Escape from Hell
by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jerry Pournelle, Larry NivenEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-02-17
ISBN: 0765316323
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Tor Books
Book Reviews of Escape from Hell
Book Review: A book you'll want to re-read
Summary: 5 Stars
I was tempted to drop this to four or even three stars, as the book has some weak spots, and more than one reference to political issues where I've got serious differences of opinion with the authors.
No matter. This book has enough action to keep the plot moving, and tackles enough serious issues to make the reader think, even (especially) when the reader's opinion differs with the authors.
People that haven't read Niven and Pournelle's Inferno should read that book first. Some sequels can be read independently, but this isn't one of them. Also, if you haven't already read Inferno, you should stop reading the reviews here, as there are some major spoilers in some of the reviews.
Additionally, a familiarity with Dante's Inferno will help (with both books) in understanding much of the background, and in the author's notes, I was unsurprised by an acknowledgement that the authors had read C. S. Lewis' classic "The Great Divorce".
Like Inferno, this book asks some serious questions about religion and faith, while giving us an interesting, enjoyable read. The authors are not hostile towards religion, but are willing and able to point out fallacies and inconsistencies in our beliefs.
Unlike Inferno, the balance between action and discussion is tilted more towards discussion. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I was initially tempted to give it fewer than five stars. It was once said of Robert Heinlein that in his later works he "sold his birthright for a pot of message" and the same criticism can be made here.
But... I picked this up at the library, and now I'm buying my own copy, as I can already tell that I'll be re-reading portions of it from time to time.
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