Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
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Book Reviews of Lucifer's Hammer
Book Review: One of the best in the apocalyptic genre
Summary: 5 Stars
Very well written, full of suspense.
This book is one of the best in the apocalyptic genre, along with John Cristopher's No Blade of Grass, which dealt with a world destroyed by a grass disease which killed grains as well as grass and left a world in starvation. It mainly dealt with the reactions of people to the disaster, which included the failure of law and order.
Another fine one was Alas Babylon, by Pat Frank, which dealt with the reactions of the people in a small Florida town following a destructive atomic war.
And of course, there was On the Beach by Nevil Shute, which also dealt with a post atomic war world and an American submarine crew stranded in Australia, where the physical effects of the radiation in the northern hemisphere was delayed by coriolis force.
In this book, the world-destroying catastrophe was a huge comet which struck the earth, resulting in total destruction of much of the world through tsunamis, earthquakes, torrential salt rains, and the resulting loss of millions of lives and of all government, national state and local, and hence of all governmental controls and functions. Impotent police, firemen, and elected functionaries; everything and everyone whose function was to maintain order are gone or reduced to non-entities.
Money is worthless, food and other essentials like clothes and gasoline are scarce and generally go to the strongest or the best armed. Cannibalism takes over in many places. There is no electric power, and candlelight replaces it for lighting.
The book deals with the lives, before and after, of several people, from a country mailman to a U.S. senator, and of course the astronomers, astronauts and others who were intimately involved as well as vignettes of secondary characters as the story develops.
The character development is excellent, and the book absolutely captured me. It is no wonder that it sold over a million copies.
Joseph Pierre
Book Review: It could have been twice as long.
Summary: 5 Stars
We've heard it all before: a killer comet is on the way and the Earth is doomed. A scenario with dozens of variations in books and movies, and we are still a sucker for them. While the book starts off rather tediously with prolonged introductions to all major, many minor, and a hanful of incidental characters, stick with it and you won't be disappointed.
The comet, called "the Hammer"(a pun on the discovering astronomer's name, "Hamner"), is the catalyst that gets this story going, because it is really a story of survival, and one of the better post-apocolyptic stories I've yet encountered. Once the comet is prepared to strike, the action gets rolling and never stops. Our various heroes and heroines struggle against the odds to escape flooding coastlines, battle through unspeakable conditions, and make their ways to shelter. In a location of soldity and relative safety, scores of survivors, over a period of perhaps a year or so, learn that all civilization is based on food, shelter, and safety. They form a new government that is in fact the oldest kind, and eke out a successful community. The survivors must deal with treacherous weather, the horrors around them, death, and even madmen and cannibals before it is all over, leaving them a contented, flourishing community not unlike pre-Roman Europe.
Along the way, you find characters, as always, to like or dislike. (My personal favorite being Harry the intrepid Mailman). If I could find any real faults with this epic book, I would first say that it is much too short. Just as the story was really going from exciting and fascinating to something you wanted to read more about, it ended. What a TV series this might have made - and still could make.
Book Review: A True Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
I first read this book in 1986, and I'm glad to see it still in print, because I want to re-visit it some 16 years later. It is a true classic-not just your run of the mill sci-fi or fiction. This book has an element of realism to it and is absolutely one of the finest pieces of writing in its genre that I have come across. I first learned of it when reading some material from the "survivalist movement"...people who continuously prepare for a societal breakdown. _Lucifer's Hammer_ was highly recommended as one of the most realistic novels available which would illustrate and drive home the realities of a potential worldwide disaster which would uproot life on the planet. I found it to be true; the authors did their homework. It was fun to think about during the Y2k scare/hoax!
In a moment, all rights to private property are gone. What was "yours" one hour ago, now belongs to the first and strongest band of warlords who stake it. I will never forget the band of suburban Boy Scouts who were in the mountains on a camp-out, and their transformation within days from boys to men; roving warriors under the leadership of their scoutmaster.
In later years, "Deep Impact" came to the theatres, and seemed to pick up in the spirit of "Lucifer's Hammer", in exploring the "impact" of a worldwide disaster.
LH is a modern classic. I can't wait to read it again. I still get goose-bumps when I think about those chapter introductions in the beginning giving a graphic description of the "maelstrom" heading toward earth.
Book Review: Best Single Book Fiction Novel Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
For over 40 years I have read fiction, biographies, travelogues, etc. - nearly every type of literature. Lucifer's Hammer remains the best single book fiction novel I have ever read. It's not what I would consider pure science fiction - with an "alternate reality" factor of a Well World or even a Star Trek - it's more along the lines of a Tom Clancy novel where everything is generally plausible, but then has the characters react to a fictional event. Science is a huge part of the novel and done exceedingly well ("sundae") - but isn't the critical factor of the novel - this is much more of a character development effort.
The best way to read the novel, as with Tom Clancy, is to continuously ask yourself, "what would I do?" While the protagonists may not do what you would do, the continual re-examination of the current situation based on what did happen is a great intellectual exercise by itself. Simply put, this novel makes you think. December 31, 1999 did make me think about Lucifer's Hammer - as did September 11. Any book that makes you examine yourself, your priorities, and your moral relevance - regardless of the actual plot - is the mark of an excellent work of literature.
Dated? Sure - but if that's what's holding you back, then don't read Gateway, The Andromeda Strain, or other fantastic novels that use some general timeframe as their basis.
By the way, if you're wondering what I think the best multiple book fiction work is - it's the Well World series by Jack L. Chalkner. Weigh that against what I've written above.
Book Review: One of the Greats in this category
Summary: 5 Stars
I first read this "end of the world" book while on Cold War submarine duty 30 years ago. I read a LOT then, and recall this as one of the most addictive, "can't wait to get back to it" novels of the lot. It is long, and is a believable tale of the world after a comet collides with it. Shocking, scary, realistic. The authors thought this out carefully. Granted, it's dated, with a 70's aura to it.
I would weigh in on this matter of racism/stereotyping charges that pop up here and there in these Amazon reviews. Being over 30 years old, the setting is modern, but not "post-modern" enough to fully embrace our current politically correct idiocy. For instance, the black LA gang cannibalism practices as presented in the story. I suppose if it was written today, due to the demographic shift, they would have been Hispanic cannibals. Had this California based tale been centered in the upper midwest, the cannibals would have been blond haired Protestant dairy farmers. There are people groups everywhere. I see no problem with this book as written.
And again . . . considering the slight dating of this tale. Yes, it has a 70's aura. But also recall that following this global scale disaster, all of our computer toys would become trash . . . so this story is not really so dated after all. 2007, 1975, 1875, whatever. Mankind returns to the basics.
A long but very satisfying read. Both entertaining and thought-provoking. I have obtained another copy and plan to read it again. Recommended reading and a 5 star tale.