Lucifer's Hammer
The chances that Lucifer's Hammer would strike the earth head-on were one in a million. Then one in a thousand. Then one in a hundred. And then . . . Lucifer's Hammer, the gigantic comet, slams into Earth, shattering civilization. The lucky ones die first. For the survivors, everyone's nightmare becomes true. Frightened and battered men and women must face earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale; tidal waves thousands of feet high; cities turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam—the beginning of a new Ice Age. The end of government and power plants and libraries and hospitals and law. Chance had saved a few. Now it was up to them. All restraints on human behavior vanish in flame and flood. But can they with bare hands, salvaged tools, and ingenuity forge a new society? Fleeing the flooded cities and plains are farmers, tradesmen, students, bikers, black militants, rapists, murderers, army deserters. All are prepared to battle to the death for the precious highlands of central California where the last hope for a civilization is a feisty U.S. senator and his strong-willed daughter. They have turned their mountain ranch into a citadel against the marauding hordes of mercenary soldiers, murderous cannibals, and psychopathic religious fanatics. Who will survive and what will the new world be like now that Lucifer's Hammer has hit? With bloodchilling tension, spellbinding suspense and scientific accuracy, the prize-winning authors have written a provocative, shocking, and terrifying novel of today—and perhaps tomorrow. Larry Niven is a three-time winner of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award. His most famous novel, Ringworld, won both. He and his wife reside in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Jerry Pournelle, who holds degrees in engineering, psychology, and political science, was active in both the Mercury and Apollo space programs. He is the winner of the 1972 John Campbell Award. He resides in Studio City, California, with his wife and four sons. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are the co-authors of the celebrated novel, The Mote in God's Eye. |
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First printing, January 1977 |
ISBN-13: 978-0-8722-3487-1
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To Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Published by Ballantine Books Copyright 1977 by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle Excerpts from GIFFORD LECTURES, 1948 by Emil Brunner. Excerpt from a private speech by Robert Heinlein. Reprinted by permission. Prom "Pure, Sweet, Culture" by Frank Garparik. Copyright @ 1977 by Frank Garparik. Used with permission of the author. From How The World Will End by Daniel Cohen. Copyright 1973, McGraw-Hill. Used with permission of McGraw-Hill Book Co. From The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris. Copyright McGraw-Hill 1967. Used with permission of McGraw-Hill Book Company. Excerpt from The Cosmic Connection by Carl Sagan. Copyright 1973 by Carl Sagan and Jerome Agel. Reprinted by permission of Doubleday & Company, Inc. Excerpts from The Coming Dark Age by Roberto Vacca, translated from the Italian by Dr. J. S. Whale. Translation Copyright 1973 by Doubleday & Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Doubleday & Company, Inc. From Moons and Planets: An Introduction to Planetary Science by William Hartman. Copyright 1972, Wadsworth Publishing Co., Inc. Used with permission of Wadsworth Publishing Co., Inc. Excerpts from Sovereignty by Bertrand de Jouvenal. Copyright 1957 by University of Chicago Press. Used with permission of University of Chicago Press. From The Elements Rage by Frank W. Lane. Copyright 1965 by Chilton Book Co. Used with permission of Chilton Book Co. Song "The Friggin Falcon" 1966 by Theodore R. Cogswell. All rights reserved, including the right of public performance for profit. Used by permission of the author- and the author's agent, Kirby McCauley. |
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"Terrifying . . . It's the best end-of-the-world story since On The Beach . . . superb detail, shudderingly believable."—Frank Herbert