Steve Alten is a best selling author and one of my favourites. Initially I was excited to hear about the publication of this book, inspired by the first part of Dante Alighien´s 14th century epic poem Divine Comedy, of which there are three parts – Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. Inferno being Italin for Hell. The poem describes Dante’s journey through Hell, depicted as nine circles of suffering.
Steve Alten takes us on the classic journey of good versus evil, transformation and redemption.
The story is set in Manhattan, New York and brings in moral corruption in Europe before the Black Death, present day greed and deception and also the cruelty in today´s society
This book took two years to research and complete and is the first part of a trilogy.
Mary Klipot is a scientist working on the development of a bio-defense weapon called Scythe, a version of the black plague, while working in the lab she discovers she is pregnant and is convinced she is going to give birth to “Jesus”.
The “hero” is war veteran Patrick Shepherd who is hospitalised recoving from an explosion which resulted in him losing an arm, he has an estranged wife (who he has not seen for 11 years) and daughter, like many war veterans he is a “damaged” individual – not just physically but mentally. He is chosen by ruthless politicians who require his services to aid the war effort, thus receiving much needed treatment and psychological guidance.
Mary is in the same hospital in labour and gives birth to a baby girl, her child of Christ. She has an antidote to the DNA modified black plague and instructs Patrick´s physician where to find it.
Patrick overhears a conversation with the Secretary of Defence discussing the plague which has hit Manhattan and eventually escapes from the hospital using a helicopter and taking the antidote with him.. His main aim is to save his wife and daughter. Eventually, after his helicopter is shot down, he finds himself in a dark wood and aided by Virgil, his psychiatrist, he goes on a journey through the streets of New York, now plague-ridden. To be reunited with his family, he descends his own Nine Circles of Hell to cleanse his troubled soul, be reunited with family and of course in true hero fashion, save humanity
While many people say this is the best book Steve Alten has ever written, I politely disagree. It is well researched and written as is expected of Steve. In many respects an excellent read, but … there must be a “but”. I found it difficult to read, it was not a book I had difficulty in putting down. Of its type, this book is excellent, however, I doubt I will read it again and this is a first for me as I read his other books over quite often, when the mood takes me!
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