Looking for a rousing post-apocalyptic yarn (I'm a sucker for that end of the world fiction jazz), I stumbled across various reviews of Lucifer's Hammer. A lot of people recommended it so why not give it a shot?
Like most who have reviewed Lucifer's Hammer, the first quarter of the book drags slightly. I attribute it to the fact that I was just impatient and doggonit, let's see that comet hit already! But I have to say that as the comet drew closer to earth, I found myself glued to the book, waiting...anticipating. And when it hit, I wasn't disappointed. The book picks up steam after that and sends you on a rollercoaster. The highlight for me was the mailman and his little adventure. Out of all the characters and sub-plots throughout, this was the one I related to the most and "made" the book for me.
I'm not going to pretend that I'm some scholar looking for how dated the text is or the other numerous morale ambiguities that litter the story. I found myself giggling at several reviews which suggested that the authors are sexist, racist, or were other varying unflattering terms. The fact of the matter is, when civilization dies, everything that was, is no more. There is no more women's lib, racial equality, or democracy. There is only the will to survive.
My complaints are few. The ending seems rushed and a major plot point was glossed over in only a few pages. I felt extremely disappointed that the authors didn't feel that certain point needed an adequate dramatic resolution. Several random characters that could have been interesting protags or antags were killed or never heard from again. In fact some of them seemed more interesting that the characters that actually lived.
All in all, a good read and I couldn't put the book down from the moment the comet actually hit.
No comments:
Post a Comment