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I knew that this would be a book about a comet hitting the Earth, but aside from that, I didn't know what to expect. This book is absolutely amazing! The authors must have consulted with farmers, engineers, and others - they really thought everything through. The story really heats up around 75% or so. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but the end of the book is so interesting and exciting that I couldn't put it down.

I bought the book from Baen's website, since I really like their marketing strategy of giving away free Ebooks to let people get to know the authors and try a series before they buy. I really wanted to support them, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Lucifer's Hammer available of their site (Jerry Pournelle had just been talking about the book on a podcast shortly beforehand).

I really don't want to give any spoilers, so I'm afraid of writing too much. I do recommend that you read this, though! it is very accessible, even though it was written in the late 70s (the Monty Python reference is just as recognizable now, though! You'll know what I'm talking about when you read it). There is a large cast of characters, and sometimes I had to refer to the list of characters at the beginning to jog my memory. The book is nearly 600 pages (on my Ebook reader, anyway), but it is not a dry read at all. As I said, you will probably have to blast through the last quarter of the book all in one go since it is so action packed, so it won't seem like such a long book.

I've got mixed feelings on this one. I was really unsure of what I was getting into with this book. I really think that the author successfully pulled off the wolf theme, however the focus on what I considered to be relentlessly depressing family drama just isn't my bag. I can see why this hit the top of the charts, though. I'm just more of a sci-fi/adventure kind of fan. Assuming that the author actually did the research, I think I learned quite a few things about wolves and how they interact in packs. Of course, this might not be entirely accurate, but I really have no desire to follow it up.

This was a lot of fun to read. I don't know what to say. It's a classic adventure. If you like pirates, read it.

Nice quick read. It should keep me happy until the next Expanse book comes out.

I fell in love with this book from page 1. Thankfully, the rest of it did not disappoint. A wonder of a book. Easy 5 stars.

At just over halfway through, I've given this a 4 out of 5. It's strange. It's not at all what I was expecting. That is, it's not (yet?) a typical story with a good guy and a bad guy, where everything predictably leads to a climax. It very well could, but I really have no idea what's going to happen next. It seems more like I'm watching bits and pieces of a young magician's life. I really can't explain what I think of it other than to say that I'm getting quite attached to the book and don't want it to end yet!

EDIT: I've finished the book. I'm happy with giving it 4 stars. It would have been 5 if I actually liked the main character (he was a one-dimensional drama queen). The story itself was extremely readable and full of surprises.

EDIT 2: I was wrong to take off a star becausee I didn't like the main character. In fact, I should have given the book extra stars for making me love he book despite having aa main character that I don't like.
I haven't been able to get this book out of my mind. I have changed my review to 5 stars.

I absolutely love the story idea behind this book, but I just couldn't get through it. Why?

The writing style. He used short phrases. Bits and pieces. Not whole sentences. Added suspense? No. Not at all. It was annoying.

Imagine that for hundreds of pages. No thanks! If you can get past that (or maybe listen to the audiobook), I think it could make for a really interesting book. It's just not my thing, though.

I really enjoyed watching the TV show, but having watched it, there was really no reason to read the book. It was like reading a really long blog. If you're a huge fan, you might enjoy it.