I just finished reading Inferno (I pre-ordered the Kindle version for $9.99 but now I see the price has increased - shame on Amazon or whoever is to blame for charging so much for an e-book!) and was not disappointed.
I know people are getting tired of the repetitive formula (not me), but in my opinion, if you want to read an entertaining book, turn to Dan Brown. If you want to read literature or something with more substance, then go for Jumpa Lahiri or other award-winning authors, because Dan Brown is not about to win any literary prizes any time soon. I bet many prize winners would love to have half of Brown's books sales, though.
And don't get me wrong: I love Mr. Brown's books and have read them all many times because they are so entertaining. I don't see that there's a problem with an autor using a formula that has worked well for him before. I mean, Ken Follett tends to do the same thing in a few of his books, and I've never seen him get any heat for it, so why pick on Dan Brown?
Anyway, this is basically Brown's formula: Langdon gets himself sucked into a situation to which he was called to provide his expert opinion; suddenly everything gets complicated and goes global; he finds himself traveling around the world looking for clues and gets to run around with an attractive woman at some point. That's his basic premise.
What's different about Inferno? Not much, really, except this time it's all about Dante's Divine Comedy and not the Bible or Da Vinci's works. However, the premise behind the whole thing is rather interesting and forward-looking , instead of just reflecting on the clues left by artists of the past, so it was definitely a page-turner for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. And, if you think his previous books were radical, I think you'll agree they look tame compared to this one.
If you are going to over-analyze Brown's skills as an author, then you'll truly dislike this book. If you take the book for what it is, an easy, entertaining, enjoyable read, then you'll get the most out of it.
I know people are getting tired of the repetitive formula (not me), but in my opinion, if you want to read an entertaining book, turn to Dan Brown. If you want to read literature or something with more substance, then go for Jumpa Lahiri or other award-winning authors, because Dan Brown is not about to win any literary prizes any time soon. I bet many prize winners would love to have half of Brown's books sales, though.
And don't get me wrong: I love Mr. Brown's books and have read them all many times because they are so entertaining. I don't see that there's a problem with an autor using a formula that has worked well for him before. I mean, Ken Follett tends to do the same thing in a few of his books, and I've never seen him get any heat for it, so why pick on Dan Brown?
Anyway, this is basically Brown's formula: Langdon gets himself sucked into a situation to which he was called to provide his expert opinion; suddenly everything gets complicated and goes global; he finds himself traveling around the world looking for clues and gets to run around with an attractive woman at some point. That's his basic premise.
What's different about Inferno? Not much, really, except this time it's all about Dante's Divine Comedy and not the Bible or Da Vinci's works. However, the premise behind the whole thing is rather interesting and forward-looking , instead of just reflecting on the clues left by artists of the past, so it was definitely a page-turner for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. And, if you think his previous books were radical, I think you'll agree they look tame compared to this one.
If you are going to over-analyze Brown's skills as an author, then you'll truly dislike this book. If you take the book for what it is, an easy, entertaining, enjoyable read, then you'll get the most out of it.
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