Unpredictable Mystery Plot of Inferno by Dan Brown

Inferno? At the first time I heard my friend said the word, I thought it is some kind of diseases or syndrome. Oh yeah, because I am not an English native and I don’t know the word inferno means blaze, fire or it could refer to hell.

Maybe you have heard or you watched a movie entitled Inferno by Ron Howard in 2016. But do you know that the movie was adapted from a novel with the same title by Dan Brown?

In this post, I will talk about the novel and my thoughts about it.

Cover of Inferno
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Inferno-cover.jpg

By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use,

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38585397

So… The novel is first published in Great Britain in 2013 by Banam Press an imprint of Transworld Publisher, www.transworldbooks.co.uk. ISBN 9780593072493.

Inferno is one of Brown’s books. He wrote The Davinci Code, one of the most popular and widely read novels of all time, as well as the other international bestsellers featuring Harvard symbologist, Robert Langdon The Lost Symbol and Angels & Demons. He has also written two stand-alone thrillers, Deception Point and Digital Fortress. Also, he lives in New England.  

From the problem that occurs in this novel, we may guess that the novel is about sci-fi (science fiction). However, the novel is more spectacular than our expectation. ‘Inferno’ is an amazing unpredictable novel. The novel does not only bring the sci-fi sense but it also brings a mystery plot. The exceptional thing of this novel is Dan Brown can make a refreshing formula for his mysterious plot based on real life artworks, literatures, sciences, and historical references. Considering that making a fiction story which based on fact, especially historical work is a tough thing to do. It is also said in telegraph.co.uk, that Dan Brown through this novel introduces a new and welcome moral ambiguity.

The story is begun with Prof. Robert Langdon who possesses amnesia. He has no idea that he is in Italy and has been shot on his head by someone. He could not recall how he can get to Italy and what he has done to make someone wants to take his life? All he can obtain from his unconscious world is only about his nightmare—a lady with blonde hair with veil on her head that keeps saying ‘search it and ya shall find it’. Langdon’s mystery journey becomes more tightening since he realizes that he is the key to save the world from the deadly biologist weapon. Moreover, the clue of the mystery is related to a legendary painting done by Dante Alighieri, ‘la mappa’ (the map of inferno stages).  

Even if the book is spectacular, the author made the plot story somewhat too intricate. There are a lot of flash back plots that have many mysteries which are not explained in detail. So, for the reader who does not pay much attention, it might be quite hard to comprehend. However, the novel gives us clear description of the artworks. The detail explanation from the author can make us imagine the things that we have not even seen yet, such as the mask of Dante’s dead face.

The Mask of Dante's dead face.
 Source: https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighieri 
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=408900

Like “The Da Vinci Code” novel that also written by Dan Brown, Inferno gives the same feeling, the feeling that you do not even realize that you have done many things only in one night. For those who never read or watch “The Da Vinci Code” before may feel a little bit surprised when realizing that all of the events happened in a blink of an eye. For me, the “Inferno” novel is really helping and enhancing my knowledge, because I got many new things and knowledge. Moreover, I think this is a very pleasure way to study history.

So I conclude that this novel is good for young adult and adult who love mystery and history. Additionally, this is also worthy for those who love artwork; especially Dante fans should read the novel, because you can feel the presence of Dante. Through this novel, Dante is awaken from his death and become the central of the world history, it is written that he knew everything that is going to happen, like a fortune teller.

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Here's a slight profile of Inferno's writer.

Dan Brown
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Brown
By Web Summit -
  https://www.flickr.com/photos/websummit/22621354160/,
CC BY 2.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44867550

Name: Dan Brown

Brith Date: June, 22 1964

Place of Birth: Exeter, new Hampshire

Education: Amherst College, Philips Exeter Academy

In 1997, Dan Brown made his first thriller, ‘Digital Fortress’. He went on to write ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘Deception Point’. His masterpiece, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was published in March 2003 and sold nearly 6000 copies on its first day and reached the New York Time’s Best Seller list in its very first week.

Originally written by Arij
Edited by Ummu

References:

http://www.biography.com/people/dan-brown-507279#synopsis Retrieved 20 Mei 2016

http://www.famousauthors.org/dan-brown Retrieved 20 Mei 2016

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/10053517/Inferno-by-Dan-Brown-review.html Retrieved 27 Mei 2016