Mercycle

by Piers Anthony

On Earth with the hope of saving the planet from a meteor strike, an alien from an alternate reality recruits five humans to help him on his mission, using his advanced technology to enable them to breathe while under water. Reprint.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Speculative Fiction, Mermaids

262 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.

Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.

Reviews

[Rudi · Rating 1 out of 5]

AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mercycle, the very name implies cheesy stupidity; this, combined with this combined with a front cover of an underwater world featuring a guy on a bike and a mermaid just screams that this is not a book meant to be taking too seriously. That was what I wanted to read at the moment though, a light-hearted book that I could enjoy without really thinking to much about; and it did not disappoint. The situation is cheesy: an archaeologist, a geologist, a physicist, a biking tour guide, and a hairless book lover, where secretly one is a government agent and the other is from another world, traversing the bottom of the ocean floor on Bicycles for an unknown mission. Something that no one can take seriously combined with the fact that it's in a world just like ours, except no ones seems unduly surprised when they come upon secret hi-technology.
This being said, as long as you don't think to deeply about that stuff, it is a well written book, with good, developed characters and an actual, fairly solid plot line given all the random items thrown in. The fact that he was able to create such a good book with so many unconnected, random items thrown in gives great credit to the skill of the author.

[Salafrance · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up in one of Swansea's Oxfam shops - perhaps not the best source for quality science fiction. Cardboard cut-out characters; an emotionally retarded portrayal of the nature of women; boring prose; a contrived and unconvincing science-fiction backdrop. I loathed this book and resented the fraction of my life expended on its reading.

[Cinco · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this in early high school, and even back then I thought it was crappy...

[Kerridwen Mangala · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring... I just couldn't get excited about the characters

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect beach read!

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don Kestle is a rather milquetoast archaeologist. But despite his trepidations and minor stutter, he agrees to join a rather strange expedition—underwater! Meeting up with a group of other confused out-of-there-element characters, will they discover a devious plot, or are they simply guinea pigs running around in a rather damp laboratory….
A clearly sci-fi tale of under-the-seas adventure, Piers Anthony’s Mercycle is a novel exploration of our world, human interactions, and using wits and creativity to problem-solve. The plot is devious, and some of the characters are as mysterious as the depths in which they find themselves. Overall, I’d say it’s one of his better works, and certainly worth reading.

[Family · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I think many readers forget when reviewing is that Piers Anthony is always to be taken with a grain of salt. Scratch that. An entire salt slab. Mercycle is the perfect example of Anthony at his best.

Yes. This book is silly. It's ridiculous. But it's FUN. This is what Anthony writes. Silly, ridiculous, FUN stories. Mercycle is CLEARLY not to be taken seriously. The protagonist is a member of an underwater cycling team, and they meet mermaids. Seriously.

But, dig deeper and there is an engaging, compelling story that keeps you turning the pages. If you want gritty, deep sci-fi, this isn't the book. If you want a fun, fast read, then Mercycle is perfect for you.

[Angela Kirsti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't expect much from this book. And it didn't offer much, either, other than an interesting premise. It's a little racist, extremely sexist. I had hoped that Don's character was a satirical one, but no. I guess it's a bargain bin book for a reason.

[Laura Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another strange but interesting idea from Anthony. I enjoyed it.

[Deborah Daub · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one got better the further I read.

[Rebecca Hofstetter · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a horribly sexist book with a dash of racism thrown in. I thought maybe at least when the main plot was fully revealed it might have something interesting, but it didn't. In fact, the writing got harder to follow as the book went on.

To be more specific, the main character freaks out and shuts off his radio because he can't possibly conceive of the idea that a woman could be part of their mission!! He's horrified that she could be on birth control. And when that fact was made "better" by it being her mom forcing it on her, he called it white slavery. There were just so many cringe-worthy moments all strung together with a mediocre plot.

This was my first and last Piers Anthony book.

[Buck LaLonde · Rating 1 out of 5]

Distractingly sexist in both directions, definitely a product of 1991. I snagged it at a used book store because the cover was so wacky, and I quit reading it after the first quarter because I was bored and mildly uncomfortable. Even if you're looking for something zany and lowbrow, there are better books/authors out there.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't see why so many people are mad about this. It's a book showing a mermaid and a boy on a bike in the same setting, don't be expecting something like "War and Peace" between the covers. I got exactly what i wanted when I decided to read it, a big weird adventure, and I am satisfied.

[Colvet · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is absolute hot trash.

I have so many things to say about it.

I am going to make an entire report/video about it rather than a simple post here.

That is how horrible this piece of vile writing is.

Garbage.

[Nikki Lewen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my early years as a reader, I loved the Magic of Xanth series along with other books by this author. When I found this book on sale for $.25 at a library bookstore, I could not resist! So glad I picked it up!

