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Lucifer's Hammer

by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle

3.89 · rating details · 6,978 ratings · 409 reviews

The trade paper re-launch of a classic sci-fi bestseller from the authors of the acclaimed alien invasion epic "Footfall". For millionaire Tim Hamner, the comet he helped discover is a ticket to immortality. For filmmaker Harvey Randall, it's a chance to redeem a flagging career. And for astronauts John Baker and Rick Delanty, it's a second chance for glory in ou...more

Mass Market Paperback, #20813-3, 640 pages

Published July 12th 1983 by Fawcett Crest / Ballantine (first published January 1977)

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Jun 06, 2009

Kathi rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

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Feb 26, 2008

Kristin rated it

Shelves: scifi-bkgrp-selection, science-fiction

Lucifer’s Hammer falls into the “End of the World/Catastrophic Event/How Will the Human Race Survive” category, and it can be further broken down into those niche genres in SF which wipe California off the face of the map then discuss how Earth will survive.

Destruction of California aside, this was a really good book. Tim Hamner discovers a comet, which upon further investigation will be moving through Earths solar system in the immediate near future. Chances of it hitting are a mill...moreLucifer’s Hammer falls into the “End of the World/Catastrophic Event/How Will the Human Race Survive” category, and it can be further broken down into those niche genres in SF which wipe California off the face of the map then discuss how Earth will survive.

Destruction of California aside, this was a really good book. Tim Hamner discovers a comet, which upon further investigation will be moving through Earths solar system in the immediate near future. Chances of it hitting are a million to one…nope, better make that 100,000 to one. Oops! Slight miscalculation, 10,000 to one. Wrong again! 1000 to one. Oh, drat! It hit in 6 places!

The first third of the book establishes the characters and how people react to the news of impending doom. And there are a LOT of characters. Some don't believe it, some go all out in their preparations, some wait till the very last day.

The second third of the book deals with impact and the days immediately after impact: how huge tsunamis wipe out any coastal area, cities and islands; the force of impact drives sea floor mud and ocean water far into the atmosphere and rains down upon the land causing huge flood events; mega-hurricanes are spawned affecting weather patterns over tremendous areas; earthquakes shake the continents and Russia and China launch nuclear weapons at each other. It looks at how people respond both individually and as small groups. It gets a bit gruesome, but I like that look at reality.

The third part of the book speculates what people would do to survive, how would they react to this new state of survival and I have to say the authors did a pretty good job on touching on a bit of every part of humanity, the good, the bad and the very ugly.

But I do have a few complaints, mostly with the third part of the book. This was written in the 70's and the 70's attitude toward women was still prevalent. Women were to be protected, took subservient roles to the men (housewives who volunteered, secretaries, accountants, cooks). What really got my goat was for one small group trying to survive, when the current leader died (predicted to happen anytime in the next "year") the new leader of the valley would be determined by whomever his daughter married. Three guys were posturing for her "attentions" while she was sneaking off to sleep with a fourth. Gimme a break!

It was also brought to my attention that blacks are stereotyped in this story as the poor inner city types who continue to rob, pillage, and rape both before impact and after. The authors attempted to counter this by sending a black man into space and have him return a hero, but his part is rather minor compared to the gangs roaming the countryside.

Still, if one can put aside some of the quirks and if you like end of the world type stories, this one was pretty darn good.
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Jul 03, 2010

Bryan added it

Interesting plot that ultimately fails to impress: Having enjoyed books by Larry Niven in the past and after reading a number of positive reviews, I was fairly certain Lucifer's Hammer would be a page turner. Unfortunately I found it to be a tremendous disappointment. The book follows the stories of several characters before, during, and after a large comet causes major devastation to the Earth and its populace--roughly covering a two year time span.

There are several problems with the book, th...moreInteresting plot that ultimately fails to impress: Having enjoyed books by Larry Niven in the past and after reading a number of positive reviews, I was fairly certain Lucifer's Hammer would be a page turner. Unfortunately I found it to be a tremendous disappointment. The book follows the stories of several characters before, during, and after a large comet causes major devastation to the Earth and its populace--roughly covering a two year time span.

There are several problems with the book, the first being that it's incredibly dated. Published in the late 70s, the story contains far too many references to the politics, attitudes, and pop culture of the decade. Understandably some of this is unavoidable, but many references could and should have been avoided to keep the book at least somewhat fresh. Also, the language used to discuss science and technology as well as dialog between characters is so incredibly dumbed down that I doubt a third grader would find the story a challenging read.

One of the most frustrating and annoying problems with the book is the introduction of some potentially fascinating topics such as race relations, morality, and changes in marriage practices and mate selection in a post-apocalyptic world that either never quite get off the ground or go in very bizarre and unbelievable directions. While I don't know if this is actually the case, I can understand how many people think the authors are racist because the depiction of various ethnic groups is quite stereotypical from a 'white-conservative' perspective.

