Inferno (Robert Langdon, #4) in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 20, 2014 Astrid Lim rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: series, thriller-mystery, second-hand, europe, art

Aww... I don't know, I think I just got bored with Dan Brown. Probably if I read this book before I read all of Brown's previous ones, I would like it better. But the formula is too predictable for me now, nothing new (except of course the exotic new cities), and there's this amnesia plot that for me is just a bit dull. Langdon is confused as usual - I really hope Brown creates another hero/heroine in his next book. I love the description of the cities and museums but the repetitive explanation ...more

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Jun 17, 2013 Janet Whalen rated it really liked it

Not as good as Angels & Demons, but as good as the DaVinci Code. Dan Brown did not create the sub genre of historical scavenger hunt puzzle thriller. The DaVinci Code took this type of novel from a niche market to a widely imitated source of potential blockbusters. Langdon, our hero, is a famous art historian and symbologist. If the idea of a famous art historian, widely sought after by organisations such as the WHO doesn't let ya know things are about to get a wee tad farfetched...it is fiction Not as good as Angels & Demons, but as good as the DaVinci Code. Dan Brown did not create the sub genre of historical scavenger hunt puzzle thriller. The DaVinci Code took this type of novel from a niche market to a widely imitated source of potential blockbusters. Langdon, our hero, is a famous art historian and symbologist. If the idea of a famous art historian, widely sought after by organisations such as the WHO doesn't let ya know things are about to get a wee tad farfetched...it is fiction, y'all. The research is solid. I had at least a half dozen college History of Art courses and worked at an art museum, and I haven't seen any glaring errors. I'm a bit surprised actually that Brown's work is so popular as it seems to me it would be a bit boring without a humanities background. Or maybe there are a lot of liberal arts educated people who crunch numbers or sell widgets all day and Crave the chance to hang with people who are familiar with Dante and Vasari and the differences between Christian and Muslim art, even if those people are fictional characters. Plenty of plot twists and double crosses and double double crosses leave the reader fuzzy on who are the good guys/ bad guys. As in reality, alignment is not so simple. Ventures a bit more into science in this book as well. Several times medications are mentioned, and don't all seem like the first line choices in context of the conditions for which they are prescribed. I appreciate the mention of specific drugs instead of vague references. I'm an RN and a big part of what I do is check meds. I don't write prescriptions, I look them up and question them. Author is not a doctor, but it seems if he can be precise about John Singer Sargent's palette in depicting the Hagia Sophia, he could have had editorial assist on best choice of antiemetic in situation presented. His epidemiology and explanation of Malthus are solid. The deeper philosophical issues underpinning the the puzzle quest surface story are handled deftly and subtly. Having finished the book, I'm thinking about the concept that advances in ethics and technology don't always move at the same pace. This was a seriously great book. Anyone familiar with my reviews knows when I pick apart little details, I loved the book. When I read, I enter a flow state. A good book is actually happening in my mind as I read. When errors of fact, glaring grammatical gaffes, or problems with continuity jump out at me, the flow is interrupted. I'm no longer experiencing the story; suddenly, I am reading a book. When I'm reading a book anyway, one that doesn't offer the level of transcendence, errors are less jarring. So it's 3am and this has become less a book review and more of a treatise on reading. In summary, it's a damn good book, and if a book like this can be a best seller, the reading public is smarter and well educated or autodidactic than popular media would lead us to believe. I hope there are more of us than there are as well, and I suspect this is the case. ...more

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May 14, 2013 Lori rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

Book 12 of 2013: This was different from Brown's other books. It actually had some points of discussion rather than just taking the reader on a wild ride. It wasn't as fast paced as his other books and there were more plot twists, which I liked. I'm not one of those readers that tries to figure everything out as I read...I just like to let it unfold and surprise me. This book did that. If you are a Dan Brown fan this one won't disappoint. ...more

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