Title: Inferno (Robert Langdon #4)
Author: Dan Brown
Reader: Paul Michael
Category: Mystery/Thriller
Audio published: May 14, 2013 by Random House Audio
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Add: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository
In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces . . . Dante’s Inferno.
Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust . . . before the world is irrevocably altered.
I talked a little the other day about my experience listening to Inferno. I’m not going to repeat myself here, because repetition is annoying, as I learned listening to this one. So, go back and read that my post from last Wednesday if you want to know why I think reading this one may have been a better option. Paul Michael does a good job narrating, don’t get me wrong, although I would have like to hear Langdon’s sense of humor a bit more. Overall, he captures Langdon better than Tom Hanks did, at least in my opinion.
The plot is a typical Brown offering, and I mean that in a good way. This time around we’ve got a genius who’s way too familiar with Dante’s Inferno. He’s also more than convinced that the main problem facing humanity is over-population and that the only answer has to be way more radical than distributing free condoms in Africa. Oh, and he’s a brilliant scientist capable of developing a plague, securing it somewhere to incubate, leaving enough clues for Langdon and the World Health Organization to chase around Europe hoping to contain it before it releases and infects the world population. And the clues, of course, all connect to the Inferno. Oh, and there’s a shadowy organization that has been helping the scientist, hiding him while he does his work and promising to deliver an important package for him.
Someone compared it to a scavenger hunt, which is true. One clue leads to the next and the next and the next. It’s a race against time, and against the bad guys who are trying to kill Langdon.
There was a twist about 3/4 through that I really liked. Took everything you thought you knew and re-arranged it into an entirely different pattern. I didn’t see it coming at all. I think I was a surprised as Langdon when all the secrets/truths started coming out.
This is not my favorite in the series, but it was enjoyable, no slow spots, the action kept moving along. It’s a Dan Brown book, if you like them , pick it up. It’s not my favorite in the series, that would probably be Angels and Demons, and I did like the last setting, Washington DC a little more, simply because when I finally get there I can see some of the places he mentioned. I like his mix of mystery, art, and science.
Robert Langdon Series
- Angels and Demons
- The DaVinci Code
- The Lost Symbol
- Inferno
This was my third book for R.I.P. VIII, a reading event embracing the ghastly and ghostly, mysterious and grim, hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings.
Hm, I’ve read a couple of those and didn’t realize they’re a series.
I enjoyed your review. I just read/reviewed this book as well. I liked it, but did not love it.
I hated that one but it is my usual reaction to any Dan Brown production. I read them for laughs and I trash them in my reviews mercilessly.
I love when you trash books.
I still have not read a Brown book
I will remember to read this one in print!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Scientists warn of a rapid collapse of the Earth’s ecosystem.
The ecological balance is under threat: climate change, population growth and environmental degradation could lead even in this century an irreversible collapse of the global ecosystem.
–> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/06/06/scientists-uncover-evidence-of-impending-tipping-point-for-earth/
The cardinal reason is the sudden development of human population that threatens to devour all our resources.
Since 21 August there is therefore a petition at change.org for the introduction of global birth-controls, also in HINDI!
If you want to support this or publish it on your website, here is the link:
http://www.change.org/de/Petitionen/weltweite-geburtenregelungen-verbindlich-einf%C3%BChren-introduce-obligatory-worldwide-birth-controls
Please continue to spread the link or the petition as possible to all interested people, organisations etc.
Thank you and best regards
Achim Wolf, Germany
I’d love to read this very soon and I’ve been waiting for its mass paperback edition since its release.
I know I’ll read this one at some point in time, and I know I’ll like it despite all of it’s inherit flaws. I’m just trying to talk myself into it still.