Inferno

By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

After being thrown out of the window of his luxury apartment, science-fiction writer Allen Carpentier wakes to find himself at the gates of Hell. Feeling he's landed in a great opportunity for a book, he attempts to follow Dante's road map. Determined to meet Satan himself, Carpentier treks through the nine circles of Hell, led by Benito Mussolini, and encounters countless mental and physical tortures. As he struggles to escape, he's taken through new, puzzling, and outlandish versions of sin recast for the present day.

©1976 Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A dazzling tour de force." (Poul Anderson)
"A fast, amusing and vivid book, by a writing team noted for intelligence and imagination." (Roger Zelazny)

Great ideas, dated presentation

There’s a lot of outdated gender role ideas in the book, but I do love the cosmology presented.

pain is a badge of honor

This was an interesting twist on hell and purgatory. While the theology is very off track, it is an entertaining addition to Dante's Inferno; the classic struggle between self centeredness and self sacrifice are played out intriguingly. A relaxing listen.

Better the second time around

I read Inferno years ago. I was skeptical that an audiobook could rival my own minds eye from the read page. I was surprised and amazed by the vivid nature of hearing the spoken word. I would recommend listening to anything once read to gain new insight and watching a 'mind's eye' sequel to past experience. Still glowing from this scorching modernization of Dante's classic.

Enjoyable, but a little dated

Yes, it's an updated, sort-of-sci-fi version of Dante. The problem is that many of the references were relevant in the 70's and if you aren't up on your 70's history and pop-culture, you will probably miss them. I think I got maybe half of them. It's a good listen, but would love to have a guide to the book to tell me who they were actually talking about.

Disappointing

Dante did it better. Not that interesting an attempt to update the concept or challenge new thought.

Not exactly Alighieri, but fun

Niven and Pournelle have collaborated on quite a few novels. I've read many and most were quite enjoyable.
The rings of Hell are generally faithful to Alighieri, and the dialoge (Niven/Pournelle specialty) is fun. Hell stays pretty lighthearted untithe sudden baffling conclusion. Whether you agree or disagree with Jerry's (protagonist) conclusions is up to you. I found the climax and denouement quite disappointing.

Niven and Pournelle make a great combo

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

A friend recommended this book to me and I would certainly recommend it to a friend. Some might have difficulty with it as it challenges some preconceived notions about religious ideals, but this is what kept me listening -- I wanted to see where it was going.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Some of the reveals of the characters really came out well in this book. I can't say too much or you won't have something to look forward to.

A vain attempt to modernize a classic

I was surprised by how much I disliked this novel. Having read the 3 books written by Dante, and liking them very much, I found this book severely wanting.

The idea of modernizing Dante's idea is not without merit, but I do not think the authors were up to the task.

A great read

A very clever adaptation of Dante's Inferno. Very readable. Good plot development. A modern moral tale.

great retelling

this is a fun retelling of Dante's Inferno. Obviously has the same moral story of Dante but is much easier to digest. is a lot of fun to listen to and I highly recommend