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Hammerjack: A Novel
In this dark, futuristic thriller, Marc Giller defines the cutting edge of suspense with a relentless tale of murder, techno-terrorism, and a conspiracy one man is driven to uncover—even if he must undo reality in the process. . . .
They ride virtual waves of code and pirate high-tech secrets to sell to the highest bidder—they are faster and smarter than your security system, and are only too happy to show you by how much. They are hammerjacks, and the rewards of their profession are second only to the sheer rush of what they do. Cray Alden was once one of them. Now he’s a corporate spook chasing down the information traffickers who’ve turned business into all-out war.
But beneath the surface skirmishes lurks something darker—rumors of a biological supercomputer that threatens to shift the balance of power between man and machine. Now Cray is caught in the cross fire between the corporate Collective and a shadowy fanatical anti-tech cult called Inru . With an assassin on his trail and a devastating secret locked in his mind, Cray must turn to the hammerjack who’s been his most dangerous, most elusive quarry. Together they are on the deadliest mission of Cray’s life–-to destroy the god that man made.
They ride virtual waves of code and pirate high-tech secrets to sell to the highest bidder—they are faster and smarter than your security system, and are only too happy to show you by how much. They are hammerjacks, and the rewards of their profession are second only to the sheer rush of what they do. Cray Alden was once one of them. Now he’s a corporate spook chasing down the information traffickers who’ve turned business into all-out war.
But beneath the surface skirmishes lurks something darker—rumors of a biological supercomputer that threatens to shift the balance of power between man and machine. Now Cray is caught in the cross fire between the corporate Collective and a shadowy fanatical anti-tech cult called Inru . With an assassin on his trail and a devastating secret locked in his mind, Cray must turn to the hammerjack who’s been his most dangerous, most elusive quarry. Together they are on the deadliest mission of Cray’s life–-to destroy the god that man made.
480 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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148 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 24, 2012
When I picked up Hammerjack at the local library, I was expecting true, cyberpunk noir in the style of "Neuromancer." However, what I got was something that I would warn people against reading.
To be fair, Hammerjack has a detailed world that's full of grime and filth. There were even some nice touches with Giller's "street species." However, even a solid plot couldn't save this book from the major problem I had; the way it was told.
I love metaphor, as anyone that's read any of my own work knows. But the metaphors in Hammerjack get tortured so badly that I often wonder what the hell it is he's talking about after a sentence or two. It got to the point where I was skipping description just to keep with the story's flow. This was problem number one. What earned it such a low rating though was how shallow and boring most of the cast was.
Our main character especially suffers from being blase. He's a spook without a purpose, a reformed hammerjack himself, and he's supposedly a name that strikes fear into the regulars. But we never really see him do anything to justify that reputation, nor do we see him use it at any point. It feels as if we're just supposed to accept this view of him, which really isn't played out in his own thought patterns. He feels very soft, and way too soft to be playing this kind of hardball game.
Aside from our lead though, everything felt like it was trying too hard. Avalon, the deadliest woman on two planets, feels like a parody of the super soldier. The cultish villains lack any real punch, and on the whole any real visceral content is lost in the data stream.
My suggestion, to make this a better book and something that would have been more engaging, would have been to focus more on the human aspects, and to view technology through them, rather than the other way around.
To be fair, Hammerjack has a detailed world that's full of grime and filth. There were even some nice touches with Giller's "street species." However, even a solid plot couldn't save this book from the major problem I had; the way it was told.
I love metaphor, as anyone that's read any of my own work knows. But the metaphors in Hammerjack get tortured so badly that I often wonder what the hell it is he's talking about after a sentence or two. It got to the point where I was skipping description just to keep with the story's flow. This was problem number one. What earned it such a low rating though was how shallow and boring most of the cast was.
Our main character especially suffers from being blase. He's a spook without a purpose, a reformed hammerjack himself, and he's supposedly a name that strikes fear into the regulars. But we never really see him do anything to justify that reputation, nor do we see him use it at any point. It feels as if we're just supposed to accept this view of him, which really isn't played out in his own thought patterns. He feels very soft, and way too soft to be playing this kind of hardball game.
Aside from our lead though, everything felt like it was trying too hard. Avalon, the deadliest woman on two planets, feels like a parody of the super soldier. The cultish villains lack any real punch, and on the whole any real visceral content is lost in the data stream.
My suggestion, to make this a better book and something that would have been more engaging, would have been to focus more on the human aspects, and to view technology through them, rather than the other way around.
August 3, 2018
I thought I reviewed this but I guess not. This is a fun cyberpunk novel I re-read frequently. It contains one of my favorite characters in the subgenre, Avalon. Unfortunately, Avalon ends up being a villain, and the two protagonists are a bit less than compelling to put it mildly. The book keeps introducing interesting and sympathetic characters, only to kill them or turn them evil to make way for really bland ones to take the spotlight.
I also take some issue with the portrayal of women, and that is not something I usually am offended by (I'm a fan of Frank Miller if that tells you anything). Of the important female characters, all but one of the villains (Avalon) is a source of blatant fan service. Avalon and the female lead are both in love with the protagonist, for literally no given reason (I can't even say "It's because he's hot" because at no point is Cray Alden ever given any hint of a description, or even an age). The other female, a computer program, is overly seductive for, again, no given reason. Lea Prism was so gratuitous and so perfect by the end that she put me off reading the sequel for a while, but her character actually improves drastically in "Prodigal."
It is highly likely I will rewrite this review the next time I read "Hammerjack." For now, I'll say that if you need a cyberpunk fix, this should do it. But I strongly advice going on to read "Prodigal," especially if you want more of Avalon.
I also take some issue with the portrayal of women, and that is not something I usually am offended by (I'm a fan of Frank Miller if that tells you anything). Of the important female characters, all but one of the villains (Avalon) is a source of blatant fan service. Avalon and the female lead are both in love with the protagonist, for literally no given reason (I can't even say "It's because he's hot" because at no point is Cray Alden ever given any hint of a description, or even an age). The other female, a computer program, is overly seductive for, again, no given reason. Lea Prism was so gratuitous and so perfect by the end that she put me off reading the sequel for a while, but her character actually improves drastically in "Prodigal."
It is highly likely I will rewrite this review the next time I read "Hammerjack." For now, I'll say that if you need a cyberpunk fix, this should do it. But I strongly advice going on to read "Prodigal," especially if you want more of Avalon.
March 2, 2016
A hammerjack is the term for a professional hacker in the world created by the author. I like to find less known cyberpunk type novels and give them a chance. Hammerjack mostly works, but it makes leaps that are hard to believe.
The world is interesting and immersive. But it doesn't make a lot of sense. The Collective runs everything, but how does the economy really work. If the Zone Agents can kill and destroy at will, why doesn't anyone do anything?
The main characters are ok, but don't feel like real people. Both are hackers, though one is retired. They can move through the real world and cyberspace with ease. Though I didn't find the movement through the network and the descriptions of hacking convincing. It came off as more video game then code jockey.
I like the exploration of what happens when cyberspace has such a pull one forgets about the real world. Network addiction is a real thing today. How does a population deal with such behavior when it is easy to jack in to VR?
The world is interesting and immersive. But it doesn't make a lot of sense. The Collective runs everything, but how does the economy really work. If the Zone Agents can kill and destroy at will, why doesn't anyone do anything?
The main characters are ok, but don't feel like real people. Both are hackers, though one is retired. They can move through the real world and cyberspace with ease. Though I didn't find the movement through the network and the descriptions of hacking convincing. It came off as more video game then code jockey.
I like the exploration of what happens when cyberspace has such a pull one forgets about the real world. Network addiction is a real thing today. How does a population deal with such behavior when it is easy to jack in to VR?
March 16, 2016
A criminally under read cyperpunk novel with slick style, starting with it's tone-setting cover and continuing on through excellent prose. While setting could perhaps introduced more helpfully for the reader, Hammerjack deals with a seriously sophisticated set of ideas, and its setting includes all to real possibilities for the near-future: urban tribes birthed out of subcultures, the collapse of nation-states and the rise of corporate powers, the specter of uncontrollable AI. The protagonist is a world weary ex-hammerjack (hacker, more or less), the threat a world-consuming AI, and the agent set to watch over our hero is suitably grim and terrible in her willingness to do anything to ensure her goal. An absolute must read.
March 1, 2021
This did not age well. It's all vignettes of characters arguing obscure points with one another and flinging pseudo-science terms around, punctuated by bad fight scenes. And by bad fight scenes, I mean physics consistently getting the shaft, which would be defined in this book as a bowl of bionucleic EMC pulser speedtec jelly.
(For instance, at one point a character kills a man by shoving his nose into his brain, which, true, that totally will kill a man, but the sequence is: palm-strike, nose-brain, and then the man falls into her arms. Now, unless she has a clone or a five-foot-long wraparound arm, pulser jelly.)
(For instance, at one point a character kills a man by shoving his nose into his brain, which, true, that totally will kill a man, but the sequence is: palm-strike, nose-brain, and then the man falls into her arms. Now, unless she has a clone or a five-foot-long wraparound arm, pulser jelly.)
January 29, 2017
Lots of potential, but thin characters.
