Mercer's Whore

by J.K. Haderack

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 1997

About the author

From Wikipedia
(Joseph) Delaney's writing career began with the release of a sci-fi book, written under the pen-name of J.K. Haderack.

Reviews

[Dark-Draco · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really difficult to know where to start describing this book, as half of me wants to roll around with laughter, the other wants to give it top marks!

The story itself is a good, dark-fantasy - a temple of Demons is threatening war with the rest of the world by kidnapping the King's daughter, and the soldier, Mercer, is sent to get her back. The Temple if guarded by a creature that anyone can challenge, but no-one has succeeded in beating. Oh and there's sex, a lot of it! There's a magic room that dilates time so that every second feels like eons - which makes it a popular place for the pleasure addicted locals - and Haye, the whore in question, sees her own fair of the 'action'. There's a lot of darkness to the fantasy though - demons being birthed from human mothers, the fate of those trapped in the temple, the general tone of the book in fact. Weirdly, that's kind of the bit I liked - especially the cool twist of Christianity, with a female 'Christas'.

That said, the were other bits that intruded on the enjoyment of the book. For a start, no-one can look at the map at the front of the book, or read the name of the Temple Guardian, without laughing - the author must have a bit of a sex mania surely :) There was also the annoying fact that there are absolutely no hints about Mercer's powers until he suddenly starts using them - then comes the long discussion about why he forsakes them - that's not the way to set up a plot-line. Oh, and my copy has two chapter 19's for some reason!

However, I have to admit, despite its faults I like this story - I have read it three times since I bought it years ago and each time have enjoyed it. Maybe not enough to search out other books by the author, but maybe enough to read others if they fell into my hands.

[Sudhakar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd bought this book intrigued by the title. I almost got rid of it during a recent book clear out thinking it would just be some rubbish pulp and not worth my time. I was wrong. It's a fantastic bit of fantasy. It starts with an explicit sex scene and some horror. It's generally well written and is very readable with short paragraphs so you can just read it in small chunks rather than wading through pages and pages before being able to break. It's a bit over written in parts but I've read worse where authors try to use all sorts of obscure words and flowery language.
It is swords and sorcery, literally, mainly swords. There are no dragons but there are demons. There is religion that is familiar but comes with a twist which I found intersting and annoying, being an atheist. There are some brutal scenes. There are quite a few sex scenes. Fingers.
Overall I recommend this book highly.