Who Would Like This Book:
If you’re looking for a gritty, character-driven cyberpunk novel with a twist of space opera, this one's a winner. The star is Jenny Casey, a fifty-ish, battle-scarred, cybernetically enhanced veteran - how often do you see a middle-aged woman as the hardboiled, damaged lead in sci-fi? Bear’s Canada-dominated, climate-ravaged future feels both fresh and believable, and she weaves complex relationships, AI intrigue, and plenty of high-tech (and low-life) action. Fans of William Gibson, Elizabeth Moon, or anyone who loves nuanced antiheroes and near-future dystopias will feel right at home.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Readers who lose patience with shifting viewpoints and nonlinear storytelling might find the book frustrating. The frequent POV jumps - sometimes even in time - can get confusing, and some characters and subplots may feel superfluous, particularly in the early going. Dialogue sometimes slips into untranslated French, which can leave non-Francophones scratching their heads, and the prose, while solid, doesn’t always soar. If you prefer your sci-fi straightforward, tightly plotted, and with more focus on worldbuilding than personal and political intrigue, this may not be your ideal read.
About:
In "Hammered" by Elizabeth Bear, readers are introduced to Jenny Casey, a fifty-year-old ex-soldier living in a gritty, near-future world where cyber enhancements are failing and painful memories haunt her. The plot delves into a conspiracy involving crime lords, AIs, and a struggle against the government that used and discarded her. The writing style is described as fast-moving, with a mix of military, cyber, and traditional elements, narrated through a jangly multi-POV prose that brings out the complexities of the characters and the dystopian setting.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains themes of addiction, graphic violence, and mental health issues.
Has Romance?
There are romantic elements present in the novel, but they are not the central focus.
From The Publisher:
She was engineered for combat-in a world that is running out of time.
"Very exciting . . . very impressive debut."-Mike Resnick
Once Jenny Casey was somebody's daughter. Once she was somebody's enemy. Now the former Canadian special forces warrior lives on the hellish streets of Hartford, Connecticut, in the year 2062. Racked with pain, hiding from the government she served, running with a crime lord so she can save a life or two, Jenny is a month shy of fifty, and her artificially reconstructed body has started to unravel. But she is far from forgotten. A government scientist needs the perfect subject for a high-stakes project and has Jenny in his sights.
Suddenly Jenny Casey is a pawn in a furious battle, waged in the corridors of the Internet, on the streets of battered cities, and in the complex wirings of her half-man-made nervous system. And she needs to gain control of the game before a brave new future spins completely out of control.
"A gritty and painstakingly well-informed peek at a future we'd all better hope we don't get . . . Elizabeth Bear builds her future nightmare tale with style and conviction and a constant return to the twists of the human heart."-Richard Morgan
Reader Stats (6):
Want To Read (5) | |
Not Interested (1) |
What can you read after
Hammered?
About the Author:
Elizabeth Bear was the recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2005. She has won two Hugo Awards for her short fiction, a Sturgeon Award, and the Locus Award for Best First Novel. Bear lives in…
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