Rating: 
Summary: Spell Binding ,Can't put it down.
Review: I don't remember where I got this book at. Once I picked it up, it was like an addiction. Every chance I got I was back reading it. I've read this three times cover to cover. It will make you look up and wonder.
Rating: 
Summary: Complex story, sometimes shallow characters
Review: Overall this is a great book, though provoking for all the reasons the other reviewers site. The authors paint a very vivid picture of a post-cataclysmic society. Unfortunately, there are some very stereotypical and shallow characters throughout the book. The dated picture painted of African-Americans felt most objectionable to me. Additionally, a group of boy-scouts camped out in the Grapevine having any orgy with a local girlscout troop only several weeks after the impact was a bit much to believe. Unfortunately, these few examples are not the only occurance of this kind of shallow and unbelievable character development. Oh, and, *everyone* will be having sex if society crumbles, with multiple partners. There is a general 70s mentallity to this book that interferes with the suspension of disbelief.
Rating:
Summary: Forget Watching Any Comet Movies; Read Lucifer's Hammer
Review: Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle do an excellent job convincing the reader that a comet could hit the earth. Instead of sticking to a disaster formula, however, the authors create intruiging characters whom you come to care about. The only problem: there is no sequel. Though the novel ends on a high note, it would be more enjoyable if the saga continued.
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Summary: Food For Thought...Loved Every Page!
Review: This is a *great* book! I recommend it to everyone I know. Lucifer's Hammer is a very realistic portrayal of what *could* happen and, don't forget, what *has* happened before... Only this time it's not the dinosaurs that are in danger... I first read it years ago as a child, and finished re-reading it recently. I can only hope that the two movies coming out on this very subject are able to captivate and intrigue your imagination even half as much as this literary work will! READ THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Wish they'd make it into a movie!!!!
Review: A great read. Similar in style to the writing of Stephen King from the perspective of intertwining many characters from diverse backgrounds into the plot. It really made me think about survival should an event of this magnitude occur. It is a fine end of the world story, again, similar to The Stand, by Stephen King.
Rating:
Summary: A good read of value to anyone considering survival issues.
Review: When I first read LH I was still with the government and involved in contributing to what passes for our government's emergency action plan. Since no one individual can imagine all possible scenarios, it is a good idea to get the benefit of someone else's thinking. That's why many of us read books like LH and Alas Babylon - - to get the value of other's ideas of what MIGHT happen and how people MIGHT react. From this standpoint I give the book a 10. It makes you think and gives you a scenario within which to organize those thoughts. Are you prepared? If not, why not? What do you do to become more prepared. I suspect that the trauma associated with the El Nino storms this year might have been mitigated if more people had looked at possible worst case scenarios and prepared for them. If you plan to start some study along this line, don't neglect the many factual books out there from histories such as The 900 Days (the siege of Leningrad)and/or the myriad publications dealing with specific hazards such as hurricane, earthquake and other mass disasters. Our society is more fragile than most believe. It does NOT stretch the imagination to envision something similar to the plot of LH.
Rating: 
Summary: Niven and Pournelle let "Lucifer's Hammer" hit with a thud
Review: It is unfortunate that a novel of with such tremendous potential winds up being an overly long, often confusing piece of science fiction. In the case of "Lucifer's Hammer", there are simply too many people and too much story to keep up with. The premise is interesting enough...a newly discovered comet on a collision course with Earth. This in and of itself made me pick up the book initially. But the sheer number of characters and various subplots doomed this story. The fact that it is over 600 pages, in small type, doesn't help, either. Still, for the hard-core science-fiction fan, "Lucifier's Hammer" may be worth the purchase, simply because of its historical value and significance.
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Summary: The Best of the Niven/Pournelle Collaborations
Review: The authors really out did themselves with this book about various people from different parts of the world who survive the destruction of civilization and struggle to rebuild. The fight against the anti-technology cannibals is an interesting and all to plausible plot twist. Even though the book is out dated (it includes a Apollo mission) it is still a great read that makes you think about whether you would be among the survivors.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, startling book that forces you to think hard.
Review: A story of normal, everyday people from different walks of life, attempting to survive the virtual destruction of the world. Not only does this book entertain as few others do, but it gives insight into your own mind. How would you survive the end of the world? Could you make the same tough decisions? Are you prepared for the Hammer to fall? I've lent this book to many friends, and nobody can read it only once, and nobody can read it without wondering... Amazing, compelling book that should be in every bookshelf in the world.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book soon, read it often.
Review: I wish I had never read this book just so I could read it again for the first time. I reread Lucifer's Hammer several times each year. I recommend it to my students. I snatch copies from the shelves of used book stores to give to people. Even after (migawd, can it have been 20 years) I still love to read this book. Either Niven or Pournelle by himself is readable. Together they weave an engrossing story around believable and sympathetic characters.
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