Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Escape from Hell (Inferno #2)

by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Jennifer Hanover (Illustrator)

3.47 of 5 stars 3.47 · rating details · 528 ratings · 65 reviews

Allan Carpenter 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 legendary poet and suicide, Sylvia Plath, Carpenter is a modern-day Christ who intends to harrow hell and free the damned. But now that he's returned to this Dantesque Inferno,...more

Hardcover, 332 pages

Published February 17th 2009 by Tor Books (first published January 26th 2009)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Mark of the Lion Trilogy by Francine Rivers

Best Biblical Fiction

79th out of 164 books — 174 voters

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Best Science Fiction

393rd out of 883 books — 907 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 918)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 02, 2009 Nick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: authors_larry_niven, authors_jerry_pournelle, fiction, science-fiction, religion, read-2009

Not so much as a sequel as an updated revision, or extension, of Inferno. There were no major new concepts, i.e. any reader of Inferno, if asked to predict the plot line of Escape from Hell, would have described the plot actually used. It extended the existing ideas, and did not expand them. Enjoyable, with some moments of brilliance, and some equal moments of literary haziness. If you have not read Inferno, read that first. There were no significant new concepts in Escape from Hell. This is a c...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 03, 2009 Raja99 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mcpl

Why I Read This Book: Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are well known for several bestselling collaborations: Lucifer's Hammer and The Mote in God's Eye to name two. My favorite of their collaborations, though, is Inferno . When I read (on Pournelle's website) that a sequel was on the way, I was cautiously hopeful. I was cautious because sequel to Mote consisted of a terrific novelet glued to a really tedious novel, and I've enjoyed very little of Niven's work of the last 25 years. I was hopefu...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 02, 2009 john Adams rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: trying-to-remember-what-i-read, reviewed

With a name like that how could you go wrong! The premise of this book is a super cool idea that I have wanted to read for a long time. What if Dante's trek though hell was real. This is a sequel to a another book with the same premise. It is about a science fiction writer (our Dante) who finds himself in hell. In the first one Benito Mussolini plays his Virgil, and it ends with Mussolini escaping and our hero being re-judged. In this one, our protagonist has escaped his punishment and earned th...more

like · see review

Feb 28, 2009 Yael rated it 5 of 5 stars

Back in 1974, I read -- and re-read, and re-read -- Larry Niven and Jerry Pournell's Inferno. Inferno has been described as "a cakewalk through Hell," but there is a great deal more to it than is suggested by that blurb: as shown by a number of intensely moving moments in the novel, the authors had clearly caught the spirit of Dante's immortal classic as well as the sheer adventure of it. This is no less true of Escape From Hell, which updates, elucidates, and climaxes the story of Allen Carpent...more Back in 1974, I read -- and re-read, and re-read -- Larry Niven and Jerry Pournell's Inferno. Inferno has been described as "a cakewalk through Hell," but there is a great deal more to it than is suggested by that blurb: as shown by a number of intensely moving moments in the novel, the authors had clearly caught the spirit of Dante's immortal classic as well as the sheer adventure of it. This is no less true of Escape From Hell, which updates, elucidates, and climaxes the story of Allen Carpenter, a science-fiction writer who, after an accidental fall of many stories from a hotel window, wakes up to find himself in a sealed bottle in the Inferno of Dante. Rescued from his prison by Benito Mussolini, he is conducted by Benito down to the very bottom of Hell, where he and his guide climb down Satan's monstrous leg to reach the doorway out of the Inferno, leading to the good Earth above and the route to Heaven. Benito has conducted numerous souls out of Hell before having encountered Carpenter. He urges Carpenter to begin the climb toward Heaven -- but Carpenter declines, saying that it's now Benito's turn to leave Hell behind, and Carpenter's to act as a guide for the damned souls in the Inferno, leading whoever he can out of Hell. Carpenter's last glimpse of Benito is a small, dwindling dot against a background of stars as Benito climbs up and up toward Earth's surface.

