View source for Inferno (novel by Niven and Pournelle)

==Thematic issues==

A large part of the theme of Inferno is an attempt to justify how Hell can exist; in other words, why an omnibenevolent God would punish sinners in such horrific ways. As one minor character puts it, "We are in the hands of Infinite Power and Infinite Sadism", and the point of the exercise is a question the hero finds himself asking.

Niven and Pournelle, like Dante before them, populate their Hell with the types of people who they feel deserve punishment but have no power to punish in life. Although they do not name specific individuals, they do vent their frustration with advertising executives and government regulators. At the same time, they also express frustration with religious principles they felt outdated, with Carpentier expressing dismay that homosexuals (referred to as "Sodomites") are damned with no recourse.

In fact, Carpentier shows difficulty adjusting to the idea of any afterlife, and has a habit of looking at demons and pondering how physically impossible it is for them to exist and do what they do.