“[H]e’s created a fully realized postapocalyptic Las Vegas that manages to encompass the ethics of machine warfare, dubious child-rearing, religion, survival, and heavy metal while being one of the most sheerly enjoyable dystopian tales I’ve ever read. . . . Like the best books of its genre, Hammer of the Dogs engagingly provides excessive, outlandish, yet disturbingly plausible characters, settings, and events. It evokes a feeling of inevitability, yet never loses its sense of spontaneity as it pulls us toward it. . . . Keene offers the ultimate thematic cold comfort: no matter how much technology we find ourselves reliant upon or endangered by, humans will always be humans, alas.”
—Steve Danziger, Big Other

“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.”
—Stephen B. Armstrong, 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.”
—Carlos Tkacz, 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.”
–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