In my opinion, the protagonists are all weak characters and major concerns seem to revolve around sex, crushes, and who likes who. There are a couple of interesting characters that seem to have some depth and interesting motivations, but unfortunately they have minor roles. Also, in a book like this I would expect a certain amount of grieving for lost loved ones bordering on heart wrenching, but while there is a considerable amount of death, for the most part the characters seem ambivalent about it. I will admit that I like the direction the authors took with the comet itself in that they made it more of a character in the story rather than just an incident.

The last two chapters were downright insulting to the intelligence of the reader. It felt as if Niven and Pournelle grew bored with their own story and decided to downgrade one of the major plots to something of little importance for no apparent reason other than to reach a quick conclusion.

I am very surprised the book received so many good reviews. With respect to books with post-apocalyptic themes, I've found [[ASIN:0446350354 Warday]], [[ASIN:0451169530 The Stand]], and [[ASIN:0671741039 Swan Song]] to be far superior in both writing style and character development. However, if you decide to read Lucifer's Hammer, I recommend checking it out at your local library.(less)

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Mar 12, 2010

Angela Won added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Lucifer’s Hammer was a very enjoyable book – it dealt with the apocalypse and its aftermath in very realistic ways. It showed what would happen if all that we relied on was taken away at a moment’s notice: anarchy, war, and eventual cannibalism.
I believe that Niven and Pournelle did a very good job of portraying life as it would be if the Hammer indeed fell (survival of the fittest in body and mind). However, I find that while the general progression of events had been believable, the boo...moreLucifer’s Hammer was a very enjoyable book – it dealt with the apocalypse and its aftermath in very realistic ways. It showed what would happen if all that we relied on was taken away at a moment’s notice: anarchy, war, and eventual cannibalism.
I believe that Niven and Pournelle did a very good job of portraying life as it would be if the Hammer indeed fell (survival of the fittest in body and mind). However, I find that while the general progression of events had been believable, the book found itself lacking in several other areas. For example, I did not feel too much emotion for any of the characters until the very last chapter, and only then I felt it when the Senator said “give my children the lightning again (Niven, 626)” as his dying wish.
Also, some parts were unnecessary, especially the parts about Fred Lauren. He is merely shown stalking the girl, and there is no relationship between his story and the overall story of Hammerfall. Most of his narrative is about the girl that he stalks, and how he “reached out to touch her...but only in his mind, only in his hopeless yearning (Niven, 59)”, or descriptions about her clothing. He only played the part of introducing us to a place – a prison – which goes through Hammerfall and is also one of the narratives which show how different people at different places deal with the same event. I believe that this could have been done simply by introducing a prison instead of setting up an arrest which later leads to a prison.
Much in the same vein, I believe that it would have been more effective to have Hammerfall described by a wider range of people – such as children, hospital patients, businessmen, or seniors. They would have different opinions and different ways of dealing with the event, which would have been more interesting.
Overall, Lucifer’s Hammer was a good read in that it gave me food for thought; I did not sympathize with the characters, but the narrative made me think deeply. To me, that is what makes a great book.
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Jan 25, 2009

Mari rated it

Recommends it for: disaster fiction fans

Recommended to Mari by: Mom

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. One of the best pieces of apocalyptic fiction ever written.

There's a part early in the book where a couple of astronomers are trying to explain the sort of impact and resulting disaster that we should expect - but their explanation seems to only confuse the people present. So they search for an analogy to make it more clear:

"Hot fudge sundae," said Forrester?
"Hah?"
Forrester's grin was wide through his beard. "A cu...more

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Mar 30, 2011

Patrick Gibson rated it

Shelves: the_apocalypse, science-fiction

The authors begin with the question "what if the Earth were hit by a fairly large comet?" What would happen? It’s been done before right?

Forget the sucky movie versions, this has a lot more of a ‘real’ feel to it. The strike portrayed here is somewhere between the Tunguska, Siberia meteor strike of 1908, and the K-t boundary disaster that probably is responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs. It is nearer in severity to the dinosaur-extinguishing event, but not as bad. Stil...moreThe authors begin with the question "what if the Earth were hit by a fairly large comet?" What would happen? It’s been done before right?

Forget the sucky movie versions, this has a lot more of a ‘real’ feel to it. The strike portrayed here is somewhere between the Tunguska, Siberia meteor strike of 1908, and the K-t boundary disaster that probably is responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs. It is nearer in severity to the dinosaur-extinguishing event, but not as bad. Still, the disaster portrayed here is awful enough to completely destroy Europe, the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S., coastlines worldwide, and much of the rest of the world. My kind of disaster.

