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Dan Brown's Inferno Book Review

Updated May 14, 2013

By Sanford Holst

All right....hot off the press....that was a much better read than I had expected. To tell you the truth, I really enjoyed the Da Vinci Code -- but the Lost Symbol, not as much. So it seemed Dan Brown might have used up everything he had in that one huge book, to be followed by a slow, ongoing decline. Well, clearly not. I would rate Inferno a step lower than Da Vinci Code, but a step higher than Lost Symbol.

If you're wondering "What's it all about?" it's like this. Robert Langdon, our favorite Harvard symbologist and some-time adventurer, finds himself in Florence, Italy -- in what turns out to be a thrilling chase with medical terrorism overtones. His accomplice is a blond-haired, pony-tailed medical doctor who also turns out to be brilliant. You know....your average girl next door.

Her name is Sienna Brooks, and her pairing with Langdon leads to racing sprints through art-filled Florence, Venice and Istanbul. They are pulled forward by a trail of clues having to do with Dante's Inferno, of course. In that pursuit we become aware that, reminiscent of the Nazi "final solution to the Jewish problem" in World War II, some raving genius has come up with a final solution to the world's overpopulation problem. The Black Plague that killed huge portions of the known world in the 1300s comes up quite a bit.

I don't want to go into the storyline more than that, because it really is a pain when someone gives away the critical twists and the ending. But be assured that Dan Brown shows he still knows how to weave intricate plots and keep things on the move. He also shows extensive familiarity with great artworks, the cities involved, and Medieval events that affected Dante and his world.

This rang a bell, because I had written a book about the Knights Templar -- and noted that when many of them were burned at the stake it inspired Dante to write his Inferno. So it was good to see Dan throw a few mentions in that direction. He even had Robert Langdon slyly comment that his favorite Harris Tweed jackets have a red Templar cross sewn into their label. The Templars and Crusades were, of course, active in all three cities that Langdon visits in this heart-pounding quest.

But if I had to pick two things that set this Dan Brown novel apart, one would be his knack for weaving clever clues into the most amazing places and devices. The other thing is his innate ability to imagine remarkable, capable women who prove to be important in his thrillers. The Da Vinci Code had that, but the Lost Symbol, not quite as much. He is definitely back on the right track in Inferno.

This book review also includes a huge section of illustrations that show many of this novel's people, places and things. It makes your reading experience that much better when you can actually see what is going on.