Escape From Hell after some time has passed since Benito's escape from Hell and Carpenter's return to act as a psychopompos for the damned. Carpenter is resting in Round 2 of the Seventh Circle, the Wood of the Suicides, when he discovers that the tree against whose trunk he is resting is that occupied by the spirit of Sylvia Plath, the gifted poet who wrote the autobiographical novel The Bell Jar (http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Jar-Sylvia...), and who committed suicide on the morning of February 11, 1963 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_P...). Allen figures out a way to release Sylvia's spirit from that tree, and the two of them then make their way together through Hell as Carpenter conducts Sylvia toward escape and salvation. As they go, Carpenter tells her his story, and of the souls he has already tried to help leave Hell.

Since his experiences documented in Inferno, he has learned much about what has passed on Earth since his death, among which are suicide bombers and personal computers -- and he and Sylvia, who died 12 years before Carpenter did, learn still more now. On their way down toward the Ninth Circle and the very bottom of Hell, they encounter the Reverend Aimee Semple McPherson, who could have left Hell but chose to stay to rescue as many souls as possible; a prophetic medium who had been fraudulent on Earth but now has real psychic powers; a former priest; and numerous others, some of whom want to accompany them to the exit, others who are staying to help souls escape or to comfort them, and still others who must remain behind because they are not ready to leave.

With quotes from Dante's actual text and an explanatory section at the end which, among other things, describes the best Italian-to-English translations of Dante's original, Escape From Hell is both a grand adventure and a somber study of the nature of sin and repentance, good and evil, and God and humanity. Superbly written and thoroughly researched, along with its companion novel, Inferno, it is a magnificent literary accomplishment and a delight to read.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 26, 2011 Jimm Wetherbee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Allen Carpenter is still in Hell. Those who have read Niven and Pournelle's Inferno, one might have expected him to at least be somewhere in Purgatory by this time. For everyone else, Escape is Niven and Pournelle's follow-up on their updated prose adaptation of Dante's Inferno. That first effort proved, if nothing else, a catalyst in renewing interest in Dante.

As unseemly as it may sound, Hell is better the second time around. Inferno dealt with two questions, what does it take to get one to be...more Allen Carpenter is still in Hell. Those who have read Niven and Pournelle's Inferno, one might have expected him to at least be somewhere in Purgatory by this time. For everyone else, Escape is Niven and Pournelle's follow-up on their updated prose adaptation of Dante's Inferno. That first effort proved, if nothing else, a catalyst in renewing interest in Dante.

As unseemly as it may sound, Hell is better the second time around. Inferno dealt with two questions, what does it take to get one to believe something one firmly holds to be impossible and whether Hell just or just sadistic. Most of Inferno is spent with the atheist Allen Carpenter (also known as Allen Carptentier) coming to grips with the fact that he is really dead and he really is is in Hell. The question of justice hung more as a rhetorical device to support his skepticism than as a true investigation However, epistemic angst goes only so far and it sometimes left Inferno feeling like a travelogue of the damned. Escape, while not it may not answer the question, at least engages the reader in what justice could possibly be served in every circle of Hell.

Escape finds Carpenter back on the Isle of Suicides talking to noted poet Silvia Plath. This is a fortuitous meeting since she was a tree when they meet. If you've read Dante, you know why, if not, Niven and Pournelle explain. This is also fortunate for the reader. Dante needed Virgil as a guide through Hell and Plath comes much closer to Virgil than Carpenter's last guide.1 Not only are Dante's seven circles of Hell laid out, but a fair bit C. S. Lewis can be found also. Without too much work, one can find references to The Great Divorce, Mere Christianity, Miracles, and even The Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis, however, was unavailable as a guide. Plath, however, is a poet, read Dante, and was an acquaintance of Lewis. Niven and Pournelle may have stretched that last part a bit and I dare say some admirers of Plath may not be altogether pleased with how she is depicted. After a while Plath begins to take on the voice of the newly converted such that one cannot hear the Plath that one would expect from the Bell Jar at all. At one point she anachronistically states that we are cocreators. Even if the events prompt her to such a view, surely she would have come up with something other than this theological neologism. I should not be too harsh, however. Niven and Pournelle have carved out a special niche in Hell for at least some of those critics who would prefer the unreconstructed Plath. To an extent, Plath is among those who have just found faith. She would not make a very good guide if she were still rooted as a tree, and so some sort of conversion would be necessary.