The authors clearly spent some serious time thinking about all the possible ramifications of this catastrophe. Niven and Pournelle painstakingly gamed out military, agricultural, social, psychological, and medical issues, among other problems. Beyond the shock implicit in the basic premise, no extraneous horrific elements are brought in.

A lot of commentators have suggested that there is some serious racism in here. They may be correct, but I'm not sure. I think it's important to be cautious about accusing someone of racism. There is a group of people who turn to ritualized cannibalism after the comet hits, when they are on the verge of famine, and many members of this group are African-american. Not all of them, however -- there was also a battalion of soldiers, of mixed race, who were part of that group. In fact, the guy that incites them to cannibalism is supposed to be white, I think. It seems to me that the authors just wanted to have a group of people who went crazy, and turned to cannibalism. There were two groups the authors used for this dramatic purpose, and one of the groups happened to be radical black urban guerillas -- don't forget, this was written in the mid-70s. It seemed to me that they could just have easily have used any other fringe group -- take your pick. Also, don't forget, there are several sympathetic black characters among the "good guys."

My favorite part is the section where Dan Forester, the astrophysicist, tries to decide what books he should try to save, books with which to rebuild civilization. Think about that! What a conundrum. I, of course would have pick copious amounts of porn. What better to build a new world order? Just terrific, tremendous end of civilization as we know it stuff.
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Feb 10, 2010

Amy rated it

Shelves: 2010-books-read, post-apocalyptic

This is an interesting end-of-the-world book where the major disaster is a large comet that crashes into the ocean in the 1970s. The book kept me doing nothing else but turning pages all day on Sunday. Even though I knew the comet was going to hit, I wanted to see what happened in the chaos afterward.

However, I couldn't give the book 5 stars because there were so many characters with so little personality that kept popping back up on page 600 after last seeing them on page 6. And th...more

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Jan 21, 2010

Erik rated it

Before there was Deep Impact, Armageddon, or the series on The Change by S. M. Stirling, there was Lucifer’s Hammer – Niven and Pournelle’s apocalyptic sci-fi novel about the Comet Hamner, and the disastrous results for humanity that ensue.

Although the racial and sexual politics Niven and Pournelle interweave into their narrative are a bit dated in 70s cultural norms, the detailed description of the flooding of the San Joaquin Valley – renamed a Sea – and the destruction of much of d...more

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Jun 24, 2009

Jenn rated it

Shelves: favorites, science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I first read this book when I was in high school because my dad, who reads only slightly less voraciously and just as eclectically as me, recommended it. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven, is brilliant for myriad reasons, not the least of which is that it satisfies the part of me that craves a solid disaster-epic.

Lucifer’s Hammer is, in my disaster-epic reading experience, the best end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it book ever. It has action! Drama! Cannibalism! A large cast of expendable ...moreI first read this book when I was in high school because my dad, who reads only slightly less voraciously and just as eclectically as me, recommended it. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven, is brilliant for myriad reasons, not the least of which is that it satisfies the part of me that craves a solid disaster-epic.

Lucifer’s Hammer is, in my disaster-epic reading experience, the best end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it book ever. It has action! Drama! Cannibalism! A large cast of expendable characters! In a word: AWESOME.

So the book is split into three parts: pre-comet, during-comet, and post-comet. The pre-comet part, is, as you might expect, where Niven and Pournelle introduce all the important characters: Tim Hamner, the rich amateur astronomer who first discovers the comet; Harvey Randall, a television documentary producer; Senator Jellison, a… senator, and his daughter, Maureen; Johnny Baker and Rick Delanty, two American astronauts; and many, many, many others.

When Tim first discovers the comet, no one really thinks anything of it beyond, “Hey, cool. You got a comet named after you.” But as its path brings closer to Earth, scientists start narrowing down the margin of miles by which it will miss – and even they can’t tell if it will hit or just come super-close.

The during-comet section is by far my favorite, as it fulfills my (very odd) need for tidal waves and other humanity-destroying natural disasters. When the comet does hit, very few people in the world are actually prepared for it, and Niven and Pournelle spend a good part of the book writing about the various comet-head impacts from different characters’ perspectives.

(I hope I’m not giving too much away by saying that most of the characters die horribly. One character dies by surfing the California coast tidal wave into an apartment building. Seriously. AWESOME!)

The post-comet section follows the survivors as they either (1) make their way to the Stronghold, Senator Jellison’s ranch, where a group of survivors is attempting to hold on to the last vestiges of civilization, or (2) join the New Brotherhood, an army of survivors who are determined to crush the last vestiges of civilization and begin anew, this time with more cannibalism. The conflict between the two comes to a head when both groups realize that the San Joaquin nuclear power plant survived the impact and that it is the key to saving (or destroying) civilization.

