The world of fighters and bodybuilders detailed in The Knockout Artist is also a major element in Karate Is a Thing of the Spirit (1971), The Gypsy's Curse (1974), and All We Need of Hell (1987). The more general concepts of the struggle for survival and the extremes of human behavior are characteristic of all Crews's work. In setting, technique, and tone, however, The Knockout Artist is a departure from the earlier novels.