Escape from Hell
AuthorLarry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Cover artistStephan Martiniere
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy
PublisherTor Books
Publication date
2009
Media typePrint
Pages336 (hardcover)
ISBN978-0-7653-1632-5
OCLC245537163
813/.54 22
LC ClassPS3564.I9 E83 2009
Preceded byInferno 

Escape from Hell is a fantasy novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. It is a sequel to Inferno, the 1976 book by the same authors. It was released on February 17, 2009.[1]

The novel continues the story of deceased science fiction writer Allen Carpenter (who spelled his name "Carpentier" on his novels) in his quest to help other damned souls in Hell. Like the first book, “Escape from Hell” extensively references Dante's Inferno. Jerry Pournelle, one of the book's co-authors, described the book as "Dante meets Vatican II."[2]

Plot

Following events in the first novel, in which Carpenter learned that it is possible to leave Hell, Carpenter wants to help others in the way his benefactor helped him. Carpenter meets and travels through all the circles of the Hell described by Dante. He is accompanied in his travels by Sylvia Plath (whom he rescues from the Wood of the Suicides by burning her tree, causing her physical body to reform itself), attempting to understand the purpose of Hell and free many of the damned. Carpenter discovers that, apparently because he returned to Hell of his own free will to help others, he now possesses powers and abilities such as his mentor, Benito, also displayed.

In his travels, Carpenter meets many well-known individuals deceased as of 2009. In addition to Plath, some of the notables encountered by Carpenter include:

In the end, and partly as the consequence of some unusual changes to Hell itself, Carpenter not so much escapes as that he is shown the door for being a troublemaker.

Critical reception

Published reviews were mixed. At the SF Site, Ivy Reisner found it "thoughtful", noting that it "runs far closer in tone to [Dante's] original" than does the 1976 book, and observing that it is a "charged political work" in which "not all of the condemnations will appeal to all of the readers" (in particular citing a teenage boy who was damned for sodomy because he had been raped by a priest).[3] Publishers Weekly called it a "well-constructed tale" — albeit one whose "landscape and (...) plot are a little too familiar."[4] James Nicoll described it as "an unnecessary sequel" which demonstrates "that a sequel to a successful book may not be very good".[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Escape from Hell (Hardcover)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  2. ↑ Hickerson, Michael (3 March 2009). "Escape From Hell Author Jerry Pournelle Discusses Computer Geek Hell -- An AMC Interview". Slice of SciFi. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  3. ↑ [https://www.sfsite.com/07a/es299.htm Escape from Hell Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle], reviewed by Ivy Reisner, at the SF Site; published 2009; retrieved March 7, 2021
  4. ↑ Escape from Hell , reviewed at Publishers Weekly; reviewed December 8, 2008; retrieved March 7, 2021
  5. ↑ It May Be Raining, by James Nicoll; at James Nicoll Reviews; published February 15, 2020; retrieved March 7, 2021
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