The level off hopelessness in Inferno was already gone for me in canto 6. After reading canto 7-11, I got scared for each punishment ready for the sinners. Being someone who is not a fan of horror movies, exploring through each circle gave me the chills. If I imagine my self being in there, I would only see myself crying and begging for release. However, I found the punishments in the lower circles quite boring compare to those in the higher ones, like the fiery tombs in circle six. Although, the fact that you are deeper within hell is really something to be afraid of. I was also impressed with the sudden change in flow of the story where some kind of conflict rose with the fallen angels. I am expecting a lot of more "heart stopping" scenes in the lower part of hell. I hope to see more surprising events as the story progresses.