Guest Review: Inferno by Dan Brown

   4 out of 5 stars

To add a new perspective here on This World is an Idiot Mill, we're inviting a guest reviewer. Young enough to enjoy carbohydrate intensive food but old enough to know better, JTP will offer his unique and sometimes acerbic outlook on books he reads. Here's his first review for Dan Brown's best-seller, Inferno:

Effectively proving he's a force to be reckoned with, Dan Brown has once again assaulted the best-seller list with his new book Inferno, named after Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem of the same name. Stalwart art historian Professor Robert Langdon must tap into his expertise to decipher a message hidden in a doctored Italian masterpiece. But, far be it for me to merely relate line by line who said what, who did that or where it happened. Rather, my 10,000 foot view of the book will instead reveal that Langdon takes us on a guided tour through Italy, providing insight into works by various masters, filtering through seemingly obvious answers to find the strand of truth, all the while battling the after-effects of a drug administered to him to obliterate his short term memory.

An interesting device used by author Brown is to reacquaint us to dialog or plot events when the climax to a long simmering situation finally unfolds. This re-telling of a prior event leaves no doubt in one's mind as to the sequence of events and how they logically developed. You'll understand what I mean if you've ever reached a turning point in a novel and said to yourself, "now, where was that mentioned previously," or "who said that to him/her?" Granted, this could be bothersome or perhaps even offensive in less able hands but I felt quite comfortable with Brown's restatement of prior events.

Ah...but if you're read any of my prior reviews, you know my efforts wouldn't be complete unless I pointed out something or things that stuck in my craw. (Incidentally, I fully intend on asking my doctor where the craw can be found in or on a human body.) And I found three significant gaffs as our story traverses from historic Italy and eventually to a massive basilica in Turkey. Mr. Brown employs the expression Pandora's box when referencing to something being set loose. BUT, he misuses the idiom by stating "Pandora was released from her box." Huh? How could an author so well versed in pieces of art, historic buildings and streets, byways and alleys of ancient cities goof on something that could be referenced via a Google search?

A second miscue (IMHO) was the time he confronts an individual he feels is responsible for an event that could have catastrophic results world wide if not immediately mitigated. With an ante of that magnitude, an appropriate emotional response would be anxiety, discomfort and an uncontrollable urgency to shake the individual to provide answers to solve the impending crisis? Instead, Langdon is calm and modulated, seemingly with an immeasurable amount of time to solve his dilemma. I suppose it was much more important to maintain deportment and demeanor rather than submit to blind fear because the world as we know it could be changed forever.

The third and most egregious error is when Langdon is with a physician who decides to open a device they've found sewn into his clothing. This cylindrical object has the universally known biohazard emblem prominently displayed on its surface but neither of the two professionals has any compunction about opening to see what's inside. Let me put it to you this way: if you found a box with that symbol on it would YOU open it? I mean, it could very well be Pandora's box!

However, don't let the comments I wrote above deter you from reading Inferno. This enjoyable book will whisk you around Italy, introduce you to painters Giorgio Vasari and Botticelli, the Palazzo Vechhio & other tourist attractions, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul as well as secret passages and other intriguing twists and turn that will keep you entertained. Hey, I'm not a published author but if I could write even half as well as Dan Brown I'd consider myself a smashing success. (N.B: Inferno is #3 on the NY Times best seller list for the week of 7/28/13; it was #1 the prior week.)