Talk:Lucifer's Hammer

Novels: Sci-fi Mid‑importance

	Novels portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Novels, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to novels, novellas, novelettes and short stories on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and contribute to the general Project discussion to talk over new ideas and suggestions.NovelsWikipedia:WikiProject NovelsTemplate:WikiProject Novelsnovel articles
Mid	This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale.
	This article is supported by Science fiction task force.

Science Fiction Low‑importance

	Speculative fiction portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Science Fiction, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of science fiction on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Science FictionWikipedia:WikiProject Science FictionTemplate:WikiProject Science Fictionscience fiction articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

postman

the article in "playgrounds of the mind" which details the writing of "Lucifer's Hammer" writes of the postman 'Harry' was he the inspriation for the "The Postman" story and movie with Kevin Costner? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.17.50.112 (talk • contribs) 04:21, 9 July 2006

I would guess no: wouldn't expect N&P to swap yarns with David Brin. —Tamfang 00:26, 23 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

real people

Would it be worth mentioning that many of the characters are based on real people? Tim Hamner-Brown, for example, is said to be Niven himself. —Tamfang 00:26, 23 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Although this is true, Mark Czescu (I may have the spelling wrong) is apparently based on his friend Frank Gasperik, Tim Hamner is someone different from Brown. Brown is a boy who co-discovered the comet at the same time as Hamner, thus the reason the comet is named Hamner-Brown. Now if Brown is based on Niven as a child or adolscent, I don't know. Same with Hamner with regards to Niven as an adult. 76.178.105.2 13:39, 2 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Er, yes, I meant Tim Hamner, misremembered the name is all. Hamner is prominent in the story, Brown is not, if memory serves. —Tamfang 04:31, 7 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Dan Forrester was of course Dan Alderson. The guy running the nuclear power plant is Dr. Pournelle himself, Dr. Henry Armitage (an inside joke name from the Cthulhu Mythos) is the late Herbert W. Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God, The_Plain_Truth, and Ambassador College in Pasadena. Joyce Jumper also has a minor character modeled after her. -- Davidkevin (talk) 02:35, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Frank Gasperik also appears in Footfall. (I don't remember recognizing anyone else there.) —Tamfang (talk) 08:17, 9 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Question

Question: why is the destruction of Los Angeles equated with the fall of civilization? CharlesTheBold (talk) 05:21, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Larry lived in LA at the time 8-) chrisboote (talk) 14:47, 21 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Has he since left?? —Tamfang (talk) 08:27, 9 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The story also mentions in passing, if I remember right, that a strike in the Gulf of Mexico makes a flood up to Missouri, and that China is nuked by the USSR. —Tamfang (talk) 16:48, 14 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Both correct. A tsunami is described which obliterates the east coast of the United States so thoroughly that "there is no trace left that cities ever existed there." Several of what we today would call super-Katrinas spawn hundreds of tornados which raze the southern states, and the west coast earthquake faults all let go at once, making the 1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake look like a sneeze. The entire Apollo recovery fleet is destroyed by a single gigantic comet fragment (Dan Forrester hears over the Apollo communications net "Fireball southeast!", then "FIREBALL OVERHEAD!", then dead air.) Only in the Rocky Mountain states does the U. S. military appear to continue to function since at the end of the book a jet fighter is seen coming over California from the east. "You can fly, but we control the lightning!" -- Davidkevin (talk) 02:13, 10 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Literary significance and reception section

The Literary significance and reception is a standard part of the Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels/ArticleTemplate and the WikiProject Novels/Style guidelines. As it says in WikiProject Novels/Style guidelines, Understanding the novel's position in its own society and in later literary and cultural traditions is crucial. Removing this section bring this article to be just a plot summary, we need more than just a plot summary to meet WP:PLOT. --Captain-tucker (talk) 02:12, 23 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Plot length

The plot length of this article is excessive. It is already at the 1000+ mark, and recently has been added to to increase it to 1200 words. I cannot see why this is justified - the novel is not that complicated, and could easily be whittled down to the more acceptable 400-700 level.

Rather than edit-warring, I invite the other party - and indeed anybody else - as per WP:BRD to contribute and bring the plot, and article into line with similar novel articles. Chaheel Riens (talk) 06:58, 23 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Your actions continue to confound me - if you believe the article to contain errors, then fix them without increasing the wordcount which is still more than 1000 words - and also please discuss here. Additionally, why have you removed the "Literary significance and reception" section, using a completely irrelevant summary? Chaheel Riens (talk) 10:22, 23 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Proposal/Compromise

I suggest this then - I'll not revert your work to the plot length if you intend to bring it down as you suggest you will, but in the meantime the template at the top stating that it needs to be reduced also stays in place. This will allow and alert other editors to join in as and when they see fit. Chaheel Riens (talk) 10:31, 23 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I think it is too short. For comparison see length of plot summary Mote in Gods Eye, - another Niven & Pournelle boosk,. Wfoj3 (talk) 22:32, 9 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]