A few weeks ago I was contacted by Michael Hurben, Editor at Blackburnian Press, to offer a copy of S. A. Alenthony's new book-in-prose, The Infernova: An Infidel Reinvents Dante's Hell. I replied with my address, and a few days later recieved a package containing a paperback copy of the book. Here's the blurb from the email:
Dante Alighieri's magnificent Inferno has ruled for centuries as literature's most imaginative depiction of the fates of the damned. As a masterwork of allegorical fantasy, it stands unequaled. As a survey of the true causes of human misery, it fails utterly, built as it was upon a medieval religious worldview divorced from reality. S.A. Alenthony's The Infernova is the new book that rectifies this error by turning the classic vision of the Christian hell upside-down. Retelling the poem from an atheist's perspective, the story parallels Dante's descent through nine infamous circles where increasingly pernicious sinners endure their symbolic punishments. The upper circles house the minor offenders: those who lacked clarity or promoted fallacious arguments. The middle levels incarcerate those who preyed upon-and profited from-irrationality: paranormalists, conspiracy theorists, astrologers, and their ilk. Lower and yet darker realms are reserved for religion's criminals, such as televangelist-frauds, pedophile-priests, and terrorists, while at the pit's nadir reside the legions of the world's prophets and a virtual menagerie of the countless gods born of their fevered imaginations. Dante was famously accompanied on his journey by his revered hero, the Roman poet Virgil. In The Infernova, it is the satirical and irreligious gadfly Mark Twain who takes the role of guide and companion. As their odyssey continues, the dangers of irrational and mystical thinking grow more clear, and their dialogues and encounters with hell's residents provide a unique tableau on which to set out the arguments against supernaturalism. Mythological traditions have long used narratives and parables as vehicles to get their messages across. While secular writers have produced a steady stream of quality non-fiction recently, works of fiction and poetry are more rare. The Infernova addresses the paucity of atheist imaginative writing, and will be of interest to all manner of freethinkers, humanists, and skeptical persons looking for a different kind of deconstruction of the world's superstitions.
I haven't read Inferno, but after reading the delightful Infernova, I almost feel like I have. Alenthony references Dante's work several times, and the book seems to have been intended as a parody in parallel with the classic.
At first the prose was a bit difficult to process, but I soon fell into its cadence, and the language structure became familiar. Not being a formal student of literature, I found myself impressed with the creativity demonstrated by Alenthony. At times there seems to have been license taken for the sake of form, but I suspect the same would have been said by Dante's contemporaries.
Having heard the most common arguments against the existence of deities and in favor of a rational worldview countless times, I was thrilled to discover this insightful, humorous approach to the denouncing of religious misdeeds. Infernova isn't just another scientific or philosophical rebuttal of theism, but a satisfying portrayal of clever and appropriate punishment of those guilty of real crimes against humanity.
In The Infernova, Alenthony does tackle the moral and ethical implications of both the crimes and the punishments, and in doing so rejects the uniquely religious notion that anyone ever deserves eternal misery. This enlightening of morality to reflect higher thinking is apparent throughout the story.
I highly recommend this book as a welcome departure from the increasingly mundane mainstream assault on irrationality. It was quite entertaining and a very pleasant read. I'm not often inclined to end a book, then start immediately again, but that's the case here. Now where did I put that hammock....
Read an excerpt
Buy on Amazon
The author's blog
P.s. The author currently resides here in Minnesota, for what that's worth, having left behind the bible belt to the bible thumpers.