What do you think?
Rate this book
The Adventures of Sailor Tom Sharkey
He was one of the greatest heavyweight boxers to enter the legendary squared circle during the Golden Age of Boxing. Standing a mere 5' 8," Sailor Tom Sharkey was one of boxing's most feared sluggers; Gentleman Jim Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons, Kid McCoy, and Jim Jeffries all agreed he was their fiercest opponent and gave them their toughest fights. A colorful boxer both in the ring and out, he retired in 1904 after several legendary and controversial failed attempts to win the championship belt. That's the story you know. But it's not the end of Sharkey's story. Not by a long shot! In the tradition of Robert E. Howard's humorous sailor Steve Costigan boxing tales, this action-packed collection of rowdy, bawdy burlesque feature Sailor Tom Sharkey after he hung up his professional gloves. Thrill to Sharkey's brush with Hollywood's "It" Girl, Clara Bow! Get Chills as Sharkey and Kid McCoy face down a maniacal bandit! Feel the heat as Sharkey rides the rails with Jim Jeffries and in the Vaudeville carnival into clashes with mad scientists and mummified menaces! Watch Sharkey play Santa Claus to a bunch of Tammany Hall orphans and end up with a tiger by the tail-literally! And much more!
- GenresHumor
118 pages, Paperback
First published May 13, 2014
About the author
Mark Finn
71 books57 followersMark Finn is an author, an editor, and a pop culture critic. He is a nationally-recognized authority on Robert E. Howard and has written extensively about the Texas author. His work has appeared in publications for the Robert E. Howard Foundation Press, Dark Horse Comics, Boom! Comics, The Cimmerian, REH: Two-Gun Raconteur, The Howard Review, Wildside Press, Centipede Press, The University of Texas press, Greenwood Press, Scarecrow Press, The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies and elsewhere. Finn has presented several papers about Howard to the PCA/ACA National conference, the AWC, and he continues to lecture and perform readings regularly.
Finn also writes comics and novels, as well as articles, essays, reviews, short stories and role playing games for Playboy.com, RevolutionSF.com, Dark Horse Comics, DC/Vertigo Comics, Monkeybrain Books, Sky Warrior Books, F.A.C.T. Publications, Tachyon Press, Modiphius Press, and others. Finn’s fiction can be found in Ray Guns Over Texas, Road Trip, Tails From the Pack, Empty Hearts, Heroika: Dragon Eaters, Barbarian Crowns, Asian Pulp, and Fight Card: The Adventures of Sailor Tom Sharkey, and elsewhere.
He is a managing editor for Skelos Press, and he podcasts for The Gentlemen Nerds. When he is not waxing eloquent about popular culture, he writes comics and fiction, dabbles in magic, and produces and performs community theater. He lives in North Texas atop an old movie theater with far too many books and an affable pit bull named Sonya.
Finn also writes comics and novels, as well as articles, essays, reviews, short stories and role playing games for Playboy.com, RevolutionSF.com, Dark Horse Comics, DC/Vertigo Comics, Monkeybrain Books, Sky Warrior Books, F.A.C.T. Publications, Tachyon Press, Modiphius Press, and others. Finn’s fiction can be found in Ray Guns Over Texas, Road Trip, Tails From the Pack, Empty Hearts, Heroika: Dragon Eaters, Barbarian Crowns, Asian Pulp, and Fight Card: The Adventures of Sailor Tom Sharkey, and elsewhere.
He is a managing editor for Skelos Press, and he podcasts for The Gentlemen Nerds. When he is not waxing eloquent about popular culture, he writes comics and fiction, dabbles in magic, and produces and performs community theater. He lives in North Texas atop an old movie theater with far too many books and an affable pit bull named Sonya.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 16, 2014
Great fun read by an author who obviously appreciates Robert E. Howard as much as I do. The stories were fun, often quite off-the-wall, & somewhat similar to REH's stories without being a pastiche. Fantastic!
Sharkey is a fun character & the background that Finn gave me, both in the intro & the afterword, was welcome. Of course these weren't true tales of that great boxer, but they were entertaining yarns. I could see him sitting at a bar regaling his buddies with them.
If you enjoyed this as much as I did, you'll probably like jawing with the author. One place he can regularly be found is in GoodRead's Robert E. Howard group, here:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Sharkey is a fun character & the background that Finn gave me, both in the intro & the afterword, was welcome. Of course these weren't true tales of that great boxer, but they were entertaining yarns. I could see him sitting at a bar regaling his buddies with them.
If you enjoyed this as much as I did, you'll probably like jawing with the author. One place he can regularly be found is in GoodRead's Robert E. Howard group, here:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
May 9, 2015
S truly enjoyable book. Sailor Tom Sharkey was a real boxer who did most of his fighting in the 1890s. He fought legendary fighters like Jim Jeffries, Bob Fitzsimmons (in a famous match refereed by Wyatt Earp), John L Sullivan, and Jack Johnson.
It is also suspected that he was the inspiration for "Sailor Steve Costigan", the creation of legendary pulp writer Robert E Howard.
Mark Finn, himself a Robert E Howard fan and scholar, does an awesome job of telling first person tall tales from the point of view of Sailor Tom Sharkey, an "unreliable narrator" if there ever was one and he does so in his own voice without trying to copy Howard's Steve Costigan stories. In fact, these stories are a little more "fantastic" and "unbelievable" than the Costigan stories. They are completely tongue-in-cheek and supposedly take place after Tom has retired from boxing(which he did around the turn of the century). The stories will have you smirking if not outright laughing in spots.
This is a short quick read of about half dozen tales and the author gives gives a great introduction to explaining his inspiration for writing these stories and some background into his research.
It is also suspected that he was the inspiration for "Sailor Steve Costigan", the creation of legendary pulp writer Robert E Howard.
Mark Finn, himself a Robert E Howard fan and scholar, does an awesome job of telling first person tall tales from the point of view of Sailor Tom Sharkey, an "unreliable narrator" if there ever was one and he does so in his own voice without trying to copy Howard's Steve Costigan stories. In fact, these stories are a little more "fantastic" and "unbelievable" than the Costigan stories. They are completely tongue-in-cheek and supposedly take place after Tom has retired from boxing(which he did around the turn of the century). The stories will have you smirking if not outright laughing in spots.
This is a short quick read of about half dozen tales and the author gives gives a great introduction to explaining his inspiration for writing these stories and some background into his research.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews