Inferno
Well it’s done! Finally finished Dan Brown’s new bestseller Inferno. I read this 463 page book in three days. 
Yeah I know I’m on holiday, so I won’t brag too much about that. I thought that reading this book in Italy would help me get into it even more. Well it did but not for the reasons you’re probably thinking. First of all, I wished I was vacationing in Florence because that would have been perfect, being able to see all those fantastic places with a twist. Even though, the thing I loved was all the Italian spoken in the book. I could practically hear myself saying the lines in Italian with a great accent.
Brown has a way of constructing an interesting story, while touching on some relevant topics, which introduces the reader to secret societies and all rolled up in dark suspense with a dash of art and architecture. His books are becoming the new travel guide. Robert Langdon is still the loveable intellectual professor of symbolism who has gotten himself into another mess. We can’t help but love him. Isn’t this cover stunning? Love it! It’ the UK hardcover edition.
Inferno is basically fuelled by the real Inferno by Dante, which is the first book in his Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. Now somehow I got out of university as an English literature major without having to read The Divine Comedy and I’m just a little ashamed to admit it. After reading Inferno, I suddenly found myself being more interested about his work. The mystery behind Dante and his life are explained in-depth and you will definitely be tempted to read The Divine Comedy too or at least to visit Florence. So, does it sound like I’m over the moon about this book? Well not really. I gave it a modest three stars on Goodreads. It’s very predictable in places, writing style isn’t stellar(reads like a movie script), similar format to all of his other books (i.e. short chapters and info/history/fact followed by suspense. Does this mean I’m going to stop reading Dan Brown’s books? No, absolutely not. For some reason I can’t resist the way he mixes intrigue with secret societies, symbolism, architecture, and fabulous cities like Florence. Read it if you want a good escape. It’s perfect for that!
Dan Brown became famous after the release of The Da Vinci Code in 2003. He is an American thriller fiction writer who has had two of his books adapted to film – The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. Brown had a brief career in the music industry and self-produced SynthAnimals, which was a children’s cassette. His sudden interest in writing thriller novels came after reading and enjoying The Doomsday Conspiracy by Sidney Sheldon. Digital Fortress was his first thriller novel set in Seville and it was published in 1998. I haven’t read this one yet. I remember reading the description and it didn’t grab me. Subsequently, Angels and Demons and Deception Point were published consecutively in 2000 and 2001. The character of Robert Langdon was first introduced in Angels and Demons and continued on in a series of books called The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, and finally Inferno. Brown is most noted for his acute sense of detail because he researches extensively the places, secret societies, architecture, and art that he includes in his novels. The description of some of the places and cities that he writes about are the most appealing aspects of his novels. I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll see of Robert Langdon. So will you be picking this up or giving it a miss? If you’ve already read it drop me a line below and tell me what you thought. No spoilers please. 
