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Jenny Casey #1
Hammered
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
“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
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
130 people are currently reading
2420 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Bear
310 books2,455 followersWhat Goodreads really needs is a "currently WRITING" option for its default bookshelves...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 195 reviews
April 4, 2009
I find it really hard to believe that Hammered was Elizabeth Bear's first novel. The plot was so tight; the characters were so interesting; and the story was both intriguing and exciting. It was one of those books that took great willpower to put down when I to go do other things. I have read and listened to a few short stories by Bear that I thought were fantastic. It's nice to see that she handles the novel format just as well.
Jenny Casey is a protagonist that I can relate to. She's a middle-aged woman. Like all us middle-aged women, she has a history that has shaped who she is. She has aches and pains that are related partly to cybernetic prosthetics and partly to just plain aging. She thinks of herself as old because she has been through a lot in her life and because she just plain feels old. Right now, I can really relate to that. You know that she's a better person than she thinks she is because of the loyalty her friends display.
I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more of Elizabeth Bear's work. This is hard science fiction that doesn't over-explain the science and has terrific characters.
Jenny Casey is a protagonist that I can relate to. She's a middle-aged woman. Like all us middle-aged women, she has a history that has shaped who she is. She has aches and pains that are related partly to cybernetic prosthetics and partly to just plain aging. She thinks of herself as old because she has been through a lot in her life and because she just plain feels old. Right now, I can really relate to that. You know that she's a better person than she thinks she is because of the loyalty her friends display.
I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more of Elizabeth Bear's work. This is hard science fiction that doesn't over-explain the science and has terrific characters.
December 17, 2014
It's funny. I got a fair ways into this book, and had a moment where I realized that Jenny Casey is very much like a character a friend has been playing in a game I've been running, about revolution on Mars. Said friend has never read Elizabeth Bear, to the best of my knowledge, but the synchronicity was startling. I've told her now she should read this. I think she'd get even more out of it than I did.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
December 31, 2014
This is a terrific debut novel. Set in the near future, 2062 with Jenny Casey, a 49 y old, Canadian female retired soldier as protaganist. Following a horrific accident in which she lost an eye and an arm, Jenny's body is part cyborg and neurologically enhanced for faster reaction times. However, now she is retired and has taken refuge in the US where she is trying to deal with the pain she still suffers without the addictive drugs provided by the army. In the US civilization has falling apart, drug lords and crime gangs rule the streets and China has become the dominant world force. Canada has largely survived the collapse of the US but is in a battle with China to reach the stars and find a new home for mankind before the world self destructs.
This is a gritty, fast paced story with some great characters. Jenny is a great antihero with a wry look on life. Her best friend, Razormouth is a crime lord is well drawn as are many of the other characters. There is a lot going on in this novel and some interesting ideas. When a private Canadian company involved in the race to develop the first star going ships becomes interested in using Jenny she and her friends become embroiled in a plot to draw her in which encompasses Razormouth and his gang as well as her sister, a trained killer.
A great start to a trilogy. I'm looking forward to the next episode.
This is a gritty, fast paced story with some great characters. Jenny is a great antihero with a wry look on life. Her best friend, Razormouth is a crime lord is well drawn as are many of the other characters. There is a lot going on in this novel and some interesting ideas. When a private Canadian company involved in the race to develop the first star going ships becomes interested in using Jenny she and her friends become embroiled in a plot to draw her in which encompasses Razormouth and his gang as well as her sister, a trained killer.
A great start to a trilogy. I'm looking forward to the next episode.
April 13, 2012
Jenny Casey is a war hero, but she's also a middle-aged woman with increasingly debilitating disabilities and a drug habit. Then tainted batches of Hammer (the combat drug she was addicted to) pop up on the streets of her home town. While her friends trace the drug back to its source, Jenny is coerced into joining a dangerous research project.
I really wanted to like this book, but it frustrated me all too often. This is the first in a trilogy, but there's a lot of backstory to this universe. I generally love in media res, but all the characters made vague statements like "She wouldn't let him try--not after the last time" and what happened "last time" is never explained! There are a half dozen different point-of-view characters, and all but two or three of them are unnecessary. I'd have preferred a single view point with a single tense than mishmash of every character even tangentially involved getting their own chapters. The narrative randomly jumps forward and backward in time, going from three weeks ago in one person's narrative to the present told from Jenny's pov to fifteen years ago...it's needlessly confusing.
I also don't see why the entire subplot of Razorface, Barb, Mitch, and the tainted Hammer existed. This is only the first book in the trilogy, so perhaps it will gain greater importance later, but as it stood it just provided more proof that Unitec was up to no good. Obviously! We already know! 50% of this book doesn't need to switch between Razorface, Mitch, etc's povs in order to tell the really basic story of "Unitec dumped some tainted drugs onto the street to test them." Look, I just did it in one sentence! Hell, the characters themselves figure it out in the first few chapters, so I'm confused by how drawn-out it was. It was like Bear had originally written this drug war as a stand-alone story, and then awkwardly grafted it onto Jenny Casey's.
I did like the characters. Jenny Casey is my favorite kind of badass--the kind that's very damaged but has mostly come to terms with it, and still inspires a mixture of fear and awe in those she meets. The lady psychiatrist was pretty fun too, with her blase attitude toward romance and sex. But my appreciation for the characters was hampered by the often unnatural dialog (there's a great collection of examples here) and the fact that by the end, half the dialog was in untranslated French. I do not speak French! When I come across whole pages of unintelligible dialog in nineteenth century novels, at least those authors have the excuse of assuming their readers are polyglots. Bear is writing in the 2000s! At least give us endnotes or something! (ps, sex scenes often have unintentionally hilarious dialog, but the repitious "je t'aime"s and "mon amour"s tipped it over into farce)
And I did like Jenny Casey's plot. I would have loved to read more scenes of her figuring out how to What is there is written pretty well, although Bear has to strain to get her prose beyond "workman-like". If there had been more of Casey's adventure, and less incredibly obvious and unnecessary street fighting, I would have enjoyed this more. As it stands, I doubt I'll bother reading the rest of the series.
I really wanted to like this book, but it frustrated me all too often. This is the first in a trilogy, but there's a lot of backstory to this universe. I generally love in media res, but all the characters made vague statements like "She wouldn't let him try--not after the last time" and what happened "last time" is never explained! There are a half dozen different point-of-view characters, and all but two or three of them are unnecessary. I'd have preferred a single view point with a single tense than mishmash of every character even tangentially involved getting their own chapters. The narrative randomly jumps forward and backward in time, going from three weeks ago in one person's narrative to the present told from Jenny's pov to fifteen years ago...it's needlessly confusing.
