Mercenary

Joe Mauser

by Dallas McCord Mack Reynolds

Great short story by science fiction writer Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds!

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Ebooks

92 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting take on future civilization. The cold war ended when the nations in power signed a pack to no longer have standing armies, so they had to become more creative about how to keep men trained for combat. Now corporations solve their copyright/legal battles by employing mercenaries to fight in bloody, but contained, warzones. This story follows a particular mercenary who is moving himself through the caste system by being excellent. It’s a good short read, very interesting, and some of the very best that vintage Sci-Fi has to offer.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining listening 🎶🔰

Another will written political power adventure thriller short story by Mack Reynolds about a man 🚹 who is brought in in a power struggle between two corporations and ends in 💘 love. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for something a little different. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of health issues. 2022 👒😤

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK short story, padded out with political chatter

[Aviar Savijon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A more classic story that all need to read but a great one as well I loved it!

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Popular military sci fi.

I have seen this story in many collections. It is about a future society that first fights little wars for television purposes, sort of gladitorial games.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

scifi, short book by a master

[Math le maudit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le mercenaire est un court récit de science-fiction.

L'histoire se déroule aux USA, dans une société ultra-libérale où les grandes entreprises règlent leurs différents judiciaires non pas au tribunal, mais sur le champ de bataille.

Mais attention ! Ces batailles sont encadrés par des règles très précises, et retransmises par les télévision du monde entier. Interdiction est faite aux protagonistes du combat d'utiliser des armes postérieur à l'année 1911, ceci afin d'éviter une escalade et des pertes trop importantes.

En parallèle à ces conflits, la société est elle-même très régentée, chaque individu appartenant à une classe bien définie et dont il est très dur de s'extraire quand on est au plus bas. La seule possibilité pour beaucoup de connaître une une ascension sociale, c'est de s'engager comme mercenaire au cours d'une guerre d'entreprise et d'espérer suffisamment bien figurer pour se voir promouvoir.

Un futur peu engageant donc, mais que Mack Reynolds arrive à rendre captivant en l'espace de quelques pages. Comme toujours pour les livres du Passager clandestin, il s'agit d'un format court qui, s'il est intéressant, reste un peu cher (8 euros les 138 pages, ouch !).

[Roger Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mack Reynolds was a socialist and this story was clearly written to promote his concept of socialism. It is not the least preachy though. It is a dystopia that describes a future capitalist society in which capitalism has become completely entrenched to the detriment of the vast majority of the population and to the advantage of a very small of so-called upper class people. That sounds like modern day America, doesn't it? Well, in most ways the American economic system has caught up with this story. The inequality is stark and yet the exploited masses have been convinced that they are well off and the equals of the ruling class. It would be better to say that they have been hoodwinked. The story is pretty short, though, and there is little time for much other than a good description of the setting. The plot seems to be a bit inconclusive. I do recommend it, though, so that you can see just how closely Reynolds predicted our present day society.

[Robert Zimmermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked the way the author made our world work in the story, and I even liked the outcome. It was a fun read overall. Thought the writing wasn't the strongest, but I see there are more books dealing with the main character and I think I'll have to check them out. If for nothing else, I'm a sucker for alternate versions of the US that were written years ago. It's fun to see what's actually come to be and how authors viewed their contemporary world.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange, and I thought unrealistic, view of warfare in the future.

[Luca Cresta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un racconto lungo di altissimo valore. Un Mack Reynolds in gran spolvero, che conferma in questo ottimo racconto, tutte le sue doti narrative. Insomma un testo di SF assolutamente imperdibile.