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)

Classic Scifi Post end of the world

Would you consider the audio edition of Lucifer's Hammer to be better than the print version?

Most certainly better then the printed version. You got a much better feel for it, and you could listen past the more mundane things much easier then read through them.

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

No, honestly I really didn't have an emotional reaction to irt

worth the listen

while the plot does take quite a long time to develop with many key players weaving in and out of the story, it is definitely worth the listen in order to understand where this genre began and how it originated.

Truely a Great Novel.

Intense, moving, and with some of the deepest insight into human nature of any work, there"s a reason Lucifer's Hammer is one of the most influential SF books ever. Look for breafth of story, epic scope, and of course, delightful paeans to technology (a la Martian).

Excellent & long apocalypse tale.

I liked this story, although the third book seemed a bit long-winded. An end of the world disaster story courtesy of a huge comet slamming into earth. The resulting damages and effects on the earth were presented in chilling detail. The effects on man were anticipated and disappointing. The results of man under extreme pressure are unfortunately usually the same. Some rise to the task, but many fail. This was an excellent story, if not common in some regards.

Invokes plenty of emotions

Loved this book. At times it's difficult to listen to because it invokes negative emotions due to "evil" characters, but it's really worth it.
Very much story driven, not hard sci-fi.

Surprise

What made the experience of listening to Lucifer's Hammer the most enjoyable?

The portrayal of human challenges, of soul searching and of real human response in the midst of the nobility that humans can show.

What did you like best about this story?

How it all tied together. There were so many threads going at the same time. Just amazing.

Have you listened to any of Marc Vietor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I had trouble getting into this, but once I did I was just enthralled.

Any additional comments?

I have long been an avid fantasy reader and have resisted sci-fi. Mr Niven has won me over and I will be seeking out more of his work.

Comet Apocalypse 1978

What made the experience of listening to Lucifer's Hammer the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the story lines and the diverse chacracters

What other book might you compare Lucifer's Hammer to and why?

There is a whole genre of books like this one dealing with a comet or asteroid hitting the earth. I thought the individual survival stories in Lucifer's Hammer were believable

Which character – as performed by Marc Vietor – was your favorite?

Tim Hamner

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

no

Excellent Book to Read or Listen to.

I read this book in the late 70s and loved it. When I saw it on audible, I wanted to listen to it.

Although the book is dated, it is still well worth the listen, the narrator does an excellent performance

best disaster book ever

so well written. timeless . just as relevant today. well worth sticking with the many hours

Great story. Still resonates!

Despite being written in the late 70's, this story is still very relevant. I mean what's changed since the 70's. The internet and yoga pants. The technologies and social-political issues remain the same but instead of referring to Vietnam, we refer to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The story is great. While I concede that the first third is a tad trying as it sets up characters for the final 2/3rds of apocalyptic-goodness, it's important investment. I loved the science and all the hypotheticals around what would happen if a massive asteroid hit the earth and really enjoyed the pace and atmosphere of the first few days following the strike. Pretty riveting stuff. And all throughout you're having a real debate with yourself regarding whether or not one particular act or decision is what you would have done to survive the end of the world. This is opposed to my usual status of gobsmacked as some idiot main character clearly makes the most stupid decision you've ever read in the history of (zombie apocalypse) literature. I mean ever.

IMO: This story is about 50 times as good as the glut of end of world zombie tripe that is out there right now (then why do you listen to it if it's so bad....don't ask). Granted it's a bit long, but on the whole, it's worth it.

Finally - props to the narrator. A very nice job. Does a good job selling different voices, including the female ones and gets the right tone and deliver throughout.