I also don't see why the entire subplot of Razorface, Barb, Mitch, and the tainted Hammer existed. This is only the first book in the trilogy, so perhaps it will gain greater importance later, but as it stood it just provided more proof that Unitec was up to no good. Obviously! We already know! 50% of this book doesn't need to switch between Razorface, Mitch, etc's povs in order to tell the really basic story of "Unitec dumped some tainted drugs onto the street to test them." Look, I just did it in one sentence! Hell, the characters themselves figure it out in the first few chapters, so I'm confused by how drawn-out it was. It was like Bear had originally written this drug war as a stand-alone story, and then awkwardly grafted it onto Jenny Casey's.
I did like the characters. Jenny Casey is my favorite kind of badass--the kind that's very damaged but has mostly come to terms with it, and still inspires a mixture of fear and awe in those she meets. The lady psychiatrist was pretty fun too, with her blase attitude toward romance and sex. But my appreciation for the characters was hampered by the often unnatural dialog (there's a great collection of examples here) and the fact that by the end, half the dialog was in untranslated French. I do not speak French! When I come across whole pages of unintelligible dialog in nineteenth century novels, at least those authors have the excuse of assuming their readers are polyglots. Bear is writing in the 2000s! At least give us endnotes or something! (ps, sex scenes often have unintentionally hilarious dialog, but the repitious "je t'aime"s and "mon amour"s tipped it over into farce)
And I did like Jenny Casey's plot. I would have loved to read more scenes of her figuring out how to What is there is written pretty well, although Bear has to strain to get her prose beyond "workman-like". If there had been more of Casey's adventure, and less incredibly obvious and unnecessary street fighting, I would have enjoyed this more. As it stands, I doubt I'll bother reading the rest of the series.
November 27, 2024
I had previously read and enjoyed two of Bear’s other books (Carnival and Undertow), so I was curious to try more. Getting hooked on an author’s later works and then reading their debut book is often (though not always!) a slightly disappointing, if illuminating, process for me – because usually the first is a bit rough around the edges, but it can be fun in historical way to see that starting point. However, this debut featuring a middle-aged female MC with a prosthetic arm? I was ready to set aside any doubts and dive in.
Like the other two books, this is a sci-fi thriller. It is, however, a little less effective at being that because of the way-too-many POVs! I’m not usually one to say that…but, here, I think I would have cut it down to MC Jenny Casey, ex con psychologist/programmer Elspeth Dunsany, rogue AI consciousness Richard Feynman (yes, after the physicist!), and Hartford cop Mitch…and ditch the other four or five. I did like the characters a lot, though. Badass, guilt-ridden Casey, of course…but also her gangster friend Razorface, Feynman (cheeky and as good at B&E as his namesake), her unexpected (to me) love interest, and more.
And the more I got to know Casey, in particular, the more annoyed I got that the cover – while giving us “lady with prosthetic arm” – did NOT give us “49-year old indigenous lady with prosthetic arm and eye”. I mean, are you kidding me? She sounds like she looks like a cross between Sevika and Silco from ‘Arcane’, and that would be sick! Someone who experiences chronic pain would be better placed to comment on how the book handled that aspect, but I did find it very interesting how reluctant Casey is to be "fixed", and how she insists on keeping her visibly-metal hand even after accepting treatment. And the comparison of what she experiences due to her implants being similar to autistic sensory sensitivities...I did rather like that, because I feel like that wasn't something that got talked about much in the early 2000's and it DID feel like a fair comparison!
We don’t get a lot of overall worldbuilding, but what we do get ranges from very cool (eg the space elevators) to depressing-in-the-current-moment (because this is a highly climate-change-impacted world where the US was ruled by a Christian Fascist regime…and this was published in 2005!). There’s also and I would be curious to learn more about that in the sequel books.
The fact that this is the first book in a series at least partly accounts for the somewhat fizzly-feeling ending. I say “partly”, because usually authors end on a tense cliffhanger when it is this kind of story and there is going to be another book! There are things left unresolved, and a new adventure up ahead, but…IDK. It felt anticlimactic and not that great a lure to read the next one. But I am curious about some things, so I may, at some point!
(I would rather get more of the gay spy couple from ‘Carnival’ – but there’s no sequel to that, damn it!)
Like the other two books, this is a sci-fi thriller. It is, however, a little less effective at being that because of the way-too-many POVs! I’m not usually one to say that…but, here, I think I would have cut it down to MC Jenny Casey, ex con psychologist/programmer Elspeth Dunsany, rogue AI consciousness Richard Feynman (yes, after the physicist!), and Hartford cop Mitch…and ditch the other four or five. I did like the characters a lot, though. Badass, guilt-ridden Casey, of course…but also her gangster friend Razorface, Feynman (cheeky and as good at B&E as his namesake), her unexpected (to me) love interest, and more.
And the more I got to know Casey, in particular, the more annoyed I got that the cover – while giving us “lady with prosthetic arm” – did NOT give us “49-year old indigenous lady with prosthetic arm and eye”. I mean, are you kidding me? She sounds like she looks like a cross between Sevika and Silco from ‘Arcane’, and that would be sick! Someone who experiences chronic pain would be better placed to comment on how the book handled that aspect, but I did find it very interesting how reluctant Casey is to be "fixed", and how she insists on keeping her visibly-metal hand even after accepting treatment. And the comparison of what she experiences due to her implants being similar to autistic sensory sensitivities...I did rather like that, because I feel like that wasn't something that got talked about much in the early 2000's and it DID feel like a fair comparison!
We don’t get a lot of overall worldbuilding, but what we do get ranges from very cool (eg the space elevators) to depressing-in-the-current-moment (because this is a highly climate-change-impacted world where the US was ruled by a Christian Fascist regime…and this was published in 2005!). There’s also and I would be curious to learn more about that in the sequel books.
The fact that this is the first book in a series at least partly accounts for the somewhat fizzly-feeling ending. I say “partly”, because usually authors end on a tense cliffhanger when it is this kind of story and there is going to be another book! There are things left unresolved, and a new adventure up ahead, but…IDK. It felt anticlimactic and not that great a lure to read the next one. But I am curious about some things, so I may, at some point!
(I would rather get more of the gay spy couple from ‘Carnival’ – but there’s no sequel to that, damn it!)
February 26, 2018
I had read this author first in a short story so thought I'd see if I liked her in a full-length book. I do, I loved that the female protagonist isn't 30 years old or under. It did seem to drag in the middle and then hugely sped up toward the end. I'm planning on reading the rest of the series. Great book!
April 20, 2009
Honestly, why can't there be a warning label on books that have loose ends or straight cliff hanger endings?
