Hammered
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Pages: 352
Year Published: 2004
Elizabeth Bear’s debut novel is an interesting mix of old-school cyberpunk and space opera, complete with a dystopian society, hard-edged postmodern gangster types, an amoral antagonist and starships. However, in mixing two subgenres of science fiction together, Bear also attempts to play with the story’s structure, which doesn’t always work. In all, Bear’s debut is an interesting mix of some well-worn genres and conventions, but isn’t as strong as it might have been.
The novel begins almost full-bore cyberpunk. We’re introduced to Jenney Casey, aka Maker, an ex Canadian Armed Forces pilot, cyborg, and now sometime surrogate mother to a pack of gangsters in Hartford, Connecticut. When one of her “boys” overdoses on “the Hammer,” a super-drug intended for special forces soldiers, Casey begins to investigate who brought it to Hartford. Along the way, an old commanding officer, still in the Canadian Army, Colonel Valens, begins to recruit old friends and associates of hers for a new, cutting edge VR program which will eventually center around a very reluctant Casey.
Although, at first, it does read like a homage to cyberpunk (in its themes, not as a pastiche of Gibson), there is a legitimate space opera story which gets introduced pretty early and develops as the book progresses. However, the book is clearly part of a larger narrative (ala Lord of the Rings) and a main complaint would be that the smaller narrative arc is so gentle the reader could very easily miss it. These days, if you want to tell a large story, stronger subplots are commonly accepted as a norm to keep the reader moving.
Bear also chooses to switch between first person and third person narration. When the chapter is focused on Casey, everything is told from her point of view. Everything else is told from the third person, including scenes where Casey may be in the room, but not part of the narrative focus. It’s an interesting technique, but Bear’s implementation jarred me occasionally from the book.
I did find the story compelling enough that I’ll definitely try the next book, Scardown, further down the road. Bear’s debut is strong and not everyone can produce a Neuromancer right out of the gate. I’ve got firm faith she will get stronger as the story progresses. For its flaws, Hammered is a welcome addition to my bookshelf and one of the better science fiction novels I’ve read in years.
-K