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Book Review of Inferno (Robert Langdon, Bk 4)

Inferno (Robert Langdon, Bk 4)
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Brown once again sends his hero, Robert Langdon, on a breakneck race through a variety of exotic locales, this time with multiple meandering side trips to describe in detail various buildings, their historical significance, and how Langdon feels about them. Along about page 500, one begins to wonder if Brown is being paid by the word.

In any case, this one involves the search for a deadly pathogen about to be released by a brilliant-but-unbalanced villain. And again, one wonders why the trail of devious clues has been left, because it seems to exist only to give Langdon something to follow.

There are multiple switcheroos here, including an ending that is far more thoughtful than the average adventure tale serves up. Still, I felt it was overlong and stretched credulity to the snapping point. Brown fans will enjoy it; others will have to dig down deep into their reserve of patience to churn through to the ending.