But outside of that, this is a great book for several reasons. The first reason is that Jenny Casey is a mature woman. She turns 50 by the end of the book. This is a refreshing change from books where the main female character never seems to leave her twenties. In fact, outside of the two children, the bulk of female characters in the story are mature.
Because Jenny is a mature woman, her back-story makes sense. It fits her in a way that back-stories about other "Dirty Henrietta" or "Samantha Spades" do not. Additionally, while Jenny might be a "Samantha Spade," she is far more likable and believable than, say, the early Anita Blake. Jenny has that same toughness and no nonsense attitude, but she is still a very believable and living character. She is a tough woman, not a woman who acts like a man. And no, I don't mean that Jenny likes pink and wears dresses; it’s about mindset and response. She's not a girly girl, but a woman. What I really liked about Jenny, however, was her interactions with Elspeth, and how the two mature women got along.
Another reason why the book works is that the children, while a part of the story, do not take over the story. They are not "cutefied" and act like children.
Another plus was Bear’s look at PTSD and how it affects a character. Too often in books, character’s reactions to trauma are not dealt with at all or dealt with quickly. To a degree, this is understandable. SF functions as escapist literature, but some series take such non-dealing too far. It’s nice that Bear deals with it. While Jenny does not get therapy, she is dealing with the fallout of what she has been though. It is nice to see that in a book.
The only false note really concerns Barb. While it is understandable, eventually, how Jenny reaches a major conclusion about her sister, it would have worked better if the reader had seen how Jenny had reached that conclusion.
But outside of that, this is a great book for several reasons. The first reason is that Jenny Casey is a mature woman. She turns 50 by the end of the book. This is a refreshing change from books where the main female character never seems to leave her twenties. In fact, outside of the two children, the bulk of female characters in the story are mature.
Because Jenny is a mature woman, her back-story makes sense. It fits her in a way that back-stories about other "Dirty Henrietta" or "Samantha Spades" do not. Additionally, while Jenny might be a "Samantha Spade," she is far more likable and believable than, say, the early Anita Blake. Jenny has that same toughness and no nonsense attitude, but she is still a very believable and living character. She is a tough woman, not a woman who acts like a man. And no, I don't mean that Jenny likes pink and wears dresses; it’s about mindset and response. She's not a girly girl, but a woman. What I really liked about Jenny, however, was her interactions with Elspeth, and how the two mature women got along.
Another reason why the book works is that the children, while a part of the story, do not take over the story. They are not "cutefied" and act like children.
Another plus was Bear’s look at PTSD and how it affects a character. Too often in books, character’s reactions to trauma are not dealt with at all or dealt with quickly. To a degree, this is understandable. SF functions as escapist literature, but some series take such non-dealing too far. It’s nice that Bear deals with it. While Jenny does not get therapy, she is dealing with the fallout of what she has been though. It is nice to see that in a book.
The only false note really concerns Barb. While it is understandable, eventually, how Jenny reaches a major conclusion about her sister, it would have worked better if the reader had seen how Jenny had reached that conclusion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2023
This is a debut novel, so I’m not going to ding it too hard, but Bear is really trying to stuff 8 pounds into a 5-pound sack. Her reach exceeds her grasp in most of this, and she’s juggling too many fish as she tries to herd cats. War hero cyborg, interstellar spaceships, climate change, street thugs, crooked cops, corporate malfeasance, runaway AIs… it’s a lot.
That said, the individual bits are fine, taken in isolation. There’s a bit of push-and-pull between the infodumps and vague setups for later entries, and my real complaint is that this isn’t a standalone, so there’s no resolution.
That said, the individual bits are fine, taken in isolation. There’s a bit of push-and-pull between the infodumps and vague setups for later entries, and my real complaint is that this isn’t a standalone, so there’s no resolution.
June 6, 2009
A plausible near-future book but not the most original novel I've read. I'm interested enough that I may read the next book. Not sure, though, it's not something I'm dying to do. We'll see.
April 7, 2009
I've read several stories by Elizabeth Bear and often read her blog, so I was curious how she would handle long-form story telling. I was not disappointed.
This is a tight story, fast-paced and exciting. It has all sorts of elements that I really enjoy in my SF: female protagonists who are "real", robots - or in this case AIs and cyborg elements for the humans, dystopian society, space exploration. This is very definitely a hard SF novel, but the story is really character-centric and Bear doesn't get bogged down in long description of the tech involved. The characters, and there are lots of them (perhaps too many - that would be my only gripe), are all well-rounded, with shades of grey in their personalities. Just the way I like it. Even the baddies are not made out to be completely evil. OK, well maybe Jenny Casey's evil sister Barb is a bit black, but we are not given much back-story for her. The main character is a mature woman (which is rare in and of itself), whose cybernetic implants are breaking down. She has had a tough life and she gets caught up in the machinations of people she had cut out of her life as soon as she was able. She is hard on herself for her past deeds, but she inspires fierce loyalty in all the people she now calls friends, which is a testimony to her inner integrity. The lesser main characters are also unique and full personalities.
Besides the fact that it was a little hard for me to hold so many characters in my head, my only other problem with this book is that it really isn't the end when the novel wraps up. There are certain events which have satisfying developments, but they seem to usher in the next era rather than really conclude anything at all. Actually, now that I write that I'm not sure that's really a bad thing, because that is the way life is, isn't it? It does make it imperative to acquire the rest of the series, though. But I'm not really complaining.
This is a tight story, fast-paced and exciting. It has all sorts of elements that I really enjoy in my SF: female protagonists who are "real", robots - or in this case AIs and cyborg elements for the humans, dystopian society, space exploration. This is very definitely a hard SF novel, but the story is really character-centric and Bear doesn't get bogged down in long description of the tech involved. The characters, and there are lots of them (perhaps too many - that would be my only gripe), are all well-rounded, with shades of grey in their personalities. Just the way I like it. Even the baddies are not made out to be completely evil. OK, well maybe Jenny Casey's evil sister Barb is a bit black, but we are not given much back-story for her. The main character is a mature woman (which is rare in and of itself), whose cybernetic implants are breaking down. She has had a tough life and she gets caught up in the machinations of people she had cut out of her life as soon as she was able. She is hard on herself for her past deeds, but she inspires fierce loyalty in all the people she now calls friends, which is a testimony to her inner integrity. The lesser main characters are also unique and full personalities.
Besides the fact that it was a little hard for me to hold so many characters in my head, my only other problem with this book is that it really isn't the end when the novel wraps up. There are certain events which have satisfying developments, but they seem to usher in the next era rather than really conclude anything at all. Actually, now that I write that I'm not sure that's really a bad thing, because that is the way life is, isn't it? It does make it imperative to acquire the rest of the series, though. But I'm not really complaining.
December 9, 2020
Pretty nice. On to the sequel.