Now, those who have read Dante already know that suicides are in the seventh of seven circles. Even though the seventh circle is very convoluted, it hardly seems Carpenter needed a guide, he already had gone through six circles (twice!) before meeting her. Well, sometimes one needs a guide to get through and sometime to find a way through. Carpenter is looking for justice and Plath provides that guidance as he narrates his tale to her. Like Lewis, Carpenter is convinced that Hell is locked from the inside, Plath helps him discover how that might be. To achieve this requires creating engaging characters whom the reader believes are getting what they deserve and yet sympathizes with enough to wish that they someday get out. Niven and Pournelle pull this off while rarely falling into the temptation of putting their own adversaries in their place, as it were. As a further twist, a fair number of those whom Carpenter meets are giving service to God and well know it, and this service comes out diverse and marvelous ways.

Escape concludes with all Hell breaking loose and Carpenter being cited for disturbing the peace (or terrorism, its hard to tell). What special place Hell finds for Allen Carpenter is your to discover. The journey is worth the destination. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 06, 2010 Douglas Summers.Stay rated it 3 of 5 stars

The sequel to Inferno. While Inferno read like a parody, this one seemed at times (mostly during the parts of the storyline involving Sylvia Plath) more like a thoughtful exploration of the idea of hell, and also an opportunity for the authors to assign some celebrities to what they felt was the appropriate circle, concentrating on people who had something to do with the Katrina disaster and recovery. The unrelenting violence in the book seemed kind of Tom and Jerryish. Way too many cameos, but...more The sequel to Inferno. While Inferno read like a parody, this one seemed at times (mostly during the parts of the storyline involving Sylvia Plath) more like a thoughtful exploration of the idea of hell, and also an opportunity for the authors to assign some celebrities to what they felt was the appropriate circle, concentrating on people who had something to do with the Katrina disaster and recovery. The unrelenting violence in the book seemed kind of Tom and Jerryish. Way too many cameos, but for some reason it still held my interest.
It made me want to look for the Longfellow translation of Dante. Preferably accompanied by those incredible etchings by Dore.
I escaped from hell once. It was a Lorain ward activity, where the gym represented the earth life, and you could either play semi-gambling games to win "money" for "prizes" or play other games like Bible trivia to earn righteousness points. (This wasn't the Lehi's dream simulation; that was another time.)Then the grim reaper tapped you on the shoulder and you went to the spirit world in the foyer to be judged by bishop Stafford. But when no one was looking I escaped from the spirit world, stole all the righteousness points that had been collected from everyone else up to that point, and escaped back to the earth. The next time I died I visited hell and also stole all the money that had been collected from all the dead people (I guess hell has an estate tax or something) and tried to go back to earth to redeem it for the prizes. But it turned out that they weren't actually going to give out any of the prizes, that was part of the object lesson.
That made me invent a story where a boy dies and sees the tunnel of light, and starts going towards the light, but realizes this is an abandoned subway tunnel, and there are ladders to access hatches, so he goes out through the hatch and finds himself inside of a giant mechanical gear system that moves the planets around, and it's inhabited by various mythological figures, such a Saint Nicholas and the easter bunny who is actually El Ahrairah, god of the hares. Also there was a scarecrow god who the crows served because they feared him. I can't remember much else, except that most of the people there were children who had died during the last thousand years in Europe and that playground chants were a powerful form of magic in that world.

(less)

like · see review

Apr 22, 2010 Colin Birge rated it 3 of 5 stars

Niven & Pournelle's "Inferno" is a minor classic of SF, a 70s-era fantasy update of Dante. "Escape From Hell", as others have pointed out, is nearly the same book--similar characters, similar story--but with one subtle but important difference: this one acknowledges the post-Vatican II and Pope John Paul II-era changes to Catholic doctrine.

As with the older book, Niven & Pournelle took the opportunity to put several famous people they disliked (and a few they admired) in Hell. In fairnes...more

like · see review

Jul 08, 2010 Pat rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle

Niven & Pournelle are writing mostly sequels these days: they've published six novels in the last twenty years, of which four were sequels.

