Lucifer's Hammer

By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 24 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

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....

©1985 Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"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)
"Massively entertaining." ( Cleveland Plain-Dealer)

Amazing book

Finally an honest end of the world story! One of my all time favorite books. Fantastic for anyone who has ever been frustrated by Hollywood’s often lackluster and poorly thought out disaster movies. It takes some time the learn the characters but a really great book!

A must listen, for a very long journey.

While this story is based in the 70's it is an utterly enthralling book and is a must listen. Fabulously performed by Marc Vietor I found myself hanging on every chapter. A frighteningly real scenario from which many movies were no doubt spawned. Loved it.

Not my favorite book but very entertaining.

This wasn't one of those books where I couldn't wait to get back into the car to listen to it or didn't want to get out, but I found it very enjoyable. A little tough when they are talking about all the devastation in the world and cannibalism, but it is probably a fair representation of what would happen under those circumstances. Give it some time and you'll get into it.

great dramatic build up

This book brought brought together the personalies and situations in a way that generated that had me worrying and rooting for the good guys and wondering how low the bad guys could go.

A great story and narration.

I first read this book many years ago and is one of the best if not the best book I have ever read. If you enjoyed this book then I recommend Earth Abides also.

A great story by fantastic authors

This is a great combination of modern-day science set in "what if" Earth-bound fiction.
Mr. Nivens and Mr. Pournelle are brilliant, accomplished writers who understand the value that research brings to concoct a believable, action-packed thriller.

The first part of the book gives you the character development you need in order to come to grips with how people behave after the meteor hits. I actually paid more attention to this part of the book than I did the first time I read it, and it made it even more enjoyable.

While not exactly an HEA ending, there are multiple aspects of this book that do give you hope for the future of humanity. It's also an incredible story that will keep you listening well beyond your intended time limit. It's well worth a credit as it's so rich you'll want to read it more than once. Definitely on par with the book "The Martian."

Too many storylines, but decent

It was hard to follow the many different characters in different story lines. In a book, it may be ok. But, in an audiobook, there needs to be fewer storylines, to be able to remember who is who. Other than that, it was a decent story.

I read it 30 years ago, but couldn't stand it now

I was a huge fan of Larry Niven's work from the 70s and 80s. I read this book shortly after it came out in paperback about 30 years ago, and remember enjoying it. So I recently tried to listen to the audiobook version. I abandoned it, something I almost never do.

The problem wasn't the narrator, it was the story itself. It just doesn't stand the test of time. So much of the book is setup about the characters in their normal "current day" lives. Those might have sounded realistic in the 80s. But in 2017, they sound unrealistic and really, really boring. I cringed at the sexism of the character dynamics. I was just a teenager in the 80s, so maybe adults really did act this way to each other back then. But they don't today. It was enough to take me out of the moment and forget about the plot itself.

So, I'm giving this audiobook 3 stars. When I was 17, I would've given the book 5 stars. Now that I'm in 48, I give it 1 star. So 3 is a fair average.

Almost returned this

It is so old fashioned I just couldn't connect with the characters. It doesn't stand up well to the test of time.

Decent book but VERY dated

Would you listen to Lucifer's Hammer again? Why?

I don't think I could do this book more than once. It's just too dated, and felt long and drawn out at times. In spite of it being a decent book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Easily Harry the mail man. He provided some much needed humor and is a breath of fresh air in contrast to the dreary ambiance of the book.

What does Marc Vietor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Probably the best part of this audio book was the reader.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book is very dreary and mellencholy once you get past the first 4 hrs prior to the Comet striking. You are pretty much looking at a post apocolyptic landscape filled with murder and cannibalism with the stark reality of even good people doing what they must to survive not just on a personal level but as a species. Having to turn away whole families at the front gate of a stronghold just because they know they don;t have enough resources to support them is pretty much condemning the family to die. But some great points are raised about the neccessity of certain occupations and skills sets and how valueable they become to the greater good and the commune itself.

Any additional comments?

Again, Solid book, the only issue i take with it is it really dated itself by incorporating the cold war mentality of anti-communism sentiment. They also had a bunch of hippies in their own commune, and made several refrences to the vietnam war and what amounts to the Black Panther movement of the sixties. Who were also conveniently the "Bad Guys". All that just made this feel very dated and it was hard to get past that for me.