May 8, 2014
I liked the kindle sample. Seems to be gritty cyberpunk with a lot of women characters.
Status updates:
9% "Stares at my tits, laughs at my jokes, the boy knows the way to an old woman’s heart."
20% "If you live long enough, you eventually put a real fine point on what you’re willing to do to stay alive—and what you’re willing to sell. The first thing I sold was my body—first on the street, then to the army once I got old enough. Later on, I graduated to selling the intangibles. I like to think I stayed loyal to my friends, though. That was something."
42% "Getting heavy on the setup, like a Christopher Nolan movie."
43% ""So how would you feel about a little friendly sex once in a while?" -- Does this ever work? I'd really like to know. (The whole book isn't like this, really. -- Well, there is some.)"
52% "Psychedelic, man."
60% "I might say that the main character is so eloquent that they sound like a writer, which seems to happen a lot. So I won't."
72% "There sure is a lot of French. When does Jenny start the ass kicking?"
79% "Ok, the science fictional element is really picking up."
91% "30 pages/1 hour to go. Things are getting intense. But something tells me this won't be a standalone novel."
95% "Well, that was definitely a climax."
Pretty good. Elizabeth Bear can definitely write. A little too much French though, at key times when you really want to understand what's being said. After all if it were a movie, there would be English subtitles. And it's totally a setup for the second novel in the series. But by the end of the novel a lot of cool things you like in science fiction are definitely there. There's some action with her friends, but Jenny never quite gets to any ass kicking in the first novel. I'm not sure whether to go to the 2nd book in the series, or check out Bear's latest fantasy series instead. There's actually a sample of the 2nd book at the end of the first ebook, so it ended 10 pages before I expected. The prose is a bit more work to take in than usual. I don't think John Scalzi's grandmother would get it (that's who he says he writes for).
December 15, 2012
a very solid 4.5 stars, dinged mostly by the climactic ending - have the 2nd book ready to hand if you pick this one up.
some day, i'm going to have to remember to mark down WHO has recommended these gems to me. this is one of so many books that got buried on mount TBR (for 2 years!), and if only i knew who had told me that Elizabeth Bear was amazing, that person/s would be getting large hugs from me today.
"hard" SF generally focuses on speculating the nuts and bolts of future technology, and it does so often to the detriment of story or characters. the world can be interesting as anything, but if i wanted to absorb a dryly technical read-out of that battlestation, well, i'd just pick up a copy of 'popular mechanics'. Bear doesn't skimp on the tech details - contact lenses grant their wearers HUDs for both casual email and tactical battle info, the internet and VR have matured into a realistic future version, and the transhumanist singularity is upon us - but 'hammered' isn't only about the hardware. this is a gritty, lived-in future vision of our world with a very interestingly speculated political playing field, populated by amazingly rich characters, including . our main character is a battle-scarred 50 year old war veteran, and has a depth of age and experience (and regret and loss and flaws) unmatched by the standard-issue junior cadet on his first mission out.
the story zips back and forth between the current time and some memory flashbacks, letting you pick up the details without info dumping. the story and the people walking around in it feel rich and real, and just like in real life, things aren't all neatly tied up in a bow at any point. if you like your morals grey and your tech being used (rather than shiny heroes shooting shiny guns), this is highly recommended.
some day, i'm going to have to remember to mark down WHO has recommended these gems to me. this is one of so many books that got buried on mount TBR (for 2 years!), and if only i knew who had told me that Elizabeth Bear was amazing, that person/s would be getting large hugs from me today.
"hard" SF generally focuses on speculating the nuts and bolts of future technology, and it does so often to the detriment of story or characters. the world can be interesting as anything, but if i wanted to absorb a dryly technical read-out of that battlestation, well, i'd just pick up a copy of 'popular mechanics'. Bear doesn't skimp on the tech details - contact lenses grant their wearers HUDs for both casual email and tactical battle info, the internet and VR have matured into a realistic future version, and the transhumanist singularity is upon us - but 'hammered' isn't only about the hardware. this is a gritty, lived-in future vision of our world with a very interestingly speculated political playing field, populated by amazingly rich characters, including . our main character is a battle-scarred 50 year old war veteran, and has a depth of age and experience (and regret and loss and flaws) unmatched by the standard-issue junior cadet on his first mission out.
the story zips back and forth between the current time and some memory flashbacks, letting you pick up the details without info dumping. the story and the people walking around in it feel rich and real, and just like in real life, things aren't all neatly tied up in a bow at any point. if you like your morals grey and your tech being used (rather than shiny heroes shooting shiny guns), this is highly recommended.
August 10, 2015
I actually picked this one up for a reading challenge, which asked us to choose a book set in the place we were born. Well, let me tell you, there are not a heck of a lot of science fiction books where even part of the action takes place in Hartford, Connecticut!
In the not-too-distant future, Hartford is a hellhole. OK, that's believable. Certain parts of the city were headed that way even when I was a kid in the '80's.
Another cool thing: in this version of the future, Canada is a superpower. Speaking as an American, who has had the pleasure of making lots of Canadian friends during my time over here in Japan, I sort of enjoy that premise.
(Pass me a beer, eh?)
Finally, along with a sarcastic, arse-kicking protagonist, world-weary but trying to do the right thing, there is a great ensemble cast of characters, and the point-of-view shifts enough that we really get to develop a connection with them.
I'm actually reading the second book, Scardown as I write this, and I'll be jumping into book three as soon as I finish it.
I'm glad to have finally started reading Bear's work and have added her to my favorite authors.
In the not-too-distant future, Hartford is a hellhole. OK, that's believable. Certain parts of the city were headed that way even when I was a kid in the '80's.
Another cool thing: in this version of the future, Canada is a superpower. Speaking as an American, who has had the pleasure of making lots of Canadian friends during my time over here in Japan, I sort of enjoy that premise.
(Pass me a beer, eh?)
Finally, along with a sarcastic, arse-kicking protagonist, world-weary but trying to do the right thing, there is a great ensemble cast of characters, and the point-of-view shifts enough that we really get to develop a connection with them.
I'm actually reading the second book, Scardown as I write this, and I'll be jumping into book three as soon as I finish it.
I'm glad to have finally started reading Bear's work and have added her to my favorite authors.
November 30, 2018
Jenny Casey has seen a lot of shit, and now her body is falling apart. Her mind especially. Old enemies emerge, old friends resurface, old feelings come to collect their due.
This was a whole lot of stuff: sentient AI, philosophical musings, gangsters, family matters, aliens… It all felt like a loong prologue. Some of it didn't make a lot of sense (the whole drugs-in-the-hood plot line was pretty reundant, if you ask me), lot of POVs proved to be a nuisance once again - but all in all, I liked it. I will probably continue with the series, I like the characters and it's refreshing to have a 50 year old as a main character.
This was a whole lot of stuff: sentient AI, philosophical musings, gangsters, family matters, aliens… It all felt like a loong prologue. Some of it didn't make a lot of sense (the whole drugs-in-the-hood plot line was pretty reundant, if you ask me), lot of POVs proved to be a nuisance once again - but all in all, I liked it. I will probably continue with the series, I like the characters and it's refreshing to have a 50 year old as a main character.
did-not-finish
January 3, 2017Tamahome brought this book to Episode 5 of the Reading Envy podcast, so I tried it in a round of speed-dating my books. Ultimately it wasn't really my style, as I'm just never able to get into military anything, aging cyborg or not. I know the author writes in a lot of styles, so I will probably try something else by her someday.
February 7, 2022
Going back and reading this after reading Bear's more recent works, it doesn't have quite the polish and flow (or LGBTQ content), but it's still very good. It has a little bit of a pulpy feel to it, with the hardened older veteran mc, and it's easy to get drawn into, especially when it's focused on Jenny herself rather than some of the side plots. The pacing is pretty good and there's a steady build up to an exciting ending that promises some interesting stuff for the next book. There's bits of conversations in French, which I used Google translate to help with. It turned out to be mostly cursing and some sex talk.
November 26, 2012
We all bring the books that we have read before to the books we read now. I am certainly no different. So when I say that this book felt like a loving homage to Trouble and Her Friends, with a flip of Fool's War, please understand it that is a commendation.
"A holstered equation hung at his hip, and his pockets were heavy with binary. His eyes lighted as they fastened on the bartender, and he came up against the brass rail like a knife against a butcher’s steel while patrons turned to look, and just as quickly turned away."
Jenny Casey is an adult, with all the history and troubles and responsibility implied in that. She has things that she needs to do, and she hurts when she wakes up in the morning, and she has to choose a lot of least-bad options. I loved Jenny Casey and her hardscrabble life.
"You were right. I didn’t want to know. Because every girl dreams of growing up to share her highly augmented brain with an Artificial Intelligence of Opposite Gender. I drift off to sleep wondering how the Census would abbreviate that."
Jenny needs to use her connections and contact and history and every bit of her wit and rebuilt body to try and maintain the fragile status quo of her world. Of course, as in any novel, normal is a place you can never get back to again, but Jenny can TRY. She can dungeon crawl with her gang-boss friend, and scheme with or against the doctor who rebuilt her, and have extremely complicated family history. She can feed stray cats and take care of kids, but her world is not stable, no matter what she wishes. Poor Jenny. Lucky us.
Read if: You are always on the lookout for books with adult protagonists. You have fond memories of early cyberpunk books. You like retired-vet stories and/or criminal conspiracies.
Skip if: You are looking for a shiny pretty future. You want big-scale politics, ala Starship Troopers.
Also read: Trouble and Her Friends for cyberpunk with women in it. Fool's War for adults and AIs.
Bonus point! Sealand reference.
"A holstered equation hung at his hip, and his pockets were heavy with binary. His eyes lighted as they fastened on the bartender, and he came up against the brass rail like a knife against a butcher’s steel while patrons turned to look, and just as quickly turned away."
Jenny Casey is an adult, with all the history and troubles and responsibility implied in that. She has things that she needs to do, and she hurts when she wakes up in the morning, and she has to choose a lot of least-bad options. I loved Jenny Casey and her hardscrabble life.
"You were right. I didn’t want to know. Because every girl dreams of growing up to share her highly augmented brain with an Artificial Intelligence of Opposite Gender. I drift off to sleep wondering how the Census would abbreviate that."
Jenny needs to use her connections and contact and history and every bit of her wit and rebuilt body to try and maintain the fragile status quo of her world. Of course, as in any novel, normal is a place you can never get back to again, but Jenny can TRY. She can dungeon crawl with her gang-boss friend, and scheme with or against the doctor who rebuilt her, and have extremely complicated family history. She can feed stray cats and take care of kids, but her world is not stable, no matter what she wishes. Poor Jenny. Lucky us.
Read if: You are always on the lookout for books with adult protagonists. You have fond memories of early cyberpunk books. You like retired-vet stories and/or criminal conspiracies.
Skip if: You are looking for a shiny pretty future. You want big-scale politics, ala Starship Troopers.
Also read: Trouble and Her Friends for cyberpunk with women in it. Fool's War for adults and AIs.
Bonus point! Sealand reference.
Read
May 14, 2009'd already discovered her writing in some short stories; the one I really liked-in fact it was my favorite of the anthology-was her zeppelin story taking place in Chinese history for Zeppelin Adventure Stories. My expectations were high, and she met them head on.
Jenny Casey is near fifty, a combat-traumatized soldier living in a very grim future Hartford, Connecticut. Her extensive cyberware is going bad, there are ugly drugs being dispersed on the streets of her town and the local ganglord-a friend of hers-was not only not selling it, he lost some of his followers to it. Her friends, a neurosurgeon, a cop, and a street fighter (ronin) named Bobbi Yee, are concerned either about Jenny, the drugs or both-at which time her sister, long and deliberately lost, shows up to yank Jenny back to Canada for treatments to save her life. But there are stings attached. Of course. There always are when you deal with either governments or big corporations, and Jenny has managed to intersect with both.
I don't want to go into too much detail, because the unfolding of the story, the connections and discoveries, are one of the pleasures. Just know that I loved the characterizations here: they are strong enough to stand against the backdrop of myriad sfnal concepts.
Virtual reality, a Mars station, discoveries kept silent, arms race, ecological disaster, A.I.s and future biotech all get examined, and Bear does not cheat by offering easy answers.
Jenny Casey is near fifty, a combat-traumatized soldier living in a very grim future Hartford, Connecticut. Her extensive cyberware is going bad, there are ugly drugs being dispersed on the streets of her town and the local ganglord-a friend of hers-was not only not selling it, he lost some of his followers to it. Her friends, a neurosurgeon, a cop, and a street fighter (ronin) named Bobbi Yee, are concerned either about Jenny, the drugs or both-at which time her sister, long and deliberately lost, shows up to yank Jenny back to Canada for treatments to save her life. But there are stings attached. Of course. There always are when you deal with either governments or big corporations, and Jenny has managed to intersect with both.
I don't want to go into too much detail, because the unfolding of the story, the connections and discoveries, are one of the pleasures. Just know that I loved the characterizations here: they are strong enough to stand against the backdrop of myriad sfnal concepts.
Virtual reality, a Mars station, discoveries kept silent, arms race, ecological disaster, A.I.s and future biotech all get examined, and Bear does not cheat by offering easy answers.