The book is oddly structured - the first third (or so) is a series of flashbacks, glued together with brief conversations between Allen Carpent(i)er and Sylvia Plath. (When Niven & Pournelle turned in their manuscript, the publisher sent it back for several months' additional work; now that I think about it, this part reads like one or two chapters th...more

like · see review

May 25, 2010 BookMarc rated it 2 of 5 stars

The sequel to 'Inferno', with it's cheap looking Sci-Fi Channel cover, sees dead science fiction writer Allen Carpenter return to Dante's nine circles of hell to help free as many captives as possible. You see, hell isn't a one way ticket in this book and those condemned to it's circles can escape from their own torture if they truly desire. However, the catch lays in the fact that their sins on earth hold them back in hell. For instance if one was gluttonous in life they will be tempted with th...more The sequel to 'Inferno', with it's cheap looking Sci-Fi Channel cover, sees dead science fiction writer Allen Carpenter return to Dante's nine circles of hell to help free as many captives as possible. You see, hell isn't a one way ticket in this book and those condemned to it's circles can escape from their own torture if they truly desire. However, the catch lays in the fact that their sins on earth hold them back in hell. For instance if one was gluttonous in life they will be tempted with the tools of their gluttony in hell and they have to break through that vice in order to have any chance of progressing through the circles of hell. It's a fairly clever concept I suppose but one that is repeated over and over and becomes fairly boring after a while.
Along the way Carpenter encounters many famous people whom he tries to save and I have no problem with this even though I found a few of those "famous" people to be somewhat obscure (George Lincoln Rockwell anyone?). What I did take exception to was when recently deceased celebrities were used. For instance Anna Nicole Smith (her last name is never mentioned but we're left in no doubt who we are being introduced to as she's a busty blonde former Playboy model who was married to an 89 year old billionaire named Howard) is depicted as being in hell and won't entertain the notion of leaving as she just wants to stay where she is sitting a atop a giant diamond. Her sin then is greed. I would have no problem with that if Anna had died a hundred years ago but as she left behind a young daughter who might possibly read this one day I found her inclusion to be very distasteful. She was also a peripheral character that had no bearing on the story whatsoever and her inclusion, in my opinion, is there for shock value and completely unnecessary.
I found the majority of this novel to be somewhat dull which was a shame as I had high hopes of reading a classic. It wasn't by any means a terrible read just a bit repetitive at times and, as I had never read 'Inferno', I had no connection to the main character and wasn't given a reason to care about him in this book. And should I have cared about someone trying to get Hitler out of hell?(less)

like · see review

Nov 15, 2009 Ratiocination rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Can't say I was all that impressed here. I liked Niven and Pournelle's Inferno quite a bit, but the sequel mostly seemed to cover the same ground. Moreover it spent a lot of time on "Who's Who" territory that the previous book largely avoided (though that's something to which Dante's Inferno certainly wasn't immune.) Ended so abruptly that I actually had to flip back to make sure that I hadn't missed a section.

The Niven/Pournelle collaboration has been very productive; at its best their styles a...more

like · see review

Mar 11, 2009 Rod rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

May 05, 2013 Cristofer rated it 4 of 5 stars

An excellent work, and a worthy sequel to the original: Inferno. Like Dante's Divine Comedy: Inferno, this book is something of a social commentary in addition to its properties of entertainment (which are, might I add, immense). The people encountered in Hell are those of both recent history and ancient; some of which might surprise you, and most of which seem to be appropriately placed within the circles of Hell. In addition to the social commentary, there are philosophical musings upon the na...more

like · see review

Feb 26, 2009 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed it, but I was disappointed in the end. There is a gesture towards justice, yet I felt like their were veins of ethnocentrism and homophobia. For instance we meet no Buddhists in hell.If there were one God and he had a personal dungeon, why wouldn't all people be there? and the characters don't even want to talk to the homosexuals in the second circle. The authors say the characters are only bumping into people in hell who have special meaning to their lives, so it can be surmised that...more

like · see review

Jun 09, 2009 Eric rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Oct 02, 2010 Nick rated it 2 of 5 stars

"Escape" is pretty much just "Inferno" all over again, with similar characters, situations, morals, limited philosophizing etc. The adventure was dimmed as you pretty much knew what was going to happen, and most events and realizations were fairly boring and uninspired. There are highlights, and if read first (as it could be due to large reprints of the last book's dialogue) it's not a bad story - key detractor though, on top of anti-climactic situations, the dialogue for much of the book is ter...more

like · see review

Dec 14, 2011 ***Dave Hill rated it 2 of 5 stars

(Original review: http://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2009/10/...)