[Martin Duncanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely lacking the sophistication of later Piers Anthony books.

[Cpt Skyhawk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me because it was "so bad".

Eh, I've read worse. I honestly liked this better than the sequels to both Ancillary Justice and Three Body Problem.

[Kiera Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today we're here to talk about Mercycle by Piers Anthony, in which a dorky misogynist hops on an inter-dimensional bicycle to somehow save the world from an asteroid.

Genre and Target Demographic?
• Adult Science Fiction

Part of a Series?
• Standalone

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling?
• No

Mermaid Type and Presence?
• Traditional Mermaids (appearance-wise), Medically Altered Humans
• Prominent side character, shows up around the halfway point

~*~

Content Warnings?
• Ableism
• Groping
• Racism (Asian)
• Sexism and Misogyny

~*~

You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy:
• Weird, almost nonsensical plotlines
• Minoan Archeological History (seriously)
• Lighthearted SciFi
• Bizarre adventure stories
• Dorky, bumbling protagonists

You Should Avoid This Book If You:
• Don’t want to muddle through Piers Anthony’s abundant sexism
• Want a more serious read

~*~

Did I Enjoy It?

Sort of. Yes and No. TL;DR, I love weird fiction, and this was definitely weird.

Listen, if you’ve ever read another story where the mermaids only exist as medically enhanced humans training at the bottom of the sea so they can make a colony on Jupiter…then please recommend me that book. It’s such a silly concept. I love its ridiculousness.

As a whole, it’s got Piers Anthony’s trademark imaginative, nonsensical (in a fun way) whimsy written all over it, but also his trademark horndog misogyny all over the place, which puts somewhat of a damper on the whole romp.

One could be forgiven for thinking this book was written and published in the 70s, given its extremely questionable sensibilities around women, sex, disability, and racism, but it was a 90s book. Not that the 90s were a bastion of equality, but it’s bad even by 90s standards. Seriously, there are endless drawn out passages describing women’s assets, and the phrase “heaving breasts” pops up distressingly frequently. Then again, this is Piers Anthony, and he’s basically the poster-child for Men-Writing-Women.

~*~

THAT SAID…

If you can roll your eyes at all the questionable content, there is actually a lot of silliness to enjoy here. If you’ve read anything by the extremely prolific Piers Anthony before, you probably already know what you’re getting into.

~*~

Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up at a local library sale and glad I did. It's a bit of a weird story but it's so different that you can't help but get sucked in.

After replying to an advert, a group of strangers are brought together in a weird adventure - cycling beneath the ocean. They find some very old ruins, older than aything on earth, as well as a race of merman. But that is only the start of the mystery, because if they can't solve it, then the Earth could be destroyed.

I did have to read it twice (a long time apart) to really get it, but it's extremely clever and worth reading. The final pronoucements come far too fast and rushed, so it seems as if there should be some more chapters following them.

[Ashley (Tiny Navajo Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mercycle by Piers Anthony is one of the first books I had that seemed to deal with light fantasy and science-fiction. And while I don't remember a whole lot about the book the first time I read it at 12/13 years of age, I do remember loving the concept of mermaids who are archeologists. And the multiple world theory, where to save this world, beings from other worlds have to work and convince our world that we need their help to do so.

Now that I'm reading it a second time, I can see why I liked it and why I would come back to it after 10 years. If you like Piers Anthony, I would recommend you read this book. It's nothing like his Xanth books, but it is one that you should read.

[Zee Weasel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Found it at a thrift store for 50 cents and found it such a ludicrous title and cover art that I just had to check it out. I feel I still paid too much for this amalgam of drawn-out story, cardboard characters, random scientific tidbits, and sexist drivel.

Supposedly Anthony has published 192 books to this date (and written more). I can't say anything about the 191 other books, but this one only offers a goofy but badly executed idea and some nice cover art - a shame that Piers didn't paint it himself, because then I would have something positive to say about his work.

[Anu · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's been several years since I last read this and...I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first time around. The premise of the book is a brilliant mix of sci-fi and fiction, but the characterizations jarred, maybe because I was a teenager when I first read this and didn't have much in the way of opinions on matters.

[Sergio Baez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was amazing how the author put the characters into a lot of struggles. The plot was breathtaking and holds the reader's mind to whant more and more.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sci-fi book i ever read.

[Sheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Piers Anthony, the author I read when I don't want to think but need a good giggle. His fantasy world is so unbelievable that you just accept it and smile.

[Leelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun. Not nearly as madcap as any of Anthony's Xanth novels. But an very enjoyable read. Well worth my time.

[B]

I started this one a bunch of years ago, lost it, then found it again. Started rereading it (from the beginning) and lost it again. Recently found it and will begin it for a third time. lol

[Justin Fraxi · Rating 2 out of 5]

What.

[Chamie]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10269452