Hammered

Jenny Casey Series, Book 1

By: Elizabeth Bear

Narrated by: Carolina Hoyos

She was engineered for combat—in a world that is running out of time.

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.

©2005 Elizabeth Bear (P)2022 Tantor

great sci-fi finally comes to audio!

A great cast of characters in a believable future slightly dystopian version of our own world. This novel goes places I never expected. Looking forward to reading the next couple!

An enjoyable story

Originally found this book in paperback in a thrift store over a decade ago, so I was really excited when I found it in audiobook so I could listen to it while working. My only complaint is that the narrators voice sounds a little young to me. Other than my own personal bias, the narrator did an excellent job narrating this book, and I’m gonna go listen to Scardown now.

read the book got the audio

I read the book and glad to find the audio. still pretty cool story with a super strong female lead
boy, the narrator doesn't do it justice and I almost gave up listening because of it

Gritty cyberpunk with an evil corporation

Elizabeth Bear’s Hammered is a cyberpunk tale, published in 2005, but with a decidedly 80’s feel. The main plot takes place in 2062. The main character is a former military woman with several cybernetic upgrades that are causing more issues for her as she nears fifty. Her main activity is excessive rumina-tion. She is located by the corporation that developed her implants and has determined she is the perfect subject to test new upgrades. At the same time, the drug pushers she runs with are dealing with a tainted form of ‘Hammer,’ hence the title. What transpires is a conspiracy of considerable dimensions that she is in the middle of.

Bear mixes all the traditional elements to be found within a dystopian cyberpunk story. No one stands out as truly evil and most of the obvious criminals have plenty of redeeming qualities.

The narration is adequate with decent character distinction. Close attention is required for the time shifts that are detailed at the start of each chapter. Pacing is smooth.

Good story painful reader

Canadian characters speaking Parisian French with an American accent is kinda painful. I mean at least TRY a Canadian accent for the French, Yes, it does sound like an angry duck having a domestic argument with a bandsaw.... but this was like listening to Scottish characters being portrayed with Boston accents, because New England is like England and that's basically Scots right? And to be clear I found it distracting and painful and I don't even SPEAK French, that's how wrong it was.

But the story is great.

Reading or acting

Love the story, but the reader was indifferent to the emotion and flow of the words. Good with Canadian French though.