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Mike Resnick
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Michael D. Resnick
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Inferno: A Chronicle of a Distant World Paperback – January 1, 1995

by Mike Resnick (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 13 ratings
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Disanko, the ruler of the Enkoti, and Susan Beddoes, a representative from the Department of Cartography, help the planet of Faligor to become the richest and most technologically advanced of its sector until an evil general rises to power. Reprint.
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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Tor Books
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1995
  5. Dimensions
    4.25 x 0.75 x 7 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0812523458
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0812523454
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books; Reprint edition (January 1, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0812523458
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812523454
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 0.75 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 13 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Mike Resnick

    Mike Resnick

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    I'm Mike Resnick, and I am, according to Locus, the trade paper of the science fiction field, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. I find this surprising, because I have always considered myself a novelist; at least, writing novels is how I pay my bills.

    To date I've sold 76 science fiction novels (plus three mysteries, and nine non-fiction books (all of them about writing or science fiction or both). I've sold upward of 280 stories, and even a trio of screenplays. I've edited more than 40 anthologies, and served stints as the consulting science fiction editor for BenBella Books and the executive editor for Jim Baen's Universe; and I'm currently editing Galaxy's Edhe magazine and Stellar Guild Books for Arc Manor Books. I've won 5 Hugos, and been nominated a record 37 times; I've also won a Nebula and other major awards in the USA, France, Poland, Croatia, Spain, Catalonia, China, and Japan, and have been shortlisted for major awards in England, Italy, and Australia. My work has been translated into 26 languages so far. I was Guest of Honor at the 2012 World Science Fiction Convention.

    My daughter, Laura, is also a science fiction and fantasy (and romance, and travel) writer, and won the Campell Award (for Best New Science Fiction Writer) in 1993. I met my wife Carol at the University of Chicago in 1960, married her in 1961, and this year we celebrate our 57th anniversary.

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  2. Michael D. Resnick

    Michael D. Resnick

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    Mike Resnick is the author of numerous science fiction novels and short stories, including Dragon America, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power, Mutiny, Return to Santiago, and Santiago. He is the editor of This Is My Funniest and has won five Hugo Awards and the Nebula Award. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Nunya Bidness
    5.0 out of 5 stars Not Uganda...
    Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Inferno is absolutely not about Uganda. Put that thought far away from your mind. Says so right there on the cover. Any parallels are purely imaginary.
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  • J. COMER
    4.0 out of 5 stars The Galactic Dante
    Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2004
    Verified Purchase
    This is the conclusion to Resnick's *Galactic Comedy*, three romans a clef about the colonial histories of Kenya ("Paradise"), Zimbabawe ("Purgatory") and Uganda. Humans colonize a planet which resembles the rich and beautiful land that Uganda was in 1880, and the country descends into genocidal horror under brutal Gama Labu (Idi Amin, of course). These are not only excellent classic sf; they are palatable histories of these nations from which I've learned a great deal. Resnick has traveled in Africa and obviously loves it and its people dearly. I value his work much more than that of right-wingers Steve Stirling and Jerry Pournelle, for whom enslavement and colonization are positive benefits for the poor Africans. Resnick shows that colonization brought good and bad to Kenya; in Uganda, so many bad things happened that it's hard to describe.(Or understand. Do not read this book expecting a funny little comedy, please. It depicts horrors that Americans like to think went out with Hitler or Pol Pot).
    Uganda has seen small improvements since Resnick wrote this book (millennial debt relief and some control of AIDS) but his tale is accurate as far as it goes. This is just beautiful and heartbreaking. Highly recommended.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Kory
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another for the collection
    Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Perfect addition to my collection. I am trying to collect as many of Mike Resnick's book series. Wonderful quality book
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  • Jerry B Schutz
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good on Politics, Short on Science
    Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2011
    I bought this book after reading the jacket and wanting to learn how the author was able to have this world developed in such a short time frame. I was dissatisfied with what I read, in that regards. I realize that a reader has to suspend disbelief when reading Sci-Fi, but without the resources of the galactic empire, I don't see how so much got done so quickly. I also don't understand a future that far out that doesn't account for the evolution and role of robots. I understand that this book is an allegory for events that occurred in Africa, but I don't think the science end of things was handled well. How can you have a technological society that can profitably ship produce though space and not have robots? If you can, why can't you apply that technology to produce food on those worlds? Obviously Resnick had to make some compromises between scientific reality and his political story. The political story, on the other hand, was well done. What was left out was how an advanced industrial society deals with a more primitive one "correctly" from the being. 'Hello, we just thought we'd stop in and see how you're doing. Don't want to upset your self-development. We'll be back in 2000 years to see if you are at a point where we can establish trade relations. Meanwhile, here's some literature on political correctness you might want to read."
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  • Chris Gaj
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great REAL Science Fiction
    Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2000
    I can't believe nobody else has reviewed this book. It was great. Although Resnick's book does have some scientifically unlikely things, like the existance of gigantic interstellar empire, almost everything in this book is scientifically, militarily, and politically reasonable -- as well as wonderfully entertaining. This is an analogy to the European colonies in Africa, and the results are quite close to what happened to some former colonial states. If you like military works and techno-thrillers along the vein of Tom Clancey and you like science fiction that is (mostly) based on science like Arthur Clarke, you will love Inferno. Try getting the other books in the series as well.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Chad Oliver Olson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Inferno is a Political Allegory that Comments on Current Events
    Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2018
    In a nutshell, this book functions as a ringing endorsement of Star Trek’s prime directive, where you’re not supposed to interfere with an alien species. Personally, I never really got the “prime directive.” Why are Kirk, Picard, and the rest of the capitans tooling around the universe exploring, boldly going, if they’re never supposed to get involved. I guess it created tension for the series. (Be aware, some spoilers follow and if you like this review you can find more at chad-olson.com)

