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Mercs and Mayhem
We’ve collected eleven stories of mercenaries, spanning a broad range of genres and settings. A group of raiders sneaks into an enemy stronghold to open the way for their fellows, and find it to be very filthy work. An indentured drop trooper stumbles over a treasure of incalculable value, which might still be more trouble than it’s worth. Five soldiers of fortune wonder if what their client wants them to do is too much to risk the stain on their souls. A hyper-corporatized mercenary conglomerate hilariously, and brutally, reduces everything in battle, even blood and souls, into a dollar value.
Enjoy these tales and lift a glass, or say a prayer, for those who wage war for profit. Whether long ago, far in the future, or just yesterday, these soldiers of fortune are honored in these pages.
Enjoy these tales and lift a glass, or say a prayer, for those who wage war for profit. Whether long ago, far in the future, or just yesterday, these soldiers of fortune are honored in these pages.
310 pages, Paperback
Published October 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 1, 2025
4.5 rounded up despite still spitting out the taste of that last story.
Nethery sets a fine stage with his introduction on mercenary motives and work. And while I think the cover is HOT, it reflects but a particular period of mercenary work and I appreciate that the contents are not restricted to that single approach. The stories cover a lot of ground/eras/systems/genres even, though all are rip-roaring grand adventure with death on the line. 10 outta 11 stories are worth reading, and 2 of them stellar enough to be worth the price of admission all by themselves.
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.
BURKE, "ANGLES OF INDENTURE": a 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...
DIYORA, "DOGS OF SALT AND COIN": 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.
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.
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.
~ Interlude to mention I have a story in this anthology, and 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...42% ~
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.
SLEMP, "MIND AND MACHINE": solo mech merc is pretty badass. Good story and I like her and her partner.
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!
NETHERY, "WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE": My NEW Favorite Story! Pumped me up big time, then 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.
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, so I finally DNF. I find inanity unappealing.
I heartily recommend reading the first 10 stories. Or 9 if you wanna skip mine.
Nethery sets a fine stage with his introduction on mercenary motives and work. And while I think the cover is HOT, it reflects but a particular period of mercenary work and I appreciate that the contents are not restricted to that single approach. The stories cover a lot of ground/eras/systems/genres even, though all are rip-roaring grand adventure with death on the line. 10 outta 11 stories are worth reading, and 2 of them stellar enough to be worth the price of admission all by themselves.
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.
BURKE, "ANGLES OF INDENTURE": a 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...
DIYORA, "DOGS OF SALT AND COIN": 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.
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.
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.
~ Interlude to mention I have a story in this anthology, and 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...42% ~
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.
SLEMP, "MIND AND MACHINE": solo mech merc is pretty badass. Good story and I like her and her partner.
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!
NETHERY, "WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE": My NEW Favorite Story! Pumped me up big time, then 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.
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, so I finally DNF. I find inanity unappealing.
I heartily recommend reading the first 10 stories. Or 9 if you wanna skip mine.
November 19, 2025
So far, I've only read T.A. Leederman's story in this anthology, titled "Power Play." As a fan of the Starship Valkyrie universe in which Leederman writes, this story was right up my alley! It follows Sveta, an elderly medic, as she and her team take on a heist to steal pharmaceutical research as per their mercenary contract. Nothing goes as planned and Sveta has to contend with her memories of Earth's past wars and her own personal history. The story also serves as an etiology of a beloved pharmaceutical used in the Starship Valkyrie games, which was so gratifying to read as a longtime player!
As for the rest of the anthology, I found the editor's forward to be stirring and the interior artworks to be beautiful. It reads very nicely on my Kindle. I recommend it!
As for the rest of the anthology, I found the editor's forward to be stirring and the interior artworks to be beautiful. It reads very nicely on my Kindle. I recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews