Inferno

Dan Brown's newest novel, "Inferno," sends symbolist Robert Langdon on another mad dash adventure stretching from the Mediterranean to the Bosporus. I've given it a 5-star rating, because, as usual, Brown delivers on all fronts: interesting subject matter that is painstakingly researched, compelling characterizations, action squared, a plot that moves easily from one scene to the next and drags you along no matter how late it is, inclusion of interesting historical facts, lush settings, and a denouement that leaves you thinking not only about the novel, but about real life. And, of course, top notch proofing and editing. In other action thrillers, I sometimes feel as though I'm reading a movie script. The action is the focus, rather than the plot and/or characters. Not so with Brown. Here's an author who can handle the never-ending action, the constant danger, the exhausting, breakneck chase, the result of which will not only determine the life and death of the main characters, but perhaps the survival of human life on earth as we know it. The reader WANTS to go on this ride. Wants to feel the unrelenting adrenaline rush, the heart stopping suspense. You want it; you get it; you love it. For those Robert Langdon fans, this time the action races through the the famed houses of worship of Italy and Turkey, chasing clues from Dante's 14th Century epic poem, "The Divine Comedy," and specifically, the portion titled "Inferno." However, this time there is no religious conspiracy, no sacred quest. This time the subject matter involves the predicament we all find ourselves in: burgeoning world population vs. decreasing resources. In my youth, there was a movement known by the acronym "ZPG." Over the past couple years, whenever the overpopulation issue is mentioned, I've asked if anyone remembers what this stood for. Anyone under the age of about 45 or so does not. (Zero Population Growth) So this novel hit on an issue that has been of concern to me now for over 4 decades. But, that's another conversation. The book is nearly 500 pages long (462 to be exact). Long read. This has been a busy month for me, but I still managed to read every day -- in fact, I needed to read every day, as this book is full of the most fascinating twists and turns. Not only twists in the plots, but actually twists in who the individual characters are. Brown masterfully doles out bits and pieces of the solution to his puzzle all along the way, but still manages to surprise you when a character turns out to be the exact opposite of what you believed him or her to be. I'll admit to having one huge, and upon rereading, obvious clue go right over my head. When that part of the revelation came, I had to go back and do a -head/desk- over my oversight! :-) Tricky. And I loved it. So, I didn't read it all in one day or even in one week. Brown's novels are works to be savored. There is so much fascinating history, interesting concepts and wonderful mysteries that I have to stop every so often just to properly absorb what I've read. I need to taste the delightful flavor of each morsel of the literary puzzle. No. I take my time with Brown's novels. I drag out every Lucius paragraph, longing for the ultimate conclusion all while hoping it will never end. So, don't I have any complaints? Now, if you usually read my reviews, there usually something. For instance, starting on page 300, when Langdon and others are in the boat in Venice and come to the realization that the "plucker of bones of the blind" in Zobrist's poem referred to Saint Lucia, and their boatman began relating the legend of Saint Lucia, why didn't they ask him the identity of the doge who cut the heads off horses (another reference in the poem)? My other disappointment is in the extremely short timeline. If one starts with Langdon awaking in a hospital with memory loss, there are less than 2 days (actually less than 36) hours, I believe, in which this madcap race through the best known tourists sites of Italy to the Haga Sophia and beyond in Istanbul. It includes chases, conversations, motorbikes, boats, and just like Steve Martin and John Candy -- planes, trains and automobiles! Langdon has an injury and short term memory loss. There are two well organized forces chasing him. Yet, in all those hours, which are painstakingly chronicled, the only mention of eating or sleeping comes at the bottom of page 375. Langdon does get to splash some water on his face and change clothes back about chapter 7, but this is after what has already been a long (and for Langdon) forgotten night in a country he cannot remember either traveling to or why he might have done so. While I certainly don't expect a break in the action for the bathroom, I do expect to see scene that includes a hastily eaten meal, a quick shower -- something to indicate there was time to brush the teeth, revive the system with food, clean up. Pretty basic physical requirements for someone who will be in close, very close, contact with others throughout this adventure. I needed to see something to allow me to believe that an injured man suffering from retrograde amnesia would have the the physical and emotional stamina to do what he does, at the speed of light, for a prolonged time. I was also surprised that only one character in the novel -- and there are several who either know him or know of him -- notices that Langdon does not look his usual dapper self. I found the timeline exciting -- but maybe not so believable as one that allowed even one more day and at least one meal! However, Brown's descriptions of the places visited in the novel are rich and full. One of my favorite sections comes on page 300, the third paragraph in Chapter 84: "This was a world divided, a city of opposing forces -- religious, secular; ancient, modern; Eastern, Western. Straddling the geographic boundary between Europe and Asia, this timeless city was quite literally the bridge from the Old World . . . to a world that was even older. Istanbul." You run this race thinking you know what's at stake and what will happen if the 'good guys' don't win. You don't. Believe me, the revelations never stop coming. And, best of all, it will make you think.

Critiquing Dan Brown is a thankless task. His many readers already have their own opinion, love him or hate him. I, for one, find him to have various strengths and weaknesses, which are on display here as always. That being said, this novel, though not as strong as The Da Vinci Code, is not as weak as The Lost Symbol. Whether that judgment is based on my personal tastes or because of objective qualities of the novel, only time will tell. To Mr. Brown's credit is his ability to write an exciting, fast-paced novel. I never have trouble making it though a Dan Brown novel in a couple sittings despite their length. He also is very good at creating interesting characters. Robert Langdon is a character I don't mind returning to again and again. In this outing, I enjoyed "the provost" and his crew as well as Sienna Brooks, though all these geniuses are starting to wear me out. Finally, Mr. Brown is generally good at choosing a good historical topic for his tales. He fell short on this last time out with his masonic mystery but he returns to good form here with Dante and a modern black plague. Unfortunately, the beginning of the novel is weak. I found Langdon waking with amnesia and thrown into a ticking clock chase in the first few pages to be unsettling. It took me a good 50 or so pages to get into this one whereas I usually enjoy Brown's slow descent into the mystery through history and character. This shotgun beginning is then bookended by the biggest failure in Mr. Brown's writing in general; that is, his endings are so horribly poor. One of the main reasons The Da Vinci Code is the best of his novels is that the ending there is solid writing. Here, unfortunately, the ending again is completely not worth the effort. For a moment, I thought he was going to prove me wrong. I loved the climax as they come to the end of their search and I loved many of the reveals that show how manipulated the situation around Langdon is. What killed it all for me was the preaching disguised as dialogue that filled the last chapters and how easily everyone makes up at the end. Disappointing. Still, in the end, this is a fair addition to the Robert Langdon canon. Certainly, it is a step above his last outing. And for an historical thriller, Mr. Brown still remains a good choice of someone who writes a book worth reading.

Un thriller rapide mouvementé qui incite le lecteur à continuer à lire jusqu'au bout. Ce livre est dans la meme lignée qu'Anges et Démons. L'auteur adresse le problème de la surpopulation mondiale sans pour autant y plonger dedans et livre à la fois une solution extreme mais aussi une lueur d'espoir. Le style d'écriture reste du Dan Brown, facile et efficace sans être forcément stimulant. Un bon livre pour des vacances sans prise de tete.

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I’ve read all of Dan Brown’s books, and consider this to be his best yet. It’s the fourth book to feature Robert Langdon, distinguished US academic and expert in symbology. This time most of the action in the first part of the book takes place in Florence, one of my favourite cities, so that’s a bonus! The plot centres on Bertrand Zobrist, a geneticist and believer in transhumanism, the main principle of which is that humans must improve their race by becoming actively involved in the evolutionary process. The less positive side of transhumanism however, is that there needs to be a radical reduction in the population to enable the genetically improved cohort to survive and flourish. Zobrist has tried to get the World Health Organisation involved in his project, but not surprisingly they refused his approach. He subsequently commits suicide, but not before apparently leaving some kind of drug that he has created, to be released at a particular time, possibly threatening the future of the human race. The book begins with Robert Langdon waking up with a head injury in a hospital in Florence. He doesn’t know where he is or how he got there, and assumes that his short term memory loss is due to his injury. But it soon becomes apparent that he is being pursued, and he manages to escape from the hospital with help from a doctor, Sienna Brooks. He gradually realises that the vision that has been haunting him, of a silver haired woman, who instructs him to ‘seek, and ye shall find’, actually has some meaning, but what must he seek? He then finds an object sewn into his jacket, which turns out to be a laser pointer that has been configured to project a painting, an image of Boticelli’s Vision of Hell’, which has had some letters added to it. These letters are the first of a number of clues which he and Brooks must follow to try to find where Zobrist’s ‘object’ is hidden. Langdon knows Florence very well, and the search takes them all over the city. Finally the clues suggest that the search must move on to Venice, and finally to Istanbul. You will need to read the book to follow the chase and to find out if Zobrist’s ‘time bomb’ is recovered in time! The action is non-stop and exciting, and the descriptions of Florence made me want to go there again! it was very difficult to put the book down; I read it over a Bank Holiday weekend!

Large print and easy to read

Price off book was very good