Book Review: Inferno by Dan Brown

04 June 2013 - 10:58 By Lebohang Nthongoa
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I'm quite happy to be writing a review on a book when I have not read the writer's previous work. This gives me me a clean slate to work from, with no comparison to the best-sellers Dan Brown has written.

His latest book, Inferno, starts with questions and excitement that grab the reader, and holds their attention with the fast-paced action his protagonist, Robert Langdon, finds himself in.

Langdon inadvertently finds himself partnered with a slender, blond, and brilliant doctor, Sienna Brooks, who travels across Italy with him not only to save their lives, but more importantly, on the search for answers.

This action thriller occurs on an Italian backdrop, and is a treasure hunt that exposes clues and answers as the chase unfolds.

The villain in the book is a mad-scientist, whose intentions are as genius as they are crazy. He is inspired and fueled by Dante’s epic poem, Inferno. As a professor of Symbology, Langdon is the perfect man to ask the relevant questions, and answer them.

He comes across multi-layered riddles, questions about his surroundings and if and whom to trust along his journey as he races against the clock to save the world from an airborne virus concocted by the mad genius.

Brown includes art, history, culture and symbols in the book, and it is very obvious the amount of research the writer must have undertaken for the book.

The book has great dialogue and detail, and Brown presents it all in such a way that the reader finds it easy to follow the story.

The only criticism I would have for this book is that there was a time or two while reading the book when I thought there was too much of a run-around, but I guess that played into the suspense in the story.

The book has certainly piqued my interest in Dan Brown's previous books. It makes for a great read.

Rating: 8/10

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