Lucifer's Hammer: A Novel

by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven

Book Overview

The gigantic comet had slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449208133
• Release Date: May 1985
• Publisher: Del Rey
• Length: 640 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent

Great read. Right along with Alas Babylon and Earth Abides.

Just Kind of Dull

I could barely get through the first half of the book. It's very tedious and drawn out. I understand they are trying to set up the characters but the way they did it didn't make me invested in them. It picks up a little bit after the first half, but it's nothing to remarkable.

Time to say goodnight ...

Stephen King's 'The Stand' was virus, Robert R. McCammon's 'Swan Song' was nuclear, Thomas Disch's 'The Genocides' was alien plant growth, Walter J. Williams 'The Rift' was earthquake; and 'Lucifer's Hammer' is annihilation by comet. Each of these books are 'must have's' for fans of Apocalypse Fiction. The major protagonist is Tim Hamner, a rich-boy with nothing to do but indulge his fascination with the stars. Hamner, along with a young boy named Gavin Brown from Iowa, discover a comet heading towards earth. The comet, Hamner-Brown, soon becomes known as The Hammer, as scientists plot its course closer and closer to Earth's orbit. Hamner makes acquaintance with Harvey Randall, a news reporter who wants to make a documentary series on the comet. Joining with them is Dr. Charles Sharps from the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, Senator Arthur Jellison and his daughter Maureen, Dr. Dan Forrester, an astronomy Phd and computer programmer, a team of astronauts, and a dedicated postal worker named Harry Newcombe. The story centers around Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley, after pieces of the "calved" comet hit all across the world, causing first earthquakes and then a massive tidal wave to hit the Los Angeles basin. Senators, rich men, thieves and killers are suddenly made equal in the wake of Mother Nature. Rich and poor take on a whole new meaning in a society that suddenly has different values and different needs. Senator Jellison owns a ranch in the foothills of the Sierras, and along with his neighbor George Christopher begins to form an aftermath society bent on survival at all costs. The good points of 'Lucifer's Hammer' are the characters, the topography staying fairly true to form, the realism of many of the needs and behaviors of an abandoned society (especially the herding behavior) and the many points of view from all the different types of survivors. The bad points would be some flat spots in the prose, some outdated notions (since the book was written in 1977) and too many circumstantial meetings. All in all, this is a great book, and again, a must have for any fans of Apocalypse Fiction. Enjoy!

when the Hammer drops...kiss your a** goodbye!

This is a monstrous, massive novel about what happens when a comet slams into the earth. About 17 years ago I was saying to someone that I thought Stephen King's THE STAND was the best end-of-the-world book I'd ever read and then was recommended LUCIFER'S HAMMER. They weren't kidding. This book has some of the most jaw-droppingly awesome descriptions of worldwide destruction ever committed to paper. After watching the Boxing Day Tsunami wipe out 250,000 people and after witnessing the Drowning of New Orleans it is impossible to read this book without thinking of those recent disasters. LUCIFER'S HAMMER is filled with memorable characters and an epic scale of destruction and struggle. It ranks among the top 3 epic post-apocalyptic novels alongside THE STAND and SWAN SONG. It has everything; its like the Mother of ALL Disaster stories wrapped around a war/adventure/struggle for survival tale with an army of cannibals as the last major villains. How can you beat that? Unlike THE STAND and SWAN SONG there are no fantastical elements to LUCIFER'S HAMMER, just dirty, savage fighting for the scarcest of resources.

