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Larry Niven

Jerry Pournelle

Lucifer's Hammer: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – May 12, 1985

by Larry Niven (Author), Jerry Pournelle (Author)

1,729 ratings

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“The first satisfying end-of-the-world novel in years . . . an ultimate one . . . massively entertaining.”—Cleveland Plain-Dealer

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 turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilization.

But for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival—a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known. . . .

“Take your earthquakes, waterlogged condominiums, swarms of bugs, colliding airplanes and flaming what-nots, wrap them up and they wouldn’t match one page of Lucifer’s Hammer for sweaty-palmed suspense.”—Chicago Daily News

Print length

640 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Del Rey
Publication date

May 12, 1985
Dimensions

4.17 x 1.04 x 6.8 inches
ISBN-10

0449208133
ISBN-13

978-0449208137
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The first satisfying end-of-the-world novel in years . . . an ultimate one . . . massively entertaining.”—Cleveland Plain-Dealer

“Take your earthquakes, waterlogged condominiums, swarms of bugs, colliding airplanes and flaming what-nots, wrap them up and they wouldn’t match one page of Lucifer’s Hammer for sweaty-palmed suspense.”—Chicago Daily News

From the Inside Flap

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 turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilization. But for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival--a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known....
"Massively entertaining."
CLEVELAND PLAIN-DEALER

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Del Rey; Illustrated edition (May 12, 1985)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 640 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0449208133
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0449208137
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.17 x 1.04 x 6.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #39,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #371 in Hard Science Fiction (Books)
- #1,597 in Science Fiction Adventures
- #7,265 in American Literature (Books)

Customer Reviews:
1,729 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		70%
4 star		19%
3 star		7%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Jim

Bloated, poor science

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2020

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It's 650 pages and should be 400. There's a lot to like about the imagery in this book but it just goes on and on and on. In the forward, the authors claim their editor asked for cuts and they said they tried, but couldn't find a single word to eliminate. This narcissism is evident throughout the book.

Science. OK. So how can it possibly rain for 100 days, 24 hours per day, in every part of the world? I hope I don't have to explain how that's not possible. OK I will. The action of raining is part of a cycle of evaporation and rain. Without the evaporation portion (which cannot happen while it is actually raining) you can't have rain. And no cloud can possibly hold 100 X 24 hours worth of rain.

15 people found this helpful

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Bert Honeyfellow

I really enjoyed this book

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2017

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Maybe some people think that the way the black characters are depicted is slightly racist or slightly dated. They might be slightly right. Aside from that though, I really enjoyed this book. I got the audiobook version because I drive a lot for my work. This book had me so engrossed that I missed my exit a few times. Honestly, it stressed me out a little too much. Made me realize that I REALLY don't want the apocalypse to come

41 people found this helpful

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Pegleg

On a scale of 1 to 5, I gave this book a 7

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2019

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I read this back in the olden days, but didn't remember anything. I kept thinking it would be too dated. Boy was I wrong! The characters are what makes this book, but the action is also phenomenal. Easily the best post-apocalyptic book I've read (and I've read over a hundred P-A novels). I kept thinking the ending would slow down, but it sped up and raced to the final, satisfying, conclusion. There were some typos, many perhaps due to the kindle process. Like Manie for Marie. One glaring error had Joshua Tree NM East of LA when it is West. And I found the overuse of 'dae' (Sundae, Tuesdae) annoying. Sundae, yes, since they were using an ice cream metaphor. But Tuesdae? Yuck.

I thought the preacher would be overdone, but he wasn't. Just enough to "get the flavor". Highly recommended.

13 people found this helpful

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Phil Boyd Studge

Probably the Best Produced Audible Presentation I know of.

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2020

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Lucifer's Hammer

Ok, yes, its a favorite book I first read forty-odd years ago - By two of my favorite authors. What distinguishes this Audible presentation is the excellent production and performance of the folks on both sides of the microphone.
The narrator never pronounced a word incorrectly in this one.

As with Heinlein's Space Troopers, which heralds the beginning of the futuristic-combat-space-opera sub-genre ... Lucifer's Hammer is the first to introduce this reader to a discussion of contemporary calamity preparedness in a brilliantly portrayed multi-threaded scenario of the consequences of many of the paths open to anyone who wants to think about planning ahead - for 'just in case'...

The mis-pronunciation of words that should be familiar to every college freshman is a real distraction for me as an Audible listener.

My previous foray into Audible books was read by an unfortunate soul who mis-pronounced 'epitome' and 'ensign'. This is just sad.

