At least one reference to prior work by the authors is present in the text, through "Crazy Eddie's Insurance", a direct reference to The Mote in God's Eye (published in 1974). It got a bit tedious - and quite sexist (repeated mentions of man's 'natural instinct' to 'protect the female' coming out, and how 'women's lib' is now defunct), with a few dashes of racism. Any sort of link or text post is welcome as long as it is about printed / text / static SF material. The Authors Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are very well read and they disperse at the beginning of chapter insightful quotes from various other authors throughout the book. Love Triangle: One of these forms between Maureen Jellison, Harvey Randall, and George Christopher, the latter two of whom are in love with Maureen.

Monumental devastation will sweep across the globe if the newly-discovered Hamner-Brown comet collides with the one major obstacle in its path: Earth.Believable characters, a sufficient backstory to endear you towards the main protagonists, and a well-developed plot that doesn't rely on too many overused tropes in the post-apocalyptic genre. It's repeatedly referenced that if humanity had been just a bit more advanced - that is, just that much better at nuclear physics (and space development) - they would have been able to prevent the impact. The minute changes in mass and momentum, outgassing and the resulting small changes in the comet's orbit caused by the sun's radiation make it impossible, even up to the moment of actual impact, to accurately predict whether the comet would graze the earth's atmosphere, pass it by entirely or devastate earth with a direct impact. Book has light bumping at the head and tail of the spine and at the tips of the two upper outside corners. No, it becomes a symbol of the Light and Hope of All Future Technology-Based Civilization, which is driven home in a luridly purple death scene, in case the readers missed it.

The story is told from several different viewpoints and the characters all feel real and believable. If it does hit, civilization will cease on Terra after pieces of the comet smash into the Earth's oceans, tidal waves hundreds of feet high, they'll be or even higher destroying everything in their paths. I guess if the entire comet had hit it would just completely obliterate the Earth and these smaller impacts just wipe out civilization as we know it. The science of the comet, its formation in the distant Oort cloud, its orbit, its structure, its evolution as it accelerates towards the sun and the aftermath as the remnants race away from earth back into deep space, is touched upon but only in a cursory fashion. People TODAY who care nothing for anyone but themselves and would waste you for the Air Jordon's on your feet.What dates it now doesn't hurt the story at all, but rather makes it kind of kitschy and well worth going back. Niven created an alien species, the Kzin, which were featured in a series of twelve collection books, the Man-Kzin Wars.

Once things start to happen then the next third starts to become interesting as they realise what's going to happen and deal with the initial impact. Given all that, I’d say read this if you enjoyed Stirling’s apocalypse series (Emberverse), or perhaps The Stand, but don’t expect too much in terms of emotional engagement or character development. If I had raised my bridle-hand, as I have held it low, The little jackals that flee so fast were feasting all in a row. Although using the perspective of many allows for the reader to understand the largeness of the scope of disaster, it makes emotional connection with any one character almost impossible. Early Niven/Pournelle collaboration about the physical and social aftermath of a giant meteor slamming into the Earth.I needed it to know who I was supposed to pay attention to, because so many people were introduced for only four pages.

Yes, it's a bit dated, but it's also the first book of the comet/asteroid as the end of the world genre. When it is clear the asteroid will come closer than expected, money is wrangled to get a team of astronauts up into space to take samples, pictures and measurements, and I was surprised to find this was one of the most interesting sections for me. But I was a fan of books such as On the Beach – and Lucifer’s Hammer pointed out that not making an effort would lead to societies where ‘rat-catching’ was the prize to be aimed for by the young. Heroic Sacrifice: The manner in which Air Force General John Baker saves the nuclear power plant from the cannibal army.But the last few I have read really unearthed things I didn't notice when I was younger, and this one, which was one of their early collaborations, really shows its age.