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Schlock Mercenary #11
Massively Parallel
"I told you we were going to fast.' With their ship just two hull breaches short of derelict status, Captain Tagon and his mercenary company must make a stop for repairs... extensive, expensive ones, which means that instead of taking shore leave, they split up for odd jobs and easy money. Money is never easy. Credomar, the Barsoom Circus, and Mall One all promise mayhem for pay, but those nigh-simultaneous dust-ups pale in comparison to the fight that awaits the Toughs once they have a ship under their feet again.
160 pages, Unknown Binding
First published December 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Howard Tayler
48 books169 followersHoward spent most of his happy childhood in Florida where he was on the swim team in grade school, and in a rock band in high school. He graduated in 1985 and moved to Utah to attend Brigham Young University.
After two years there, he served two years as a missionary for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), after which he returned to school at BYU and decided to move to Provo permanently after graduating and getting married.
He currently works full-time as a cartoonist, writing, drawing, and coloring Schlock Mercenary , as well as doing comics for assorted corporate clients.
He is married to author and editor Sandra Tayler.
See the author page on Schlock Mercenary website
After two years there, he served two years as a missionary for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), after which he returned to school at BYU and decided to move to Provo permanently after graduating and getting married.
He currently works full-time as a cartoonist, writing, drawing, and coloring Schlock Mercenary , as well as doing comics for assorted corporate clients.
He is married to author and editor Sandra Tayler.
See the author page on Schlock Mercenary website
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 30, 2015
So, does massively parallel refer to massively parallel serial killings, or storylines? Answer? Both.
I'm appreciating the amount of skill put into this storytelling. It could have been pulled off so much worse, but instead, I feel like I just got woven into a nice little rug. I am hugely entertained.
I've even got the ride of the valkyries playing to a great rhythmset in my imagination, now, and that was just on a few hints in the comic. That's impressive. And scary.
I'm appreciating the amount of skill put into this storytelling. It could have been pulled off so much worse, but instead, I feel like I just got woven into a nice little rug. I am hugely entertained.
I've even got the ride of the valkyries playing to a great rhythmset in my imagination, now, and that was just on a few hints in the comic. That's impressive. And scary.
January 22, 2020
I think this one sets the basis for what is going on currently. Introduced several of the most prominent characters right now. Also ... massively parallel. 3 space parcours especially with Schlock.
April 27, 2021
I hesitate to say "best yet", but you have to admit it's a solid contender. I'm caught up to where I stopped reading on a daily basis, and I can't believe I don't know what happens next!
LOTA is back, Schlock is in the circus, both Kevyns are on the loose, and everyone's stories are interleaving. Great stuff.
LOTA is back, Schlock is in the circus, both Kevyns are on the loose, and everyone's stories are interleaving. Great stuff.
December 27, 2019
True to the title, this book tells three parallel stories as Schlock, Tagon and take a break from regular operations and go their separate ways for a time, to come together again when circumstances demand.
February 17, 2023
The humor is cranked up to 11. This is a good space opera parody. It was easy to get into without reading the previous installments.
October 5, 2022
10/4/22 Review
Funny, on the third go around, I now feel like this story structure is kinda genius. It’s a perfect example of being surprising yet inevitable - four times! This might be one of my favorite Schlock books. The best part was that Tayler seems to have gotten really good at dynamic visuals. There were some dramatic character entrances where I could almost hear the background music playing like it was a movie, and all with a single static image. That in particular made this book really fun.
3/20/18 Review
I will say that, reading this a second time, the constant rewinding did get a little annoying and all the multiple plots within a plot was exhausting, but the ending was still kind of awesome, so I’m willing to forgive it.
8/16/17 Review
Howard Tayler just gets funnier the more he writes, and these characters become more and more beloved the more I read of them. I hope Tayler writes them forever! I especially enjoyed the unique structure of this book. Normally I would've found all the rewinding annoying, but this time, I was intrigued and couldn't wait to see how it all culminated! Also, it was just really fun to see the characters going on their separate adventures. They were so quirky and delightful! I really liked the part where Schlock's a janitor because, having been one myself, I completely felt for him.
I'm glad I don't have to wait for the next one. It looks awesome!
Funny, on the third go around, I now feel like this story structure is kinda genius. It’s a perfect example of being surprising yet inevitable - four times! This might be one of my favorite Schlock books. The best part was that Tayler seems to have gotten really good at dynamic visuals. There were some dramatic character entrances where I could almost hear the background music playing like it was a movie, and all with a single static image. That in particular made this book really fun.
3/20/18 Review
I will say that, reading this a second time, the constant rewinding did get a little annoying and all the multiple plots within a plot was exhausting, but the ending was still kind of awesome, so I’m willing to forgive it.
8/16/17 Review
Howard Tayler just gets funnier the more he writes, and these characters become more and more beloved the more I read of them. I hope Tayler writes them forever! I especially enjoyed the unique structure of this book. Normally I would've found all the rewinding annoying, but this time, I was intrigued and couldn't wait to see how it all culminated! Also, it was just really fun to see the characters going on their separate adventures. They were so quirky and delightful! I really liked the part where Schlock's a janitor because, having been one myself, I completely felt for him.
I'm glad I don't have to wait for the next one. It looks awesome!
April 11, 2017
Howard Tayler just keeps getting better. What started out as a goofy comic full of cheesy jokes and bad art has turned into science fiction epic with consistently funny jokes and better art than I can produce.
As the title of this book suggests the mercenaries split up to fill separate missions. As happens in all good books of split parties the separate missions collide and are actually connected in some way.
Tagon and the doctor learn a new form of parkour in a rotating reference frame, Schlock and some of his friends join the circus and LOTA has plans for the rest of the crew that include pan-galactic super-weapons.
So, it’s pretty much operations as usual but Howard Tayler has figured out how to make his characters seem more personable. The side characters introduced in this book are some of the strongest yet and it’s amazing to me that Tayler can keep up the pace without losing track of people.
Given the sheer volume of previous material in the Schlock Mercenary canon it’s a bit surprising that this one might be a good place to start the series if, for some unexplainable reason, you don’t want to go back and start from the beginning.
As the title of this book suggests the mercenaries split up to fill separate missions. As happens in all good books of split parties the separate missions collide and are actually connected in some way.
Tagon and the doctor learn a new form of parkour in a rotating reference frame, Schlock and some of his friends join the circus and LOTA has plans for the rest of the crew that include pan-galactic super-weapons.
So, it’s pretty much operations as usual but Howard Tayler has figured out how to make his characters seem more personable. The side characters introduced in this book are some of the strongest yet and it’s amazing to me that Tayler can keep up the pace without losing track of people.
Given the sheer volume of previous material in the Schlock Mercenary canon it’s a bit surprising that this one might be a good place to start the series if, for some unexplainable reason, you don’t want to go back and start from the beginning.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews