Lucifer's Hammer (1977)

I knew that this would be a book about a comet hitting the Earth, but aside from that, I didn't know what to expect. This book is absolutely amazing! The authors must have consulted with farmers, engineers, and others - they really thought everything through. The story really heats up around 75% or so. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but the end of the book is so interesting and exciting that I couldn't put it down.

I bought the book from Baen's website, since I really like their marketing strategy of giving away free Ebooks to let people get to know the authors and try a series before they buy. I really wanted to support them, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Lucifer's Hammer available of their site (Jerry Pournelle had just been talking about the book on a podcast shortly beforehand).

I really don't want to give any spoilers, so I'm afraid of writing too much. I do recommend that you read this, though! it is very accessible, even though it was written in the late 70s (the Monty Python reference is just as recognizable now, though! You'll know what I'm talking about when you read it). There is a large cast of characters, and sometimes I had to refer to the list of characters at the beginning to jog my memory. The book is nearly 600 pages (on my Ebook reader, anyway), but it is not a dry read at all. As I said, you will probably have to blast through the last quarter of the book all in one go since it is so action packed, so it won't seem like such a long book. ( )

It's dated but I enjoyed the apocalyptic Lucifer's Hammer. As the Hamner-Brown comet approaches Earth, politicians, criminals, journalists, and scientists deal with the anticipation of its passing and possible impact. That uncertainty is main stumbling point that dates the book 30 years after its publication.

It's disconcerting to have part of the plot be reliant on the uncertainty of a big, bright comet hitting Earth. Today we enough space observation and computing power to calculate an object's orbit. We are even tracking the orbit of near-miss asteroids for decades in the future to determine whether they will hit or miss. Then, while reading the book, a massive meteor hits Russia. So maybe...

One science aspect that does resonate is the perspective of the astronauts. They are trapped in the period between the end of the Apollo program and the start of the space shuttle program. They don't have a ride into space, much like the astronauts of 2013.

Where the book succeeds in overcoming its 1980s roots is the sage of the survivors in Southern California. Everyone is clawing for survival and a few are thinking about how to rebuild civilization. ( )

Good time passer ( )

A fun but somewhat dated end-of-the-world novel. I have read a number of books in this genre; Lucifer's Hammer is one of the better ones but would have been even better read at the time it was written (1977). Disaster movies such as Armaggedon and The Day After Tomorrow have explored similar subject matter. The portrayal of blacks can at times be jarring, showing how attitudes have changed since that time. A diverting read but not highly recommended. ( )

Is it long? Yup! Is is a little.. tiny bit slow to start as you get the background on the characters, etc? Yup! Is it a rollicking good time once the action gets going? Yup! Then the rocks start falling from the sky.. the pages fly by. Nice descriptions of the impact (no pun intended) of the meteors on the Earth--the havoc/destruction they cause.

If you've read Footfall then I don't need to convince you--this was not as good.. it was better. A stellar book and a must read if you're a PA fan IMO. ( )