Escape from Hell

De: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle

Narrado por: Tom Weiner

Allan Carpentier escaped from hell once but remained haunted by what he saw and endured. He has now returned, on a mission to liberate those souls unfairly tortured and confined.

Partnering with the famous poet and suicide, Sylvia Plath, Carpentier is a modern-day Christ who intends to harrow hell and free the damned.

But now that he's returned to this Dantesque inferno, can he ever again leave?

©2009 Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"This well-constructed tale will inspire many readers to seek out the original Divine Comedy." ( Publishers Weekly)

Couldn't ask for more.

I never read this one. But to hear it read lent much understanding or should I say much better then reading it. Some day I'll read it. Until then I suspect I'll listen to it again.

Despite the decades long delay, not a worthy successor to the original

The ending could have been less ambitious. It could have described more of the trilogy. Purgatorio, Paridicio. Maybe this is what I’m learning about “old mans wisdom”, in the last few years. They tend to be detached. And very ambiguous about larger issues.

Interesting but not quite the original

I read Inferno almost 50 years ago and it led me to read Dante (Inferno was more accessible) I only recently learned that they had written this sequel. So comparing two books one read in youth and another in retirement is perilous, but here goes. This is more theological or at least philosophical and less adventurous. Much is predictable. Pournelle is suspect had some axes to grind, though proven stopped him from going overboard. Still, it kept my interest, even to the end, which I found less satisfying than expected. I am still glad to have found it.

Amusing, but novelty worn off

Way back when, I remember really, really liking Inferno. It was a good yarn, well written, amusing, quite a unique and imaginative premise. And so, even though I am generally leery of sequels, I bit and - having used up my credits for the month - bought it. For the most part, it was again amusing. But how many times can you do this? About half way through it started getting tiresome. I began to wonder how it could be that these two protagonists could possibly know about of, or have even met, every single one of these characters that come along? Out of all of Hell, they know EVERYONE that appears? C'mon. And the ending, well, I won't spoil it for everyone but I think it was pretty weak. Still, it had its moments.

Well done.

I enjoyed it more the second time around. I read this book about 10 years ago, and just revisited it by listening to the audiobook. The first time around, it wasn’t really what I had expected, as the story doesn’t flow quite the same way that the first one did. This book serves more to introduce uncommon interpretations of what is probably viewed as archaic sin. But it is informative, and fun, as the writers worked hard to bring levity to a very dark subject, sometimes moreso than most. This book does a much better job of educating the reader, or listener, of the layout, purpose, and imagined visual experience of Dante’s Inferno, than the first book did. I was surprised to have found that the writers had become more political, but it makes sense considering the cultural changes that had occurred between 1976 and the time this book was written. Check it out; it’s worth the trip.