The Glass Hammer

Doctor Adder #2

by K.W. Jeter, Cover art by Barclay Shaw (Illustrator)

Bluejay Books, 1985. Trade paperback, FIRST EDITION. Cyberpunk. 2nd book in a thematically linked trilogy, whose other books include "Dr. Adder" (1984) and "Death Arms" (1987).

Genres: Cyberpunk, Science Fiction, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, 20th Century, Science Fiction Fantasy

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Kevin Wayne Jeter (born 1950) is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. He is also credited with the coining of the term "Steampunk." K. W. has written novels set in the Star Trek and Star Wars universe, and has written three (to date) sequels to Blade Runner.

Series:
* Doctor Adder

Series contributed to:
* Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
* Alien Nation
* Blade Runner
* Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Wars
* The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror
* The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror

Reviews

[Lizz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t write reviews.

Jeter penned a truly thoughtful, multifaceted tale. This is hardly a mere cyberpunk adventure, but more a Dickian exploration of what is real. I’m sure it’s given me plenty to ponder long after the covers closed.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The world we perceive is the result of what we analyze of what we perceive; what then did we perceive in the first place, and what did we analyze?" (p. 130)

This is about the strongest tie that I've seen between Philip K Dick and the modern expressions of cyberpunk. The narrative darts between the original events of Schuyler's life and the replay on a screen of those events, with artistic license taken, as watched and commented on by Schuyler. The meaning of the portrayed events differs from the perspective of Schuyler, a person watching Schuyler's biography, and a person watching Schuyler watch his own biography. And to take it to the ultimate, Schuyler watching Schuyler watch his own biography.

Is it real because it happened, because I remember it, or because it has been observed and interpreted? What is this 'real', and how much of that is the narrative that I've been fed?

[Doug · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up because I was curious about K. W. Jeter, who was good friends with James P. Blaylock and Tim Powers when the three of them were starting out as published authors. This book had some good ideas, but never really delivered for me. The plot reminded me too much of Zelazny's Damnation Alley, and some of the writing seemed too much like an attempt to create the literary equivalent of an avant-garde 1970's film.

[Sergej B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

2-oji neoficialios Dr. Adder'io trilogijos dalis, kurią perskaičiau paskutinę. Kiek vargo buvo surasti šios knygos egzempliorių... Bet tikrai buvo verta.
Nežinau kodėl, bet šis kūrinys gavosi, manuo nuomone, geresnis už pirmtaką ir tęsinį. The Glass Hammer'is yra nuoseklesnis už kitas dvi dalis, joje mažiau siužetinių 'peršokimų' ir spragų.

Kaip ir kitose trilogijos dalyse, joje gausu įdomių idėjų, kurios bent kažkur atveda - taip vadinamieji 'sprinteriai', kurie, apšaudomi balistinių raketų, per dykumą transportuoja dirbtinio intelekto mikroschemas. Kad išvengtų raketų, jie turi sujungti savo protą su kitu dirbtiniu intelektu ir visa ši 'kurjerių veikla' yra dalis televizijos laidos. Netrūksta čia ir kultų (autoriui labai patinka įvelti vieną ar du į siužetą).

Iš visų trijų dalių, ši gavosi turbut geriausia, ypač dėl vieno siužetinio posūkio, kuris labai būdingas kiberpanko žanrui.

Tikrai įdomus, tam tikru atžvilgiu dinamiškas, kiek filosofinis kūrinys.

[Jarred Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rather old book, and I remember liking it more as a youth. I just finished rereading it, and it was more 'okay' than 'excellent.' It jumps around a bit with the perspective, and I'm not really sold on the frequent video editor callouts. Also, it hasn't aged well in the sense of having all this old tech like monitors being used.

Also, the ending is pretty lame. No spoilers, but I just really didn't like the Godfriends aspect, or how that ended up. Too much mysticism for the cyberpunk in me -- for that matter, not enough cyber really either. Lots of loose, dangling threads at the end.