I really liked this book when I first read it years ago, and I’ve re-read it a few times since, but this time around, it really struck me as very realistic in its depiction of how people might react in a crisis of this magnitude. This is especially true in the post-comet section, in which the leaders of the Stronghold have to make some tough decisions about the needs of a few versus the needs of the many – and they don’t take the sappy-happy “we can save everyone, can’t we?” path.
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Aug 18, 2009

Roger Ladd rated it

I've always enjoyed this book, which is a classic disaster novel. Some aspects of it have grown very dated over the years, though; the politics is very 1970s, with the take on survivalism very pre-militia movement, and some of the gender politics is problematic. Still, while the authors do allow viewpoint characters to express their glee at the idea that a comet impact would suddenly end feminism along with the rest of civilization, there are some very strong (if under-written) female characters...more

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Feb 22, 2011

Lee rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I try to make it a point to finish any book I start (a corollary of that being that I usually read one book at a time so I can't trick myself into not finishing a book while telling myself I've not given up on it, I'm just reading the other book more). The only two exceptions to this rule in the modern era of my reading that I can recall are Greg Bear's Eternity, which I thought read like unmitigated dross compared to its predecessor, and Niven and Pournelle's Footfall, which I started reading ...moreI try to make it a point to finish any book I start (a corollary of that being that I usually read one book at a time so I can't trick myself into not finishing a book while telling myself I've not given up on it, I'm just reading the other book more). The only two exceptions to this rule in the modern era of my reading that I can recall are Greg Bear's Eternity, which I thought read like unmitigated dross compared to its predecessor, and Niven and Pournelle's Footfall, which I started reading having confused it for Bear's The Forge of God. Hmm, this is starting to look like some soap-opera ménage à trois, but anyway. A couple of weeks ago I spotted Lucifer's Hammer in my local charity book shop's bargain bucket. I recalled that Footfall's blurb said nice things about this book, and I'm always willing to give authors a second chance when that chance is part of a three-for-a-pound deal, so I grabbed this book and gave it a try.

I'm happy to say I found the book much better than Footfall — I finished it for one. The gist of the story is that a comet gives the Earth a glancing blow. The story is split roughly into three acts that deal with how people react to the comet's approach, then with the immediate aftermath of the strike, and finally with how they strive for long-term survival. The first act is basically a few hundred pages of introducing characters. Almost no one believes the comet will strike, because the scientists assure everybody it won't. The book was written in the mid 1970s and it seems awfully quaint that NASA doesn't think the comet will hit Earth, right up to the moment it does. As those familiar with 99942 Apophis know, these days we can figure out where these space-rocks will be in twenty years time, whereas in the book they seem to struggle with twenty minutes. This uncertainty is, I suppose, a plot device to ensure that people are caught mostly unawares when the comet strikes. This makes the last two thirds of the book much more interesting because the frantic efforts to survive do feel much more touch-and-go, however it does mean the first third of the book can drag a little.

The middle third is perhaps where the book excels. Civilisation goes to shreds within minutes of the comet striking. Some of the barbarianism committed literally moments after the first, distant strikes seem a little over the top. Would people really resort to murder within a couple of minutes of a comet strike some distance away, before it was even clear how bad things were? The authors think so. A lot of characters who were carefully introduced in the first third die off-page, and many more suddenly reappear much later in the book. As the story progresses all the surviving main characters end up together in the same sheltered valley, four of them literally dropping out of the sky and usefully landing in the fields alongside this valley. The struggle to survive the coming harsh winter begins. A lot of effort is put into convincing the reader how difficult surviving the coming cold weather will be. There's not enough food, not enough medicine, no more refugees can possibly be taken in, they're almost out of toilet paper, things are getting bad.

And then the book decides to turn into The Stand. Because surviving a comet strike and scraping through an impact winter aren't difficult enough, the authors throw a bunch of cannibals at our heroes. Oh, and the cannibals are a mixture of black street criminals, right wing Christian nut jobs, and the US army. The imminent Battle Between Good And Evil dominates the end of the book. After the good guy's not-very-convincing victory there's a rather rushed dénouement, with an off-page much-more-convincing victory, and a return to civilisation with electric cars and communist prison camps and the usual perks of Californian life. Oh, and a cringeworthy horror-movie-esque closing where the comet reaches the Oort cloud then starts to swing back towards the solar system. (Lucifer's Hammer 2 coming to your bookshops next summer. If you're reading other science fiction then Stop! It's Hammertime!)

The book, then, is a mixed bag. Niven and Pournelle are one of the exceptions to my finish-every-book rule. But, like the saying goes, the exceptions are in the pudding. This book is like a pudding, a hot fudge sundae if you will. Throw several million cubic metres of hot fudge sundae at a large rocky planet and some of it will stick, and some of it won't.

