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Dan Brown's Inferno: A Review of Themes

Dan Brown's novel Inferno is reviewed as more than just a thriller, but as a "gateway argument" for population control and embracing genetic engineering to "save the world", according to the reviewer. While the novel follows Dante's Inferno and references Florence, the overall work suggests we should accept "uncomfortable" means of controlling population growth and transitioning to a "Posthuman age" through new technologies, according to the apparent villain's goals and views presented in the book.

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Paul Richardson
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737 views1 page

Dan Brown's Inferno: A Review of Themes

Dan Brown's novel Inferno is reviewed as more than just a thriller, but as a "gateway argument" for population control and embracing genetic engineering to "save the world", according to the reviewer. While the novel follows Dante's Inferno and references Florence, the overall work suggests we should accept "uncomfortable" means of controlling population growth and transitioning to a "Posthuman age" through new technologies, according to the apparent villain's goals and views presented in the book.

Uploaded by

Paul Richardson
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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"An Inferno for Our Times?

"
A review of Dan Brown's Inferno.
Originally posted at [Link] on May 18, 2013.

By Stephen W. Smith Temple Family Chair in English Literature and Associate Professor of English Hillsdale College Although skillful and clever throughout, Dan Browns Inferno is finally more of a gateway argument on behalf of population control than a simple thriller about Dante, Florence, or bioterror. Considered as a whole, the novel serves as something like a gateway to the Posthuman age, as the seeming villain of the novel says when describing the goal of his plot. While the gateways in Dante lead either to Hell and self-knowledge or to Mount Purgatorio and a climb to the stars, this novel leads the reader into a brave new world of genetic engineering and suggests that we embrace the new means required to save the world, even if we find them uncomfortable.

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