Book: Inferno by Dan Brown|Narrated by Paul Michael

Published May 2013 by Books On Tape|Run Time: 17 Hours, 12 Minutes

Where I Got It: Audiobook via the library

Series: Robert Langdon #4

Genre: Adult Fiction- Mystery/Thriller

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Goodreads Summary: In his international blockbusters The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, and The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown masterfully fused history, art, codes, and symbols. In this riveting new thriller, Brown returns to his element and has crafted his highest-stakes novel to date.

In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces…Dante’s Inferno.

Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust…before the world is irrevocably altered.

I have to admit that I really enjoyed Inferno.  It was definitely one of the more interesting Robert Langdon novels.

Initially, I didn’t like Inferno, because it started off super-slow for me.  It felt like it took a while for things to really get going, and there is a fair amount of set-up.  A bit more than what I’d expect, but once things got going and you got past the first few chapters, it was a really interesting read, and all I wanted to do was keep listening because I wanted to know what was going on.

While Dan Brown’s books are usually a bit conspiracy theory/super secret society-ish, Inferno seemed a bit more conspiracy theory-ish.  And also a bit less conspiracy theory-ish at the same time.  I think it’s because Inferno focuses on a potential world-wide virus that may or may not be unleashed unto an unsuspecting population.

It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting, in terms of working with WHO and that dang virus.  There are connections to Dante’s Inferno,  but I feel like that went over my head a little, because I only vaguely know what it is and what it’s about.  I did enjoy seeing everything come together.  While his other books are more connected to history, Inferno is the one that’s more inspired by history.  So while enjoyable, I think I didn’t enjoy it as much as the other ones because of it.  There are a lot of interesting details in it, even if I didn’t find the history too interesting (even if it is interesting overall).

As for the audio part of it, I thought Paul Michael did pretty good.  He wasn’t completely amazing, but he wasn’t completely horrible either.

Final Thoughts:

Once I got past the first few chapters, Inferno was a pretty fun and entertaining listen.  It’s also slightly different than his other books, but Brown also managed to keep me interest for a good chunk of the book.  Inferno gets 4 stars.