"Lucifer's Hammer" a full-impact tale of the Apocalypse

Maybe it was seeing the compelling original cover art for Stephen King's "The Stand" in my parent's book collection when I was five. Maybe it was the siren tests of the local fire station that I somehow always associated with nuclear war. Maybe it was all those old rusty yellow signs I saw on buildings in NYC, with the radiation symbol and one word "Shelter". Maybe it was even watching Jan-Michael Vincent and George Peppard ham around my TV screen in "Damnation Alley". Maybe it was all those reasons, but growing up I always had a fascination with "End of the World" stories. For years, I have read "The Stand" again and again. I bought World War III novels right and left, reading them all. I have watched classics like "The Road Warrior" and "The Day After" and bad ones like "The Ultimate Warrior" and "Ravengers". Hell, I've even made up a couple of listmania lists on the topic, and it was in researching them that I came across "Lucifer's Hammer".How I managed to miss this book for all these years is quite beyond me. The book, though, is a pleasant discovery and a complete revelation. Written by science fiction greats Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, it is a fantastic and fantastically ambitious novel about (obviously enough, if you haven't been skimming this review) the end of the world. More than that, it is a page turner, possessing that magical "je ne sais pas" quality that makes bands into legends, actors into stars, and books into pop culture. As surely as a John Grisham novel or Tom Clancy techno-thriller, "Lucifer's Hammer" compels the reader onward, heedless of time, hunger, or any constraint that would dare suggest putting down the book.The "Hammer" is a comet, delivering the one type of cataclysmic destruction we could reasonably expect to face in our lives. A key trick to the novel is the sense of inexorable, unavoidable doom. Up to the strike (and even beyond), there are a number of comet asides, passages that describe the roiling journey of the comet to its date with destiny and beyond. While man built the pyramids, invented the Printing Press, fought World Wars, the comet in its various stages of travel is described, rendering puny and insignificant that which we call our history. When the "Hammer" falls, no detail is spared in portraying the full scope of the horror unfolding.I've always felt "end of the world" fiction has fascinated the general population for a couple of reasons. We certainly live in an age where it could happen in an instant, but also because (like a moth to a flame) we are curiously drawn to something so vast and alien, it is beyond our ability to grasp. These works offer us a small glimpse and insight into the concept of "global holocaust". In this respect, "Lucifer's Hammer" is truly one of the giants in this genre. It is bleaker than Stephen King's "The Stand", which had at least the assurance that God did exist, but "Lucifer's Hammer" is not without its version of hope either. Faced with an

A brilliant tale of desperation and hope. What a book!

I just finished "Lucifer's Hammer," and, well, I'm impressed! Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle have done a wonderful job in weaving a tale of excitement, fear, devastation, fear, desperation, and hope. This is 5-star sci-fi all the way!If all you read is the first 100 pages, however, you probably won't agree with that. You see, the first part of the book is a bit slow in getting moving, but that's because the authors introduce a whole string of characters that interact with one another as the story and the action unfolds. And once the action starts, it doesn't stop. In fact, it makes you want to store some food, some water, some other things...and get ready for what COULD happen.As I started reading this book I thought to myself, this book has many similarities with the movie "Deep Impact." Was I ever wrong with that assumption! This book goes way beyond "Deep Impact." It goes beyond it in that this book is not so much about events surrounding a comet-earth collision as it is about the aftermath, and how people do or do not cope with that kind of calamity.Imagine this...world-wide cataclysmic events wipe out the major governments on the planet -- national, state, and local governments collapse, and people are left to fend for themselves. What will they do for food, shelter, personal safety, information, etc.? It's a whole new ballgame out there! The kinds of challenges described in the book bring out the best in some people, the worst in others, and trapped in the middle of everything that's happening are the characters you'll come to know quite well. The characters are, for the most part, believable, the plot development is rivetting, and the conclusion is satisfying. Do good guys always finish first? Do they even survive? Read "Lucifer's Hammer" and find out -- if you dare...The authors really did their homework on this one.5+ stars all the way for feasible, believable sci-fi. Good luck out there...Alan Holyoak

One of the Best of the Genre, If not The Best

Of all the book dealing with "THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT" These guys have hit upon the formula that give hope a say in the mix. Robert R. McCammon's " SWAN SONG " (an antecedent work) Draws upon "LUCIFERS HAMMER" and the King Work " THE STAND" heavily. But first there was this. I love McCammon's book, and King's; but the best , first groundwork was laid in the chapter and verse of " LUCIFERS HAMMER." The development of character is complete...brilliant.. The scenario is developed with an eye towards the ultimate conclusion. There is not a word wasted nor a picture left incomplete. As I read works of literature I often wonder who the writer knew or met and admired (or not) to draw his characters upon. More so here than most. The Science may not be flawless, there are gaps in rudimentary cosmology and physics- but fiction, science or otherwise - requires of the reader a "suspension of disbelief". This is a worthwhile read if only to see where the "Apocolypse Genre" began. I would much rather read "LUCIFER'S HAMMER" than watch "THE STAND" on television...shudder..... I had rather read "LUCIFER'S HAMMER" than read "THE STAND". And the hell of it is I like "THE STAND". I hope you will read this book and the other book(s) mentioned herein,. not because one leads to the other... but because they DON'T.