Lucifer's Hammer
Lucifer's Hammer is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1977. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1978. The story details a cometary impact on Earth, an end to civilization, and the battle for the future. It encompasses the discovery of the comet, the LA social scene, and a cast of diverse characters whom fate seems to smile upon and allow to survive the massive cataclysm and the resulting tsunamis, plagues, famines and battles amongst scavengers and cannibals.
What you might want to know about Lucifer's Hammer
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
An amateur astronomer spots a comet that could hit Earth. Astronomers downplay it. It hits. The novel follows a documentary filmmaker, a senator, a postman, and a mountain commune through the years that follow.
Yes. Lucifer's Hammer (1977) is a foundational post-apocalyptic novel about a comet strike on Earth and the survival of communities afterward. It influenced many later disaster and post-collapse novels.
Lucifer's Hammer was co-written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, who also collaborated on The Mote in God's Eye and Footfall. Both are standalone works of hard science fiction.
Lucifer's Hammer is 639 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Lucifer's Hammer takes most readers 10 to 14 hours to finish.
Lucifer's Hammer is a standalone novel by Larry Niven, not part of a series.
Lucifer's Hammer is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
