Rating: 
Summary: The Mother of All Metaphors
Review: "Inferno" has been justly regognized as a classic. The hero, Allen Carpentier (a minor sci-fi writer) accidentally falls out of an 8th story window and wakes up in a place that seems to be modeled on the Hell of Dante Aligheri's poetic epic "Divine Comedy." His guide, Benito (whose true identity is one of the author's little surprises) leads Carpentier through all the circles of this alleged hell. At first he assumes he has been kidnapped by aliens and is imprisoned in some sort of fiendish Disneyland. But it doesn't give too much of the story away to reveal that he is in the actual, real hell, which Dante saw in a vision. Niven and Pournelle have a lot of fun revealing their candidates for hell--environmentalists and developers, liberals and conservatives (Kurt Vonnegut ends up in the circle reserved for Creators of False Religions.) But as Carpentier and Benito plot their escape serious issues emerge. It seems the tortures of the damned are extremely painful and very real. What kind of God would create such a place? Even if you accept Hell as a metaphor rather than a literal reality (as man traditions do), what about the hells on earth we create for ourselves? Do we sentence ourselves, because God can't violate our free will? What do Carpentier and Benito have to learn in order to escape from Hell? "Inferno" lives up to its reputation as morally informed, gripping speculative fiction, like Mary Doria Russell's "The Sparrow."
Rating:
Summary: Great!!
Review: A man wakes up in Hell. All around him people are going through incredible tortures. Some he can help while others are impossible to help. So begins his journey to try to escape Hell.This was such a well written interesting short novel. Very philosophical in nature. The authors give a new slant on explaining the reason for Hell and how to get out of it. I will not give away the surprise ending but it really came as a surprise and did work well.
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Summary: Somebody needs to get off the stick, and make this movie!
Review: For some reason this seems to be the only Niven/Pournelle collaboration not in widespread print. Indeed that's sad because this is probably one of the more distinctive of their collective musings, if still definitely having their mark on it. The title was no doubt easy to pick, in case you're wondering if the book has anything to do with that wacky long work of poetry by a certain Italian poet, you're absolutely right. A science fiction writer dies and for some strange reason gets sent to hell, which of course he then proceeds to break down into science fiction terms (figuring he must have gotten sent into the future . . . "Infernoland" I love it!) while events and settings around him defy all sense of logic and physics. It's a rollicking ride through the netheregions, the boys barely give you time to catch your breath as Carpentier attempts to replicate Dante's journey through the place to get the heck out of there. Along the way he runs into the twentieth century versions of sins, some of which you might disagree with, since a bunch are political in nature but I found most of them fairly funny and the authors don't hit you over the head with their social commentary. He also runs into some notorious historical figures and the identity of his guide is at first so seemingly obvious that you can't believe that they had the gall to actually include him in the book and then you wonder how come Carpenter doesn't realize until long after you do. A great companion to Dante's poem, it raises a few religious questions just to give you something to think about but overall it's a fun read.
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Summary: Never in My Wildest Dreams - Pure Genius
Review: For someone who doesn't read a lot, I have now spoilt it for myself by reading this modern adaptation of Dante Alighieri's "Inferno". Now all future reading prospects must be as "un-put-downable" as this absolute masterpiece of madness. The story begins with the untimely death of one Alan Carpentier, a self-acclaimed, world famous Sci-Fi writer. During a Sci-Fi convention, His fans had talked him into a drinking competition where one sits, legs dangling outward, on a window ledge while skolling an entire bottle of Rum in one go. Unsurprisingly, His gagging reflex sent him hurtling out the window of an 8 storey building just as his fans were facing the other way. So begins the story of a dead man's trip through the various layers of hell. You will find yourself raving about the book with comedy in mind while generating a look of horror on the faces of your friends. I myself would need more than 1000 words to explain the absolute enjoyment of reading this book (which I've read Approx. 5 times). Be very careful though, because there is a place in hell for the slightest of sinners and you may find yourself looking up from within the plains of freezing ice or being slashed in half by 18 foot demons in the boiling lakes of blood. Remember, you can only die once...
Get it from anywhere...Just read this Book!
