Sarah's Review of Inferno by Dan Brown

Wow! Where do I begin with this review? This book exceeded all of my expectations hands down! Having read Dan Brown’s previous novels, The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, and The Lost Symbol, I could not wait to dive into Inferno. I was excited to see where Robert Langdon would take us to this time around and I was not disappointed at all.

In this book, we follow Robert Langdon, the Harvard symbology professor, on essentially a blind search to uncover clues in Italy. It begins with him awakening in Italy in the middle of the night with retrograde amnesia, with no knowledge of how he got there or why. It is from here that he begins his pursuit of why he is in Italy, how he arrived there and what he needs to do next. He finds himself in possession of an object that holds disturbing clues that we come to find out was designed by a scientist who is obsessed with the end of the world. We also realize that this scientist is even more obsessed with The Inferno, a poem written by Dante Alighieri.

As with most of Dan Brown’s novels, he keeps things moving with unpredictable events, and clues, leaving you wondering what is going to happen next, right up to the very end. There is a surprise around every corner, or every page turn. As soon as you think you have something figured out, there’s a twist so shocking you are left saying “WHAT?!” But it all makes perfect sense and everything comes together impeccably. There are so many twists and turns that Brown keeps you guessing until the very end.

The characters evolve and develop throughout the story, so you get a real sense of who they are by the end of the book. But like the storyline itself, the character development has many shocking twists as well. Each character is revealed slowly throughout the book and the narrative jumps between different viewpoints so you are able to get a glimpse into each character’s mission.

Brown integrates mystery, suspense and action with the history of Venice and the historical places they visit. His rich descriptions allow you to picture it in your mind, even if, like me, you have never seen or visited them before. He writes so you feel as if you are there.

I would recommend everyone go and grab a copy of this amazing book, especially if you have enjoyed reading his previous novels. I think this may be his best one yet!