February 11, 2017
This series looked so interesting that I bought all three books at once. Too bad this turned out to be a waste of money.
The story in and of its self was good but much as I wanted to like this book, the writing style and story telling defeated me and I stopped reading about halfway through.
The story in and of its self was good but much as I wanted to like this book, the writing style and story telling defeated me and I stopped reading about halfway through.
February 27, 2025
Audiobook narrated by Carolina Hoyos.
This is Elizabeth Bear's debut novel from 2004. It's 2062 and Jenny Casey, ex Canadian Special Forces, ekes out a living at the dangerous end of Hartford Connecticut, her only friends a crimelord and a rogue cop. She's in constant pain from the artificial body parts she acquired after a heli-crash when she was twenty five. She's almost double that, now, and, despite being engineered for combat, her body is breaking down. She's hiding from the government in general and Colonel Vallance in particular, but he's tracking her to use her special skills for a new high-stakes project. The story moves from Hartford to Toronto and there are things afoot that Jenny hadn't ever dreamed of, but the people running the project have let her down before and Jenny daren't let herself trust them again - but there are a couple of people she might be able to trust, one, in particular, from her past. Carolina Hoyos's narration is decent, if not sparkling, but I was sorry to realise this book doesn't really resolve. I don't mind reading series books, but I like a reasonable resolution at the end of each book. This seems to just stop on the point of something interesting, and there are unanswered questions about characters left behind that i feel should have been addressed here instead of (hopefully) in future books. Though I enjoyed this for what it is, I'm disappointed about the loose ends.
This is Elizabeth Bear's debut novel from 2004. It's 2062 and Jenny Casey, ex Canadian Special Forces, ekes out a living at the dangerous end of Hartford Connecticut, her only friends a crimelord and a rogue cop. She's in constant pain from the artificial body parts she acquired after a heli-crash when she was twenty five. She's almost double that, now, and, despite being engineered for combat, her body is breaking down. She's hiding from the government in general and Colonel Vallance in particular, but he's tracking her to use her special skills for a new high-stakes project. The story moves from Hartford to Toronto and there are things afoot that Jenny hadn't ever dreamed of, but the people running the project have let her down before and Jenny daren't let herself trust them again - but there are a couple of people she might be able to trust, one, in particular, from her past. Carolina Hoyos's narration is decent, if not sparkling, but I was sorry to realise this book doesn't really resolve. I don't mind reading series books, but I like a reasonable resolution at the end of each book. This seems to just stop on the point of something interesting, and there are unanswered questions about characters left behind that i feel should have been addressed here instead of (hopefully) in future books. Though I enjoyed this for what it is, I'm disappointed about the loose ends.
April 11, 2025
This is close to five stars for me. I heard about it from the author on Bluesky (reposted into my timeline). She described it: "Set in the aftermath of a Christian fascist takeover of the US and a climate-driven world war that saw Canadian peacekeeping forces in the USA, and I don't feel too good about it either." The book was written 20 years ago, so watch Elizabeth Bear for the gift of prophecy, I guess. It's set in the 2060s, and the aforementioned fascist takeover was in the 2030s. (So actually, she was a little optimistic.) Oh, and there's a rogue AI running around, so that, too.
The book feels like "classic" cyberpunk to me, for whatever that's worth. It feels like it's from 20 years ago, but it also feels like right now. The main character is pushing 50 and is disabled and has chronic pain. I am also pushing 50 and disabled and have chronic pain, and I think the author did a good job describing what that's like. However, this main character also has a lot of prosthetics and cybernetic implants, which sounds cool, but also has some unenviable side-effects. An Inciting Incident happens, and she's called to help her friends and family, and she gets ensnared into a scheme I don't yet understand. This book doesn't resolve everything, and it seems like you won't get the whole story till you read the entire trilogy, so I'm really looking forward to the next two.
The book feels like "classic" cyberpunk to me, for whatever that's worth. It feels like it's from 20 years ago, but it also feels like right now. The main character is pushing 50 and is disabled and has chronic pain. I am also pushing 50 and disabled and have chronic pain, and I think the author did a good job describing what that's like. However, this main character also has a lot of prosthetics and cybernetic implants, which sounds cool, but also has some unenviable side-effects. An Inciting Incident happens, and she's called to help her friends and family, and she gets ensnared into a scheme I don't yet understand. This book doesn't resolve everything, and it seems like you won't get the whole story till you read the entire trilogy, so I'm really looking forward to the next two.
February 1, 2021
I had this book on my shelves for years and years. I think I bought it on a whim at a used book store. I finally got around to reading it the last couple weeks, and it was decent. I really liked the characters, and most of the story was enjoyable.
I'm still not sure what the half with Jenny's gang friend Razorface had to do with the main plot. And, I have no idea what the drug that the title refers to has anything to do with the story. Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention, but the story was too obtuse for its own good. Lots of things going on, but nothing really related to each other. Maybe I'm the one who's obtuse.
However, I enjoyed it enough to buy book 2, Scardown. I'll get to it soon, hopefully it won't take me years and years again.
I'm still not sure what the half with Jenny's gang friend Razorface had to do with the main plot. And, I have no idea what the drug that the title refers to has anything to do with the story. Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention, but the story was too obtuse for its own good. Lots of things going on, but nothing really related to each other. Maybe I'm the one who's obtuse.
However, I enjoyed it enough to buy book 2, Scardown. I'll get to it soon, hopefully it won't take me years and years again.
March 9, 2021
Hammered is the first book in the Jenny Casey series by Elizabeth Bear. I really wanted to like this book. It's got a lot of things going for it. A future setting and an older woman with a lot of history and some age-related problems were two of the strongest attractions. However, the book was very jumpy and it got confusing.
And while I appreciated that it wasn't English-only- it would have been nice to have the French dialog translated in footnotes for those of us who don't know it. I felt like I was missing out because I did not understand the French dialog. I was disappointed and I had trouble finishing the book and probably will not read the other books in this series.
And while I appreciated that it wasn't English-only- it would have been nice to have the French dialog translated in footnotes for those of us who don't know it. I felt like I was missing out because I did not understand the French dialog. I was disappointed and I had trouble finishing the book and probably will not read the other books in this series.
January 2, 2023
The story...so so...but the character is really good. Good enough that I'm moving on to book 2. Hope I'm not disappointed because I *really* want to read book 3, which is why I'm reading them at all.
February 9, 2008
I grew up near Hartford, and I have to say that there was very little that appealed to me. Sure, it has insurance companies and.... and.... umm.... a river. Anyway, after giving it some thought, I figured, "Why not Hartford?" After all, if the United States has collapsed under its own weight to the point where Canada has to come in and do peacekeeping operations, Hartford is probably even more of a hell-hole than most other more made-for-fiction cities. I'm sure Ms. Bear had the same thought, since she grew up in the same area that I did ("Hartford? What a hell-hole THAT would make!") and Hartford fits the bill indeed....
