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)

90% Good

Excellent story until the very end. There was a lot of story and character development before the event though I'll have to go back to tie up some apparent loose ends. The event description was outstanding. The closer we get to the end the more the story turns obscure or pointless. In the end the speeches were hollow and it became difficult to listen to without being disappointed. Maybe it's odd to compare this story to The Stand but a similar apocalyptic formula was used with The Stand having a much stronger finish.

Marc Vietor's narration was great. He had mostly believable voices for the characters and was consistent throughout. I'll be looking for more of Marc's work.

A true classic

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

I read this book when it first came out in the 80's. Listening to it on audio is just as good as that first time.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lucifer's Hammer?

The realisation that the comet was actually going to strike the earth and various peoples preparation, or lack of.

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

He narrates smoothly and gives accents more accurately than my reading does. (I'm Australian so some of the accents I am not clear on)

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

Towards the end was very sad with the battle. What a waste with so many people already dead from the catastrophy.

Any additional comments?

Get the authors book- Footfall. Another excellent book from this genre.
Wish there were more like it.

an old favorite

I always loved this book. performance was grwat. worth the time and money.

One of, if not the first book about a comet hit

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

I've read the book at least three times over the past 30 plus years. I'll listen to it again in another year or two. The reader did it justice.

What did you like best about this story?

The pace of the story is perfect. Keeps your interest all the way the way through. No real slow points or filler.

What about Marc Vietor’s performance did you like?

I've read the book several time before and pictured the character and their voice while reading. I was not disappointed Marc Vietor's reading.

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

Won't make you cry, will make you laugh, maybe not laugh but chuckle. It will definitely create some great mental images.

Any additional comments?

This was one of the first science fiction book I ever read and got me hooked. I'm a big fan of the authors Pournelle and Niven. I think I've read everything they have written together and some of their solo works. Together they are great.

Survival Story - Choices after the End of the World

This book was written in 1977. It was reviewed as a survival story after a great asteroid strike. I thought it started slowly. Fully half of the book was pre-catastrophe. I understand it was necessary to get readers in loved with the characters but I like these storylines for the science, relationships and societal development that comes with the catastrophe. So the first half was a bit slow for me. The second half made up for it. The story was original, the results of the comet strike were realistic, possible and well thought out. The conflicts after the strike seemed realistic. I enjoyed the plot developments and characters. Often for me battle scenes are just drudgery and I don't follow the troop movements and battle strategies - but in this book.i did enjoy them. Characters did stop and make love in some very unlikely situations and under some very stressful, uncomfortable scenarios; but to each there own. All in all- a very good story.

Still relevant

Read this before but still gripping with solar minimum coming and most not paying attention.

Long time ago........

It's been a long time since I listened to this story but I still remember it. Now if I can figure out how to delete my old stories so I can listen to more.

Enjoyable

As a fan of apocalyptic fiction, this was a credit well spent. The basis of the story has a refreshing root in actual science (it is Niven, after all), so it comes off as believable in that regard. Some of the characters never felt entirely fleshed out, however, and there are a couple of relatively jarring jumps in timeline.

The premise of any worldwide apocalypse story begs for a multitude of settings around the world. Writing them all would create a never ending story, but Lucifer's Hammer goes the other direction, detailing effectively nothing but one section of California. I'm sure some people appreciate this book for not being The Stand, but I miss seeing something of the world at large.

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the listen, and it was fun to go back to some Cold War era fiction.

Better than the book!

Have read the book many times. Great story. The audio book started slow and dry but you need the lead-in to really get into the story. Marc Vietor really gets onto the characters. If you liked the book you will love the audible version. Enjoy.

Too damn good! Read (listen to) it now.!

This book is 25 hours of great entertainment.

It does start out a little bit slow, but trust me, it gets good. There are a lot of characters whose back stories need to be developed.

The narrator is a ‘god-damned genius,’ in the words of Forrest Gump’s drill sergeant. So many different characters, and the personalities are believable.

The voices are occasionally funny, especially when using 70s era slang (in abundance) which only adds to the entertainment value.

The story is magnificent though, in that it’s absolutely impossible to guess how all the different sub plots resolve together at the end for the climax.

I actually climaxed just now, like actually physically, climaxed.

I’ve got to get cleaned up.