Inferno

By: Dan Brown

Reviewed by: Veronica Hahn

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Inferno by Dan Brown

ISBN: 33305227991472

THE STORY:

Robert Langdon, a history professor who focuses on symbols, wakes up in a hospital with a terrible injury in the back of his head. It is there that he meets Sienna Brooks, the doctor taking care of him. Soon after he wakes up, he realizes that he is in Florence, Italy, but the last thing he remembers is being on Harvard campus. The nurse receives a call from the front and a woman comes bursting in with the intent to kill Langdon. Sienna and Robert escape to her apartment where they open a

biotube that was in Robert’s pocket when he stumbled into the hospital. In the biotube is a Faraday pointer that projects an altered version of The Map of Hell, a terrifying image of Dante’s interpretation of the underworld. Using that painting and Robert’s knowledge of symbols, they travel through Florence to find that Bernard Zobrist, a genius scientist, has created a virus to thin down the massive population. Zobrist had hidden it in a cave where it was scheduled to release that night. Throughout all this, the World Health Organization and an unnamed organization are searching for him. They arrive where they originally thought the cave hiding the virus was only to find that they were completely wrong. Sienna and Robert are separated when W.H.O. captured Robert. They inform him that they have teamed up with the unnamed organization to track down the virus and stop it. He is also told that Sienna may not be who he thinks she is. (256)

MY OPINION:

When I first opened the book, I was excited to get into another Dan Brown mystery. Having read the first two books by him, The Davinci Code and Angels and Demons, I was surprised to find that this wasn’t a murder mystery. The author used historical references and creative word choice that seems to transport me to Italy to figure out this thriller myself but unfortunately raises the reading level a bit. This story has many twists and riddles that keep the readers on their toes. I was always captivated in wonder at what the answer to the clues left by Zobrist could be. His use of art and symbols, along with his knowledge of the architecture of the Vasari Corridor, made the escapes executed by Robert and Sienna especially impressive. The only weakness to this book were some parts that were a bit confusing, but the author always found a way to pull you back into the story. To anyone who loves historical fiction and mystery, this is a Holy Grail in terms of books. I would recommend this book to older middle school students and all high school students for a light read. Overall I give this book a nine out of ten and I will make sure to enjoy this story again in the future. (219)

STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:

FIRST SECTION

Questions:

1. What building did Robert Langdon recognise that made him realize he was in Italy?

1a. He recognised the Palazzo Vecchio. (pg. 15)

2. What note is written on the playbill of Midsummer’s Night Dream on Sienna Brooks’s desk?

2a. “Sweetheart, never forget you’re a miracle.” was written on the playbill. (pg 35)

3. What was the image found on the Faraday pointer called?

3a. It was called The Map of Hell. (pg. 61)

4. What did Michelangelo write about Dante’s The Divine Comedy as a blurb?

4a. He said, “Ne’er walked the earth a greater man than he. (pg 83)

5. How many people should be on the planet according to the nam talking to Dr. Sinskey?

5a. Only four billion people should be on the planet. (pg. 105)

Provost (pg. 19)

Seldom (pg. 40)

Iconography (pg. 84)

Contamination (pg. 101)

Prophecy (pg. 144)

MIDDLE SECTION

Questions

1. What kind of mask does Marta tell Sienna about in the Hall of Five Hundred?

1a. Marta tells Sienna about a death mask. (pg. 158)

2. Which map in the Hall of Maps was hiding the secret passageway?

2a. The map of Armenia had the passageway behind it. (pg. 192)

3. What is the name of the love of Dante’s life?

3a. The love of Dante’s life will always be Beatrice Portinari. (pg. 224)

4. What was the message written on the back of Dante’s death mask and what does it mean?

4a. The message was PPPPPPP and it stands for the Latin word for sin, and it is repeated to symbolise the seven deadly sins. (pg. 247-250)

5. What museum did Langdon first think of that qualifies as a gilded mouseion of holy wisdom?

5a. Langdon first thinks of St. Mark’s Basilica. (pg. 277)

Octogenarian (pg. 269)

Doge (pg. 276)

Transhumanism (pg. 293)

Propelled (pg. 207)

Germ-line (pg. 176)

LAST SECTION

Questions

1. Name all the jewels used on the famed altarpiece, the Pala d’Oro.

1a. The jewels used on the Pala d’Oro are pearls, garnets, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, and rubies. (pg. 324)

2. Who is Sienna Brooks in relation to Zobrist?

2a. Sienna was Zobrist’s lover. (pg. 356)

3. Who is Meduse and what category is she in for the Greek pantheon of subterranean spirits? (pg. 408)

3a. Medusa is a Greek monster with snake hair who can turn people to stone. The is in the category for chthonic monsters. (pg. 408)

4. What does the virus do and how much of the population does it affect?

4a. The virus will make one third of the population infertile. (pg. 438)

5. Why did Langdon go back to the Hall of Five Hundred?

5a. Langdon went back so he could put Dante’s death Mask back in its place. (pg. 460)

Eluded (pg. 445)

Pandemic (pg. 461)

Bewilderment (pg 426)

Chthonic (pg. 408)

Delirious (pg.