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A review by emhawes
Inferno by Dan Brown
4.5
One of my favorite parts of Dan Brown's writing is the sheer amount of research that he puts into his books. This review is following a reread because I wanted some additional context for when I visit Florence and Venice later this year. I wanted to see if there were any off the beaten path places suggested in this book I could explore (maybe) and gain some insight into the history of these cities (definitely provided).
As a biologist, I find the premise of this book exceptionally interesting, though a little out there. Not in terms of the threat of a virus/global pandemic (and our exceptionally poor systems to deal with them as exemplified further by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), but because of the slightly mad scientist who created an utterly ridiculous series of clues for his nemesis (the head of the WHO) to follow.The absurdity of this is heightened by the fact that his nemesis could never figure out these clues on her own and also that there was absolutely nothing that could have been done to prevent the inevitable plague. .
This book has some of my favorite "wait, what?" moments for a mystery/thriller as you try to figure out what's happening, which side is good, and who is working together. I love how this story begins, with Robert unable to remember the past two days, and how he and Sienna have to piece together what happened to him and what he was trying to accomplish.
I do think that the ending of this book leaves a little bit to be desired, as the characters all just seem to sweep everything under the rug and move on. I wish they spent slightly more time dealing with the implications of what has happened and how the world could be impacted moving forward.
As a biologist, I find the premise of this book exceptionally interesting, though a little out there. Not in terms of the threat of a virus/global pandemic (and our exceptionally poor systems to deal with them as exemplified further by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), but because of the slightly mad scientist who created an utterly ridiculous series of clues for his nemesis (the head of the WHO) to follow.
This book has some of my favorite "wait, what?" moments for a mystery/thriller as you try to figure out what's happening, which side is good, and who is working together. I love how this story begins, with Robert unable to remember the past two days, and how he and Sienna have to piece together what happened to him and what he was trying to accomplish.
I do think that the ending of this book leaves a little bit to be desired, as the characters all just seem to sweep everything under the rug and move on. I wish they spent slightly more time dealing with the implications of what has happened and how the world could be impacted moving forward.