It's nice to read a book that dispels the Hollywood notion that every asteroid must either wipe us out or be blown up by some gruff deep-sea oil drillers. However, if you really want to read about post-apocalyptic battles betwixt Good and Evil then you really shouldn't be looking any further than The Stand. As far as science-fiction goes, I dare say there are better comet strike books out there, but while I'm looking for them, you could certainly do worse than this book.(less)

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Aug 29, 2011

Marcus rated it

One of classics of its genre, and very deservingly so. It's written in 1978 and some of the story arcs will show this book's age, but overall it is suprisingly realistic and still relevant vision of an civilization-ending event. The authors don't pull the punches, once the 'hammer falls', it's adios to save the women and children first and survival of the fittest takes over. Very un-PC, but that's how I'd imagine it would be. And yet, this is no 'Mad Max'-book. The characters are well developed...more

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Jun 13, 2010

Jason_W. rated it

Shelves: 8th-grade-ir-book-rick

Lucifers Hammer is about a commet that crushes the Earths. As most of the Western Hemisphere is wiped out the surviors try hard to group together. Without food they mught not live long but these indivduals are not without talents. They are of all professions. Then a group is trying to take over this half of the world and a breakout war in the United States, except there is no governement. Now the Brotherhood Army caniabals take on the newly formed Governors group.

I can conncet to wor...more

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Feb 26, 2010

Pat rated it

Great Book. Fully recommended to Sci-fi fans.

I literally just put it down, so my thoughts are fresh. A gripping tale, not to be read before bed every night (which I tended to do). Though sometimes predictable, the nature of the topic matter (asteroid strikes Earth, chaos ensues, and then the story of the characters finding their way through the chaos) made any predictability unimportant.

I haven't read a book that characterized the aftermath of such an event with such ...more

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Oct 16, 2009

No Remorse rated it

Recommended to No Remorse by: http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/

Great book, very good story of what types of things can happen if a comet hit the earth. The things people have to deal with and overcome is a wake up call and really
makes you think. Makes you also think about the everyday basic necessities we have and take for granted. How far we have come in 100 years is really mind blowing.
This book is a real slow starter though, but i guess that's better than just jumping right into the action with no build up. I think this book had to many cha...more

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Mar 20, 2009

H.A. rated it

Shelves: apocalyptic, disaster, thriller

All the cliches about a good thrill apply here: gripping, a page-turner. I was completely engrossed in the story. A cool thing about it was the science involved in the beginning (although I have no way to know if it's *correct* science).

The story isn't without some major problems. A lot of the solutions to problems seem pat -- a lot of "OMG WHAT LUCK!" involved. There are also some serious issues with race and gender. For example. The Big Bads (besides the comet, of course)...more

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May 18, 2009

Stephen Gallup rated it

I must be hard to please these days, because I've tried to read several books of various types and can’t seem to stay with any of them. So I picked up Lucifer's Hammer, thinking a good apocalyptic yarn would at least fit my perception of what's going on in the world these days.

It isn't great literature, but then I didn't expect that. The first hundred pages or so are fairly tedious, what with the formulaic introductions of multiple characters who will presumably have important roles ...moreI must be hard to please these days, because I've tried to read several books of various types and can’t seem to stay with any of them. So I picked up Lucifer's Hammer, thinking a good apocalyptic yarn would at least fit my perception of what's going on in the world these days.

It isn't great literature, but then I didn't expect that. The first hundred pages or so are fairly tedious, what with the formulaic introductions of multiple characters who will presumably have important roles as the action picks up. There’s the wealthy amateur astronomer who first discovers the comet, the financially overextended maker of documentaries who interviews him, the Senator and his promiscuous daughter, a couple of astronauts lifted from The Right Stuff, a peeping Tom, an inner-city black who robs convenience stores, a secretary at a plumbing supply company, and so on. The cast of characters is bewilderingly broad, and I was slow to connect with any of them. Most attractive are the very brainy scientists who make a game of predicting what would happen if the comet were actually on a collision course with Earth.

Which, as the reader knows, thanks to separate bits of italicized narrative tracking the thing's progress through space, it is.

The story becomes more interesting as some people begin entertaining the notion that this may not be the predicted near-miss after all. Randall, the filmmaker, is startled to see that many folks actually look forward to the end of civilization, presumably because it would also be an end to their financial problems, their unpleasant jobs, etc. I finally felt on board at the point where Randall belatedly contemplates what to take if he (literally) heads for the hills. I knew then I'd actually get to the end of this one - not because I'm someone who craves disaster (hey, I didn't vote for the guy) but because I try not to go to pieces when disaster finds me.

