Jason Waltz’s Reviews > Mercs and Mayhem > Status Update

HATHAWAY: finally hit a dud. Took it as long as I could, as it did begin funny and engaging ... until it didn't stop. Never stopped. I find inanity unappealing.

NETHERY, "WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE": gawd damn, Nick, you brought a tear to my eye. Great, great story. Great mercs, great plot, great premise, great threat, great characters, great climax, great denouement. Well done, sir.

STONE, "THE TOMB OF MAMMON": My favorite story! Has everything I enjoy: magic, mystery, a hodgepodge group put together, luck, battle, loyalty. I was starting to dislike our narrator and then he proved me wrong, which actually means the author proved me wrong and set the stage extremely well. Great challenge and great comeuppance!

GIBSON, "IN THE COMPANY OF SHEPHERDS": quite an interesting world and I very much liked the Oathsworn. The idea of the Shepherds is rather cool, too. But while I understand the motivation of the narrator MC, I'm not a fan of betrayal.

One, well, another, of the cool things about "FOR THEIRS IS THE WORLD" - besides being written by yours truly - is that the story starts at the answer to the universe mark.

LEEDERMAN, "POWER PLAY": includes a cool old woman merc. I'll say that again: cool old woman merc lol. Far future space mercenary corporation with its own trademarked tech they'll fight anyone over, anyone. Fun enough story, seems part of a larger world story and seems like it might leave lasting repercussions.

MALORY, "OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY": modern merc extractor, 1st person. Kept in POV well and nicely demonstrated a well-prepared warrior. Read a little more matter-of-factly than in-action, but still a decent tale.

DIYORA, "DOGS OF SALT AND COIN": back to a primarily bladed edge world, though also filled with gunfire. Actual weaponry is left undescribed, though it feels like an older era. Some really strong imagery and high ratcheting tension nicely delivered. Very ruthless folks learn they aren't guaranteed to always be top dogs. I enjoyed this story but was also mildly confused several times.

BURKE, "ANGLES OF INDENTURE": era change, a little bit more advanced/near future mech and merc world. Coolly pragmatic warrior motivated by survival and coin does some cool work. Nice solo op story with a cleverness I didn't see coming...but the merc did.

LIZZI, "Muck": Good opening story. I really enjoyed the first bit of action in the town - deadly and dastardly, and great unit cohesion. The merc boss man is exactly what one should be, and the company has some nicely drawn characters. And while this anthology covers all eras of mercenary work, this one is in a more classical setting and primarily a bladed world/time.