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Lucifer's Hammer: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – May 12, 1985
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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 length640 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDel Rey
- Publication dateMay 12, 1985
- Dimensions4.16 x 1.03 x 6.83 inches
- ISBN-100449208133
- ISBN-13978-0449208137
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“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
"Massively entertaining."
CLEVELAND PLAIN-DEALER
From the Back Cover
"Massively entertaining."
CLEVELAND PLAIN-DEALER
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Del Rey (May 12, 1985)
- Language : English
- Mass Market Paperback : 640 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0449208133
- ISBN-13 : 978-0449208137
- Item Weight : 10.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 4.16 x 1.03 x 6.83 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #37,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #419 in Hard Science Fiction (Books)
- #1,692 in Science Fiction Adventures
- #3,189 in American Literature (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
LARRY NIVEN is the multiple Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of the Ringworld series, along with many other science fiction masterpieces. He lives in Chatsworth, California. JERRY POURNELLE is an essayist, journalist, and science fiction author. He has advanced degrees in psychology, statistics, engineering, and political science. Together Niven and Pournelle are the authors of many New York Times bestsellers including Inferno, The Mote in God's Eye, Footfall, and Lucifer's Hammer.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle (1933-2017) led an adventurous life and wrote an immense quantity of science fact and fiction for over 50 years --including the NY Times bestsellers Lucifer’s Hammer, Oath of Fealty and Footfall (with Larry Niven).
Gizmodo described Jerry as "a tireless ambassador for the future". His predictions and persuasive essays may have changed the course of American history but his view on life and growing up influenced thousands of lives.
It's not just bookworm material: Jerry's stories are fast-paced and rollicking, often with a deeper level for the careful reader. He worked well with Larry Niven and Steve Barnes as a co-author combining mystery, science, well-paced drama and outlandish predictions of the future.
Look for funny and scary aliens as antagonists and sometimes protagonists: Motie watchmakers rewiring the coffee makers, Sauron supermen, marauding cannibals and the comet-surfing Gil character in Lucifers Hammer; intelligent water creatures like the Starswarm saving the day, even elephant conquerors like the Fipth surrendering to humans in Footfall, or the deadly-fast Grendels known as the supercreatures from Legacy of Heorot.
Within Jerry’s stories his themes ranged from politics to military Science Fiction, artificial intelligence to individual acts of courage that save the world.
In 1980, Jerry predicted that by the year 2000 anyone in Western Civilization would be able to get the answer to any question that can be answered; that happened a bit faster than anyone thought it would. His Co-Dominium universe (The Mote in Gods Eye, Gripping Hand) predicted the fall of the USSR as well as the invention of the iPad. His Langston Field and faster-than-light travel via the Alderson Drive may prove correct as well.
Jerry's column in BYTE was the longest running column in the computer industry. It began in 1980 and continued past the turn of the Century on one of the world’s first blogs, ChaosManor™. Starting on ARPANET, Jerry engaged fans one-on-one to create thought-leading communities. The work continues today with nearly 300 Chaos Volunteers and a subject matter expert advisor available on almost any matter from astrophysics to astronomy.
Jerry was a full time writer of technology, science fact and fiction.
He was President of the Science Fiction Writers of America and active in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His essays on future prediction and adventurous tales of fiction appeared in Galaxy Magazine (A Step Farther Out), Analog (A Spaceship for the King), Soldier of Fortune, Twin Circle, and The Atlantic.
Pournelle was known for his paleo-conservative political views, which were sometimes expressed in his fiction. He was one of the founders of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy, which developed some of the Reagan Administration's space initiatives, including the earliest versions of what would become the Strategic Defense Initiative.
Prior to college, Jerry was a signalman in the Korean War at age 16, leaving West Point early to run a New York City playhouse. In 1953–54, Pournelle attended the University of Iowa and later obtaining two advanced degrees at University of Washington (GO HUSKIES!).
His seminal work began as an Aerospace Psychologist for the Human Factors Laboratory at Boeing in Seattle; then a Boeing systems analyst. After completing a second PHD in Political Science he worked in systems analysis and operations research at Aerospace Corporation in Southern California. Since that time, he was a political science professor at Pepperdine University; managed political campaigns; acted as a Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles; consulted to the California Board of Regents; and Science Correspondent for the National Catholic Press, which led to being a full time writer.
Mostly Jerry tells stories of clear good guys with difficult decisions and magical engineering solutions to complex problems. His four sons and daughter have recently launched the ChaosManor™ imprint to support Jerry's widow, Roberta. The mission is to help smart kids find their path and achieve their purpose.
Look for new eLEGACY editions throughout 2020 that update the classics to include fan art, liner notes and secrets to unlocking what drove this prolific writer and dreamer.
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While the book forces us to believe in a comet strike ( easier than the vampires of The Passage), it develops in a most believable way. The characters are credible and reasonably well developed ( this isn't Shakespeare) and some are easy to like and admire ( contrast this with Gone Girl). How individuals and groups react to and try to cope with such a profound destruction of all we know was very well thought through and very credible. The fact that the authors relied on real science (of the 70's) and real places also made the book one the reader could relate to. I live in the Pasadena area, and know the route to JPL ( and JPL) very well. I also now know where Springville, CA is, as well as topography surrounding it, and could actually follow the story on a Google map.
Some have complained that the book was slow to develop. This is true when compared to the rest of the book, which is very fasted paced, and needed to understand the characters as people. The book was written in the 70's and it shows - concern over "global cooling" and the descriptions of race relations ( my teenage grand daughter had never heard the word "honkey"). This dated, although did not detract from, the book. Still others complained of "racism". This is total B/S. No, all Blacks were not treated as heroes - neither were all whites. There were some Black good guys ( an astronaut and his family, the Mayor of LA, some cops) and some Black not so good guys ( a street thug and his gang - the leader of which was described as "brilliant" and a "natural leader", and a military deserter and leader of the antagonist army). To walk away from this book and see racism is difficult to fathom - unless you go through life looking for such.
At any rate, if you like this type of book and have not read it, it is a must.
One thing is for sure; Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are well read, or at least they did a lot of research for this book. There were many scientific, religious and technical references; too many to be just cursory knowledge. It all enhanced the believability of it all. There were about 200 pages of build up (too many in my opinion), in which we got to know several characters and we got to see how this impending comet was causing a stir.
After the comet strike the book was divided into immediate aftermath: tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, torrential rains, etc. Coupled with the geological events were the actions of the people. Their actions were just as destructive as the comet if not more. Part three of the book, if you like, would be survival and the rebuilding process.
The book took you all over the place but the main setting was the Los Angeles area. That's where the majority of the events occurred but in that area you were taken from scientist to journalist to politician to administrative assistant to criminal and others' activities. There were times, such as with the scientists, that the conversation and the jargon was over my head. Imagine walking in on two physicists talking about their everyday work. To them it is regular everyday talk but to an outsider they may as well be speaking martian. Also with the different players you got glimpses at intimate relationships to the point you wondered what kind of book it was. They delved into too many ancillary topics for my taste but not enough to totally lose me.
Top reviews from other countries
zunino
It may start slowly, close to confusion, but don't forget: the writers are masters in this genre.