Ever since 2003 when I first listened to The DaVinci Code, read by Paul Michael, I have been a fan of Dan Brown's thrillers featuring the Professor Robert Langdon. Starting with "The DaVinci Code", then "Angels and Demons" and continuing with "The Lost Symbol", (I know I did the first two in reverse chronological order but it didn't affect the story either way) the author grabbed my attention with intricate set-ups, well-defined characters, intriguing plots while weaving tales full of history, science and symbols. His books always left me hungry for more.
As soon as I heard that Dan Brown was bringing back Robert Langdon for his next book, my inner history buff started to get a tingle. His newest novel was titled Inferno and was going to revolve Dante Alighieri's Inferno.
Sadly after spending 17 hours listening to "Inferno", I think the author has run out of ideas.
The Bad Stuff:
1. This book starts off with the suicide of a scientist taking a leap from a tall building. Without much character build-up, his death, I felt was a cheap way to hook the audience. There was no cryptic message written in blood in the Louvre (Da Vinci Code) or scorching of skin symbol of the Illuminati, (Angels and Demons).
2.Usually the introduction of Professor Langdon is because his expertise is needed to help solve a mystery. In this book he is the mystery. He wakes up in a hospital room in Florence, Italy with no recollection of the past two days and a bullet wound to his head. After a near fatal attempt to kill him again, he escapes with the help of a young female doctor. Sounds interesting enough, you say. Beware fellow listeners as this book is full of twist and turns. Some of which are not the least bit interesting, others are so far-fetched that Mr. Brown was grasping at straws as to how to make the plot lines all fit together.
3.The Provost, The Secret Organization and the Video.
One character, actually anything having to do with the Provost, really bothered me. He is the head of an organization that operates out of a large boat moored off the coast of Italy. The organizations purpose is to help move people off the grid. For a large fee, of course. I guess since there was no Illuminati, or Masons, the author needed to create a mysterious all powerful organization. It just did not work for me.
A large piece of the mystery of this book comes from a video this organization has received. A video that is played and reviewed more times throughout the book than seems necessary. If you have listened to the first description of the video in one chapter, you really do not have to hear the description again two chapters later, and then four chapters after that. I think I heard the description of the video a total of seven times. I think it was to build a sense of dread and foreboding but to me its overkill and just wasted time.
4.The method of by which everything is explained at the end and the explanation itself of what just went on with Langdon and all the characters involved seemed too contrite. Everything just seemed to work itself out with not enough tension or payoff at the end.
These are just a few of the issues I had with the book without giving away too much of the story.
The Good Stuff
1. The narrator, Paul Michael, does a great job bringing the characters to life. He is a master at choosing the right accent for making the characters have their own individual personalities. He has been the reader for all four Robert Langdon books. So, to me he is Robert Langdon.
2. The moral of this story is something that I never gave much thought about until listening to this book. I think that Dan Brown has touched on a topic that needs to be addressed. For that alone I think the book does have some merit.
Overall I would have to say, for me, it is the weakest of the four Robert Langdon books. I think it might be time to leave Robert Langdon at Harvard and try someone new.
My overall ranking of the books featuring Robert Langdon series would be:
1.Angels and Demons
2.DaVinci Code
3.The Lost Symbol
4.Inferno
Let me know your thoughts.
If you want to listen to any of the Dan Brown books featuring Robert Langdon, plus his other two lesser known books "Digital Fortress" and "Deception Point", check out them out on my website www.TalkingBooksPlus.com.
