The trade paper re-launch of a classic sci-fi bestseller from the authors of the acclaimed alien invasion epic "Footfall". For millionaire Tim Hamn...
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Jul 26, 2011
Kathi
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Feb 26, 2008
Kristin
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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 More...
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 More...
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Jul 03, 2010
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 More...
There are several problems with the book, th More...
Mar 12, 2010
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Jan 25, 2009
Mari
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Mar 30, 2011
Patrick
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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 More...
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 More...
Feb 10, 2010
Amy
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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...
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...
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...
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
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Aug 18, 2009
Roger
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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
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Feb 22, 2011
Lee
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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
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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
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Jun 13, 2010
Jason_W.
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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...
I can conncet to wor More...
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...
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...
Oct 16, 2009
No Remorse
rated it:
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...
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.
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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...
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...
May 18, 2009
Stephen
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 More...
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 More...
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Apr 03, 2011
Checkman
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
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...
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...
Jul 07, 2008
Ben
rated it:
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.
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
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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...
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...
May 23, 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 More...
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 More...
Aug 09, 2010
Thee_ron_clark
rated it:
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...
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...
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 More...
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 More...
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
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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
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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
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Aug 11, 2010
Anna
rated it:
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...
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...
Jan 08, 2010
Tero
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...
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...
Jan 30, 2012
Janos
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
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