Review: Inferno (Robert Langdon #4)

Inferno by Dan Brown

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Would you kill half the population today in order to save our species from extinction?

With that central question, this was a difficult book to read amid a pandemic that has already taken at least 4.5 million lives but in the end, I felt like this is the Robert Langdon book that should have caused a global sensation. Langdon wakes in a hospital room in Florence, Italy with no recollection of traveling there. Not knowing who to trust and being pursued by an unknown organization, Langdon goes on the run with Dr. Sienna Brooks. Together they search for answers to Langdon’s many questions following a trail of clues that ends in a race against the clock to find a potential plague set to be released the next day.
If you’ve read my reviews for Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and The Lost Symbol you might be asking why does she keep reading this series? Despite those past disappointments with this series, I had higher hopes for this one simply because it is set in Florence. Well, Italy, anyway. Well, Europe. Unlike in the previous books, which each took place mainly in a single iconic city, Langdon and his pursuers travel from Florence, where he finds the first clue, to Venice and eventually to Istanbul. I would have preferred to stay in Florence and learn more about the places I’ve actually visited – something I enjoyed about Angels & Demons but that is just a personal preference. I found the usual shortcomings in this book that I’ve found in the previous three books of the series. For one, it is overly long. Even at just 462 pages, it could’ve been cut down quite a bit more, especially the last 50 pages. Langdon was not as dense this time around even with the amnesia but there was too much running and trying to figure out what to do next compared to finding clues in art and literature.
Inferno is more than just a fast-paced (not really) adventure/thriller. It is thought-provoking in a way that none of the previous books have really been. Even if times were different, this should be a conversation starter. The world is over-populated. It is a fact, not an opinion. The question here is what should we as humans do about it and what would be going too far. The ‘antagonist’, Bertrand Zobrist, though dead during the action of the novel is far superior to his predecessor in The Lost Symbol. His motivations, while tinged with egoism shown by his flair for the dramatic, are at least partially altruistic while the ‘good guys’ fall into as much of a gray area as he does with their unwillingness to face reality or at least to address it. I will be thinking about this one for a while. And I think Dan Brown himself had trouble with it leading to an unsatisfying climax. It seemed as if he had two options on how to end the story – one would’ve felt like a cop-out and the other would’ve been a step too far (especially for the sake of the series!) so he chose option three which was essentially no resolution at all as far as the story goes. It might leave the reader thinking but also wondering what happens after the story ends.

I don’t have any reading recommendations to go along with Inferno. I started reading Dante’s Divine Comedy which is so central to the plot of this book and I’m currently reading The Science Book: Big Ideas, Simply Explained, which turned out to be a good companion on the subject of genetics but I’ll be following this with something light and joyful I assure you.

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Shelly’s Year in Books: 2020: Looking Forward

What a crazy year it’s been. When the COVID-19 shutdowns began, I thought, “I’m going to get so much reading done!” and when many people who were stuck at home all the time complained about having trouble finding ways to entertain themselves, I said, “Don’t they read?” We are lucky in many ways that we live in 2020 and not 1920. We can communicate with family and friends in ways only imagined by sci-fi writers of that time, so many people were able to telecommute and keep their jobs, and we have access to more reading and educational materials than ever.

But eventually, even I, who like many readers, I’m sure, have no problem self-isolating and staying home when the rest of the world craves a night out on the town or a weekend centered around (insert favorite sport here) began to get restless. I didn’t, as it turns out, read more than usual. In fact, I probably read less. The news of the world and my own little world began to get me down and the books I had on hand didn’t bring me the escape I needed. So I found other things to do with my time. I cooked a little and baked a lot more than I normally would in the summer (in South Louisiana in the summer you only put the oven on when necessary) and I rediscovered my love of crochet. Don’t worry, I’m not going to become a food or craft blogger. I’m nowhere near that good. Then, one evening while furiously crocheting while the news played on the TV, I thought to myself: “When it feels as if the world is falling apart, create something.” So, when I would normally have been reading, I created hats, scarves, a blanket, and some holiday decorations.

My divided attention wasn’t the only impediment to my imagined record year of reading. With the libraries closed and my own reluctance to go out into the world, I didn’t have my usual access to new books and my librarian friend to make her recommendations. When I did have to leave home, I was reluctant to bring a book along since I would have to disinfect it. I read books on my phone and I found new reads on my e-reader but it isn’t the same, is it? Not when it is the comfort of reading you crave even more than the stories.

At this point, you’re probably wondering when the book reviewing is going to start. I felt you needed an explanation of why this year’s year in review would be so lacking in enthusiasm. I simply didn’t read too many books that I was enthusiastic about. I mean, even the release of Amy Stewart’s newest Kopp Sisters novel has been delayed until 2021. That being said, there were a few highlights so here goes.

January (back when 2020 held such promise): I read the second novel in Katherine Arden Winternight Trilogy, The Girl in the Tower

February (things are getting dicey but the library is still open): Completed the wonderful Winternight Trilogy with The Winter of the Witch. Taken as a whole, including The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden’s fantasy series set in Russia in the middle ages is definitely a contender for the read of the year.

March (the lockdown begins and my family receives devastating news): This was probably my most prolific reading month. Highlights include Alex George’s The Paris Hours, which is the kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading it, and An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor.

