A Journey through Inferno

Being a Dan Brown worshipper that I am, I placed an order for his book “Inferno” right on the day of release, that is on the 14th of May, 2013. I couldn’t wait for the book to reach my abode; all I did during my waiting period was thinking how awesome the book would be! I would text my mum from college, asking if the book had arrived, come home and ask her again if the book had arrived, and keep constantly watching the staircases of my house and looking out, to see if a courier guy (the messenger of the almighty, as I see him) was coming to deliver the precious, precious token of love from god. Finally, the book arriveth and I jump with joy, literally! Now wasn’t that a very melodramatic narration!

                         Yes, there is a saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, I agree! But this just doesn’t hold good when it comes to Inferno. The moment I held the man-made marvel in my hand, I noticed the brilliant artwork on the jacket, depicting the famous Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore located in Florence, Italy. When I was still busy being amused by the design, I noticed that the hard cover inside had an artwork too – Cutting the waves from Canto 8 from Dante’s Inferno, in which Dante crosses the river Styx. This was not all. Inside the book was a picture showcasing the nine circles of hell, by Dante. Such a Beauty! It was love at first sight.

          I opened this new romantic interest of mine and found the lines:

                                    “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who

                                          maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”

Then and there, I realized that this was going to be a typical Dan Brown book, the one that’ll blow your mind beyond limits.

 

The story is set in Florence, where on one fine day, Mr.Robert Langdon (Dan Brown’s protagonist across three other books too) wakes up amnesic, to find a veiled woman standing right before his sight, Dr.Sienna Brooks. The story revolves around a macabre cylinder, with a biohazard symbol on it that Langdon finds in his jacket and doesn’t understand its presence, initially. He is pursued by Vayentha, a female assassin, Florentine police and Carabinieri officers, and a group of soldiers from the U.S., who, he believes, are trying to shoot him down.  The story moves on and introduces various other characters like Bertrand Zobrist, a scientist who is a beloved fan of Dante’s inferno and Elizabeth Sinskey, the head of the WHO (World Health Organization).

Bertrand Zobrist turns a madman, who is extremely concerned with the world’s population explosion and is keen on finding a solution to the problem. He carries out an operation, that proves lethal, and for which Mr.Langdon is hired by Elizabeth Sinskey to stop the madness and put an end to it. What happens next is all purely magical and hypnotic.

Dan Brown knows what he does the best, which makes his readers connect with his books. Inferno is one of his master pieces, which is thoroughly gripping and engaging for all the 480 pages. Once you close the book, you’ll regret returning to the real world, for the book would have taken you to a journey through different eras in Florence, Venice, Istanbul and a journey through Inferno. And at the end of the book, you’ll understand why the darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis. Amen!

Sindhoora Kadya

Blogger, Passionate Writer

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