I'm disappointed with the way some of the characters and relationships are handled, but the story succeeds in terms of what it says about disaster and recovery. It has a message in terms of the rules for handling difficult choices and the kind of society that works, and it's a responsible addition to its genre. (less)

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Apr 03, 2011

Checkman rated it

Shelves: a-disappointment, post-apocalyptic, beach-read, seventies-classics

Not the book I remember reading in college. Of course that was twenty-five years ago. Times and attitudes change. What was a thrilling page turner is now a cliched and overblown melodrama. What happened?

Sterotypes, cliches, overwrought writing, and some real interesting ideas about race, men and women. Not to mention a pretty negative view on Human nature in general. Talk about dark. And I've been a cop for the past ten years! Not everyone is that horrible or that quick to give into...moreNot the book I remember reading in college. Of course that was twenty-five years ago. Times and attitudes change. What was a thrilling page turner is now a cliched and overblown melodrama. What happened?

Sterotypes, cliches, overwrought writing, and some real interesting ideas about race, men and women. Not to mention a pretty negative view on Human nature in general. Talk about dark. And I've been a cop for the past ten years! Not everyone is that horrible or that quick to give into savagery. Yes there was what happened in New Orleans after Katrina, but that behavior wasn't so common in other areas hit by Katrina. In Jan 1998 we were living in Upper State New York when a massive ice storn came in leaving millions without heat, phones or electricity for weeks - in January. It was pretty bad, but we all kept our heads and worked together. We did not become monsters in the first few minutes. The book fails badly in this respect and it effects the rest of the story after Hammerfall.

I consider myself to be a moderate conservative (well that's what my wife says I am) and I try hard (not always successful I should add) to have a live and let live attitude. As a teenager/young adult I considered Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven to be good writers and I agreed with their political and social opinions. Now they seem to be rather archaic and downright reactionary.

Now I understand that this novel was written in the mid-seventies and aspects of it were in reaction to the changes that had swept through the United States in the previous fifteen years. I also try not to condemn novels written in the past. Afterall they are a reflection of their time - not the present. But Niven and Pournelle are still alive and they haven't really changed. They have websites/blogs and their opinions are in the open for anyone that is curious. Needless to say I'm not happy about having a fond memory of my youth disturbed. Well I guess that's the word for reading a novel about the end of modern civilization.

Sometimes I wish that we didn't change and could just hold onto those things we remember so fondly. Oh well. Onto the next book. (less)

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Jun 03, 2009

Laughing Longhair rated it

Probably on of the best books I have ever ready. Larry Niven is a master at short scene stories and it seems to me that Jerry Pournelle has done an excellent job taking Niven's vigniette's to weave four or five major story arch's into one great book.

Larry and Jerry got together to a book on a classic SciFi Standard, An Alien Invasion of Earth. They're first thought was the Aliens would toss asteroids from space at earth to destroy our cities. They wrote 20,000 words along these lines...more

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Jul 07, 2008

Ben rated it

Shelves: fiction, read-2008, science-fiction

Starts slow and ends slow, but the middle is pretty good. Too many characters and a bit too long, but it made for an enjoyable audio book even though the narrator was pretty horrible.

I'm not sure that civilization would collapse so fast or so hard (at least I hope not), but what Niven and Pournelle describe is plausible and quite scary.

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Jan 27, 2010

Ben Watson rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

This was a good book. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite some fundamental issues with it.

First of all, it is rather California-centric. It's sort of annoying, but I can live it. I would have enjoyed more scenes from elsewhere around the world (there are a few, but some of these needed followup that never happened).

In the beginning of the book, it felt very much like the movies Earthquake, The Towering Inferno, Airport, or other classic disaster movies: you get lots of seemi...more

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May 10, 2011

Parajunkee.com rated it

Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven

In my quest for all things apocalyptic my Google searches gave me a few lists of best Apocalypse books of all times -- LUCIFER’S HAMMER was 9 times out of 10 on those lists. While I can’t say that this would be on my top ten list, the book was quite epic, though it’s length did a number on me.

First published in 1977, LUCIFER’S HAMMER is the story of a comet and the almost total destruction of Earth. The novel covers a broad range of characte...moreLucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven

In my quest for all things apocalyptic my Google searches gave me a few lists of best Apocalypse books of all times -- LUCIFER’S HAMMER was 9 times out of 10 on those lists. While I can’t say that this would be on my top ten list, the book was quite epic, though it’s length did a number on me.

