Inferno

I got extremely excited from the very moment I heard about the release of another Robert Langdon thriller. As promised it turned out to be a compelling page-turner and kept me amazed till the very end. The apocalyptic thriller has a very strange start as the famous Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon wakes up four thousand miles away from home in Florence- Italy and that too in a hospital with a bullet wound on his head with absolutely no memory of what he is doing there. To add to his misery he finds out that someone is after his life! 

His doctor Sienna brooks helps him in escaping his predator as well as in remembering the purpose of him being in Florence. Meanwhile an assassin, a extremely resourceful businessman- whose organization "The Consortium" specializes in doing complicated things for his clients and the head of WHO, all pursue the whereabouts of Robert Langdon. Trying to hunt him down and seek answers from him. 

On the other hand the professor is bewildered by many questions while he is trying to decipher the mystical codes left by the genius biochemist and an all time fan of Dante- Bertrand Zobrist, who believed that with the current rate of population growth the world is paving its way to an end and is on the verge of collapsing. Which is why he took matters in his own hands and designed a plague in order to save the future. The calamity can only be prevented if the professor is able to connect the dots in time. 

Dante's Death Mask

Dante's death mask serves as a guide to professor as he traveled  from Florence to Venice and from there finally to Istanbul.

The Boboli Garden

Giorgio Vasari's Battaglia di marciana
"cerca trova" (these words serv
e as the first clue for Langdon)

Piazza del Duomo
the famous bapistry

Hagia sophia 

Known as"Gates of Paradise"
are the famous gates of
 pizza del duomo bapistry

Medusa at yerebatan sayari

(Sorry for the chaotic arrangement of pictures I tried my best to organize them but they are very stubborn *sad face*)


The historic references to places like The Boboli Gardens, Palazzo Vecchio , Piazza del Duomo, Hagia sophia and Yerebatan Sayari (to name a few) along with their description and significance is simply fascinating. 

Though I wished that the professor could stop having flashbacks right in between the life & death situations as it kind of pushes the reader over the edge. The book did have its fair share of unexpected twists and turns but their came a point where I found it a bit predictable. One thing I couldn't help noticing is that Mr Langdon is apparently the 007 of the academic world as he always manages to find a smart and a pretty female side kick and even starts to like her but it never ends up into something serious.

Ironically, one of the most compelling mysteries in “Inferno” has nothing to do with the art history nor the future of science but with very real questions about the population explosion and humanity’s responsibility for the Earth. Nevertheless I found it absolutely thrilling, fascinating and intellectually stimulating. It might not be a roller coaster ride but sure was a good read and is highly recommended.

My Favorite Quote

"The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis."

My Rating: 4/5 

Big Girl

Danielle steel is a very familiar name amongst book lovers like me but for some reason I never felt inclined enough to buy any of her books. When I came across this book I had high expectations as the title and description were quite interesting and intriguing. As I started to read, it seemed as if the story might have some major twists & turns in it but sadly that never happened. The pace of the book was kind of slow and the story plot was very common and predictable. Overall i didn't hate it neither am I all for it so my feelings are kind of mixed.

I found the main character i.e Victoria quite relatable and not so fiction-y, which was the highlight for me. She shared a very disturbed realtionship with her parents but had exceptional love for her younger sister despite of the fact that her parents loved & adored her alot more than Victoria and didn't leave a single chance to belittle their elder daughter; whom her father referred to as their "tester cake". Christine (her mother) was a perfect match for a narcissist of Jim's (her dad) proportion. They were a perfect couple and a perfect match. Both had dark hair, enviable lean bodies and killer looks. Their first born turned out to be a chubby baby with blonde hair blue eyes and a pale skin which was a source of disappointment for both of them. But their second daughter Grace was a perfect baby who bored her parents looks and had a petite frame like her mother. They didn't make any effort to hide their undevoted love for grace and despair for victoria. They ridiculed and rejected her when ever possible. 

Victoria never hated Grace despite the obvious prefrence in fact both the sisters loved each other unconditionally. The sad part was how the negative comments made by her parents affected her self image and she believed each word they said like gospel. She was a beautiful girl and had a brain to match but her broad & tall frame made her believe that she was unlovable and ugly. She couldn't wait to go to college, to start a life of her own away from the constant nagging. Her love life was full of tragic experiences which contributed to her negative self image. But in the end her patience bore her good fruit and she found a perfect match which kind of made me teary and happy. The love and bond they shared was definitely worth the wait and is some-what what every girl wants, well atleast I do....*wink*.

So overall, I liked victoria very much but just wished that there was a little bit more substance to the story. So who ever is looking for a light read this might be the book for you. My feelings towards it are somewhat neutral.

The last review I posted was also my first read of the author Sandra Brown and it turned out to be very disappointing. While this was far better but I have to say trying new authors doesn't seem like my thing..! but Guess what I am not going to give up as you never know, the next one you read might add up to your favorites for life  :)

My Rating:3/5