"The darkest place in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis."
Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon awakens in a hospital in the middle of the night. Disoriented and suffering from a head wound, he recalls nothing of the last thirty-six hours, including how he got there . . . or the origin of the macabre object that his doctors discover hidden in his belongings.
Langdon's world soon erupts into chaos, and he finds himself on the run in Florence with a stoic young woman, Sienna Brooks, whose clever maneuvering saves his life. Langdon quickly realizes that he is in possession of a series of disturbing codes created by a brilliant scientist--a genius whose obsession with the end of the world is matched only by his passion for one of the most influential masterpieces ever written--Dante Alighieri's dark epic poem The Inferno .
Racing through such timeless locations as the Palazzo Vecchio, the Boboli Gardens, and the Duomo, Langdon and Brooks discover a network of hidden passageways and ancient secrets, as well as a terrifying new scientific paradigm that will be used either to vastly improve the quality of life on earth . . . or to devastate it.
In his most riveting and thought-provoking novel to date, Dan Brown has raised the bar yet again. Inferno is a sumptuously entertaining read--a novel that will captivate readers with the beauty of classical Italian art, history, and literature . . . while also posing provocative questions about the role of cutting-edge science in our future.
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Quotes
Add a Quote"When every province of the world so teems with inhabitants that they can neither subsist where they are nor remove themselves elsewhere ... the world will purge itself."
The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.
“Consider this. It took the earth’s population thousands of years — from the early dawn of man all the way to the early 1800s—to reach one billion people. Then, astoundingly, it took only about a hundred years to double the population to two billion in the 1920s. After that, it took a mere fifty years for the population to double again to four billion in the 1970s. As you can imagine, we’re well on track to reach eight billion very soon. Just today, the human race added another quarter-million people to planet Earth. A quarter million. And this happens every day—rain or shine. Currently, every year, we’re adding the equivalent of the entire country of Germany.”
“He once described himself as being trapped on a ship where the passengers double in number every hour, while he is desperately trying to build a lifeboat before the ship sinks under its own weight.” She paused. “He advocated throwing half the people overboard.”
Dante:
The darkest places in hell
are reserved for those
who maintain their neutrality
in times of moral crisis.
The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis
Age Suitability
Add Age Suitabilitypink_cat_5992 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 10 and 99
IGOR FABRICHNIKOV thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
Summary
Add a SummaryRobert Langdon wakes up in Italy with severe amnesia after it is thought that he was shot. It appears as if a secret agency is after him in order to prevent him from solving a puzzle related to Dante's Inferno and the luminated map found sewn into his jacket. He joins forces with a doctor that helped him to unravel the mystery which seems to point to a plague being released into the atmosphere in order to curb population growth on Earth. Langdon is thrown into a series of puzzles he must follow in order to find the contagion and prevent its release. Once they figure out the location and manage to get there they realize that the disease has actually been released a week before, and the creator Zobrist had intended this. They also discover that the disease is really a fertility blocker intended to reduce the amount of offspring people can have. Langdon eventually finds out that the secret organization really didnt shoot him and they were trying to get him to save the world, if in a confusing manor.
Renowned Harvard professor Robert Langdon is once again put into a web of another art conspiracy scheme, this time done by a mysterious virologist who wants to hide his plot to destroy the world in Dante's The Divine Comedy.
Internationally renowned and hunky Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is once again at the center of an art-related plot, this time by a narcissistic virologist who has hidden his plan to destroy humanity in the seminal work of Dante.
Oh, stop, you know you want to read this. Unfortunately, like most of Brown's other books, this is quite short on plot and heavy on running. One thing I noticed is Brown paces his books like really long TV shows: each chapter is a short scene which ends with a little cliff-hanger. Would only recommend this to people who *really* like Brown's books.
The Prologue and Chapter One are now online: http://issuu.com/tescobooks/docs/inferno_preview?mode=mobile&embedId=0/1782914
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Add a CommentAnother good read by Mr. Brown
I took out this book for my husband to read while I accompanied him on my kindle version. I can not comment on the quality of the illustrated edition due to this. He found this one much better than the third book in the series. He enjoyed the plot much more and the ending was not as contrived. He seemed to really connect with the character of Zobrist as he was in agreement with his plan and ideals. I as well found this one in general more enjoyable however found that there were less puzzles than the previous books, and less interesting diagrams on the pages.
great book haven't even read it ,lol
Awesome book. I'm not even done reading it! Ignore the negative comments. The story is very interesting, and it is very hard to put the book down. 5 stars
Spoiler warning: the reduction caused by the virus means that instead of doubling the population (arbitrary numbers) in 30 years it will take 40 years. I would render 50% of females or 90% of males infertile with the virus non effective in 20-40 years.
Dan Brown...long may you write!
This was okay but nothing more. Brown seems to be stuck in the "one trick pony" trap and continues to write the same books as his bestseller The DaVinci Code.
The illustrated edition makes this a much more fun read, plus we've got issues of bioterrorism, a new direction for Dan Brown that disturbs you, although it's a little discordant from Dante. I found the dialogue rough and in need of a serious edit to take out all the uses of "?!" to express shock, disgust, and rage.
How many esoteric art history thriller plots can one guy cram into the old cities of Europe? Answer: still just the one. Brown's novels are nicely researched, and I always learn a lot. But the execution and writing style are so very 'meh.' It's a page turner because I end up skimming...
As a side note, the Langdon character's got a photographic memory: what's with "suddenly remembering" stuff? Brown pulled that mess more than once in 'Inferno.' Boooo.
Fantastic, was a joy to read another of Brown's works with some great locations. He sticks to his art history and suspense which I have enjoyed in all of his novels.