Overall: Fair
Story: Fair
Characters: Fair
Re-Readability: Good

I love their mid-70s "Inferno" (it’s a book I regularly revisit). This sequel rightfully tries to be something different, but muddles it by trying to be too philosophical, too complex, too political, too preachy, too meditative, too many big ideas. The original was a mysterious tapestry; this one becomes one part puzzle box, one part seminary thesis. Worth a read, but I doubt I...more

like · see review

Feb 22, 2012 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars

Escape from Hell
By Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Publisher: Tor
Published In: New York, New York, USA
Date: 2009
Pgs: 332

Summary:
Allen has escaped hell once already, but he is haunted. He needs to liberate those souls he feels are being unfairly tortured and confined. He is on a mission to harrow hell and free the deserving damned. The question is, “Now that he has returned to Hell, can he leave again.”

Genre:
Dogma, religion, redemption, good vs. evil

Main Character:
Allen Carpenter…re: Carpentier

Fa...more

like · see review

Aug 12, 2012 Richard rated it 2 of 5 stars

Niven and Pournelle conclude their endnotes with: "This is, of course, a fantasy novel, not a treatise on theology and salvation." This evasion is, of course, intellectual cowardice, since they spend a considerable portion of their novel attempting to justify the existence of the Catholic Church's hell, and pontificating (see what I did there?) on the various sins that would earn one a well-deserved (yeah, right) place in that inferno, and (as the title suggests) on the means of escaping.

Their m...more

like · see review

Dec 12, 2009 Ben Babcock rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-library, 2009-read, fantasy, religion-fiction

With Inferno fresh in my mind, I set off to read Escape from Hell, the book that initially attracted my attention. I genuinely enjoyed a good deal of Escape from Hell. However, it never strays far enough from the original book's premise to escape Inferno's shadow.

I like Sylvia Plath as Carpenter's companion better than Benito, just because she's a better companion. I'm not sure how well Niven & Pournelle (henceforth known as N&P) portrayed her, nor do I really care. Unfortunately, while...more

like · see review

Sep 07, 2012 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Also my Amazon review:

I've known Jerry for a long time, and met Larry a few times. I've not ever held back when I told Jerry privately what I thought about something he wrote. I was also taught that if you can't say something good about someone, it's better to say nothing at all. So, if I didn't love Inferno 2 ... errr, Escape from Hell, I'd not be writing this today. You won't get negative reviews from me, usually.

I enjoyed this book immensely when I read it before it went to press. I want to r...more

like · see review

Dec 17, 2012 Lois Scouten rated it 5 of 5 stars

A fantasy based on Dante's Inferno and influenced by C.S. Lewis's short novel The Great Divorce. The writers feel that Hell must have a constructive purpose, that some of its inmates may learn lessons and finally be saved. For example, the poet Sylvia Plath, who committed suicide during a period of marital misery and despair. The writing has humour, though it deals with serious questions. It also gives a lot of information about great literature of ages past, including the world in which Dante w...more

like · see review

Jan 02, 2011 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars

This makes me want to pick up Dante's Inferno again... beautifully researched, it will piss off a lot of people with some of its modern additions to hell, and the logic needed to get through it. Nothing comes without a cost, and this is reinforced. This particular book was a loaner, but we have its predecessor, Inferno, in both hardcover and paperback in our home library. A fantastic book!

like · see review

Jun 02, 2009 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Apr 02, 2010 Gregory rated it 4 of 5 stars

Decided after six chapters to re-read Inferno first. Actually, I was five chapters in. Have gotten back into it after completing Inferno and scanning those first five chapters. So far I'm quite enjoying it. I was even before the re-read. But as I got to the point in Escape where he was going to be progressing through the various levels, I thought I'd like a fresher memory of his first journey.

like · see review

May 09, 2011 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Better concept than book. I wish writers would stop churning out books and spend more time to make the best book possible. I'm not sure you would find many people with the strong opinion expressed on DDT use. A lot of Katrina stuff. A list of characters denoting whether the person was fictional or not would have helped.

