I recently finished Inferno by Dan Brown. A lot of people are going to read this book. A lot of people are going to love this book. And, a lot of people will probably see the movie when Hollywood makes it.
That being said, my main thought when I read this book was it is about what you would expect from Dan Brown. I am not saying that is good or bad; it just was fairly predictable if you’ve read more than two books by him.
I admit I have read almost every book he’s written, and like most authors, some of his books are better than others. For me, Inferno is not one of the books I would say you have to read by Brown. If you are going to read anything by Brown, I personally preferred The Da Vinci Code (gasp!) and The Lost Symbol.
Yes, both are Robert Langdon books and follow Brown’s tried and true formula for a bestseller, but I still really enjoyed them. And, if you are going to take the time to read in this day and age, why not enjoy it?
This review though is supposed to be about Inferno. I don’t want to give away plot details because a great many people will read this and/or see the movie, and I don’t want to ruin it for you. I will say that it is very action packed and reads a little like a script because of that quality. It is most definitely a page-turner because the very short chapters always end at a suspenseful moment. Those are about the only good things I can say about it. For me, it was just too much like everything else he’s written.
What really stuck out to me, and this is perhaps why I can’t think of anything else nice to say about Inferno, is the absolutely unnecessary constant description of architecture throughout the entire novel. We get it, Dan Brown did his research. He knows a lot about art, architecture, and other beautiful things throughout Europe, but I felt like in Inferno he went above and beyond what was needed for the story.
I would be reading and I would think,” Wow. Another useless rant about some building that isn’t even a part of the plot.”
If you absolutely love Dan Brown, don’t hold my criticisms against me please. I would still recommend this book, especially if you have read and enjoyed the other Robert Langdon books.
Still Working on My Novel 