Rating:
Summary: Inferno -- a Great Read
Review: In their Inferno, Niven and Pournelle do a masterful job of updating Dante Alighieri's book. To appreciate this book fully, the reader should first read Dante's Divine Comedy, or at least its middle section, Inferno. The authors find many modern equivalents of the Renaissance-era evils cited by Dante. Naturally their punishments are somewhat more modern. Instead of being chased by wild dogs, the modern violent wasters are chased by turbocharged bulldozers. The misers and spendthrifts are natural enemies; Niven and Pournelle leave some of them to Dante's original fate, but they also come up with new ways to pit the Boosters and the Earth First types against each other. The protagonist and his escort meet Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Boss Tweed, and many other characters. Readers will recognize a certain Twentieth-Century political figure long before the main character does. The authors make a few mistakes. Phlegethon, the lake of boiling blood, is identified in different parts of the book as Phlegyas and as Acheron. (Wrong on both counts!) They have the gate in the walls of Dis being torn down by Jesus Christ, while Dante specifies that the destroyed gate was the main gate of Hell (the one with "All Hope Abandon..." on it). I hope these errors are fixed before they reprint the book. But these are minor items. The book makes a fascinating read, and it is very hard to put down. If you ever see this book in a second-hand store, a garage sale, or a swap meet, BUY IT! You won't regret it.
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Summary: Hellishly Fabulous
Review: My copy of this excellent work is tattered and duck-taped together, but I still loan it out to many eager readers. Niven and Pournelle are a great team, and have not let me down with this horribly wonderful novel about a science fiction writer who falls from a high window and finds himself confronted with waking up dead. In Hell. Loosley based around Dantes classic, The Divine Comedy, this book oozes competence and sharp wit from the very start and doesnt let you go till the last page is read. I wish it was still in print. If you see it, grab it...It's a dandy.---C. Smay END
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Summary: I agree
Review: There are many times that I thought, in the course of reading the original "Inferno" by Dante, that somehow somebody should make it into a movie. I agree with the reviewer below: Niven and Pournelle's prose adaptation appeals to a very broad audience, with its contemporary damned and down-to-earth agnostic version of Dante to narrate; it would be very simple (with the right CG effects, of course) to make this into an entertaining movie.
The story zips along smoothly, making the book very hard to put down. I actually finished it in about 4 hours because there really is no 'good' place to stop. I especially enjoyed the fact that the authors remained true to the original concept of Inferno, while at the same time updating and commenting on the original. From this book's perspective Dante and Virgil were the pioneers of hell-travel, and the Inferno is the guide-book these modern-day travelers mentally refer to throughout the novel.
A wonderfully imaginative and - surprisingly - positive book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's not too hard to pick up a copy used; go find one!
Rating:
Summary: I agree
Review: There are many times that I thought, in the course of reading the original "Inferno" by Dante, that somehow somebody should make it into a movie. I agree with the reviewer below: Niven and Pournelle's prose adaptation appeals to a very broad audience, with its contemporary damned and down-to-earth agnostic version of Dante to narrate; it would be very simple (with the right CG effects, of course) to make this into an entertaining movie.
The story zips along smoothly, making the book very hard to put down. I actually finished it in about 4 hours because there really is no 'good' place to stop. I especially enjoyed the fact that the authors remained true to the original concept of Inferno, while at the same time updating and commenting on the original. From this book's perspective Dante and Virgil were the pioneers of hell-travel, and the Inferno is the guide-book these modern-day travelers mentally refer to throughout the novel.
A wonderfully imaginative and - surprisingly - positive book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's not too hard to pick up a copy used; go find one!
Rating:
Summary: best book....ever
Review: This book is one of the most amazing books Ive had the pleasure to read, not often the science fiction fan, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle put a fun and informative new age twist on a amazing piece of italian liturature, ie Dante's Inferno, not only does this book make its own powerful impression about our own imaginations, it also inspires us to pick up the original, and have a better understanding for the basics in it. The adventures of our poor missplaced hero Allen Carpentier (not Carpenter, mind you) and his education through the many ironic and over appropriatly tourturous stages of Hell. I rarely read books twice, this one i have read more then 37 times, it is a keeper, make sure to have at least 3 hours time on your hands, assuming you are a fairly speedy reader, because you wont be able to put this one down!
Rating:
Summary: best book....ever
Review: This book is one of the most amazing books Ive had the pleasure to read, not often the science fiction fan, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle put a fun and informative new age twist on a amazing piece of italian liturature, ie Dante's Inferno, not only does this book make its own powerful impression about our own imaginations, it also inspires us to pick up the original, and have a better understanding for the basics in it. The adventures of our poor missplaced hero Allen Carpentier (not Carpenter, mind you) and his education through the many ironic and over appropriatly tourturous stages of Hell. I rarely read books twice, this one i have read more then 37 times, it is a keeper, make sure to have at least 3 hours time on your hands, assuming you are a fairly speedy reader, because you wont be able to put this one down!
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