Scan barcode
A review by mau_reeny
Inferno by Dan Brown
3.0
I love me some Dan Brown. I don't understand why he gets so much flak from the literary world. Ok, I kind of get it. Lit snobs consider him low-brow and bemoan his "undeserved" popularity. I think there is also a group out there, to which I maybe sort of belong, that enjoy Dan Brown but see his books as fluff and are annoyed that his work is often mistaken for serious literature. I think this type of criticism was especially prevalent around the time "The Da Vinci Code" was released. And while I felt snobby even typing that last critique, I can relate to a certain degree. Many people fawned over Dan Brown for having uncovered an ancient mystery and he probably got more credit than he deserved for originality. By that I mean that the theories he used to build his story (which he took significant creative license with, as is his right as an author of fiction) had been around for awhile and he just brought them into the mainstream. So while I couldn't care less if his books are "high-brow" or "low-brow" I can relate to the criticism that his books aren't quite as important as some may claim. Does acknowledging the latter prevent me from joyfully consuming Dan Brown's offerings? Absolutely not. Give me all the Robert Langdon you have, please.
Now, on to "Inferno."
Oh Dan, Dan, Dan Dan. You are so funky with your punctuation and it drives me bananas. Why all the ellipses? Why are people always exclaiming with like this!? It's a bit much. Consider toning it down for the next Langdon adventure?
There are 104 chapters in this book and 462 pages. Why are some chapters only 1 page? Why do the vast majority of your chapters end in a cliffhanger? I get it, shifting points of view, keeping up the suspense. But Dan my man, it drives me as bananas as your punctuation.
The Council on Foreign Relations is a shady, nefarious network of all the powerful people in the world? I know you take creative liberties with real-world facts and famous people, but I couldn't quite suspend enough of my disbelief for this one. CFR is following me on Twitter and I only have 82 followers. I WISH they were as top-secret and all-powerful as you claim because that would make me seem way cooler, but I think that's too much of a stretch.
How many times does Langdon need to mention clothing brands in the book? He has more important things going on! Like his amnesia!
And yet... I still love you DB. Langdon is part-James Bond, part-Indiana Jones, part-nerd, part-badass. I love reading about art history and symbols and traveling with Langdon. I love that your books have fun twists that manage to surprise me even when I know one is coming.
So keep the Langdon adventures coming, Dan. I'll be reading them.
Now, on to "Inferno."
Oh Dan, Dan, Dan Dan. You are so funky with your punctuation and it drives me bananas. Why all the ellipses? Why are people always exclaiming with like this!? It's a bit much. Consider toning it down for the next Langdon adventure?
There are 104 chapters in this book and 462 pages. Why are some chapters only 1 page? Why do the vast majority of your chapters end in a cliffhanger? I get it, shifting points of view, keeping up the suspense. But Dan my man, it drives me as bananas as your punctuation.
The Council on Foreign Relations is a shady, nefarious network of all the powerful people in the world? I know you take creative liberties with real-world facts and famous people, but I couldn't quite suspend enough of my disbelief for this one. CFR is following me on Twitter and I only have 82 followers. I WISH they were as top-secret and all-powerful as you claim because that would make me seem way cooler, but I think that's too much of a stretch.
How many times does Langdon need to mention clothing brands in the book? He has more important things going on! Like his amnesia!
And yet... I still love you DB. Langdon is part-James Bond, part-Indiana Jones, part-nerd, part-badass. I love reading about art history and symbols and traveling with Langdon. I love that your books have fun twists that manage to surprise me even when I know one is coming.
So keep the Langdon adventures coming, Dan. I'll be reading them.