Inferno is the fourth book in the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown. The first two books in the series were made into successful movies starring Tom Hanks. In this book, Robert Langdon is once again called on for his vast knowledge of symbols and iconography so that he might once again follow the clues and solve a dark mystery. Never knowing whom to trust, Langdon relies heavily on what he knows about specifically Dante and his masterpiece, Inferno, in order to hurry and beat a mastermind at his own game. While the first two books (Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code) in the series take place in Europe, the third book, The Lost Symbol, occurs mainly in Washington D.C. and New England. The third book was supposed to be made into a movie also but was supposedly passed over because its story resembled too closely that of National Treasure. In this book, Inferno, Langdon spends all of his time once again in Europe. Just like in his other books, there are many twists and turns and Langdon’s quest take him to a number of different famous and historic locations in Italy and a few other countries in Europe. Whereas The Da Vinci Code fed on our interest in conspiracies, this book addresses our ever growing population problem and our fears about epidemics becoming more widespread as our world has become more and more globally connected. The movie for this book is set to come out in the fall of 2016 and will once again star Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon.
Even though I enjoy hearing about all of the intricate histories involving century old works of art, I have found that Dan Brown’s work is becoming too formulaic. Just like with the other books, I learned a lot about literature, artwork, architecture and how these items might be interpreted. I did, however, figure out quickly who the bad guy is in the story because it is usually the person Langdon puts a good deal of his trust in. And, while I think that the phrase “œjumps the shark” is a ridiculous one, I feel that it may apply here. The ending is of the sort that it totally ruins, in my opinion, the feeling that the story could actually happen. Readers of this series might balk at this idea but I feel that the other books were constructed in a way where while frightening if true that the storyline could actually happened.
If you have read the previous books in the series and can get the book from your local library, as I did, then I see no reason why you shouldn’t read this book. If you haven’t read the books in the series before, then I definitely wouldn’t start with this one. The book’s narrator is the same throughout the entire series, which allows for a sense of continuity that I appreciate. Plus, the narrator is very skilled at doing a variety accents and doing them well. So, if you are going to read it then listening to it is not a bad option.
Inferno by Dan Brown Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook