Hammer of the Dogs: A Novel

by Jarret Keene

A postapocalyptic adventure in Las Vegas for readers of all ages.

Set in the wasteland of post-apocalyptic Las Vegas,  Hammer of the Dogs  is a literary dystopian adventure filled with high-octane fun starring twenty-one-year-old Lash. With her high-tech skill set and warrior mentality, Lash is a master of her own fate as she helps to shield the Las Vegas valley’s survivors and protect her younger classmates at a paramilitary school holed up in Luxor on the Las Vegas Strip. After graduation, she’ll be alone in fending off the deadly intentions and desires of the school’s most powerful opponents. 

When she’s captured by the enemy warlord, she’s surprised by two He’s not the monster her headmaster wants her to believe and the one thing she can’t safeguard is her own heart.  Hammer of the Dogs  celebrates the courageousness of a younger generation in the face of authority while exploring the difficult choices a conscionable young woman must make with her back against a blood-spattered wall. It’s a story of transformation and maturity, as Lash grapples with her own identity and redefines the glittering Las Vegas that Nevada is known for.

Genres: Science Fiction

210 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2023

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Post-apocalyptic books have always been one of my favorite genres. This book was an amazing coming-of-age story in the aftermath of a world struck by global catastrophe. We meet Lash and what she considers family in what is now left of Las Vegas. This book was filled with eccentric over the top character's befitting the end of times, with just the right mix of angsty romance added in.  

[Lynsey is Reading · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @25% Drier than Ghandi’s flip flop. Also no woman looks in the mirror and thinks how she would look good bent over a car 🙄

[Desiree Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to 77%.

A fun, wild, and crazy ride. Silly at times, somewhat irreverent, and very technical when it comes to weaponry.

Enjoyable as long as you don’t mind that many of the main characters are female, and somehow they’re stronger and tougher than the males.

Conclusion is taking a bit too long to get there, so I’m bailing for now.

May be for you like post apocalyptic sci fi with a bad-ass female focus

[Tim Deforest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely entertaining and exciting post-apocalyptic novel, set in Las Vegas. The world-building here is pretty cool--the protagonist (a rather deadly young woman named Lash) is part of a cult that worships the "Cyber-Christ" operating out of the Luxor hotel. Lash herself does not believe in the cult's teaching, but figures it to be the lesser of all evils. The cult's arch-enemy is a man named Richter, who operates out of another of the old hotels and is thought to be a psychotic, power-hungry killer. Outside of these sanctuaries, the city is full of gangs and small communities that all have their own dangerous aspects.

But when Lash is captured by Richter, she discovers that the situation is different and much more complicated than she thought.

The effective world-building provides a great arena for the plot, which is driven forward by numerous action scenes. Battles involving hand-to-hand combat, guns, drones, robots and (in one case) zeppelins, occur frequently. The climax is an edge-of-your-seat confrontation between Lash and her allies and several sets of bad guys in the Luxor. In addition to the usual array of drones, missiles and machine guns, this final battle also includes a giant excavating machine and a flock of man-eating flamingoes, making for an unusual and unpredictable finale.

Lash and the various supporting characters are all well-drawn--each of them scarred and to an extent broken by the hellish lives they've lived, but remaining loyal to one another despite the chaos around them.

[Kloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy a coming-of-age novel with a badass main character, with an enemy-to-lovers trope, this book is for you.

Right away, Keene does an excellent job in his world-building. He is able to create a post-apocalyptic world that reflects the dangers of our current society. Hammer of the Dogs is action-packed and fast-paced. The prose reminded me a lot of comic book-style writing. Every sentence is crafted for maximum effect; no words are wasted.

The best part of the book was witnessing the main character grow into a better person and fight for the people that she loves. Hammer of the Dogs is a humorous and intense page-turner. If post-apocalyptic drone wars are your thing, you should definitely read Keene's newest novel.

[Dedra Scherer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read pre-publish on NetGalley. (Thank you! ) Definitely a grab you by the throat story. I liked that it maintains a right focused storyline with accurate details... enough that you can see, smell and feel what's going on. The characters are developed without tarrying about or naval gazing. It carries from plot point to plot point in a believable manner ... enough to hope for a second book if not with the same characters maybe in the same world. While I appreciate the physics and science of things I felt like there was a combination of suspension of belief while standing in a pool of technical details that could be a little jarring to have simeaultaneously. Overall I really really enjoyed the book. The kind of hard "survival-poc" I like and look forward to the next one.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great YA post-apocalyptic thrill. Hammer of the Dogs is fast-paced and full of surprise! I discovered a love for the main character as she wound her way through internal struggle in this close-to-home apocalyptic future. This character connection made me keep turning the pages, since this isn’t usually the genre I pick up. Great read! I recommend!

[Ainsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Vegas native, it was really cool to see how much creativity the author put into creating a post-apocalyptic version of the city. I also enjoyed the references to drone tech- I definitely know way more about drones after reading this book! Overall, a very cool story with interesting characters and a lot of fun twists and turns.

[Melissa Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

SPOILERS AHEAD

Not everyone is who you think they are in Keene’s latest novel, “Hammer of the Dogs." 

The story is set in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, where the once glitzy Strip is now in ruins and deadly drones are on the prowl for human blood. Lash, a courageous and edgy Latina, has mastered the high-tech skills to defeat her enemy, Richter. She’s also searching for her father, whose uncertain fate haunts her in this grave wasteland. She finds comfort in her religion and metal music.

Later on, she uncovers an ugly truth, where she learns someone she believed to be an ally wasn’t, despite having helped her survive amid a gritty battlefield and hone her impressive cyber-infused combat style. But the true villian isn’t likable, so when they are revealed, it’s not shattering. 

Keene’s vivid world building conveys a harrowing end-times Sin City. However, with his in-depth knowledge of this town and unique cast, it sets it apart from other Vegas doomsday tales. The book includes a hand-drawn map of a ravaged neon land. And I’m a sucker for a fictional map. 

The author’s word economy is tight, keeping the pacing fast and the prose succinct. Not a single sentence is excessive or exhaustively descriptive. 

Lash, the protagonist, is likeable, and so are her endearing friendships with Dio, Bathory, and Helen. The futuristic gadgets are also intriguing. But the romance between Lash and Richer was an enemies-to-lovers tale that felt rushed and awkward. It’s worth noting that in this bleak world, it makes sense for Lash to yearn for someone who can provide her with a better life. But, as militant and guarded as she is, she surrendered rather quickly. The evil professor’s origin story was also foreseeable, but he served as a fair foil for Richter. 

I appreciated the cheesy jokes, reminiscent of what I’ve found in graphic novels and adult cartoons, that gave the story much-needed comic relief.

This post-apocalyptic dystopian is a wild ride with a bold, diverse cast of characters. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, so go into it looking for a good time, and you’re sure to have one. 

I received an ARC.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

E-ARC received from Edelweiss--thank you!

Eh, call it 2.5 rounded up. It's mostly as advertised, post-apocalyptic adventure in Las Vegas with drones and explosives and so many guns and a heroine who could kill me with one hand tied behind her back. Someone has played a lot of Fallout and Wasteland, crammed it into a novel, and padded it with song titles and descriptions of violence and blood.

Still can't figure out when this is set--the end came about 7 years ago (Lash was 14 and is 21 now), but most of the cultural touchstones are from the 1980s and 90s, listening to heavy-metal tapes on Walkmans and watching Thundarr the Barbarian. There's one mention of Lana Del Rey and one of a concert tour in the mid-2010s, but nothing about phones, texting, pre-apocalypse politics, the Internet, Twitter...all things a 14-year-old would at least remember. Lash's cultural education is all music-based and book-based, and books like the Iliad at that. I'd think that someone who's been living post-apocalyptic for seven years wouldn't be critiquing her captor's musical choices or making note of the Dolce & Gabbana in the rich folks' enclave or remembering how McDonalds' fries used to be fried in beef tallow (I barely remember that, and I'm in my 40s).

Tagged as "erotica", but there are two kisses, and Richter gets a very inconvenient erection once. Lash goes very quickly from "Richter is my worst enemy and murderer of the innocent" to "Richter is just so totally misunderstood and I love him and want to make out with him". I can only assume her love is at least somewhat linked to the good food and better quality of life in his stronghold. Which is fair, those are reasons to love someone in a dystopian city. But I expected hot and heavy banging, dangit!

If you want brain candy where the best way to push back against a destroyed world is to destroy it some more before rebuilding with your fun new cyber powers, this'll do fine.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a little while for me to settle into this book but once I did, I was locked in until the end. It was a well-written and creative apocalyptic story where there are two main factions at play. One basically believes that artificial intelligence, computers and cyborg type beings would benefit the new world the most while the other group is adamant in wanting to protect humanity from just that type of takeover. Because they are on such opposite sides, their battle is bloody and the groups are polarized. There is a great deal of misinformation circulating which makes it difficult for people to really understand who stands for what.

The creative world building that took place in this book was really impressive. I could basically imagine what it must have been like from the descriptions. I really enjoyed how the storyline evolves and you get the differing viewpoints. It was a fun read with some surprising twists.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

[Marissa Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always wanted to read a postapocalyptic Las Vegas novel, and I couldn't be more happy with "The Hammer of the Dogs". Lash was such a fun character to read. I loved her fighting spirit. The world building is so rich in this book. You won't be sorry if you pick it up.

[Texas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an exciting novel! Lash is a badass. An incredible, multi-dimensional young woman. Keene has painted a dangerous, post-apocolyptic terror town in Las Vegas that kept me turning the page with vigor. It's also, perhaps, a timely and chilling glimpse into the worst case scenarios of AI. Very intriguing and well-researched. I'm ready for a sequel.

[Kirb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Accidentally deleted the review, my bad.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.
DNF at 14%. Has this author spoken to a woman before? This was the manic-pixie not-like-other-girls badass woman wet dream of a man who only consumes YA dystopia from 2010. Put it down when the main character plugged up a bullet wound with a tampon, in a fully stocked facility that has medical equipment. I’m just going to leave this excerpt to explain the rest.
“Lash pulled up her shirt to gaze at the Harvesters knife scars that now ornamented her perfectly proportioned breasts. She thought she resembled a Lowrider magazine model, a half-Latina lass with a figure that would look great bending over the hood of a restored, candy-green, hydraulics- enhanced, 1959 Chevy Impala.
She laughed at having missed her calling.”

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Publisher Says: A postapocalyptic adventure in Las Vegas for readers of all ages.

Set in the wasteland of post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, Hammer of the Dogs is a literary dystopian adventure filled with high-octane fun starring twenty-one-year-old Lash. With her high-tech skill set and warrior mentality, Lash is a master of her own fate as she helps to shield the Las Vegas valley’s survivors and protect her younger classmates at a paramilitary school holed up in Luxor on the Las Vegas Strip. After graduation, she’ll be alone in fending off the deadly intentions and desires of the school’s most powerful opponents.

When she’s captured by the enemy warlord, she’s surprised by two He’s not the monster her headmaster wants her to believe and the one thing she can’t safeguard is her own heart. Hammer of the Dogs celebrates the courageousness of a younger generation in the face of authority while exploring the difficult choices a conscionable young woman must make with her back against a blood-spattered wall. It’s a story of transformation and maturity, as Lash grapples with her own identity and redefines the glittering Las Vegas that Nevada is known for.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, and the evils threatening to destroy the little bit of the world live in a hotel on the Strip....we sure this is fiction...?

It is indeed fiction, staring Lash, a young woman whose horrific life mid-apocalypse has left her, like so many others, with disfiguring bone-deep scars psychic and emotional. She and her scoobygroup need little enough to exist but even that is hard to come by in her Las Vegas.

Fights, squabbles, battles, all are normal in this hellscape...much like what we're told the world of the twenty-first century is in the US...and, as this book points up, it very much is not. This world is the fever dream of the seditious MAGAts.

It's also a rip-snortin' action-packed good time read, a great use of one's bits and patches of moments between things to enjoy and absorb this book. It isn't subtle, and it isn't pretentious. Give it to your teen grandson or nephew to woo him away from the console for that all-important family bonding time. (Of course, I'm assuming the family is like my own and reads together for fun.)

There's a map to satify the three-d screenhead. There's non-stop action. There's an impressive economy of verbiage that still evokes a strongly sensory world. There are betrayals and unexpected alliances. None of it has a word wasted. All of it makes up a beautifully constructed story.

I wouldn't give it to my granddaughter with the borning sense of women's oppression and the weight of the male gaze. Might not hand it to the boy who's into the awful J6 stuff. The gamer is going to be won over by its resemblance (evident to my eyes at least) to generations of videogames in storyline, plot, and action.

I don't intend this as a dismissal! It is, in its intent, an acknowledgement of the author's hard work to give the legions of gamers a reason to branch out into text-based storytelling. It is meant for them, and here I was flipping pages to see what happened next. That is one successful job, and a big round of kudos to the author.

Works well for its intended audience, and will make a successful gift for them.

[John Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

This feels like a YA action thriller, but it's just so implausable, it's irritating.

The plot goes something like this: After a nuclear apocalypse, including an Authoritarian US Govt nuking their own citizens, the city of Las Vegas becomes a battleground between 3 groups. The Academy, led by The Prof took control of the Hoover dam and supplies power to the valley.

Richter leads a group of drone pilot mercenaries, trying to take over the whole area, and Westphal leads a group of rich executives and foreign investors, and has trained carnivorous flamingoes as bodyguards.

Lash, a drone pilot and scavenger for the Academy is hunted by Richter, and eventually caught by him, thus allowing them to both fall madly in love with each other, and decide to defeat all three groups, and run the place themselves.

There are a few background characters that eventually end up fighting together to help, but one of the things that I couldn't get past is the seemingly endless supply of both drones and missiles and other weapons each group uses. All three groups seem to have more firepower than a Ukrainian Hunter/Killer team and the US Army combined.

The story isn't bad, but it's trying to say that drone warfare is bad, and impersonal, and using AI to control it is bad and will get out of control if not checked by humans.

I don't know if the author has other books, but I'll probably give them a miss.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good dystopian novel. Jarret Keene's gripping and action-packed novel set in dystopian Las Vegas, NV was a solid read. The story follows the journey of a brave and resilient orphaned warrior, twenty-one-year-old, Lash. Lash and her friends are students in a paramilitary school where she is taught to fight against the only enemy she has known, fellow Warlord, Richter. She knows only destroy or be destroyed. On a run to gain an important supply, she is in turn captured by this enemy warlord and discovers that maybe things aren’t always as they seem. As she uncovers the harrowing truths about her world and about her family, she is then forced to come to terms with the fact that her truth might now be exactly how it seems.
This well-written and enthralling dystopian novel masterfully weaves together a compelling narrative and takes readers on an adventure. The vivid descriptions, masterfully crafted characters, and detailed writing style paint a bleak picture of a world gone wrong, where the line between good and evil is blurred, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. There is no down-time but rather the action races from ordeal to ordeal and readers are left with baited breath until the very final sequence wondering what Lash will do next and how the city of Las Vegas ultimately survives.

[Alec · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Got 20% in and called it quits. I was listening to the audiobook version of this book. I did not like the way the narrator was doing the dialogue between characters. The way Las Vegas was described was technically accurate for where everything was in relation to each other, but that didn’t remove the parts that are hard to ignore as a native. While it is possible to get from the Meadows to the Strip via wash tunnels, how it was done was a stretch, even for my imagination. The tech also didn’t make a lot of sense. The protagonist lives in a world of satellites, drones, and elementary level kids that use 3d printers to make drones and other tech, but she found a working Walkman, cassette tapes, and AA batteries? After what I believe were nuclear weapons that were deployed across the US, including Las Vegas, really? And I definitely have a problem with the fact that most of her shirts are 80s heavy metal bands along with her cassette tapes, but she knows that she has the figure of a Lowrider Magazine model that would have posed over a cherry ‘59 Impala. These things, while possible to exist at the same time, don’t come off as likely or believable for the world as it had been described.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated


What I liked about the book:
- The environment, post-apocalyptic Las Vegas makes for an awesome city/desert setting
- The tech, the gadgets in this novel are really great along with the descriptions
- The action sequences were fast paced and provided good detail, felt cinematic at times
- The main character "Lash" was really cool, a badass Latina metalhead that doesn't mind going savage

What I didn't like:
- I really didn't care for the "love' story here, felt cliché, almost comical (which may be the point?)
- Didn't care for Richter's backstory either as he didn't really interest me as a character and felt a bit generic
- It felt like the story was dragging at times or nothing interesting was really happening

Overall it's not a bad book by any means and I even found myself enjoying it at times. It just suffers a bit with the flow and the "romantic" parts of the book.

And thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC, really appreciate it.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like a Pandora’s box of the mind! It reads like a graphic novel because the visual descriptions are so intricate and fast-paced. There’s a never-ending wizardry of drones, weapons, artificial intelligence—technology that has become a cosmos unto itself. I see an obvious parallel with today’s world, particularly as gadgets move ever closer to the human body. Ultimately, the book shows one future of a socio-economic agenda which lays waste to the natural world, commodifies human lives, and puts its faith in the notion of Progress as a means of redemption. I am somewhat haunted by the notion of a “cyborg Christ” and its interplay between spirit and information.

The Las Vegas landscape is perfect for this post-apocalyptic world, and I love that the story is accentuated with elements of the real city like the Luxor light’s “Eye of God,” the subterranean flood tunnels and the Gypsum mine at the edge of town. Most of all, I love Lash! She is the ultimate warrior-woman badass that refuses to accept the status quo. She’s one of those characters who stays with you.

[Kilgallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a apocalyptic thrill ride. I loved the pacing of this novel. As someone who can get bogged down in the science of science fiction ( and this offers plenty of tech and weapons talk), I found the writing style allowed me to follow the story line without any real trouble. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed learning more about their backstories. It really made the story more believable by understanding the motivations of the characters.I also appreciated that I felt compelled to look at the bigger picture and perhaps see a bit of a cautionary tale here. As the news and social media is ablaze with talk about advances in AI and we as a species find ourselves more and more reliant on technology, this story is chilling in its presentation of our potential future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a copy of this title free of charge. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

[Melis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first finished this book over the summer when i read it super quit, being in a sort of reading slump after finishing long fantasy books that didn’t necessarily scratch the itch I was needing them to. Because of this, i don’t think i appreciated Hammer of the Dogs as much as i should have. So a month ago I decided to take the time to read it again, slowly and learn the atmosphere surrounding the story and the characters and circumstances they were in. I enjoyed it much more this time around and i can say that i really enjoyed the experience!

I even sent the kindle pdf that I have to my other friends who i think might enjoy this, and await their own reviews so I can have someone to talk about this with. The experience was worth it and the novel itself was a fantastic time, and i can see myself coming back if i ever find myself curious and still enjoying it.

[Predrag Ilić · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read Hammer of the Dogs: A Novel by Jarret Keene and was thoroughly impressed. The book is a post-apocalyptic adventure set in Las Vegas, and Keene perfectly encapsulates the story of a Las Vegas native. The protagonist, Lash, is a twenty-one-year-old warrior who is a master of her own fate. She helps to shield the Las Vegas valley’s survivors and protect her younger classmates at a paramilitary school holed up in Luxor on the Las Vegas Strip. After graduation, she’ll be alone in fending off the deadly intentions and desires of the school’s most powerful opponents. When she’s captured by the enemy warlord, she’s surprised by two revelations: He’s not the monster her headmaster wants her to believe and the one thing she can’t safeguard is her own heart.

[Jennifer Battisti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Post-apocalyptic fiction isn’t a genre I typically read, but damn, this book thrills.

From start to finish, the precision of language and detail in both the plot and character development is impressive and engaging.

As a lifelong Nevadan and Las Vegas Strip hospitality worker, I can assure you that Keene has done an outstanding job creating not only a vibrant, original world, but also an accurate portrayal of place and mood.

This book is smart and sensual. There is never a dull moment, or a wasted word. I read the book and then immediately listened to the audio version. I’m so glad I did because the narration is exceptional. Read this book! Has dystopia ever been this fun?

[Jarrett Mazza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hammer of the Dogs is a powerhouse of a novel: non-stop and packed with action, Keene does an exceptional job of crafting an exceptional story imbued with amazing characters. The character of Lee is intimately crafted as she leads other characters to victory, it was such a pleasing and gratifying story to read, not to mention how well Keene writes. His prose abilities are off the charts in this one. Bringing out the best of the best, it’s a great dystopic tale that can hang with even the best of them. A solid story everyone should read, please buy and get to it as quickly as possible. While you’re picking this one up, pick up the other books written by Keene. They are all as amazing!

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great post-apocalyptic story with some light romance, an amazing pair of MCs, and an unforgettable cast of characters. Keene does a great job with the world building, drawing the reader into a world that is so very different from our own, but still has echoes of it. It's easy to get lost in the story, and I loved following Lash on her journey, as she learns things aren't always what they seem, as well as finding herself in some ways. If you're looking for a post-apocalyptic story that colors outside a few lines, then you'll want to grab this one!

[Fred Rayworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hammer Of The Dogs was a decent apocalyptic thriller that was written well but also seemed a bit dense. I was able to instantly relate to the technology but at the same time, I’m not a fan of apocalyptic stories. At least the writing was top notch with solid third-person, past-tense. While the narrative was brisk, it still seemed like work to get through each chapter. I can’t pin it down but maybe it had to do with the subject matter more than the actual writing. In the end, I was able to close the book with a smile on my face, though I was also relieved. Recommended.

[Janice L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hammer of the Dogs hits the ground running! From the first page, the action packed scene is set to show the societal collapse and desolation of the Las Vegas area.
Having been a 21-year-old woman at one time, I find the young protagonist, Lash, to be relatable. This character shows both her strengths and insecurities as she struggles to ascertain the right course to meet her goals as she discovers that things aren’t always as they seem. She is a real badass!
The characters are well written and the story is dark and engaging. This is a real can’t-put-it-down book!

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was absolutely invested in this story...until Chapter 37. The author completely threw me out of the story, partially because it was glaringly obvious that a man writing about women (no matter the genre) doesn't understand women readers. I finished the book, but I never engaged with the characters once that chapter happened. 2.5 stars rounded up because the premise was good.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

I would give this book 6 stars, post apocalyptic story with a strong female lead, need I say more? Highly recommend