“Scholars (are) divided over whether Brown’s populist thrillers encourage greater interest in history, art, and Renaissance culture, or cheapen the legacies of some of the Western world’s cultural giants,” Nick Squires reported Tuesday for the Christian Science Monitor. One question many critics are asking in their reviews of the new book is: How will “Inferno” affect readers’ interest in independently learning more about the history of Florence, Italy, or scientific theories regarding human survival? “Inferno,” the new novel by “Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown that hit bookstores Tuesday, has no shortage of mysterious references to historical artifacts and future science.