First published in 1977, LUCIFER’S HAMMER is the story of a comet and the almost total destruction of Earth. The novel covers a broad range of characters, their lives before “Hammer Fall” and then subsequently after. The beginning parts of the novel is a coverage of the discovery of the comet by millionaire Tim Hamner and the coverage of the comet by documentary filmmaker Harvey Randall. The general population is of an opinion that the comet will not hit the Earth and that they will just be treated to a glorious show, much like Hailey’s comet. Yet, as the comet nears Earth astronomer’s start revising “impact” ratios and million to one odds start turning into one hundred to one. As these ratios are reduced the general population is not prepared when the comet does strike and it is mass hysteria when it hits. Earthquakes, tidal waves and even nuclear explosions riddle the Earth and the survivors are left with little. A new world emerges from the destruction but it is not one for the weak.

Definitely an epic apocalypse tale, LUCIFER’S HAMMER covers all the bases for an end-of-world novel, there is murder, mayhem, sex, stealing, cannibalism and rape. LUCIFER’S HAMMER does not paint a pretty or hopeful picture. Survivor’s band together to use one another, not to lend helping hands. This is another one that is not for the feint of heart. Everything is clearly described, not embellished or romantically portrayed. The one fault of this book I found was that it was just so very long. The comet doesn’t hit until nearly the middle of the book and by then you are rather fed up with these spoiled and pampered people that you just want the comet to hit and hopefully knock some sense into them. Which of course it does. What I did find was remarkable was the intense explanation of events that would happen after the comet hit which is congruent with Niven’s usual style of scientifically explaining things. Though when you do get into these broad reaching and expansive science fiction novels you tend to lose contact with your characters, so I didn’t really connect with any of them, yet much like an omnipotent narrator you sort of feel an overall pity for these creatures. Sort of like if you were reading a historical account, instead of a novel. Harvey Randall and Tim Hammner did stand out a bit, but I found they weren’t that likable of characters so I wasn’t as emotional with their journeys.

Out of all of them I thought the astronauts were the best narrative, but their decision to land in California was off track a bit. Moved the plot along - but of all the destinations? I also found the 70s setting very interesting, it’s fun to read novels of this era, just to see how far we have come in just 30 years.

Overall a great and entertaining read. If you are interested in apocalypse type scenarios you should give this a try.

Recommendations
Adults only there are a lot of mature topics touched upon, sex, rape, violence, murder...you name it. Recommended for fans of science fiction, Larry Niven fans should enjoy and if you liked books like The Stand by Stephen King.(less)

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Aug 09, 2010

Thee_ron_clark rated it

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, action, other

Lucifer's Hammer is a novel about a huge comet causing massive destruction to the earth.

Although it began slow for me, I could not put it down after I got past the first few chapters. The detail and thought put into the destruction, the events leading up to the destruction, and the characters are all very well thought out.

The event of the comet's strike and the natural aftermath of this were very detailed.

The actions of the survivors were innovative and probab...more

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Mar 13, 2010

Robin rated it

Ok, it was good for what it was: a story about the end of the world, how people would cope with the end and how the few survivors would get on afterward.

My first complaint is with the character development in the beginning. Every female character comes with a full physical description, including boob size and hair color, whereas the men hardly get a reference to their names - unless it has to do with what they make of one of the women. Yawn. Coincidentally, once the world starts endi...moreOk, it was good for what it was: a story about the end of the world, how people would cope with the end and how the few survivors would get on afterward.

My first complaint is with the character development in the beginning. Every female character comes with a full physical description, including boob size and hair color, whereas the men hardly get a reference to their names - unless it has to do with what they make of one of the women. Yawn. Coincidentally, once the world starts ending the boobs cease to be a focal part of the story perhaps because the male audience intended is now distracted with guns and fire.

Um, naming the Commie spaceman Pieter Jakov was juvenile, at best, and a sorry attempt at acknowledging that in the last 10 pages didn't fly.

I found it interesting that in the end, the Environmentalists were labeled as and banded with the Bad Guys. Although their greatest environmental dilemma at the time was hairspray and ozone, clearly the Smart Guys that know Technology were the heroes and anyone that shunned intellect and that sort of superiority became the Crazies. A little "Atlas Shrugged" for me. And the lack of any sort of art whatsoever after The End I thought unrealistic. Someone would be singing by the campfire.

Lastly, I was a bit put off by the vernacular and the stereotyping. I mean, I know this was written in the late 70's (so was I) and I'm sure they were trying to be "authentic" and what do I know about how real people spoke Back Then, but it was tiring to read the word "honkies" and to see the only black people in the book as raping, stealing, looting thugs of the inner city. Except the spaceman - I'm guessing the one in the book to say "I'm not racist, my best Spaceman friend is black". Lame. Sign of the times? Maybe.

All of my complaints aside - I actually liked the book. I was drawn into the suspense and really wanted to find out how it all ended. A fairly satisfying ending, worth reading I'd say, but not any better than a good Stephen King story about the end of the world.(less)

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Jan 03, 2012

MattR rated it

I thought this book was quite interesting. It described the story of Tim Hamner and Harvey Randall. Tim is a millionaire playboy and a amateur astronomer who has a large telescope in the Californian mountains and Harvey Randall is a settled man with a wife and kids who works for a TV network in California. Tim Hammner and a teenage Gavin Brown sighted a new comet headed towards Earth. Tim attains the help of Harvey to make a television series of documentaries on the comet. NASA and Russia coope...more

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Jan 21, 2012

International Cat Lady rated it

I *really* enjoyed this one a lot. I'm a big fan of apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic fiction, and I'd been fascinated by the notion of what would happen if a large asteroid or comet were to strike the earth long before Armageddon and Deep Impact hit the theaters. The first 20% or so is a tad dull (watching the approach of the comet), but once it strikes and all hell breaks loose, the book becomes hard to put down. I wish it had had more in-depth characterization - but the book was already pretty lon...more

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Jan 22, 2011

Marvin rated it

Since I just dissed Niven and Pournelle regarding Football, I thought I should say a few nice things about Lucifer's Hammer their best book. It is mainstream science fiction involving a comet destined to destroy earth. Niven and Pournelle's strengths works well here. It is an epic with enough characters you do not have to rely on thorough characterization. It is entertaining all the way through with a lot of wow moments. My favorite is a multi-page description of a surfer riding the mother of al...more

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Aug 11, 2010

Anna rated it

Recommended to Anna by: Hubby

Shelves: classic-science-fiction

I'm both glad and sad to have finished this book. Glad because now I can be productive and get on with my life (it really sucked me in. I could NOT put it down - it took up entire afternoons). I am sad because I have reached the end - it was so dilly darn good!.

Over the past few years, I've become a big fan of end-of-the-world/post-apocalyptic novels. It all started with "Day of the Triffids." It sucked me in. What a good book! It got me to thinking of what would h...more

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Jan 08, 2010

Tero Kuittinen rated it

Awesome, trashy Seventies SF epic. Cast of dozens, end of the world, plucky California libertarians rebuilding the world. It's like "Towering Inferno" amped up to the max.

Niven always wrote one-dimensional characters with highly stereotypical behavior. But at his peak, his grasp of epic action was so firm that you just get sucked into the action.

Nobody made the apocalypse look like such a fun adventure for heroic engineers and/or millionaires as he did. The myth...more

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Jan 30, 2012

Janos Honkonen rated it

Oh dear. I've been a fan of Larry Niven's stories, but this book was a horrible surprise. A weird, horrible and fascinating surprise. The basic idea of the book is a massive comet hitting Earth, the aftermath and the fate of a bunch of survivors. About the characters... yeah. After the first quarter I was actually rooting for the comet to hit every damn character in in the face, because they were so unlikable. When the surfer rode the enormous tidal wave miles inland, I almost put the book aside...more

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About Larry Niven

Laurence van Cott Niven's best known work is Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) (1970), which received the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. The creation of thoroughly worked-out alien species, which are very different from humans both physically and mentally, is recognized as one of Niven's main strengths...moreLaurence van Cott Niven's best known work is Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) (1970), which received the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. The creation of thoroughly worked-out alien species, which are very different from humans both physically and mentally, is recognized as one of Niven's main strengths.

Niven also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes The Magic Goes Away series, which utilizes an exhaustible resource, called Mana, to make the magic a non-renewable resource.

Niven created an alien species, the Kzin, which were featured in a series of twelve collection books, the Man-Kzin Wars. He co-authored a number of novels with Jerry Pournelle. In fact, much of his writing since the 1970s has been in collaboration, particularly with Pournelle, Steven Barnes, Brenda Cooper, or Edward M. Lerner.

He briefly attended the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics (with a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, in 1962. He did a year of graduate work in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has since lived in Los Angeles suburbs, including Chatsworth and Tarzana, as a full-time writer. He married Marilyn Joyce "Fuzzy Pink" Wisowaty, herself a well-known science fiction and Regency literature fan, on September 6, 1969.

In addition to his awards for Ringworld, Niven won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "Neutron Star" in 1967. He won the same award in 1972, for "Inconstant Moon", and in 1975 for "The Hole Man". In 1976, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for "The Borderland of Sol".

Niven has written scripts for various science fiction television shows, including the original Land of the Lost series and Star Trek: The Animated Series, for which he adapted his early story "The Soft Weapon". He adapted his story "Inconstant Moon" for an episode of the television series The Outer Limits in 1996.

He has also written for the DC Comics character Green Lantern including in his stories hard science fiction concepts such as universal entropy and the redshift effect, which are unusual in comic books.

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