I remember reading Da Vinci Code when it first came out, and of course I’ve seen the movie a few times. I liked it, and I’m pretty sure I liked Angels & Demons, though I couldn’t tell you what it was about…I didn’t know a third and fourth Robert Langdon book had even come out until I stumbled across Inferno while looking for a e-audiobook to download from the library. It’s pretty formulaic, but interesting enough for the treadmill at least.
“Dante’s poem, Langdon was now reminded, was not so much about the misery of hell as it was about the power of the human spirit to endure any challenge, no matter how daunting.”
Luckily, you could start this booking without ever having even heard of Langdon, and you wouldn’t miss a thing. It really has no connection to the other books, other than the main character (whose backstory is left completely out). Langdon wakes up in a hospital room without an memory of the proceeding 2 or 3 days. He’s astonished to learn that he’s in Italy, and even more surprised when an assassin comes in and murders his doctor. Langdon escapes with the help of another doctor named Sienna Brooks, and they run around Italy for a couple days, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
Like all of these books, there are lots of twists and turns and you spend a lot of time mistrusting everyone. Sienna is, of course, gorgeous and brilliant, and Langdon finds himself constantly welcomed by scholars and museum curators at every turn, even when being hunted by an evil consortium. But it’s a fun read and the art history stuff never really gets old to me. If you liked any of the other books, or anything in this genre at all, it’s worth checking out.