April: (Things are starting to get real): Spent most of the month slogging through Philippa Gregory’s Tidelands, a slow read with a good story that has me looking forward to the next novel in the Fairmile series, Dark Tides.

May: (Rough times): But I found an antidote in book form with Katherine Center’s What You Wish For, an endearing romance with a message we all could use. Another highlight is my re-reading of E.B. White’s hilarious The Trumpet of the Swan.

June: (Busy, at least at home): Struggled through Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, which for me was the worst Robert Langdon novel yet.

July: (Baking and getting back to work. Sort of): Read The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett and All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani, two good but not great reads.

August: (Already sick of politics): I didn’t finish a single book in August. How sad is that? I must have been crocheting away my fatigue overall this [stuff]

September: (Is it December yet?): Finished reading the second book in Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children Series, The Valley of Horses which was possibly better than The Clan of the Cave Bear.

October (Hurricane Delta): I was going to spend the month reading classic horror novels. I read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson before the threat of Hurricane Delta approached. With the storm sure to knock out our power (it did), I chose a large print copy of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories that I would be able to read in dim light and not use up the battery on my phone or e-reader. Agatha Christie is always a good idea but disappointing when the book is misprinted. Ugh, will this year ever end?!

November: (Busy with work and preparations for the holidays but for how long?): I spent much of my free time, of which there wasn’t much, crocheting Christmas gifts and holiday decorations, but I did read Liane Moriarty’s The Husband’s Secret thinking that Moriarty’s novels are always a sure bet but I was disappointed.

December: (Finally!!! Not the carefree holiday season we were all hoping for but still plenty of joy to be found) Busy with work and holiday preparations, the only book I managed to read was Katie Fforde’s Recipe for Love which was just the light read I needed when the weight of the world was feeling so heavy.

As much as a enjoyed The Winternight Trilogy, I think What You wish For has to be my top read of the year because it is the kind of uplifting story that I and the world needed this year and every year. Find the joy, even if it is just in the turning of the calendar page. 

Happy New Year! And Happy Reading in 2021.

Review: The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon #3)

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I call this third novel in the Robert Langdon series Langdon at his most obtuse yet. There is very little actual symbol/code deciphering in the 600+ pages of this book and most of what is deciphered is either done by others or all but spelled out for Langdon. I felt like he wasn’t true to the characterization from the previous books except in that Brown leaned too heavily on Langdon’s claustrophobia and acrophobia. For one, you’d think that the man who had discovered the secret of the grail would be more open-minded but through the book, right up to the end, he doubts everything he’s told about the pyramid and the legend. There’s skeptical and then there’s just ornery.
On top of my annoyance with Langdon, which is not unique to this book, this installment is boring. Rather than being a non-stop race from clue to clue, there is a lot of scientific explication, rambling passages about enlightenment, descriptions of various locations around Washington, D.C., and far too much of Mal’akh. Brown’s previous villains have been intelligent though misguided or improperly motivated but Mal’akh’s motivations are purely selfish and literally evil.
With the two prior novels, I’ve complained that I was able to solve the clues faster than the so-called expert. I can’t say that that happened in The Lost Symbol it is because the solution is more symbolic than anything, lost in a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, and revealed well after the climactic scene when I was beyond ready for the story to end. However, I did quickly figure out Mal’akh’s big secret and I guess where the clues would ultimately lead, though, for the sake of the story, it was pretty meaningless by the time they arrived there. Everyone involved should’ve been in the hospital instead of continuing their grand tour of Masonic D.C. I’ve had issues with each of Brown’s novels that I’ve read but I expect certain things that keep me coming back to the series but this one failed even in delivering that fast-paced thrill and symbolic mystery.  For a while, I thought that if this one had followed the superior The DaVinci Code I would’ve enjoyed it more but…nah.

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Review: The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon #2)

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had a lot of issues with Angels & Demons, the first of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon books. The only one of those solved in this famous second novel was the length and at 300 fewer pages than the first book, it still feels overly long.  There was a lot more downtime during which Robert and the other characters tried to figure out Sauniere’s cryptic messages with a bit fewer moments of real peril. Once again I found myself figuring out the mysteries long before Langdon. The hint of romance between Robert and Sophie is tacked on and unnecessary.
Despite my complaints, I must admit that The Da Vinci Code was all it was meant to be before all of the controversies – an entertaining work of fiction, albeit one with fascinating ideas. The way Brown ends many of the chapters brings to mind old soap operas – “next time on The Da Vinci Code…will Robert and Sophie escape.” That’s an exaggeration but you get the picture.
Like its predecessor, amidst all the excitement, there were moments of profound truth. Also, like in the first novel, these truths were usually spoken by the ‘bad guys’. At first, I wondered what that said about me, then I realized that perhaps Brown meant to show that reason can be found on all sides; it is what people choose to do with their ideas that makes the difference. How they interpret the truths – not unlike with the scriptures that figure so prominently in Brown’s stories.

I actually read The Da Vinci Code a couple of years ago but somehow my review got lost. I only discovered this when writing up my review of the next Robert Langdon novel, The Lost Symbol, which I will be posting tomorrow.

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Quote of the Week

If thoughts affect the world, then we must be very careful how we think. Destructive thoughts have influence, too, and we all know it’s far easier to destroy than to create.  

– Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol