Hammerjack [Paperback]

Marc D. Giller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2005

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.…

Hammerjack

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though deeply derivative of William Gibson's cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, Giller's action-packed debut has cinematic crackle and a crisp pace despite its dense exposition. The titular high-tech cowboy, Cray Alden, is caught in guerrilla warfare between the Collective, the corporate world government, and an opposition group of fanatical Luddites known as the Inru, who are hell-bent on stopping the advance of science and technology. Giller throws the standard cyberpunk elements-recreational designer drugs, surgically enhanced assassins and direct interface with the matrix-into the mix of his dystopian world, in which wired individuals called runners carry information illegally obtained by the hammerjacks, selling it to the highest bidder. Cray works for the CSS (Corporate Special Services, the Collective's CIA) under the supervision of the dangerous and inscrutable Phao Yin. After Cray botches the capture of a runner named Zoe, who carried blueprints for a technological innovation that could tip the global balance of power, he's sent on a global odyssey, teaming up with beautiful maverick Lea Prism and facing down the lethal Inru agent Avalon. Giller's brave new world consistently entertains and may provide a solid foundation for a series. Agent, Kimberly Cameron.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In a future society of virtual reality junkies and increasingly sophisticated computer technology, a hammerjack is a savvy superhacker capable of siphoning secrets from the most heavily protected corporate networks. Cray Alden is a former hammerjack turned investigator for a multicorporate entity known as the Collective, and his targets are his former partners in crime. After a hazardous assignment in which he nearly loses his life to a genetically enhanced female felon, Cray stumbles on a plot to unleash a biological supercomputer that will shift the balance of power from man to machine. Improbably hatched by a fanatical antitech cult, the scheme will be foiled only if Cray can track down and join forces with a notorious hammerjack who has become his most elusive target. Giller's debut hits all the right chords for genre success: breakneck action, high-tech inventiveness, and a compelling protagonist in the hard-boiled hacker-gumshoe Cray. A winning blend of crime novel motifs and computer technology makes it must reading for fans of cyberpunk and detective fiction alike. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553383310
• ISBN-13: 978-0553383317
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,599,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What's all this about?, September 29, 2005

By 

Alexander Gitlits (Moscow, Russia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hammerjack (Paperback)

Marc D. Giller wrote a cyberpunk novel. A solid one, though not really original. I read it, and mostly enjoyed. What I don't understand, is what authors like Neal Asher and Richard Morgan doing praising this book?

Yes, the novel has cyberjacks, Yakudza, cool shades, kung-fu, etc. There are people, downloading data into their brains and running from the corporations (Johnny-mnemonic, anyone?)

There is nothing wrong with all of the above, but it had been done before. The fact, that there are two badass females, and not one, is not enough to make the book stand out.

Gibson made his world alive through good prose. Gillers' prose is... well, it just is. As the plot, it's not bad, but it's not inspired, either. I had a small problem, when the book set in the late 21st century started pop-culture references. I can buy Butch Cassidy reference for the merit of the movie. Batgirl - that's going on a limb. But Miss Congeniality? Does Mr. Giller really think that movie will be known 100 years from now?

This is all minor, but the thing is, there is nothing major wrong with this book. Or major right with it. Maybe for the post-matrix generation, who haven't heard of cyberpunk before, this book will be a revelation. But if you've read William Gibsons' "Neuromancer", then you don't need to waste your time on this copy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad, Especially for a First Book, July 29, 2007

By 

David A. Lessnau (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hammerjack (Paperback)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars cyberpunk genre not quite dead yet, February 21, 2007

By 

David Freeman (Miami, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hammerjack (Mass Market Paperback)

You ever read one of those books where you start guessing what is going to happen next, and you're right? Well this was one of those books for me. Not that I'm clairvoyant, or possess any forecasting ability, but the book was so formulaic that guessing the turns in the plot simply could not be helped. Is that a bad thing? Not really. The book is very entertaining in a Matrix/Neuromancer sort of way, and is quite readable. Will I read the sequel? Absolutely, as I want to know where the author is going to take this. While not original, and you'll be able to cite obvious influences from other works, there just ain't much out there of this genre, and this one therefore is a satisfying read that measures up to the genre.