themes in his westerns than he is in these sports stories.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Ervin Howard (1906-1936) was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. He is well known for having created the character Conan the Cimmerian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond. Voracious reading, along with a natural talent for prose writing and the encouragement of teachers, conspired to create in Howard an interest in becoming a professional writer. One by one he discovered the authors that would influence his later work: Jack London and Rudyard Kipling. It's clear from Howard's earliest writings and the recollections of his friends that he suffered from severe depression from an early age. Friends recall him defending the act of suicide as a valid alternative as early as eighteen years old, while many of his stories and poems have a suicidal gloom and intensity that seem prescient in hindsight, describing such an end not as a tragedy but as a release from hell on earth.

[Little Timmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Robert E. Howard is my all time favorite writer, but for many years much of his work was heavily edited. This is another of the heavily edited collections of Robert E. Howard's stories. I am a purist when it comes to a writers works. I know some of these stories are no longer PC but they should be read as Howard wrote them and understood that he wrote in another time period. Don't read this book unless you just can't find any others of Howard's unedited books to read. Message me if you need a list of what is good from this awesome fantasy and action writer.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and pulpy, just like his face.

[Анатолій Волков · Rating 4 out of 5]

Если бы мне кто-то дал почитать этот рассказ без указания автора, я бы, наверное, в первую очередь подумал на Джека Лондона, уж очень похоже написано. Хотя у Лондона возможно было бы все немного печальнее. У Говарда же получилась вполне себе хорошая и почти хепиэндовская история. Истории о боксерах не такие уж и распространенные, хорошие так и совсем редкость. Пусть в них нет документальной точности, но они несут отличный заряд веры в мужественность и силу духа. Эта история о боксере, который был бы идеальным бойцом, если бы не одно, но, он совсем не умел боксировать и был не способен научится. Вот такая ирония судьбы, хотя обладал всеми остальными задатками великих спортсменов. Но отнимая где-то одно природа, а в данном случае автор наделил героя другими качеством, выносливостью, упорством и железной челюстью. Вот так упорством и стойкостью боксеру неумехе удалось победить многих чемпионов. В общем всем поклонникам Лондона, настоящего мужества и хорошей истории читать советую.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three boxing stories by the writer of Conan. REH was a huge boxing fan and wrote many stories for boxing publications. Oddly, these are not at all like REH's regular big tough guy stories. All are psychological in nature. Where usually it's about some giant beating in people's skulls and not thinking much about it, here each story is more about the mindset of the individual than the actual fighting. There is a love story, a story of a man pulling himself back up after hitting rock bottom, and a story of redemption and success after long suffering. Of course there's plenty of boxing. Lots of mighty blows just below the heart and sweeping rights to the jaw and mashed noses and raw bloody faces. And it's not like you've got a bunch of options if you're into boxing stories so I recommend this one.

[David Barber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Robert E. Howard, but I am not a fan this story collection. The Iron Man contains three stories about boxers and their exploits in the ring. I suspect Howard wrote these earlier in his career as they lack the power and dynamic story telling ability he displayed in his later tales. If you like boxing, you might find these stories interesting, although a bit dated. For my money, I'll stick with Howard's historical fiction and pulp fantasy adventures.

[Tom Tancredi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Savage pugilust tales by Robert E. Howard. The fight scenes are more graphic than his work with Conan or Kull. Well worth the exploration of battle.

[Paschalis]

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[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella is a tale of Iron Mike Sheridan, a heavyweight boxer. An iron man is a fighter who survives by his endurance rather than boxing skills.

[Zach Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A quick, thrilling read that is especially enjoyable as a boxing fan. It is hindered by some repetitive prose (how many times can a boxer be compared to a "jungle cat"?), but perhaps that is just part of its pulp fiction charm.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I read the complete "Iron Men" novella, not the truncated, originally-published version that cut several thousand words...

Robert E. Howard called Iron Men "probably the best story of any kind I ever wrote”. He was a fan of boxing, and I have read a few of his humorous fight stories starring Sailor Steve Costigan. Although Iron Men isn’t mentioned in One Who Walked Alone (as best as I can remember), I thought it was time to check it out.

2.5 Characters
Satisfactory with positive exceptions
The characters here aren’t anything special. Our hero, “Iron” Mike Brennon, is a typical REH hero. He keeps his motivations secret initially, but there is nothing surprising about him. The character I liked best was the trainer, Spike Ganlon. I imagined him looking like Jason Statham, and he was more interesting than anyone else.

2 Pace
Satisfactory
This story actually bored me a few times. Howard could write about boxing well, but I was never in doubt as to the victor and the play-by-play description of the fights wasn’t interesting. I think Howard was better at writing about big battles than pugilism.

3 Story
Good
Although the fights were predictable, I liked this story. The love interest was cliché, but I liked the tension as to what would happen to Brennon at the end. I also thought the girl’s intervention at the end was an interesting twist, and a good example of how a woman might go the extra mile that close friends won’t.
Many people have talked about the picture this story paints of the Depression. That is definitely evident, but Howard never spends time describing the scenes. We don’t know if these clubs are filthy, or the type of people attending the fights. I would have liked some more background information.

2 Dialogue
Satisfactory
Most of the dialogue here is serviceable, but some of the “speeches” feel long-winded and too wordy. They are important in establishing motivations and character (as well as painting a portrait of the world), but they don’t jump off the page.
The same conversation is essentially repeated a couple of times as Brennon’s manager and trainer try to convince him to quit. It is important to the story, but could have been handled better.

4 Style/Technical
Very Good
Howard’s asset in this story is his ability to tell it. The fights feel alive (if predictable), and he is able to tell a good story without spending much time on anything except fighting and dialogue. I think some scenery and quiet moments would help, but the fact that he could write the story without those aspects is amazing.

2.7 Overall
Satisfactory with positive exceptions
I can’t agree with Howard on this one. I think his best story is “Twilight of the Gray Gods”, followed closely by “The Black Stranger”. In fact, this is probably my least favorite REH story I have read. Iron Men is a fun read though, and references some of Howard’s other “boxing heroes”. It’s a serious story, and is in the same league as Rocky and all the other underdog stories about a hero who can endure inhuman punishment and keep on ticking. I think every man wishes he had a bit of Iron Mike Brennon in him.

[Phil Syphe · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Iron Man” is one of the longer short stories by the Great Robert E. Howard. I was thinking this would be another Steve Costigan tale, but instead it’s narrated by a boxing trainer, called Steve, and one of the featured boxers’ surname is Costigan.

Anyway, this is quite different to the other fight tales I’ve read. It’s a more rounded story, as opposed to featuring bits here and there added to an epic punch-up.

Mike Brennon is the man dubbed as “The Iron Man”, owing to his ability to withstand a barrage of punches from the best of fighters. Yet he has no real boxing style – he’s more like a street fighter, but this and his ability to battle through anything brings him fame and money.

Part of the mystery is why Iron Mike (wonder if Mike Tyson’s read this) goes through such pain after making plenty of money, plus why is he so secretive about how he spends it? He never appears in public like a man of quality.

On the whole this is pretty good.

[Mohamed · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easily digestible book most probably written for beginner/novice readers. It exhibits the radical extents of sacrifice and what can be called "The American Dream", where Brennon risks his physique, health and life in pursuit of instant wealth and a happy life. On another note, reading this book makes you realize where all the cliché boxing film scenarios (where an opponent beats the crap out of the protagonist, yet the latter finds his way to victory through one assault) really come from.

[David Fackelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun book. It contains four boxing stories by the great Robert E. Howard. The heroes are men of iron as only REH could create; boxers of little to no talent with only their iron constitution to sustain them. I highly recommend this little collection to REH fans and those new to REH.

[Ru Viljoen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short story about a man's boxing career. While the story has no clear flaws, I was bored and did not notice any deeper meaning in the recounting of several of his matches and associated preparation. Expected much more from the author of some entertaining Conan the Barbarian novels.

[Pollyanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iron Man is actually a love story. If you cannot see this you really must re-read and dig deeper. I cried for the hero of this story.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of Howard's best boxing stories. These are his non-humorous boxing stories, which I like better than the humorous ones. I have both a hardback and a paperback of this from Zebra.

[Street · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, would make a cool movie.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short Read,interesting written style.

The ending felt a bit rushed, but the description of the fighters and comparisons to other fighters had an air of depth that I liked

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short story length. Why does he push himself to box? There's a reason.

[Bookish Devil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read. A godd story-line. Overall.. It was worth reading. Loved the Climax which i never expected :D . A Happy ending :) !!

[Alan Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short for my taste, it builds upto something and then the novel just ends..