This is a pretty basic disaster story with some interesting future physics. In short, a planet has materialized near the Earth. It's gravity has greatly influenced the moon and caused higher and higher tides in our world. The book deals with the ongoing disaster and what caused the planet to appear.
It's not a very strong book. It starts off by following too many narrative threads. It's hard to remember what is happening to which people. Kind of a shame too, as there are hints at some very interesting stories that really kind of fizzle. The other problem with the big cast is that it's very hard to care about any of them.
The last fifty pages or so is easily the best part of the book. The cast is down to a manageable size and you finally get some answers. (Spoiler alert: Of interest to me is another planet covered in metal so it looks armored. It fires a blast with 'the power of a million suns'. I don't know if this influenced George Lucas or not but that is where my mind went.)
I can't really recommend this one. I like disaster novels and there are much better ones out there. 'The Wanderer' won the award in 1965. 'Lucifer's Hammer' was up for a Hugo in 1978 and does a much, much better job of the disaster stuff. 'Wanderer' may have influenced it but that only makes it a case of a giant standing on the shoulders of a midget.
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