Warlord - Lucifer's Hammer
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- Duration: 3:30
- Published: 2007-04-12
- Uploaded: 2011-01-29
- Author: Constrictor87
..And the Cannons of Destruction have begun !!!! \m/
| Name | Lucifer's Hammer |
|---|---|
| Author | Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Playboy Press/HarperCollins |
| Release date | 1977 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 494 pp |
| Isbn | 0-872-23487-8 |
| Dewey | 813/.5/4 |
| Congress | PZ4.N734 Lu PS3564.I9 |
| Oclc | 2966712 |
When the wealthy amateur astronomer Tim Hamner discovers a new comet, dubbed Hamner-Brown, it comes to the attention of documentary producer Harvey Randall, who does a television series on the subject. Political lobbying by California Senator Arthur Jellison eventually gets a joint Apollo-Soyuz (docking with the second flight worthy Skylab) mission into space to study the comet, dubbed "The Hammer" by popular media, which is expected to pass close to the Earth. Despite assurances by the scientific community that a collision with Earth is extremely unlikely, the public, fueled with religious fervor by the evangelist Henry Armitage, begins to hoard food and supplies in anticipation.
Eventually, to the shock of scientists at JPL in Pasadena who could not track the trajectory accurately enough due to the comet's constant outgassing, the Hammer does fall, breaking up into several smaller comets that strike around the world with devastating results, striking parts of Europe, Africa, the Gulf of Mexico, and both the Pacific and Atlantic. The strikes cause volcanoes and earthquakes along all major fault-lines in California, including the San Andreas fault, heavily damaging the region. Several of the fragments land in the ocean and further damage is caused by the resulting tsunamis, which destroy several major coastal cities around the world, including Los Angeles. As the survivors contend with weeks of non-stop rain, flooding destroys practically every dam and levee, leaving a search for food a top survival priority. Civilization crumbles as people use the few remaining weapons to protect themselves from each other.
After "Hammerfall," Hamner goes from being a meek, affluent astronomer to a determined survivor with his new wife Eileen. Randall shows true leadership abilities under fire, while Jellison and other land owners, farmers and ranchers become lords over their fiefdoms and the serfs they employ to provide labor, skills and security. Jellison forms the 'centerpost' of these fiefs, dubbed "the stronghold", where he presides over a small population of survivors who wish to retain civilization. The tone of life after "Hammerfall" is one where those who do not have valuable professions for a world without power or civilization are relegated to "laborers", regardless of their socio-economic status or profession before the Fall. For example, while doctors are still valuable, lawyers are unneeded. Soldiers and police are diminished and provide security alongside gang members and bikers, both within the Stronghold and within the New Brotherhood Army, the legions of Reverend Henry Armitage, who indoctrinates his followers into cannibalism to secure their loyalty. Jellison's stronghold is located slightly east or northeast of Springville, California, where the North Fork and the Middle Fork of the Tule River meet. West of this stronghold, the city of Porterville has been destroyed by the collapse of the dam at Lake Success. A portion of the comet breaking off and splashing down in the Gulf of California has turned the former San Joaquin Valley into a swampy lake. Other small enclaves of civilization exist in this area, until a band of cannibalistic zealots led by Reverend Armitage and an army of heavily armed soldiers begin a rampage through the area, culminating in a series of battles with the inhabitants of Jellison's stronghold.
Category:American science fiction novels Category:1977 novels Category:American post-apocalyptic novels Category:Literary collaborations Category:Novels by Larry Niven Category:Novels by Jerry Pournelle Category:Impact events in fiction
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