Speed Death's bio of Shulyer is the hottest thing on television. He's a "Driver", delivering chips across the desert while satellites shoot bolts of energy at him. But that's not why his story is so popular. It's because it tells all about how he became the father of the Saviour.
"The Glass Hammer" is a cyberpunk tale, a religious fable, and a biography of Jeter's relationship with Philip K. Dick all rolled into one. In it, Jeter has fashioned a future which revolves around a powerful church, called the Cathedra Novum. It is corporatized religion, controlling the fate of those under its dominion, and attempting to gain control of everyone else.
"The Glass Hammer", like "Dr. Adder," plays heavily with the concept of reality, the story alternating between direct narration and a script format as Shuyler's past is recreated for the book's TV audience and for us. This is a gentler novel than "Dr. Adder," more cerebral than physical, more interested in a lasting impression than a short, sharp, shock.
(A. Mayer)
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The Glass Hammer
K.W. Jeter
1985, Out of Print
Here is the TEXT POPUP for The Glass Hammer:
The character of Bischofsky represents Philip K. Dick. His
attempts to unravel the mystery of the world through the "Rose
Window" parallel Dick's attempts to work through his life after
being struck by a "Pink Beam" (see Valis)
The Blue Bird edition contains fourteen black and white
illustrations by Matt Howarth, creator of "Those Annoying Post
Brothers."
Although this book was dubbed "cyberpunk," the author hotly denies this association
