Review of Inferno, by Dan Brown

Dan Brown is a author whom I enjoy reading. He first intrigued me with The Da Vinci Code, I was skeptical at first because of all the hype the book was getting from the churches. But I always have been one to see things for myself and not take peoples word on it. I believe it is a first born thing, we have to form our own path and not simply follow others. I was pleasantly surprised when I got into the book and found it a fascinating piece of fiction. I always enjoy books that incorporate reality with their fictional characters. Like all of his books, I am finding, The Da Vinci Code was an interesting history lesson. 

Now that Brown has come out with a new book I am excited to pick it up and be able to read it! However Rachel has beatin' me to it and has graciously offered to write a review for us so we know what to expect if you are like me and plan to pick up this book the next time you are at the library. So without further ado here is Rachel's Review...

"It seems more and more unlikely that Dan Brown will ever recapture the magic he found in The Da Vinci Code. In Inferno, Once again, we are on an adventure with Robert Langdon, Symbologist and Professor at Harvard University. This time, he awakens in a daze in Florence, Italy and must follow a path through Dante’s Divine Comedy and face images of The Black Plague that killed ⅔ of the Asian population and ⅓ of the European population. While the information seems well researched and accurate (Finally, that Masters in European History has become useful!), Brown seems to be preaching to the masses about the dangers of overpopulation rather than telling an adventure story. Langdon’s Art History and European History knowledge begins to seem overbearing, and the twists and turns quickly begin to become less about tricking the reader and more about flat out lies. Readers don’t mind being tricked with clever wordplay and plot twists, but Brown seems to cross a line with his plot devices and revelations. While parts of the book are intriguing and the adventure fun to follow, Brown could have easily cut the book by a third due to his continuous repetition of some of the key points he is trying to make. I found myself skimming through passages I had read 25-50 pages before. Of all of the Dan Brown books, this one seems the most contrived. Where his clever writing seemed effortless in The Da Vinci Code, it is anything but effortless in Inferno. If you are interested in traveling through Dante’s Inferno or the streets of Florence and Venice, it may be worth the read. If you are awaiting the second coming of the Da Vinci Code, I would continue waiting, but, as Lavar Burton said on Reading Rainbow, “You don’t have to take my word for it."

So what do you think? Will you be picking it up later this week or Summer? Or leave it for another time when you haven't found anything else to peak any sort of interest at the bookstore or Library?