6 people found this helpful

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The Curmudgeon

THE END OF LOS ANGELES

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2015

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A comet is basically a group of asteroids with a gaseous tail. The problem is that the asteroids can be as big as mountains or even bigger. This is a great story about one crashing onto Earth. The story is initially set in southern California with an emphasis on the Pasadena-Glendale-Burbank-Tujunga area and the San Fernando Valley. It then shifts to the foothills at the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley after the comet strikes. It takes place in the 1970s when pocket calculators were the latest high-tech invention along with digital watches.

When the comet hits, the Los Angeles Basin is destroyed by a tidal wave and much of the rest of the world is also destroyed. Survivors in the foothill areas of Los Angeles try to escape and it is basically every man for himself. A few make it to Silver Valley, a small valley at the edge of the giant San Joaquin Valley, and regroup at a ranch owned by a California senator.

All of a sudden society reverts to a much earlier stage were daily survival is at a premium. The most important occupations for men are now farmer and warrior, with most of them doing both. While some women help with defense, their main occupations are housewife and mother. No one initially knows if they can survive the coming winter. Meanwhile a gang of black criminals from Los Angeles and a renegade army unit operating in the valley hook up to terrorize the area. The local farmers and the survivors at the ranch team up to oppose them. The future of what's left in California hangs in the balance.

40 people found this helpful

Helpful

Okay, at times

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2021

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This is an overly long, largely dull story of how a group of citizens in southern California scratch out a new life after a comet decimates civilization. That sounds like that would be excitement and drama and tension galore, but it misses the mark by filling the pages with myriads of characters in short order, most of which have little to do with the main story. Dull dialog also abounds. The authors take so long to get to the point, a full 30% until anything happens.
Tim Hamner, Eileen Hancock, Harvey Randall, Harry the postman, Senator and Maureen Jellison are but a few of the characters that are a little interesting at times, then they are not. We are supposed to really like them, but it didn’t work for me. There are lots more characters that are completely unremarkable and completely forgettable. There is a Harry, a Harvey and a Hardy, and their first and last names are used interchangeably. Very confusing. Eventually a war breaks out between the rag-tag inhabitants of the Stronghold that have learned to embrace the absence of civilization (but long for its return) vs. the very bad guys (cannibals and criminals) led by a crazed preacher that hates progress. See what I mean? Stereotyped. Inconsequential love triangles that sparked no interest in this reader pepper the pages. Because of a couple of storylines that were briefly attention-grabbing, I think the book deserves 3 stars, but I am feeling generous because those few scenes were surrounded by 530 pages of boring, superfluous fluff.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Tailspin

Boring, dated and racist

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2019

Verified Purchase

I read and enjoyed all the novels by these authors back in the 70’s, but re-reading this one was a complete chore. Too many characters, none of whom I cared about; action scenes that fall flat... it just goes on and on. I had to stop after 50%.

4 people found this helpful

Paul Lemon

Great with Audible

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

I loved this. It would make a great film. Unlike other books or films the comet, in this case Lucifers Hammer, strikes about half way through the book. The rest of which is about the aftermath, the collapse of society and the various factions that vie for power. Me, I would rather have died when it hit seeing what becomes of so called ‘civilised society’. It’s a dog eat dog world post strike.

Mel Powell

Classic Disaster Fiction done really well.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2014

Verified Purchase

Lucifer's Hammer
Classic disaster format. Not Sci-Fi. A diverse cast of well drawn characters; an enormous asteroid on a collision course with earth; a devastating impact; the fragmentation of society in the aftermath, all described in nail bitingly tense detail; some really good science content but above all, a great read.
It doesn't deliver on the emotional level as much as some other novels in the apocalyptic sub genre that I've read. For instance, I think it's more realistic than The Stand, by S King, which for me at least, falls down badly with the unconvincing final confrontation between good and evil and the pointless sacrifices but scores over the odds on characterisation and the writing; it's better written I think, overall than, On The Beach by Shute, but nowhere near as moving or gut wrenching!
That said, it delivers consistently, never stretches credulity, takes you face to face with the end of civilisation and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Spotted a few very small typos but otherwise, a good kindle copy

2 people found this helpful

Mr. A. R. Lockwood

Cracking 70s sci fi (with hints of climate fiction thrown in)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2019

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okay, it's incredibly misognynistic and of its time. Around that, it's a well written piece of sci fi that even in the 1970s was making references to our burning of fossil fuels, although of course the catastrophe that strikes is a comet hit.

You can also see in this book elements of Cormac McCarthy's history and timeline/influences.

Graham Smith

Loved this book 40 years ago.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

Loved this book 40 years ago, strong characters, good science, wonderful imagination. Sad so little seems to be going the way these authors dreamed of. Recommend this to 12 years old and above. Some of the best science fiction written imho.

4 people found this helpful

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