Review

“The Hammer of God” by Arthur C. Clarke is a classic Arthur C. Clarke book. It is scientifically well-founded and deals with the ever-present danger of living on a planet in a crowded solar system: Meteors and asteroids. It is set in the relatively near future after which humanity has colonized both the Moon and Mars.

As always, Arthur C. Clarke approaches the issue from a scientific perspective and an approach to create a strategy for how to prepare a defense against potential disaster. The technology, which is presented in the book is incredibly accurate and realistic and one could easily imagine how all of the things presented could occur within the timeframe, which is presented. As always, you cannot fault the scientific basis with Arthur C. Clarke.

To find comparisons the best comparison for Arthur C. Clarke is almost always Arthur C. Clarke, as he is such as distinct author. Perhaps, the closest I can find in terms of style is Isaac Asimov and Christopher Priest. In terms of plot, threats to Earth is at the centre and I imagine that films, such as “Deep Impact” might provide the closest comparison. For books, I would say the “The Gods Themselves” by Isaac Asimov is the most similar book I can think of.

Score: 7/10

The score is relatively low. The book is great, but I found that it was very bumpy to begin with and it doesn’t quite flow as well as it could until about 30 or 40 percent through. It does become very good in the end and it cannot be faulted in terms of visions and guessing at the future and even the crew portrayed is interesting.

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