[I.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written with an interesting world that has a few parallels with today’s live streaming reality. Most of the book is flashbacks interspersed with exposition; the action takes place mostly “off camera” but it’s a compelling enough story to keep you going. Essentially it’s another one of those “everything is a big lie” future worlds where the hero learns how he was manipulated but this one mashes in some car junkie/cyberpunk concepts.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very tough start to get into and definitely found the cutaways to the video segments distracting with the mental bounce back and forth. Story really only picks up midway with a greater explanation of Schuylers background and the Godfriends. The ending was somewhat weak I thought and vaguely rushed?

Probably not a story I’ll be rushing back to for a reread I’m afraid to say.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different kind of sci-fi. Probably trendy in its time. This is the first book I got (via transfer) from our library that didn't have a bar code on it. It was mentioned in another book I read, so had to check it out.

[Whizilliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has a great and very original story. The ending is very strong.

[Luigi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic old school SciFi. A good read.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"They'll believe that which will make them angry, and righteous in their anger."

[Roberto Junipero Jaquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok book. It starts off with a lot of promise but ultimately lacks any significant action. It's good, and it's premise kind of seems like a pkd book but it doesn't quite live up to that.

[Andy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again...Weird, not that good.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I'm not sure why this book is considered part of a Dr Adder series, since there is nothing to link the two books other than a vaguely similar setting. It's also clear that they were written years apart. Adder is the brash, crass and vulgar work of a young author. Glass Hammer has a more polished, restrained style.

An novel mix of ideas, set in a post-apocalyptic world hundreds of years after a war was fought with exotic satellite based weapons (including weather control devices). The main plot mixes a "Mad Max"-like scenario with a reality TV show (written long before reality shows were a thing). It takes a while for the plot to get going, and the whole "Shuyler and the sprint drivers" storyline falls into a fairly predictable cyberpunk corporate conspiracy groove. I found the flashback sections and the supporting characters more interesting.

It's clear to me that the dreamy, obsessive character Bischovsky is a fictionalized version of the science fiction author Philip K. Dick. Jeter was one of Dick's closest friends in the last years of Dick's life, and Bischovsky appears to be Jeter's tribute to his deceased colleague and mentor. The warmth he felt for his friend comes through in the interactions between Bischovsky and Schuyler. But I do have to wonder what this affectionate tribute by Jeter to his trippy, weird dreamer friend is doing in a cyberpunk car race action novel? The Bischovsky subplot (along with the Godfriend/Messiah subplot) seems like it belongs in some other book --a book that probably would have been better than this one.

To sum up, I found the story was unnecessarily choppy and jumbled, trying too hard with all the cinematic-style cuts, pans, fadeouts and flashbacks. However, there were a few really good moments, and some compelling characters that should have been developed more than they were.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Glass Hammer" was my second KW Jeter read following the batshit "Dr. Adder." This book was far more restrained, although it's supposed to be set in the same dark near-future Los Angeles and Southwest that his first novel was set in. Chunks of the book are written like a screenplay, which I found awkward. The story has a very "Phil Dickian" conspiracy twist that is a bit easy to see coming. The world was still compelling, and the themes (reality TV, corporate manipulation, religious fanaticism and religion as big business) are even more real in 2014. Recommended for cyberpunk fans.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a story quite like this one, and it's the plot that really kept my interest. The characters were cool, but he author could have placed Big Bird in Schuyler's place as the protagonist, and I would still love it because of what it's about.

The fort edition of this book, put out by Bluejay Books in 1985, has very cool original artwork by Matt Howarth at the beginning of each chapter. I wish more books did that, it's a very nice touch!

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interestingly presented tale, but I found the action being presented as though in script direction always yanked me out of the story. And I've never been big on conspiracy theory plots..

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I need to see if I still have my copy of Death Arms.

[Patrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't get into it