Escape from Hell (novel)

Last updated
Escape from Hell
Escapehell.jpg
Author Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Cover artist Stephan Martiniere
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy
Publisher Tor Books
Publication date
2009
Media typePrint
Pages336 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-7653-1632-5
OCLC 245537163
813/.54 22
LC Class PS3564.I9 E83 2009
Preceded by Inferno  

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]

Contents

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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Pournelle</span> American science fiction writer, journalist, and scientist (1933-2017)

Jerry Eugene Pournelle was an American scientist in the area of operations research and human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he worked in the aerospace industry, but eventually focused on his writing career. In an obituary in Gizmodo, he is described as "a tireless ambassador for the future."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Niven</span> American science fiction writer (born 1938)

Laurence van Cott Niven is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel Ringworld won the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. With Jerry Pournelle he wrote The Mote in God's Eye (1974) and Lucifer's Hammer (1977). The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him the 2015 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.

Inferno may refer to:

<i>The Mote in Gods Eye</i> 1974 novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

The Mote in God's Eye is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1974. The story is set in the distant future of Pournelle's CoDominium universe, and charts the first contact between humanity and an alien species. The title of the novel is a reference to the Biblical "The Mote and the Beam" parable and is the nickname of a star. The Mote in God's Eye was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards in 1975.

<i>The Gripping Hand</i> 1993 novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

The Gripping Hand is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, published in 1993. A sequel to their 1974 work The Mote in God's Eye, The Gripping Hand is, chronologically, the last novel to be set in the CoDominium universe. In the United Kingdom, it was released as The Moat around Murcheson's Eye.

Dante's Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy.

<i>Footfall</i> 1985 science fiction novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Footfall is a 1985 science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The book depicts the arrival of members of an alien species called the Fithp that have traveled to the Solar System from Alpha Centauri in a large spacecraft driven by a Bussard ramjet. Their intent is conquest of the planet Earth.

<i>Inferno</i> (Niven and Pournelle novel) 1976 novel by Larry Niven

Inferno is a fantasy novel written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, published in 1976. It was nominated for the 1976 Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel.

<i>Lucifers Hammer</i> 1977 science fiction novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Lucifer's Hammer is a science fiction post-apocalypse-survival novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle that was first published in 1977. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1978. Two issues of a planned six-part comic book adaptation were published by Innovation Comics in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Hughes (writer)</span> Canadian author (born 1949)

Matthew Hughes is a Canadian author who writes science fiction under the name Matthew Hughes, crime fiction as Matt Hughes and media tie-ins as Hugh Matthews. Prior to his work in fiction, he was a freelance speechwriter. Hughes has written over twenty novels and he is also a prolific author of short fiction whose work has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov's Science Fiction, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Lightspeed, Postscripts, Interzone and original anthologies edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. In 2020 he was inducted into the Canadian SF and Fantasy Association Hall of Fame.

<i>The Ringworld Engineers</i> 1979 novel by Larry Niven

The Ringworld Engineers is a 1979 science fiction novel by American writer Larry Niven. It is the first sequel to Niven's Ringworld and was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1981.

<i>Variable Star</i> Book by Robert Heinlein and Spider Robinson

Variable Star is a 2006 science fiction novel by American author Spider Robinson, based on the surviving seven pages of an eight-page 1955 novel outline by the late Robert A. Heinlein. The book is set in a divergent offshoot of Heinlein's Future History and contains many references to works by Heinlein and other authors. It describes the coming of age of a young musician who signs on to the crew of a starship as a way of escaping from a failed romance. Robinson posted a note on his website in 2009 noting that his agent had sold a trilogy of sequels based on the novel and its characters.

<i>Divine Comedy</i> in popular culture

The Divine Comedy has been a source of inspiration for artists, musicians, and authors since its appearance in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Works are included here if they have been described by scholars as relating substantially in their structure or content to the Divine Comedy.

<i>Playgrounds of the Mind</i> 1991 collection of short stories by Larry Niven

Playgrounds of the Mind is a collection of short stories by American writer Larry Niven, published in 1991. It is the sequel to N-Space.

Escape from Hell may refer to:

<i>Dantes Inferno</i> (video game) 2010 video game

Dante's Inferno is a 2010 action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable in February 2010. The PlayStation Portable version was developed by Artificial Mind and Movement.

<i>Dantes Inferno: An Animated Epic</i> 2010 film by several directors

Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic is a 2010 adult animated dark fantasy film. Based on the Dante's Inferno video game that is itself loosely based on Dante's Inferno, Dante must travel through the circles of Hell and battle demons, creatures, monsters, and even Lucifer himself to save his beloved Beatrice. The film was released on February 9, 2010.

<i>Inferno</i> (Brown novel) Novel by Dan Brown

Inferno is a 2013 mystery thriller novel by American author Dan Brown and the fourth book in his Robert Langdon series, following Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol. The book was published on May 14, 2013, ten years after publication of The Da Vinci Code (2003), by Doubleday. It was number one on the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover fiction and Combined Print & E-book fiction for the first eleven weeks of its release, and also remained on the list of E-book fiction for the first seventeen weeks of its release. A film adaptation was released in the United States on October 28, 2016.

This is a complete bibliography by American science fiction author Larry Niven:

<i>Escape from Hell</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Escape from Hell is an open world role-playing video game developed and published by Electronic Arts in 1990 for MS-DOS.

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