Inferno - Dan Brown

Inferno, Dan Brown's latest thriller featuring Robert Langdon, his fourth book featuring the Harvard University professor of religious iconology and symbology. And, my third book in this series following the DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons.

If you have already read Dan's thrillers featuring Landgon, you can easily guess the basic plot. It was his same tried and tested formula. Some person dies (this time suicide instead of murder), then Langdon was contacted by some high authorities (by WHO) to find something (a virus), accompanied by a young lady for his help, following the clues that can be cracked only by him to get to the final destination. All of the above things was in his other books as well. Dan is much comfortable with this style.

The plot happens in three places. It starts in Florence, Italy then moves to Venice and ends in Istanbul. As usual Dan have described the architectural beauties of all these places in detail. Sometimes, it's boring when Dan starts taking history lessons in the middle of some serious scene. And, I don't remember any of those history lessons now(too bad). 

Dan has taken the world's population problem as a plot, which is growing exponentially and will make people extinct soon. So a brilliant scientist, Zobrist, who wants to stop this problem has decided to do something. He contacted the WHO to discuss that, but they were not willing to listen, so he decided to do a job by himself. He successfully made a virus which will solve the population issue to make the earth stable and set it to go out at a specific date and he commits suicide before that date. Langdon and others, the WHO authorities, are trying to find the place in which he had hidden the virus and want to stop it before spreading. I doubt why Zobrist left all those clues to find that place. Zobrist is the winner at the end, even though Langdon was able to find the place.

So Zobrist has done something which will actually decrease the population and stable the earth, but that virus will not kill half of the people. So the world was changed at that date and I think Dan feels it's the right way to end. The hero and his team loses to the Villain, and Dan makes you think whether he is really a Villain or a hero himself who saved the world. 

There was enough surprises, twists and turns in this book to keep you engaged, but you have to be ready to read all those history lessons. I felt the whole book was similar to Angels and Demons. I think it's time for Dan to change his formula and offer something new in his next, but Inferno is still worth a read.