The story and themes were interesting. There were many sections that felt hasty, like he was trying to get to the action scene. I hope he keeps writing and matures.
The story and themes were interesting. There were many sections that felt hasty, like he was trying to get to the action scene. I hope he keeps writing and matures.
February 16, 2008
Pretty awesome matrix-like thriller with strong female characters.The sequel is not as great, but tidies up all the loose ends. Good to read together...
August 4, 2009
Interesting ideas, but it took me forever to get through it.
March 16, 2010
Some interesting ideas, but it was hard for me to get terribly invested in it. Perhaps a little _too_ cyberpunky for my tastes, which I hadn't run into before.
September 29, 2011
While the plot is clever enough in its own right, it left me with the feeling that it was a Neuromancer ripoff in some regards.
April 25, 2013
An entertaining read with some interesting ideas but nothing that really made it great.
June 24, 2013
Parts were good, but felt like it would be a good movie. So-so.
February 4, 2025
Publishers Weekly calls it "deeply derivative." Rachel reviewed it here, remarking that "The setting is ripped from William Gibson..., who did a much better job with it." And Alexander Gitlit's review remarks that "Marc D. Giller wrote a cyberpunk novel. A solid one, though not really original." These three quotes pretty much summarize my feelings on Hammerjack, and I was prepared to give it a one- or two-star review...but then I couldn't. Why? Well, I did read the entire book in a relatively short amount of time, and at 480 pages, that was no mean feat. And then I bought the sequel (also weighing in at over 400 pages), and I read that entire novel, as well. Clearly, Marc D. Giller has a talent for prose, particularly in the numerous action sequences. His isn't a talent on par with William Gibson's...but then, whose is? Comparing the two is unfair...except that Giller, in so obviously cribbing his materials from Neuromancer, constantly invites the comparison.
The author's website lists a number of other novels that he has written, so far unpublished. I hope that someday some of these see the light of day, and that he can be evaluated more on his own merits. Until then, the reader--and William Gibson--will have to rest content with the old adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
The author's website lists a number of other novels that he has written, so far unpublished. I hope that someday some of these see the light of day, and that he can be evaluated more on his own merits. Until then, the reader--and William Gibson--will have to rest content with the old adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
June 20, 2021
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Bad, Especially for a First Book
July 29, 2007
After reading the Author's Note at the front of the book and finding that this was the author's first published book, I was a bit worried. That worry evaporated as soon as I started reading the text. It's a fine book with a decent plot and an interesting theme that follows along in Gibson's cyberpunk footsteps. My only problems with it are:
- The characters are a bit inconsistent in their personalities and behavior. It's odd, but it feels like the characters devolve throughout the book instead of evolve. I found them somewhat more interesting at the start and a bit flatter at the end.
- The pacing is OK. But, the "action" scenes (fights) are a little too drawn out.
- There are a few direct references to current pop culture which I doubt these types of people in a distant future would know (or care) about.
All of those things are fairly minor. Because of them, I'm bit leery of giving the book a full 4 stars out of 5 rating. Really, I'd like to give it 3.5 stars. But, since I can't do that, I'll be charitable and round up instead of down. A fairly good book. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel: Prodigal .
Not Bad, Especially for a First Book
July 29, 2007
After reading the Author's Note at the front of the book and finding that this was the author's first published book, I was a bit worried. That worry evaporated as soon as I started reading the text. It's a fine book with a decent plot and an interesting theme that follows along in Gibson's cyberpunk footsteps. My only problems with it are:
- The characters are a bit inconsistent in their personalities and behavior. It's odd, but it feels like the characters devolve throughout the book instead of evolve. I found them somewhat more interesting at the start and a bit flatter at the end.
- The pacing is OK. But, the "action" scenes (fights) are a little too drawn out.
- There are a few direct references to current pop culture which I doubt these types of people in a distant future would know (or care) about.
All of those things are fairly minor. Because of them, I'm bit leery of giving the book a full 4 stars out of 5 rating. Really, I'd like to give it 3.5 stars. But, since I can't do that, I'll be charitable and round up instead of down. A fairly good book. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel: Prodigal .
May 9, 2012
While not a bad book, there were definitely sections that lost my interest - possibly because of too much unexplained technobabble - and they just jarred me out of the story. If someone digs cyberpunk books, they may want to check this one out, but as for me I'm not going to bother picking up the sequel.
January 17, 2012
Quit 1/4 of the way in...
July 4, 2014
Very fun and entertaining.
March 18, 2023
Awesome. Great writing ability. Giller really nailed the cyberpunk genre. High tech/low life environment with an interesting plot. Going to read his other books.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews