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.
About the Author
Jarret Keene earned his PhD in creative writing at Florida State University. He is an assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he teaches American literature and the graphic novel. He has written a travel guide, a rock-band biography, poetry collections and edited short-fiction anthologies including Las Vegas Noir and Dead Neon: Tales of Near-Future Las Vegas.
Praise For…
“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.” —Anne Davis, 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
“A dozen years after The Hunger Games and Divergent were first published, Hammer of the Dogs lights Las Vegas aflame with a post-apocalyptic fury, in which a new generation must reclaim the world from those who ruined it.” —Todd Pierce, author of The Australia Stories
“Lash, the heroine of Jarret Keene’s post-apocalyptic Hammer of the Dogs, is a mix of Katniss Everdeen, Tris Prior, and Lisbeth Salander with an arsenal of deadly drones and ‘bombots’ worthy of a Tom Clancy novel. Lash was ‘born to slaughter evil’ and she’s very good at her job. What bleeds in Vegas won’t remain in Vegas for long.” —Pat Rushin, screenwriter of The Zero Theorem
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