Inferno

By: Dan Brown

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Dan Brown’s new novel, Inferno, features renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and is set in the heart of Europe, where Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centred around one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces.

As Dan Brown comments: "Although I studied Dante's Inferno as a student, it wasn't until recently, while researching in Florence, that I came to appreciate the enduring influence of Dante's work on the modern world. With this new novel, I am excited to take readers on a journey deep into this mysterious realm… a landscape of codes, symbols, and more than a few secret passageways."

©2013 Dan Brown (P)2013 Random House Audiobooks

Shallow

Lack the momentum and curiousities of previous books; pretty shallow but still not too terrible

Great story, great narrator..

As my first audiobook, i am quite impressed by how the narrator conveys the story. Very well done

A descent into hell that ends without redemption.

Would you consider the audio edition of Inferno to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the print version.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Inferno?

I enjoyed the passage through various historic sites in florence.

What about Paul Michael’s performance did you like?

solid performance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Excellent!

Thoroughly enjoyed this reading.
Recommend to all Dan Brown readers.
Will now go back to listen to other books via audible.

Predictable

The Langdon Tale continues in more or less the same places he always seems to venture. Easy listening that does show that Brown seems to love to travel and does try to find issues that naturally polarize his audience. Not a 'must have' but fun for all of that.

Excellent book and narration.

Zobrist would be remembered for a long time. Venice is a great place of interest and the book nailed it.

Entertaining read - Typical Dan Brown

There is a massive flaw with the story. Robert Langdon goes on this wild goose chase and has absolutely no influence on the outcome of the story. Even if he stayed at home, the story would have the same outcome.
Still a gripping read!

Too boring to finish

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Every author has a bad book now again and this is it for Brown so I couldn't recommend it to anyone. It's not the genre that I didn't like it was the quality of the writing

What was most disappointing about Dan Brown’s story?

It could have been interesting but the story line dragged, there were too many repetitions and the characters were weak so there was nothing to entertain you while you waited for the story to develop

What three words best describe Paul Michael’s voice?

Clear, a little expressionless ( but that was because he was working with a truly dreadful piece of prose)

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Inferno?

Much of the first half and then tightened the writing so the book was a third of its current size

Any additional comments?

Brown's first two books are quite a lot better but forget this one

Contrived, predictable - what Colin said.

Any additional comments?

I'm normally a glass-half-full kind of person, but I find it very difficult to be positive about this book. I'll try though. First off, it's the usual fast-paced Langdon jaunt. The formula is precisely the same as in the other books, so if you've experienced and enjoyed them, there is a remote possibility you might enjoy this one. And, if you've ever wanted a kind of cheat's version of all things Dante, Florence and Venice, here it is. Actually, it isn't. You'd be better off with Wikipedia, though you'll probably find it's almost the same thing.
Ok, that's the good. Now, there is an awful lot of bad, so I'll keep it to the things that really stuck in my throat. First off, the tour guide stuff was painfully rammed in, e.g. 'Langdon struggled to believe that [building X] was torn down in 1693 and rebuilt from the ground up using only natural materials.' That kind of thing. Langdon never ceases to amaze with his ability to marvel at architectural significance, almost always with a Bond-esque one-liner to throw away, all while fleeing for his life from a gun-toting villain.
Second, Brown contrives a background story where a character 'dreamed of playing European football' (nobody, least of all Italian security guards, refers to soccer as European football) and then he unforgivably compounds this by saying the game on TV had just 'gone into overtime.' There's no such thing in soccer. Come on, Brown, this is just amateur. It is not an isolated incident. If you know nothing about a subject, don't write about it.
Third, the narrator just wound me up with his pronunciation of 'Consortium' as 'Con-zor-sham.'
Finally, if you think my gripes are superficial, it's because I'm trying to avoid dropping spoilers. My major issue is with the entire story. It felt like Brown was just determined to dazzle everyone with his clearly new-found knowledge of Dante and Florence, and hoped nobody noticed the entire story was contrived to fit around it. The entire premise I found utterly ridiculous.
For the record, I enjoyed the movie of the Da Vinci Code (though I didn't read it), and I subsequently read Angels & Demons and The Lost Symbol and really hated both, so I don't know what compelled me to go back. I guess I was hoping the score would even out at 2-2. But it's 1-3, and emphatically so.

Way too long!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

My husband and I listened to Inferno while driving through Africa. 14 hours at least listening to this book and it was total torture! It just went on and on. We've got to about chapter 62 and just couldn't carry on. I wish we had the shortened version so that we can hear the outcome of the story. I have read every single book that Dan Brown has written and have thoroughly enjoyed his writing. This one was a performance of how much research went into this book instead of just telling the story.

Has Inferno turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

Would you be willing to try another one of Paul Michael’s performances?

Absolutely.

Any additional comments?

Isn't there a shorter version?