Book Review: Dan Brown's "Inferno"

          All of Dan Brown’s books, Inferno included, are highly formulaic in construction. The protagonist faces some sort of diabolical problem, which can only be prevented if the pieces of some great puzzle are put together. There is a chase, a love interest, and then a series of small revelations that the reader could never figure out (hence why Brown’s books are thrillers and not mystery novels), and finally there is a big plot twist that throws all the reader’s expectations askew.

          Nonetheless, the books are intriguing and enticing. Brown is a master at juxtaposing chapters so that readers draw false conclusions about what, exactly, is happening. Perhaps if one approached all of Brown’s novels with all of his tricks in mind, then the novels would be less enticing, but, for someone who only reads each novel once, usually shortly after they come out, the tricks are effective. For without these tricks, there is nothing very special about Brown’s writing at all; but, the man can tell a good story.

          Certainly, it’s the story, not the flat and static characters that drive Brown’s books. Even here, where his most successful and most beloved character, Robert Langdon, takes center stage, a reader can’t really get interested in characters. I, for one, found myself focusing less on Langdon himself, and more on Langdon-as-portrayed-by Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks is, in my mind, the only reason Langdon is anything more than words on a page. Brown certainly doesn’t give him life, even though he seemingly goes out of his way to make him larger than life: the perfect hero, a genius, who for some reason rarely thinks about his past adventures, while he is running for his life.

          If you are looking for a quick, intriguing, easy read, a book to take to the beach, one with plenty of stopping points to accommodate all the breaks you need do to accommodate everyday distractions, then pick up Inferno. If you are looking for something to make you think (and I mean really think, not just puzzle over a mystery that is impossible to solve with the clues that you are provided), look somewhere else.

JCM

7/21/2013