like · see review

Mar 01, 2010 Waltor rated it 1 of 5 stars

Recommended to Waltor by: waltor@capesplit.us

Shelves: read-by-audiobook

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle have surpassed Dante by adding a circle of hell for writers that are out of ideas and need money. I read the first Inferno book in high school in the late 70s and wrote a book report on it, the writing of which I feel surpasses the quality of this sequel. My high school teacher was a crusty old war bride from Liverpool who said in her finest polished cockney and I quote "science fiction is not a legitimate field of literary endeavour" (I spelled that the way she t...more

like · see review

May 27, 2010 Ivy Reisner rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, audiobook, reviewer-s-copy, science-fiction-fantasy

This was an unworthy sequel to the first. There were a few moments where I wished it were a print book so that I could throw it against a wall. The moment when they ran into a child condemned for "seducing" a priest comes to mind.

like · see review

Aug 11, 2011 Ketan Shah added it

Poorly written with unengaging characters and a plot that doesn't seem to go anywhere. I had fond memories of Inferno but this sequel has ruined that goodwill.I'm surprised I managed to finish it. A waste of time.

like · see review

Jul 15, 2009 Christopher Bates rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I wasn't sure what I was getting in to, but finished the book in two days... very pleasant, interesting and persuaded me to investigate The Inferno (shich somehow, I have never read)... this is a book I should own!

like · see review

Apr 27, 2009 Allen Garvin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fantasy

Inferior sequel to Inferno, after a 30+ year wait. Hell is basically a literalist, vaguely-libertarian nightmare, the attempt to escape it rather dull and one-dimensional compared to the original.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 30 31 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (10)

More editions...

Genres

Fantasy

39 users

Science Fiction

23 users

Horror

12 users

Adventure

7 users

Occult

4 users

Criticism

2 users

Fantasy > Supernatural

2 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

2 users

Novels

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Genesis
by Poul Anderson
Time Travelers Never Die
by Jack McDevitt
Leviathans of Jupiter
by Ben Bova
Conspirator
by C.J. Cherryh
Mind Over Ship
by David Marusek

About Larry Niven

Laurence van Cott Niven's best known work is Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) (1970), which received the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. The creation of thoroughly worked-out alien species, which are very different from humans both physically and mentally, is recognized as one of Niven's main strengths...more Laurence van Cott Niven's best known work is Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) (1970), which received the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. The creation of thoroughly worked-out alien species, which are very different from humans both physically and mentally, is recognized as one of Niven's main strengths.

Niven also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes The Magic Goes Away series, which utilizes an exhaustible resource, called Mana, to make the magic a non-renewable resource.

Niven created an alien species, the Kzin, which were featured in a series of twelve collection books, the Man-Kzin Wars. He co-authored a number of novels with Jerry Pournelle. In fact, much of his writing since the 1970s has been in collaboration, particularly with Pournelle, Steven Barnes, Brenda Cooper, or Edward M. Lerner.

He briefly attended the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics (with a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, in 1962. He did a year of graduate work in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has since lived in Los Angeles suburbs, including Chatsworth and Tarzana, as a full-time writer. He married Marilyn Joyce "Fuzzy Pink" Wisowaty, herself a well-known science fiction and Regency literature fan, on September 6, 1969.

In addition to his awards for Ringworld, Niven won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "Neutron Star" in 1967. He won the same award in 1972, for "Inconstant Moon", and in 1975 for "The Hole Man". In 1976, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for "The Borderland of Sol".

Niven has written scripts for various science fiction television shows, including the original Land of the Lost series and Star Trek: The Animated Series, for which he adapted his early story "The Soft Weapon". He adapted his story "Inconstant Moon" for an episode of the television series The Outer Limits in 1996.

He has also written for the DC Comics character Green Lantern including in his stories hard science fiction concepts such as universal entropy and the redshift effect, which are unusual in comic books.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/larryn...

(less)

More about Larry Niven...

Books by Larry Niven

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Escape from Hell

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: Escape from Hell
avg rating	preview: Escape from Hell Goodreads rating: 3.47 (528 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3621648-escape-from-hell?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312043375l/3621648.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3621648-escape-from-hell?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Escape from Hell by Larry Niven[/url]

Escape from Hell (Inferno #2)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website