Inferno

By Dan Brown

After reading Dan Brown’s last book The Lost Symbol, I was so sure that we had come to the end of the Robert Langdon series. However, his latest offering Inferno has somehow revived my love for the Harvard professor. Although many may consider the conspiracy theories in this book lukewarm, when compared to The Da Vinci Code and Angel & Demons, there is still enough in this new novel to keep you on edge as you read through. I think I should forewarn you though that this book is a little darker than the others.

Inferno begins with Robert Langdon, waking up in a hospital in Florence, Italy suffering from amnesia. He soon discovers he is missing two days from his memory and that he has just survived an attempt on his life by mysterious assailants. Robert obtains all this information from a pretty blonde young doctor by the name Sienna Brooks. She is very feisty and seems more intelligent than the professor. The two of them then embark on a journey to expose clues hidden within paintings and artifacts associated with a famous Italian poet, Dante Alighieri who wrote the poem Inferno.

The villain this time, is not the church. You will be surprised to find out whom the evil mastermind is this time around. Dan Brown took six months to research the information for this novel. He also traveled to the cities mentioned in the book and met with scholars within those cities. In all it took him almost 3 years to get the book ready for publication. Although there is the usual references to history and secret codes as well as societies, Inferno also has some science fiction and technology from the future infused within its chapters.

Who is Dan Brown? He is a #1 best selling author who has broken records worldwide for book sales within one week for his previous novel The Lost Symbol. His first book in the Robert Langdon series The Da Vinci Code, is one of the bestselling books ever with more than 80 million copies having being sold worldwide. Dan has also been featured on TV shows and was listed in Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world. Other prominent publications that have featured him include Forbes, GQ, Newsweek and People magazine. Dan Brown is also the author of Deception Point, Angels & Demons and the Digital Fortress. You can find his novels published in more than 50 languages worldwide. Before becoming a full time author he was an English teacher. He currently resides in New England with his wife Blythe.

You can never compare Dan to Shakespeare. He is very good at researching his books and then telling the story in an entertaining way. Dan does not write to be studied in colleges and schools, he is what they refer to as a mainstream author. I enjoyed how the action in this book starts right from the first chapter, at one point though I began to feel like it was being over done. I also felt like some of the writing was a bit long winded. There is definitely instances within the book where I think Dan could have written half the number of pages to deal with a particular situation.

Nevertheless, the book still has relatively short chapters that pull you in. I did pick up a few facts and interesting tidbits that will surely become useful on my next  museum visit. Although professor Langdon, does make visits to wet and dust filled rooms, the history part is not the main focus of Inferno. This is another one of the subtle differences between this book and the others in the series. Don’t worry this does not mean that the story line is any less engaging.

In conclusion, I want to say that in true Dan Brown fashion this is another brilliantly researched masterpiece. If suspense and conspiracy novels are your thing, you are sure to enjoy his creative way of writing in Inferno. You get a little bit of everything from historical facts to secret societies to ancient literature and symbols. He also throws in some art and let us not forget the amazingly beautiful locations within Italy that the book takes you to. Fasten your seat belt and get ready for one hell of a bumpy ride.Read More Reviews Here…