Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries

by Howard Tayler

Light wear to the covers.

Genres: Science Fiction, Humor, Military Fiction, Fiction, War, Comedy, Action

78 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2016

About the author

Howard 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

Reviews

[David Lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure how anyone not already a fan of Schlock Mercenary would view this book, but for a long-term fan like me it was wonderful. We've seen many of them scattered throughout the comics, but it's very nice to have them gathered in one place and extended to include all 70. I read the "dirty" version with comments from several of the characters who owned the book -- first Karl Tagon, then Tagon's Toughs' captain Kaff, then Alexia Murtagh, then a few scribbles when Schock "borrowed" from Murtagh. The commentary adds a lot to the raw maxims and enriches our appreciation of the Schock universe and the characters within it: Karl's regrets, Kaff's mercenary-ness, Alexia's thoughtfulness, and Schlock's simplicity (and sociopathy!) The commentary is what convinced me to give this 5 stars. I'm kinda stingy about handing out those max ratings.

[Helen Allien Poe · Rating 5 out of 5]

62. Anything labeled "This end toward enemy" is dangerous at both ends.

Я примеряла эти правила на разработку игр и на этом пункте просто зарыдала.

[Amy Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable. More enjoyable if you're familiar with the Schlock Mercenary comic. Note: I have the "commentary" edition, where the Tagons, Murtaugh, and Schlock have all written things next to many/most of the maxims.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will mostly be fun for people who are already fans of Schlock Mercenary, but if you ARE a fan, it's cool to get all the maxims in one place, and this is a genuinely well-designed and well-written piece of in-universe worldbuilding, in addition to being a fun parody of all those different "X many tips for [insert profession/role/skill]" books. I read the "defaced" edition with additional commentary from both Tagons, Murtagh, and Schlock, and the additional insights into their perspectives and history made the book better still.

[Thomas Mihalich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a companion booklet to the Schlock Mercenary webcomic and the accompanying Planet Mercenary tabletop RPG. I've known about this title for years as it is an integral part of the webcomic's culture of galactic mercenaries. But now we, the readers, get to own a copy in full.

The book is very short with one page each simply have a small quotable phrase that is intended for efficient and professional mercenaries in the 31st century to prosper. They range from pragmatic advice (When the going gets tough, the tough call for close air support.) to situational inevitabilities (The army you've got is never the army you want.) to the downright comedic (The company mess and friendly fire should be easier to tell apart.) Each of the seventy different maxims also comes with in-universe scholarly commentary from the book editors as well as not-so-scholarly scribbling by four different major characters from the comic giving their opinions on the advice. This scribbling is in the "defaced" version of the book but "pristine" versions without it are also available.

As you may expect, this isn't really anything but a supplement but it's a very amusing one and a must-have for any Schlock fan.

[Andre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading the Schlock mercenary webcomic for years and loved discovering the Maxims through the story. Having them as a book is nice and the annotations add interesting background but I enjoyed them less in the book than I did discovering them as part of the comic with a situation around it that contextualizes them and plays up their humor.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I don’t think I’ve ever read any Schlock mercenary stuff? I think it’s a comic, maybe. So I’m probably not the best audience, but this was sorta fun in a low-key kinda way. I couldn’t find it on LibraryThing but they did have a song. Maybe the maxims are quoted in the original? There’s probably a lot of in jokes here.

[Federico Lucifredi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever and really amusing. "If violence was not your last resort, it means you failed to resort to enough of it"; "everything is air-droppable once", and other clever puns make this parody of Stephen Covey's business classic a really entertaining diversion.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book - obviously this is a fan service book for people who have or are reading the free webcomic Schlock Mercenary - if you haven’t go read there are so many Easter eggs. The scribbles from characters or schlock mercenary are so well done - love it well done the Taylers …

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun companion to the long running Web comic, Schlock Mercenary. If you like the comic, get the annotated version.

[Marc Dekker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pristine version is a funny parody on life rules books. The annotated/defaced version adds a layer of injokes and added insight on the maxims making it a must read for Schlock Mercenary fans.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore everything about this.

[Chip Patton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is terrific, especially if you've been around the military or similar organizations, oh, and corporations or other ventures where making money is a primary goal. Fun stuff.

[Andy Konecny · Rating 4 out of 5]

a wonderful reference that sits next to The Art of War for dealing with the challenges of life while being a whole lot more fun.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeless.

[Jennifer Vandeburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the "defaced" edition. It is totally worth it. The comments by in-universe characters are on point and true to each character's personality.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun in universe artifact for fans of Schlock Mercenary. Wouldn't make any sense in a standalone sense, though the Maxims themselves would still be amusing.

[Laura Briskin-Limehouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun mash-up between 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the Schlock Mercenary universe. This book provides some fun in-universe context on how folks in the military and mercenary works think, literary commentary, and some more characterization for our favorite captains. And joyfully sociopathic amorphous.

[Natalie Waddell-Rutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a big Schlock Mercenary fan, this book is a delight. Now, you finally have all the Maxims in one place, instead of trying to piece them together from the comics. I got the defaced version, and the commentary from the characters (especially Schlock's comments) just added to my enjoyment. Not something you want to just read all at once, but fun to pick up and read a few at a time.

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book. I read the defaced version and so that the Seventy Maxims and commentary and well as the characters reacting to that. A funny, short read that is perfect for anyone who likes Schlock Mercenary.