By Samah Syed
Inferno happened to be the first book I ever read from Dan Brown, and it still remains my favourite Dan Brown book. I think many readers, myself included, found the storyline increasingly suspenseful as almost every chapter shifts between two different scenarios which seemed to be working to prevent each other's desire. In the beginning it’s unclear which side is good or bad, especially since the main character, Robert Langdon appears to be running away from both sides. The storyline, with its complex details ties together both sides to each other and Robert, using an incredibly unseen plot twist near the ending.
The aspect I really found intriguing about Inferno in particular, which is common to most of the other Robert Langdon books, is the symbolism and history behind deciphering the codes. In inferno, Robert and Sienna (seemingly a nurse) figure out the canister which appeared in Robert's possession at the beginning of the book, is actually a strange depiction of Dante’s Inferno- a painting of the levels of hell. Using this, and Roberts visions they decipher the code which leads them to discovering it was all a hint to where a plague said to be released soon is hidden. Along the way, they meet two men. Both of which are from different sides of the chapters. They travel all across the country and each chapter spills more and more tiny details about characters, storyline, history etc, which is a common theme throughout the series.
The main aim of the entire book from both sides and Robert and Sienna is to stop the plague. Robert and Sienna get close when Sienna betrays Robert, which leads Robert into exposing himself to all the confusion and open ends throughout the whole book. He meets the lady from his visions and discovers his entire accident was planned to lead him into being caught since they required his expertise and he agreed to help the other side prior his accident. At this point the tensions rise and we discover the two sides are WHO and a secret organisation who unknowingly helped cover up the man who plagued the earth. The two sides come together when the WHO discovers the organisation were unaware of the plague and unites with Robert to stop Sienna.
From here, the movie and book have different outcomes. The book ends with Sienna returning to Robert but them failing to contain the plague but it's also discovered that the outcome of the plague is infertility. In the movie they adapted the ending, instead Sienna is killed and the WHO contains the plague. Personally I found this ending displeasing. It changed the impact of the ending in the books which is very complex and quite psychological which is very easy to convey through the book and adds to the whole aura of the book which has many psychological aspects to it which were missed in the movie. I recommend reading the book before watching the movie if you wish to watch the movie.
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