Take a photo of a barcode or cover
matt2thefuture 's review for:
Inferno
by Dan Brown
Well, Dan Brown certainly has a formula. And I'm not ashamed to admit, I've really liked it...until now.
Look, you know you're not getting great literature with Brown. It doesn't have to be. He's entertaining. Yes, there are cliches, stilted dialogue, and the setup is invariably the same (at least with the Langdon books), but something in these stories is speaking to people. I loved The Lost Symbol--not ashamed to admit it. You should never be ashamed to say you liked any book, but for some reason Brown enthusiasts draw those groans from the literati (okay, I can see reasons why literature buffs are disgusted he's a top seller, but come on, some of that is entirely sour grapes, you know?)
Inferno starts off with a blast, and despite myself, I thought, "He's done it again. Despite all the flaws, he's done it again." But soon, the familiar weight of Brown's style, along with multiple--and boy, I mean multiple--flashbacks, weighed Inferno down. More than once I wasn't even sure whether I was in the novel's past or present narrative and was surprised when I found out I guessed wrong. For all the interesting detail in Inferno, the story because too much travelogue and textbook and not enough character and action. It seemed every single plot point in the book had to be slowed down and discussed (and yes, I realize this has happened with Brown many times before, but I thought he did a better job at integrating in previous novels).
I didn't dislike Inferno. I didn't necessarily really like it either. Even with all its blemishes, Brown got me through to the end, which is more than I can say for other top sellers. But still, it may be time for a change of pace with Langdon. There's a lot of wisdom in Brown's books--it's just that hardly any of it comes from the characters. When it does, it seems hokey. Brown's genius comes across best as the narrator. I'd be very interested to see what he could do in a nonfiction setting.
Recommended for Brown fans. Anyone new to this hugely popular author is better off jumping in earlier in the series.
Look, you know you're not getting great literature with Brown. It doesn't have to be. He's entertaining. Yes, there are cliches, stilted dialogue, and the setup is invariably the same (at least with the Langdon books), but something in these stories is speaking to people. I loved The Lost Symbol--not ashamed to admit it. You should never be ashamed to say you liked any book, but for some reason Brown enthusiasts draw those groans from the literati (okay, I can see reasons why literature buffs are disgusted he's a top seller, but come on, some of that is entirely sour grapes, you know?)
Inferno starts off with a blast, and despite myself, I thought, "He's done it again. Despite all the flaws, he's done it again." But soon, the familiar weight of Brown's style, along with multiple--and boy, I mean multiple--flashbacks, weighed Inferno down. More than once I wasn't even sure whether I was in the novel's past or present narrative and was surprised when I found out I guessed wrong. For all the interesting detail in Inferno, the story because too much travelogue and textbook and not enough character and action. It seemed every single plot point in the book had to be slowed down and discussed (and yes, I realize this has happened with Brown many times before, but I thought he did a better job at integrating in previous novels).
I didn't dislike Inferno. I didn't necessarily really like it either. Even with all its blemishes, Brown got me through to the end, which is more than I can say for other top sellers. But still, it may be time for a change of pace with Langdon. There's a lot of wisdom in Brown's books--it's just that hardly any of it comes from the characters. When it does, it seems hokey. Brown's genius comes across best as the narrator. I'd be very interested to see what he could do in a nonfiction setting.
Recommended for Brown fans. Anyone new to this hugely popular author is better off jumping in earlier in the series.