I would describe this book as the end-of-the-world disaster story that ayn rand never got to tell. Very engaging and thought provoking - although changes in world politics do make some storylines feel outdated.

This is a "must read". Niven and Pournelle have done more than produce a truely riveting novel that you honestly won't want to put down- this is a cautionary tale cum survival manual. Many of you have no idea of just how quickly our "Civilization" will yield to simple survival- and what you might be able to do to get through it. Do your family a favor and read this book!

This book really made me think about what would happen to the world if something like this happened. I loved this book and really wanted more even when it ended.

One of the best end of work sci fi. Very good!

a great story about the effects of a comet strike on american society. from big science to a fuedal society where the quick and strong might not be quick and strong enough. an engrossoing plot, with very well developed characters.

Somewhat dated as it was written in the 70's, it's still an amazing look at how society would react to the end of civilization. Favorite quote "Societies only have the morals they can afford"

Apocalyptic action packed sci-fi. Great summer entertainment.

This book is a real page-turner, difficult to put down in large part because the authors have created characters that are at once both believable and sympathetic. Using good quotes, from Jouvenal to Heinlein, for chapter headers they not only helped orient me but also saved themselves the need to pontificate further by using their characters to 'preach'. To be sure, this is science fiction and it therefore lacks some of the stark realism of the mystery genre (neither sex nor death are dealt with explicitly) but I'm not so sure that's a 'bad thing'. Perhaps when one has created a scenario in which the entire planet is 'being screwed' by a comet one needn't waste time with salaciousness or gore. Better to focus on 'how we'd cope'...which is really what this book is all about. It will pain me to put this book back on the shelf, recycle it, but maybe that will only mean I'll have to swap for another copy next year. Because I know I'm going to want to at least flip through the book and refresh my memory on such notable quotes as: "No proposition is likelier to scandalise our contemporaries than this one: It is impossible to establish a just social order." Jouvenal

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Fun end-of-the-world book. Each section, from preparation, to immediate aftermath, to long-term survival, is handled well.

The only real down-side is what I perceive as Libertarian indulgence from authors who have never worked real jobs. :)

If you can make it though the LONG set up, where all the characters are introduced and their background is set up (and parts of that are LONG winded), the action that happens once the hammer falls is a huge payout. Vivid details of the destruction caused by the hammer hitting the earth, and people struggling to survive and make it through the aftermath. This is the book that turned me onto PA as a genre... an oustanding book (and HUGE too). And--while the intros seem to take forever--its really a small portion of the overall book.

If you're a fan of PA this is the book for you... great characters, easy to follow and great (and gripping) story telling... and disaster sequences that you'll remember for a long time.

Very well put together story, keeps you turning the pages. This could happen, you never know what might fall from the sky.

A good apocalyptic novel. The author focuses on a band of people and their daily pre and post apocalypse struggles, treating the actual buildup and aftermath of the comet strike as secondary. So you don't get bogged down with a familiar script.

3 stars out of 5

I have not read this one. But it says it is about a gigantic comet that slammed into Earth and the aftermath.

The gigantic comet had slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilization. But for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival--a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known....
"Massively entertaining."

A classic read.

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