Jenny Casey had a life, but not a very happy one. Estranged from her family, maimed in the service of her country, crippled by the cybernetics that were supposed to make up for the loss of her arm and her eye, she's come down to Hartford to wait to die. She has a cat and a home and a certain reputation for being a tough old lady in the rough streets of Hartford, but as far as she's concerned she's a used-up cripple whose worth to this world has pretty much been blown away.
But this world has other plans for her, of course. A knockoff of a Canadian military drug has hit the streets. A police officer has been found dead, murdered. These two events bring Jenny Casey back into the world, angry and resentful and, let's face it, kind of depressed. I can't say I blame her. As with so many veterans, she was used up, chewed up and spit out by the military she gave her life (and eye and arm) to. She feels no debt to them, or to her country, but her very few friends in Hartford are important enough to get her to start asking questions. And we all know what that leads to....
Elizabeth Bear has done a very nice job with this book. It's very real - multi-sensory descriptions are something that a lot of writers, new and veteran, overlook, but they add a certain depth to a story that can't be achieved otherwise. It does require some focus, though, as there are several parallel character tracks that don't really meet up very often, as well as flashbacks that require you to read the chapter heading so you know when you are. Reading this in a distracting environment, such as the staff room at my school, is probably not the best way to enjoy the book....
Anyway, this is the first of three, I believe. I'll have to find a way of getting the next book....
Jenny Casey had a life, but not a very happy one. Estranged from her family, maimed in the service of her country, crippled by the cybernetics that were supposed to make up for the loss of her arm and her eye, she's come down to Hartford to wait to die. She has a cat and a home and a certain reputation for being a tough old lady in the rough streets of Hartford, but as far as she's concerned she's a used-up cripple whose worth to this world has pretty much been blown away.
But this world has other plans for her, of course. A knockoff of a Canadian military drug has hit the streets. A police officer has been found dead, murdered. These two events bring Jenny Casey back into the world, angry and resentful and, let's face it, kind of depressed. I can't say I blame her. As with so many veterans, she was used up, chewed up and spit out by the military she gave her life (and eye and arm) to. She feels no debt to them, or to her country, but her very few friends in Hartford are important enough to get her to start asking questions. And we all know what that leads to....
Elizabeth Bear has done a very nice job with this book. It's very real - multi-sensory descriptions are something that a lot of writers, new and veteran, overlook, but they add a certain depth to a story that can't be achieved otherwise. It does require some focus, though, as there are several parallel character tracks that don't really meet up very often, as well as flashbacks that require you to read the chapter heading so you know when you are. Reading this in a distracting environment, such as the staff room at my school, is probably not the best way to enjoy the book....
Anyway, this is the first of three, I believe. I'll have to find a way of getting the next book....
December 17, 2020
I have dabbled with Elizabeth Bear's bibliography, reading four or five of her novels from different genres. I finally went all the way back to the beginning to read her first novel, Hammered. A bold debut, Hammered is a mash-up of genres, from gritty, crime novel to cyberpunk exploration of advanced A.I., and some quirky, imaginative additions thrown in throughout. Ostensibly the first in the Jenny Casey series, we are dropped into the middle (or perhaps the sunset years?) of Jenny's life. About to turn 50, former military, fitted with a prosthetic arm after a traumatic injury, with an insanely complex history, Jenny is gruff, tough, someone to turn to with a problem, but not someone to mess with. She has interesting allies, and very dangerous opponents.
The first allies we meet, in her stomping grounds of Hartford, CT, include the areas most significant crime lord (?), gang leader (?) -- I'm not sure how to categorize him -- Razorface, whose teeth have been modified to be three, razor sharp steel plates. Morally ambiguous, but exceedingly loyal and reliable, Razorface comes to Jenny for help with one of his boys who is suffering from an overdose of what appears to be a doctored drug. Unable to turn him away, Jenny is drawn into a web of murder that might involve a woman who looks very much like her.
Soon after we learn that Jenny's life is in serious danger, after years to the modifications made to her body to control her mechanical arm, or rejecting the technology laced throughout her spinal column and brain, and may only have a very short time to live. A powerful, authority figure from her past emerges, as do a past love and a family figure, that draw her into the promise of a complete overhaul of her cybernetics that will save her life, but in return, conscript her into a mysterious mission involving travel to outer space. Jenny's complicated life is caught in two different worlds that are somehow, mysteriously connected.
Hammered is fun, with great characters, a convoluted plot that lures you in. The gradual emergence of Jenny's very complicated past is a little overdone -- there's a lot to keep track of, and it's hard to know at this point what might be relevant or important to remember -- and the very late-introduced romance is a distraction that was frankly, in my opinion, disappointing, but overall it's an auspicious start to a three part series, and I enjoyed it enough to eventually read the follow-up.
The first allies we meet, in her stomping grounds of Hartford, CT, include the areas most significant crime lord (?), gang leader (?) -- I'm not sure how to categorize him -- Razorface, whose teeth have been modified to be three, razor sharp steel plates. Morally ambiguous, but exceedingly loyal and reliable, Razorface comes to Jenny for help with one of his boys who is suffering from an overdose of what appears to be a doctored drug. Unable to turn him away, Jenny is drawn into a web of murder that might involve a woman who looks very much like her.
Soon after we learn that Jenny's life is in serious danger, after years to the modifications made to her body to control her mechanical arm, or rejecting the technology laced throughout her spinal column and brain, and may only have a very short time to live. A powerful, authority figure from her past emerges, as do a past love and a family figure, that draw her into the promise of a complete overhaul of her cybernetics that will save her life, but in return, conscript her into a mysterious mission involving travel to outer space. Jenny's complicated life is caught in two different worlds that are somehow, mysteriously connected.
Hammered is fun, with great characters, a convoluted plot that lures you in. The gradual emergence of Jenny's very complicated past is a little overdone -- there's a lot to keep track of, and it's hard to know at this point what might be relevant or important to remember -- and the very late-introduced romance is a distraction that was frankly, in my opinion, disappointing, but overall it's an auspicious start to a three part series, and I enjoyed it enough to eventually read the follow-up.
June 22, 2014
I liked Hammered. I read all of it, but for whatever reason, it failed to create an emotional impact in me. The set up was interesting and so were the characters, but not enough is done with them. The book ends right when it seems like the plot should start to pick up. Truthfully, this is more like half a book. It doesn’t give you a climax or a conclusion, it’s all build up.
