Hammer of the Dogs
A Novel
A postapocalyptic adventure in Las Vegas for readers of all ages.
Set in the wasteland of post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, Hammer of the Dogs is a literary dystopian adventure filled with high-octane fun starring twenty-one-year-old Lash. With her high-tech skill set and warrior mentality, Lash is a master of her own fate as she helps to shield the Las Vegas valley’s survivors and protect her younger classmates at a paramilitary school holed up in Luxor on the Las Vegas Strip. After graduation, she’ll be alone in fending off the deadly intentions and desires of the school’s most powerful opponents.
When she’s captured by the enemy warlord, she’s surprised by two revelations: He’s not the monster her headmaster wants her to believe and the one thing she can’t safeguard is her own heart. Hammer of the Dogs celebrates the courageousness of a younger generation in the face of authority while exploring the difficult choices a conscionable young woman must make with her back against a blood-spattered wall. It’s a story of transformation and maturity, as Lash grapples with her own identity and redefines the glittering Las Vegas that Nevada is known for.
Reviews
"Set in Las Vegas following a nuclear attack that has transformed Glitter Gulch into Nightmare Alley, Jarret Keene’s first novel, Hammer of the Dogs, resonates like a fabulous comic book. . . . [Keene’s] tendency to shine a favorable light on the artifacts of late twentieth-century pop culture introduces a salubrious dose of irreverence to the novel’s otherwise dire renderings, at the same time offering for our contemplation the comforting possibility that even when civilization meets its end, in this instance by bang, not whimper, the moment won’t be entirely bereft of pleasure." —Route 7 Review
"Operating squarely in the purview of The Hunger Games and Divergent novels, with a bit of Harry Potter, The Hammer of the Dogs brings an anarchist glee to the postapocalyptic genre and used the cityscape of Las Vegas to great effect. . . . The main characters, minors and young adults all, are neither rebuilding the world nor saving it. Rather, they are engaged in creating something new, something different, something that has not been seen before and cannot be foretold." —Western American Literature
"[F]rom an action-adventure perspective, this is a doomsday feast of energized firefights, drone battles, fisticuffs, and heroic missions that are equally mind-boggling and entertaining. . . . Keene's message concerns too many weapons touted by youth. It also showcases the horror of cold-blooded murder that happens today across endless battlefields — mourning and human compassion disappear through a touch screen arsenal of ballistic catastrophe. Keene totally gets it, and I applaud him for combining modern fears (and education) with an entertaining action-adventure novel."—Paperback Warrior
"The book just moves. . . . It's an action-packed ride worthy of Snake Plissken." —Stygian Dogs
"Masterfully capturing the anxiety of younger generations faced with inheriting (and fixing) a world they might not even want, the novel is relatable for Gen Z’ers like me, who are staring down the barrel of a future that feels increasingly desperate. Does Lash live up to Keene's promise of being a "kickass heroine for the 21st century"? If that entails protecting loved ones, fighting for justice, and growing through trauma, then yes. And, as my generation knows, she’s long overdue." —Nevada Public Radio, Desert Companion
"Hammer of the Dogs by Jarret Keene succeeds on several levels: as a thriller; as social commentary on issues including the hoarding and concentration of wealth and resources; as a jab at corporate religion; as a humorous work that unites disparate elements like Zippo lighters and warbots; and as a vehicle for Lash, replete with her exaggerated secondary sexual characteristics and possessed of the strength of both man and machine." —Tallahassee Magazine
"A thrilling adventure starring an unforgettable warrior." —Peter Telep, author of Tom Clancy's EndWar: The Missing