I've read a number of books that use well-aimed comets and asteroids to bring universal doom - it's a subject which has been well-exploited in the last few years. Some books, like "Lucifer's Hammer" (by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle) are far superior in detail, although set in the present, rather than Clarke's far future. Compared to some of the books that I have read, the Hammer of God was disappointly light-weight.

What I will acknowledge it the future setting which Arthur C. Clarke invents and which is far more interesting and realistic in many senses than the Earth-impact part of the plot.

I'd settle for Rendezvous with Rama over this book any time. I enjoyed the read, but as light entertainment. It isn't one of Arthur C. Clarke's great books, but it's fun if you don't take it too seriously. Frankly though, I don't understand the multiple 5-star reviews that appear above.


A decent afternoon read, but ultimately fairly hollow   May 22, 2002
 8 out of 11 found this review helpful

Arthur C. Clarke takes off on one of the "What If.." postulations that are often used in fiction today. In this case he looks at "What if there was a giant asteroid heading for Earth in the early twenty second century?" The result is an interesting story that ultimately has very little substance to it. Considering the rash of movies and books on this topic, surprisingly little is spent on dealing with the reaction to the situation by people as a whole. The focus is on really one character, and the central plot serves to little change him at the end. More of the feelign seems to be "well, we do what we can do and that's it." I dont' feel that the characters are any better or different people at the end. A bulk of the story is more of Clarke's predictions to future society in terms of social, political and theological changes. The themes are touched up on with the minimalist school of development. A central theme meditating on religion, religious changes and end times is introduced but sorely lacking in fuller utilization. The original souce of the book was an article for Time Magazine, and this feels like the 2nd draft of a growth of it into a novel - the pieces are there but they need to be fleshed out more. An enjoyable and quick read, but ultimately leaves you wishing for a bit more substance.


Clarke is a Master   July 23, 2000
 6 out of 9 found this review helpful

Arthur C. Clarke is the most reknowned SF writer living on the planet today. His novels like Childhood's End and The City and the Stars, amoung others, are classics of 20th century SF.

This is not his best novel. Matter of fact, it could be argued that this is not a novel in the strict since of the word. It's more of a long detailed outline. Much it dealing with the things like the the future of religion and the Catholic church. Interesting commentary on it. And not of of it as far fetched is it might seem.

Space Guard is an idea that is starting to get discussed. Mainly because we now know it was a cosmic visit that took out the dinosaurs. Humanity would like to avoid such a fate. It will probably still be a long time before governments and political leaders take up the idea of a Space Guard. But it is someting whose time has come to be done.

The fact that this is good a great novel does not really take away from Clarke much. As Clarke off his game a little is still better than most SF writers and their output.

Recommeneded. More for the thoughts and ideas than for anything else.


Pretty Good Sci-Fi   June 20, 2002
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is my second novel by Arthur C. Clarke and this book was not bad, but it wasn't as good as other science fiction novels that I have read. "The Hammer of God" would have been much more enjoyable if it was cut down to the size of a novella, or even a short story. The book is very, very heavy on science, which is a wonderful thing as I learned a lot. But ultimately, the book is not as good as it promised to be. Hopefully rhe following will give you an understanding as to why I feel this way.

This novel takes place in 2110 in a future that is very possible. An asteroid that is about the size of the state of Colorado is flying towards Earth and if nothing is done to stop the asteroid mankind on planet Earth will probably be no more. Captain Robert Singh and his crew on the space shuttle "Goliath" have been given the task to steer the asteroid out of its course towards Earth. This plot is very interesting and fun but it takes a very long time to finally get to the good parts.

The whole novel starts off well and Clarke is a very skilled writer so the book is a pleasure to read because of his writing skills. However, during the first half of the book all that you read about are scientific facts, which are fun, but it gets to a point that you want some action and you are not getting any. That is why I think that the book would have been much better if it was cut in half. If this was done their still would have been lots of science in the book and the plot and characters would have been more focused on.

One great thing about the book is all of the scientific facts that are present in the book. You mostly learn about astronomy in the book, but you also learn a little on subjects such as physics and geology. The novel is mildly entertaining but don't go into this science fiction expecting a tour de force. A loyal fan of the genre would mostly enjoy this book. The book is fun when you get to the plot, but if you want to be entertained from start to end steer away from this.

Happy Reading!


An enjoyable story of a possible future disaster   March 23, 1999
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

First of all, this is a light, but interesting story about an asteroid heading straight for earth. By light, I mean not a bloated, boring look at all the technological aspects of such a story. I like Clarke for his "hard" science fiction. I also like his concise style. I thought some of the background on the main character was a bit dull, but I agree that the second half is more interesting. I was also hoping for more on the environmental effects of such an encounter with an asteroid, but all in all it's still a worthwhile read.