Hammered is centered around Jenny Casey, a former solider who has been modified with machinery after a helicopter accident. The most visible of her modifications is her steel arm, but she also has a mechanical eye, some nanotechnology in her spine, and other such things.
Jenny’s different from the typical science fiction heroine in a number of ways. For one, she’s close to fifty. This makes her long and difficult back story and her ample world experience actually fit with her character. For another, she’s of Native American ancestry (the cover's been whitewashed).
As shown by her modifications, Jenny has lived a long and eventful life. At the start of the story, she’s retired in Hartford. However, plans are underway that require her being called back to the company that created her machinery.
While Jenny was the main character, the story jumps around from her first person POV to that of various other characters in third person POV. It was sometimes difficult to keep track of all the different characters. The cast certainly could have been dwindled down.
On the whole, the only people I’d recommend this book to are those looking for middle aged or non-white science fiction protagonists. The story was alright but is not strong enough to be the selling element of the book.
Cross posted at the Illustrated Page.
Hammered is centered around Jenny Casey, a former solider who has been modified with machinery after a helicopter accident. The most visible of her modifications is her steel arm, but she also has a mechanical eye, some nanotechnology in her spine, and other such things.
Jenny’s different from the typical science fiction heroine in a number of ways. For one, she’s close to fifty. This makes her long and difficult back story and her ample world experience actually fit with her character. For another, she’s of Native American ancestry (the cover's been whitewashed).
As shown by her modifications, Jenny has lived a long and eventful life. At the start of the story, she’s retired in Hartford. However, plans are underway that require her being called back to the company that created her machinery.
While Jenny was the main character, the story jumps around from her first person POV to that of various other characters in third person POV. It was sometimes difficult to keep track of all the different characters. The cast certainly could have been dwindled down.
On the whole, the only people I’d recommend this book to are those looking for middle aged or non-white science fiction protagonists. The story was alright but is not strong enough to be the selling element of the book.
Cross posted at the Illustrated Page.
November 14, 2020
There is so much to love about this book, starting with the heroine. I love the fact that we jumped into her life after she’d already endured a lifechanging series of events that had left her physically and emotionally compromised. I love that she turns fifty in the middle of the novel – how cool to have a major middle-aged female protagonist in a science fiction cyberpunk thriller!
This near-future dystopian view of Earth has climate change having redistributed the political power dynamic and you won’t be surprised to learn that government departments are every bit as ruthlessly determined to get hold of the latest tech to give their struggling countries some advantage. Jenny is a casualty of a previous entanglement and has been living with the consequences, ever since. Facing premature death from a systemic failure in her cybernetic implants, she is determined to end it herself before she is left a drooling dementia patient. But that is before people from her old life crash back into her current existence. Bear’s writing style grabs my head and heart and won’t let go until the end. I’m aware that there are places where the pacing could be tighter, but I didn’t care. I am pulled into this world of shifting loyalties, where old fury and hurt is hauled into the light and re-examined in the light of new priorities.
For me, the triumph of Bear’s writing is that in a sub-genre exploring the interface between Man and machine, it’s the humanity of her characters that leaps off the page, in all their complexity and differing needs. It’s one heck of a trick to pull off and while this isn’t a flawless book, it is a glorious read. Highly recommended for fans of intelligently written near-future sci fi adventures.
9/10
This near-future dystopian view of Earth has climate change having redistributed the political power dynamic and you won’t be surprised to learn that government departments are every bit as ruthlessly determined to get hold of the latest tech to give their struggling countries some advantage. Jenny is a casualty of a previous entanglement and has been living with the consequences, ever since. Facing premature death from a systemic failure in her cybernetic implants, she is determined to end it herself before she is left a drooling dementia patient. But that is before people from her old life crash back into her current existence. Bear’s writing style grabs my head and heart and won’t let go until the end. I’m aware that there are places where the pacing could be tighter, but I didn’t care. I am pulled into this world of shifting loyalties, where old fury and hurt is hauled into the light and re-examined in the light of new priorities.
For me, the triumph of Bear’s writing is that in a sub-genre exploring the interface between Man and machine, it’s the humanity of her characters that leaps off the page, in all their complexity and differing needs. It’s one heck of a trick to pull off and while this isn’t a flawless book, it is a glorious read. Highly recommended for fans of intelligently written near-future sci fi adventures.
9/10
July 2, 2020
JUNE 2020, EDITED TO ADD: Recent revelations in the publishing world have made me revisit this author's work re: racism and misogyny. I no longer read or recommend this author.
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This wasn't the easiest book in the world to get into, but once I did, I found the characters compelling and the future world vivid and unique.
Set in a world where the US has crumbled and Canada has become the major military superpower of North America, this is a strange, (almost) dystopian story about a former soldier who is breaking down under the wear and tear to her decade-old cybernetic modifications, and the scheming former superior officer who wants her back under his thumb and working to beat the Chinese into space on reverse-engineered alien spaceships. It's weird, it's fascinating, and it's peopled with characters whose prickly exteriors hide unreasonably good people who care deeply about each other.
Two flaws:
First, the French isn't perfect. I love the concept, but why would Bear try to write bilingual Quebecois characters if she can't speak French? It's not terrible, but it does have occasional flaws - worst of all, I caught one in the midst of the novel's single sex scene. Argh. Mostly, though, the bilingual conversations were handled very adeptly for a non-French-speaker.
Second, some of the characterization is redundant, especially superficial details - if the narrator had told me that one more male character had big hands, I was ready to... But there's just something about the unique narrative style that was both frustrating and very compelling. I'm not sure I loved it, but I'm looking forward to reading the sequels.
---
This wasn't the easiest book in the world to get into, but once I did, I found the characters compelling and the future world vivid and unique.
Set in a world where the US has crumbled and Canada has become the major military superpower of North America, this is a strange, (almost) dystopian story about a former soldier who is breaking down under the wear and tear to her decade-old cybernetic modifications, and the scheming former superior officer who wants her back under his thumb and working to beat the Chinese into space on reverse-engineered alien spaceships. It's weird, it's fascinating, and it's peopled with characters whose prickly exteriors hide unreasonably good people who care deeply about each other.
Two flaws:
First, the French isn't perfect. I love the concept, but why would Bear try to write bilingual Quebecois characters if she can't speak French? It's not terrible, but it does have occasional flaws - worst of all, I caught one in the midst of the novel's single sex scene. Argh. Mostly, though, the bilingual conversations were handled very adeptly for a non-French-speaker.
Second, some of the characterization is redundant, especially superficial details - if the narrator had told me that one more male character had big hands, I was ready to... But there's just something about the unique narrative style that was both frustrating and very compelling. I'm not sure I loved it, but I'm looking forward to reading the sequels.
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