    Inferno is the story of human intervention in a land called Faligor, peopled by an alien race dubbed “jasons” because of their golden fleeces. (Get it, a little Greek mythology thing going on there). But, head’s up, that is no random classical allusion. Resnick plans to use his book as a critiquing of the Western ideals that are foisted on other races on our own planet, and the “jason” name is just one facet of that.

    Two humans are the central characters of the book: Arthur Cartwright and Linda Beddoes. Arthur is an idealist who wants to build a world the right way, keeping the human Republic out, while also introducing democracy, medicine, education and all the other trappings of (western) civilization to the jasons. (In effect, he’s biting half a loaf of the prime directive!) Linda is his best friend – an entomologist who comes to planet first to study insects, but is the voice of skepticism throughout of the story of Arthur’s firm belief that Faligor can become the model planet.

    Short answer: it cannot, and does not. In fact, within a generation the alien world descends into the worst kind of totalitarian state. In short order, Faligor is led by an overly humanized leader who is a traitor to his race, a dictator who tries to wrench the population back to being more “jason-esque” but starts the mass grave thing pretty quickly, a military leader who takes torture and mayhem to a level that would make Mao and Stalin blush, and finally a teacher with a student army who sets things right.

    What I found stimulating about the book is how much it comments on our current events. The jasons have tribes that never seem to coalesce into a single race, an echo of the nationalism currently sweeping Europe and the US. Whenever a jason leader takes over, he immediately begins to favor his own tribe. In a clear allusion to what occurred during WWII, a third alien race figures into the Faligor story in a minor way. Deemed “moles, these creatures come in and set up businesses and work in mines. They are an obvious stand in for Jews, an itinerant species that follows opportunity. They are massacred at different points during the narrative, getting blamed for the problems occurring when the dictator needs a scapegoat for what’s ailing the planet.

    The final leader, James Krakanna, leads a student army and puts the planet on the right path by the end of the book. Cartwright has died helping Krakanna take power, but with the sad caveat that he never realized his aim of having a perfect planet. Krakanna renames the jasons as Faligori, and even makes it a crime to refer to them by the former Greek-inspired name. Linda Beddoes, Cartwright’s best friend and the constant skeptic, returns to the planet for his funeral and, during the final chapters of the book, interacts with a doctor sent to help the planet recover from the latest dictatorship. By the end of the book, it’s clear that it would have been better if humans, the Republic, had never arrived on Faligor.

    How does this jibe with what is going on around the world? How are cultures changed by those who come into them? Is immigration different from invasion in the lasting effects it has on the host/conquered country, particularly if the original population is subsumed by a new one? In Inferno, the humans have nothing but the best of intentions, but still their help leads to a massive death toll within one generation. As humans, we can’t live in bubbles, never interacting with each other, but if we allow a nonnative species to “help” us, does that make us better? It’s an old science fiction question. Star Trek wanted to have it both ways with its prime directive. Inferno appears to argue there is no happy medium – “help” native cultures at their peril.

    In the end, the book made me ask – what attempts at nation building have gone well for the US? Further, did Napoleon have any lasting effects on the countries he conquered? In any case, Inferno is a well-done cautionary tale worth your time.
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