Hammerjack

by Marc D. Giller

Book Overview

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553587862
• ISBN13: 9780553587869
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Spectra Books
• Length: 449 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Stellar Debut

HAMMERJACK is the crackling debut novel from author Marc D Giller. It opens with flare and doesn't slow down. It has all the ingredients of a cyberpunk showcase -- newly engineered drugs, bio-modified agents and hacking the matrix. But these far from detract from a fantastic reading experience, instead lending a wonderful flavour to a well-imagined dystopian future. Cray Alden is a high-tech cowboy that is caught in a war between two factions, the Collective and the Inru. The Collective are a world-wide corporatocracy, direct opposition to the technology hating Inru, which are more of a fanatical religious sect than a government. When Cray messes up a hit on an information runner named Zoe who was carrying blueprints to a new technologically impressive innovation, he is forced into working with those he once hunted. It all steamrolls into a brilliant showdown between the Collective, Inru, and every grey fibre in between. On a whole the novel is scrumptiously dark and chock full of circuitous twists and turns that can catch you off guard, though some I was able to see a mile away and was just waiting for them to be revealed. Marc D Giller's prose is sharp and focused with some scintillating descriptions. I did have an issue with dialogue at times. In certain situations I felt the characters were a tad melodramatic, saying over-the-top things when a sharp quip or brief comment would have sufficed. This is not to say dialogue was poor. In reality the dialogue was quite well engineered, though there were a few occasions that detracted from my enjoyment of a heightened situation. It was great to see the few teaser pages from his follow-up novel, Prodigal, in the back of HAMMERJACK, though I would recommend avoiding those pages until you've completed the novel as there is a major spoiler within. This was a poor oversight on the publisher's end, and one I hope they don't repeat. Great read. Recommended.

Tech vs. Anti-Tech in a Gothic Cyberpunk thriller

Hammerjack is a techno-thriller filled with intensity, originality and vision that we rarely see in today's fiction. It successfully crosses genres--combining science fiction, mystery and action/adventure in a way that keeps the reader turning pages and wondering if this is truly a world that could live in our near future. If you enjoy the early works of Bruce Sterling and William Gibson (Neuromancer), there is much here to keep the cyberpunk genre alive and relevant. Giller's writing is solid and dark, bringing a gothic overtone without being either florid or ambiguous. There is a relentless solidarity to the characters and the plotline, following the cross fire between the mysterious anti-tech Inru and the corporate Collective as they battle each other in a continuous power struggle. Good writing, solid plot and characters, an imaginative future setting, and enough mystery to keep the reader interested from the first page to the last. Highly recommended.

An exciting science fiction noir

In the far distant future, world governments have disappeared to be replaced by seven corporation s known as the Collective, the members from each forming the Assembly. It is a world where everyone is plugged into the information network and information is the king. Hammerjacks ride the waves to find out corporate secrets and sell it to a rival willing to pay a higher price. Cray Alden is a corporate spy working for GenTech when he is assigned to bring back the runner Zoe who has in her bloodstream information that belongs to his boss. Cray finds himself in a tug of war between the opposing forces, the corporate Collective who has invested heavily in a synthetic intelligent computer and the Innu who sees that such an entity could replace man as the dominant species. While he tries to figure out is who he can trust, Cray is unaware that he is changing and to stop himself from becoming a danger, he must return to the source of the conflict, the self-aware sentient computer known as Lyssa. The future that Mark D Giller paints is bleak, dark and plausible. With the advances in computer technology, a sentient AI doesn't seem like science fiction because the author, a computer systems techie, bases his work on technology known today that he takes to it's final conclusion. The protagonist is a man who realizes he is a prisoner of the corporation that hires him and feels very little, certainly not joy. HAMMERJACK is an exciting science fiction noir thriller that will appeal to fans who like to be taken to the edge and beyond. Harriet Klausner

Tech vs. Anti-Tech in a Gothic Cyberpunk thriller

'Hammerjack' is a techno-thriller filled with intensity, originality and vision that we rarely see in today's fiction. It successfully crosses genres--combining science fiction, mystery and action/adventure in a way that keeps the reader turning pages and wondering if this is truly a world that could live in our near future. If you enjoy the early works of Bruce Sterling and William Gibson (Neuromancer), there is much here to keep the cyberpunk genre alive and relevant. Giller's writing is solid and dark, bringing a gothic overtone without being either florid or ambiguous. There is a relentless solidarity to the characters and the plotline, following the cross fire between the mysterious anti-tech Inru and the corporate Collective as they battle each other in a continuous power struggle. Good writing, solid plot and characters, an imaginative future setting, and enough mystery to keep the reader interested from the first page to the last. Highly recommended.

exciting science fiction noir thriller

In the far distant future, world governments have disappeared to be replaced by seven corporation s known as the Collective, the members from each forming the Assembly. It is a world where everyone is plugged into the information network and information is the king. Hammerjacks ride the waves to find out corporate secrets and sell it to a rival willing to pay a higher price. Cray Alden is a corporate spy working for GenTech when he is assigned to bring back the runner Zoe who has in her bloodstream information that belongs to his boss. Cray finds himself in a tug of war between the opposing forces, the corporate Collective who has invested heavily in a synthetic intelligent computer and the Innu who sees that such an entity could replace man as the dominant species. While he tries to figure out is who he can trust, Cray is unaware that he is changing and to stop himself from becoming a danger, he must return to the source of the conflict, the self-aware sentient computer known as Lyssa. The future that Mark D Giller paints is bleak, dark and plausible. With the advances in computer technology, a sentient AI doesn't seem like science fiction because the author, a computer systems techie, bases his work on technology known today that he takes to it's final conclusion. The protagonist is a man who realizes he is a prisoner of the corporation that hires him and feels very little, certainly not joy. HAMMERJACK is an exciting science fiction noir thriller that will appeal to fans who like to be taken to the edge and beyond.