''Mercenary'' is a novel by

Piers Anthony Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born 6 August 1934) is an American author in the science fiction and Fantasy (genre), fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is best known for his :Xanth books, long-running novel series set in ...

published in 1984.

Plot summary

''Mercenary'' is a novel in which Hope Hubris joins the Jovian Navy and becomes part of their task force to eliminate space piracy.

Reception

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for mos ...

reviewed ''Mercenary'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...

'' #69, and stated that "Parts of this are quite sensible, but are balanced by dottiness like the space-battle which – for reasons known only to Anthony – echoes the Mongol invasion of Hungary so faithfully as to neglect the fact that space has three dimensions... Amusing nonsense, but definitely nonsense."

Reviews

*Review by Mary S. Weinkauf (1984) in

Fantasy Review ''Fantasy Newsletter'' was a major fantasy fanzine founded by Paul C. Allen and later issued by Robert A. Collins. Frequent contributors included Fritz Leiber and Gene Wolfe. Publication history The first issue appeared in June 1978, and Allen ...

, August 1984https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?5284 *Review by Andy Sawyer (1985) in Paperback Inferno, #55

References

{{reflist 1984 science fiction novels Avon (publisher) books Bio of a Space Tyrant