Inferno

Inferno (2008) – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Orb | ISBN: 9780765316769
Condition: Good | Sold by Crappy Old Books

Hell. That notoriously unpleasant destination where the wicked are condemned to eternal punishment, the accommodation is dreadful and the management apparently considers boiling people alive a perfectly reasonable method of customer relations. For centuries, theologians have debated its existence, artists have imagined its horrors and Dante Alighieri famously provided a detailed guided tour. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before two science-fiction writers decided to investigate the place themselves.

Welcome to Inferno, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s wonderfully inventive journey into the afterlife, where classical literature, theological speculation and the distinctly irreverent imagination of modern science fiction collide.

The unfortunate traveller is Allen Carpentier, a science-fiction writer who dies in an accident at a convention and awakens to discover that death is considerably less straightforward than he had anticipated.

Instead of peaceful oblivion, heavenly enlightenment or even a respectable opportunity to argue with the management, Carpentier finds himself inside a terrifying landscape of punishment, suffering and increasingly bizarre supernatural arrangements.

Worse still, the place bears an alarming resemblance to the Hell described in Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Accompanied by a mysterious guide named Benito, Carpentier begins an extraordinary journey through the circles of Hell, encountering the damned, witnessing gruesome punishments and attempting to understand the moral principles governing this spectacularly unpleasant institution.

Being a science-fiction writer, Carpentier initially approaches the situation with a combination of scepticism, curiosity and the conviction that there must be some rational explanation.

Perhaps it is an elaborate simulation. Perhaps alien technology is involved. Perhaps somebody has constructed the universe’s most ambitious practical joke.

Unfortunately, the evidence increasingly suggests that Hell is exactly what it appears to be.

Niven and Pournelle transform Dante’s medieval vision into a provocative exploration of justice, redemption, free will and the uncomfortable question of whether eternal punishment can ever be morally justified.

Their protagonist is not content merely to observe the suffering around him. He questions the system, challenges its assumptions and gradually develops a very different understanding of what his journey might mean.

The result is a fascinating combination of fantasy adventure, philosophical argument and dark comedy, filled with grotesque encounters and the unsettling possibility that the afterlife operates according to rules nobody has properly explained.

Originally published in 1976, Inferno demonstrates the authors’ ability to take an extraordinary premise and pursue its implications with both intellectual seriousness and an enthusiastically mischievous imagination.

This 2008 Orb edition, offered in Good condition by Crappy Old Books, is an excellent acquisition for admirers of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, collectors of classic speculative fiction and readers who enjoy their theological debates accompanied by supernatural horrors.

A clever, entertaining and frequently disturbing novel that asks profound questions about punishment, compassion and the possibility of salvation.

Because discovering that Hell actually exists would undoubtedly be a tremendous shock.

Discovering that it follows Dante’s itinerary would be worse.

And finding yourself condemned to spend eternity among the damned would certainly put those disappointing hotel reviews into perspective.

At least ordinary holidaymakers can demand a refund.

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