At the SF Site, Ivy Reisner found it 'thoughtful', noting that it 'runs far closer in tone to original' than does the 1976 book, and observing that it is a 'charged political work' in which 'not all of the condemnations will appeal to all of the readers' (in particular citing a teenage boy who was damned for sodomy because he had been raped by a priest). In the end, and partly as the consequence of some unusual changes to Hell itself, Carpenter not so much escapes as that he is shown the door for being a troublemaker.

Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell.

In addition to Plath, some of the notables encountered by Carpenter include:

In his travels, Carpenter meets many well-known individuals deceased as of 2009.

Carpenter discovers that, apparently because he returned to Hell of his own free will to help others, he now possesses powers and abilities such as his mentor, Benito, also displayed. He is accompanied in his travels by Sylvia Plath (whom he rescues from the Wood of the Suicides by burning her tree, causing her physical body to reform itself), attempting to understand the purpose of Hell and free many of the damned. Carpenter meets and travels through all the circles of the Hell described by Dante. Jerry Pournelle, one of the book's co-authors, described the book as 'Dante meets Vatican II.' Plot įollowing events in the first novel, in which Carpenter learned that it is possible to leave Hell, Carpenter wants to help others in the way his benefactor helped him. Like the first book, “Escape from Hell” extensively references Dante's Inferno. The novel continues the story of deceased science fiction writer Allen Carpenter (who spelled his name 'Carpentier' on his novels) in his quest to help other damned souls in Hell. It is a sequel to Inferno, the 1976 book by the same authors. Escape from Hell is a fantasy novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

Escape from hell larry niven