Lucifer's Hammer

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In addition, any geological faultlines near an impact site let go completely, causing massive earthquakes and volcano eruptions (and for the purposes of the story, "nearby" means "within a thousand miles") killing many of those who survive the tidal waves. Not to be confused with The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer, which deals with a different planetary impact. It was told from a 1970’s perspective; but good story telling doesn’t go out of fashion and it actually it’s a bit interesting looking back it after 40 years it ages well, almost a period sci-fi piece.

really good book, not dated and tackles the real issues faced by humanity after such a catastrophic event. I read this in 1982 and I vividly remember reading the comparison of the shape of the comet to an ice-cream cone. Hammer more importantly holds a party in his Beverly Hills home for family and friends to watch the television documentary about his Comet that he naturally financed.

The part where the one guy's teenage son decides to stay with the scout troop and the dad just kind of has to accept it. From Astronauts sent up to examine it and plot it's trajectory, Senators trying to do their best for neighbours and voters, Scientists and Astronomers investigating the "Hamner-Brown" Comet, to normal everyday people, this book (Niven/Pournelle's writing) creates believable characters that you just want to follow through the story. LUCIFER'S HAMMER is Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's graphic but frighteningly realistic vision of humanity's descent into anarchy and chaos and its struggle to re-establish a semblance of normality after an apocalyptic event devastates the world with inconceivable damage and death but does not actually push humanity over the brink of extinction - hoarding; heroism; brutality; the potential change in attitudes towards sex, sexuality, racism, marriage, religion and love; the evolution (or devolution) of government from democracy into potential more effective alternatives under the circumstances; the re-establishment of innovation and technological expertise; the potentially changing roles of women in a more basic almost feudally structured society; and, of course much more. However, I believe it is fundamentally an exciting thriller and a very impressive extended essay on the psychology and anthropology of humanity's behaviour in the face of global tragedy. The plot centers around the discovery of a comet entering the inner solar system and the aftermath of its impact.

Harvey sends his teenaged son Andy into Sequoia National Park with a Boy Scout troop led by his neighbor, bank president Gordie Vance.I do not subscribe to mindless, knee-jerk, PC Think, but I found myself raising my eyebrow more than once. I was humbled by the way they could turn so many flawed and normal people into an epic scene of pathos when they died. The next stop in my end-of-the-world reading marathon was Lucifier's Hammer, the 1977 disaster epic by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The idea is roundly considered horrific, but saturating the completely exposed and surprised horde with mustard gas certainly does work.