Book Review: Inferno

 

Books, like movies, are very subjective. One person will think it is great, while another will detest it. Some people will always hate any novel Dan Brown puts out simply because of the subject matter in the Da Vinci Code, and others will let each book stand on its own merit. I am not going to spoil the plot in the review. The best way I can describe this one without doing so is to say that the pacing and tone are very much similar to the Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, and The Lost Symbol. The subject matter of the book is different. It does have the "race against time" aspect that the other books do, but it is much more centered around an ethical debate than it is around religion. There is a throwaway line about the Vatican hating Langdon, but outside that, the rest of the religious discussion is centered around the meaning of Dante's Inferno, and trying to figure out where something is hidden based on the messages in that book.

Like with the other books Brown works plot twists into this one. Where he succeeded in the other books however by keeping them to a minimum, he feels the need here to not only put in multiple twists but then twist those twists. It does get a little contrived and silly. If you can take the position that hey it is just a book and does not have to make perfect sense, then I think you can still enjoy it. If something like that would bug you then I think you should probably skip it. He does work a lot of geography, mythology, and science into this book, and I think those aspects are well-researched and presented without stretching them too much. There definitely needs to be some suspension of disbelief with the science part of it, but it is not so far outside the realm of possibility that it makes the story totally unbelievable. Although I think it gets closer to that line toward the end of the book when all is revealed.

I think if you really like Brown's other books, then you can also enjoy this one. While some of the plot points get contrived and silly (mainly the who is working for whom and which side people are on, character motivations, etc) toward the end, it did not take away from my overall experience. I did not feel like I wasted the time reading it. If you have been lukewarm on his other books, then this one may bug you.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Inferno

 

Inferno is the third movie in the adaptations of Dan Brown's novels based on the character of Robert Langdon (played in the movies by Tom Hanks). The movies are a bit interconnected, but mostly stand-alone stories, so this is somewhat of a sequel to the movies The Davinci Code and Angels and Demons, but you do not have to have seen those movies to follow most of what is going on in this one. The big thing you will miss if you have not seen the other movies is the development of the Langdon character because this movie pretty much just jumps into the story.

The main plot of this movie involves a plot by a billionaire scientist named Bertrand Zobrist (played by Ben Foster) to solve the world's overpopulation issue. Langdon wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the past few days and is immediately targeted by an assassin. With the help of his doctor, Sienna Brooks, played by Felicity Jones (probably best known for her role in Rogue One), he escapes and discovers he has clues to the plot, which points to some mass murder event and is based on Dante's Inferno (hence the title of the book). From there, as in the first two movies, the plot involves Langdon solving clues that point to even more clues, with a lot of twists and turns along the way.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great in the HD format (with a lot of great location shots from where the movie was filmed), and has a decent amount of extras. Those include over 27 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, short featurettes on each of the main characters, a featurette on the filming locations, and a director journal, which is basically 10 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage following Ron Howard around and interspersing his comments. Then there is a featurette on the darker imagery from the movie and some trailers for other movies.

Overall, the movie is good, but probably not as good as the first two movies. The movie does adapt the book well, but like with the first two installments, there are definitely changes made. It seems more and more likely that this movie will be the last of the novel adaptations with Howard and Hanks at the helm, despite there being two other Langdon novels that could be turned into movies. In general, I would say if you enjoyed the first two movies you will probably enjoy this one, although maybe not as much. On the other hand, if you did not like the first couple of movies, this may not do much for you. That is, of course, unless the only reason you did not like the first two movies was because of the religious tones, but in that case, you are probably not ever going to watch this anyway. 

Book Review: Inferno

 

This is the fourth in what is, as of this writing, five novels by Dan Brown centered around the character of Robert Langdon, who is a symbolism professor at Harvard University. In this novel, he wakes up a hospital in Florence, Italy with a head wound and no memory of the last few days. He is told that his memory loss is likely temporary, but before he can figure out what has happened to him he, and his doctor, Sienna Brooks, have to evade an assassin who is targeting Langdon. The attempt to retrace his steps and discovers a plot by Bertrand Zobrist, a transhumanist genius scientist who is obsessed with Dante's Inferno, who intends to release a virus to solve the world's overpopulation issue. 

The novel is a good story that blends action and dramatic moments. It definitely has some of the same elements that the prior novels (and the movie adaptations of those) have had. Langdon has to race around trying to solve various puzzles and riddles, this time based on clues tied to Dante's Inferno. There are twists in the story, much like in the other novels. Some are kind of eye-rolling inducing and others I think work pretty well. I do like the fact that the story is centered around the issue of overpopulation, which is a real thing. Overall, I would say that this is not as good as The Da Vinci Code, or even quite as good as Angels & Demons, but it is still very good. So, if you are a fan of his other novels, this is worth the read.