Have you been disappointed and left with a broken heart after reading Dan Brown's last book THE LOST SYMBOL? Have you been banging head down on the table, because this book just did not fulfilled the expectations? Have you been thinking about taking the book, wrapping it in a newspaper and chucking down the river Aire (our your local river or lake or sea)? You are not alone... Majority of my friends and acquaintances feel the same. Personally it took over 3 months to read that book. I had to force myself to read a chapter a day (and those 2 mins at time were filled with sadness and anger!)! How could you Dan Brown? How could write such a boring piece of crap!!
So when I heard that a new book is coming out and Robert Langdon is the main character again, 2 things happened:
1) I discuss it with Andy. It was a dialogue filled with swear words and disgust about The Lost Symbol.
2) I decided to give Mr Brown another chance and buy the book when it comes out.
Of course I was filled with excitement and worry at the same time. What if he screws up like the last time and I will end up with a hardback book sitting on my bookshelf, gaining dust particles, only to be never read again? Of course, charity shops would only prosper from this fatal mistake. The amount of them I visited, and found tens of copies of Lost Symbol on sale!!! Uncountable!! Has he learnt from his mistakes??? Will he be able to bring back the adventures of Robert Langdon (kind of a new version of Indiana Jones!!!) we've grown to love, appreciate and enjoy? To this day I say that DaVinci Code and Angels&Demons are on the list of books for future generations ( sadly, not surprisingly Lost Symbol hasn't made the cut!).
But I collected the last strength left in me and strolled to Asda to purchase this book. £9 lighter I brought home a big hardback and couldn't wait to bite into it.
First impressions count! The UK edition is absolutely gorgeous! Big bold letters. Picture of Florence (that's a city in Italy for those who didn't pay any attention in geography classes!) on front and back. But the magic happens when you peel off the paper sleeve and uncover a beautiful picture which is a piece of Botticelli's Map of Hell. When you open the book the latter mentioned Map Of Hell (La Mappa dell'Inferno) greets you and is a great introduction to this 104-chapter-book.
So we are off to a good start. Now, let's make our way to the most important part and the answer to the big question, the story ! Has Dan Brown managed to get his shit together and write one hell of a story ? Or is it another big disappointment like the last one?
I am glad to say : "Welcome back Mr Brown! You have done well! Actually you did even better!" I loved this book from the start to the very end!!
There are couple of reasons why I wasn't able to put this book down. Yes, it took me over a week to read this (Mr Brown uses a lot of big words, descriptions and complicated references so I had to concentrate while reading this. I didn't want to miss something what might be important later on as the story progressed!)
The book starts straight in the middle of action when our favourite professor wakes up in a hospital with no recollection of last couple of days. Not only he doesn't remember what has happened to him, but somehow he ended up in Florence. This is what I like. Straight into action means that I will be caught from the start. I love books where author begins in the middle of the story. This way they have my full attention from the start.
But the action doesn't stop there. Our beloved professor is on a run from people who are trying to kill him. But why? And what has happened to him in last couple of days? We embark on a journey through Florence following clues left by a person who wants to release a deadly plague into the world and kill off a great amount of its population. I will not tell you the plot! I have decided that this time you need to read it for yourself. And I don't want to spoil it for you.
But let me just say that this story has so many twists and unexpected turns that you will be jumping up when you find out new one. You will curse. You will swear. And you will be surprised with every turn of a page. Dan Brown keeps you on the edge all the way through. You just cannot put it down. Will Langdon save the world and uncover some hidden mystery as usual? Or is it too late this time?
As always, the book is packed with detailed descriptions of museum, churches, cities.. Mr Brown has done his re-search. The book left me wanting to visit all those cities in the book : Florence, Venice, Istanbul... I want to see the places described in this novel. I want to visit the museums and see the artwork with my own eyes!
But not only that, you will question yourself and the issues raised in this book. I sure was. Actually, I cannot wait for some of my friends to read it so I can discuss is with them. Because partially I agree with some of the opinions touched up on. I sure want to hear your opinions if you already read it. For me this was the first novel, which brought this truthful issues to my attention. I have closed my eyes to issue which doesn't personally concern me but it finally dwell on me that it's time to have a look at this in the bigger picture. So Thank you for that Mr Brown. Thank you for finally opening my eyes to this major world issues around us.
But all in all I have truly enjoy this mind-playing, thrilling, action-packed experience which Dan Brown provided. I must say that he full-filled all my expectations, even went further. Another masterpiece. My heart was racing all the way through. I itched for Robert Langdon and his companion to find what they were looking for. This book is smart, funny, packed with knowledge (learn something new everyday, ey?).
Recently, I've heard they already sign the rights for the film adaption which I am really looking forward to. It will be another Blockbuster.
So my conclusion is : BUY THIS BOOK. Get the UK edition because is so much prettier, stock up on tea or coffee or hot chocolate ( your choice ), buy couple of boxes of cookies, get yourself a good reading lamp and find a quiet place you can concentrate. AND READ IT! I promise you it's one of the best book I have read this year.
THE RETURN OF DAN BROWN - INFERNO....
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