‘Origin’, by Dan Brown

Make yourself a coffee (an iced one, if I may suggest) and get sucked into the world of Robert Langdon (again)! (I know it is actually our existing world, but these books seem to be so similar that I feel like it’s a whole separate one with poor Robert being trapped in a ‘history repeats itself’ kind of situation…)

 (Goodreads / Amazon)

Discovery:

Of course I knew about Dan Brown’s Langdon-series, I’ve read ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘The Da Vinci Code’ already when I was 14, and I’ve had a natural curiosity regarding the newest volumes ever since. It faded a little though with time. These books just seem to be so much alike. I picked it up anyway. My main reason was to figure out if there’s any references to the ending of ‘Inferno’. I know these are all separate stories, but they’re set in the same universe, with the same main character, and I was wondering if Brown would be brave enough to show us the consequences of how things turned out in the last volume. (Spoiler: he wasn’t.)

Brainstorm:

This book was what I expected it to be. Robert Langdon participating in dangerous and world-significant events, check. Beautiful and smart woman by his side, check. Long descriptions of art pieces and buildings, check. Thoughts on the relationship between science and religion, check. Wisdom expressed not so subtly, check. It was a good book, though.

I didn’t think at first that I would, but I liked that this novel dared to touch more modern, almost science fiction-like themes, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, or even modern art. His take on the last one actually helped me appreciate it a little more. As for the technical part, I loved that theme, and I would say he was well-informed about it. So, again kudos for the research! I couldn’t really be surprised by all the science in it, as I’m interested enough to already know about things he mentions, but my mother is not, and she was very enthusiastic about all this AI thing. I can’t say I didn’t guess the ending, but I liked it anyway.

This book had a surprise (at least for me) visit to Hungary, which was on spot! Budapest came alive. I could tell Brown has already been here/there, even if I didn’t know it.

Let’s give it a grade!

1. Story: 4/5
2. Characters: 3/5
3. Style: 3/5
4. The Subjective Factor: 4/5

• GPA: 3.5/5

Uniqueness:

Honestly, this book is not that different from the others Brown wrote. This one has way more science in it than history, I guess that’s a change. What I really like about every one of his novels is that they always teach me something, they raise my interest towards things I wouldn’t ever look up on my own. If I should say one thing why Dan Brown’s writing is unique, that would be it. He chooses his topics wisely.

Recommend to:

If you liked Brown’s other books, this one is for you, too. It’s a safe bet, the recipe is pretty much the same. If you haven’t read them, then what are you waiting for? Do it! I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but knowing what it’s like can’t hurt, can it? Good news is there’s no real connections among the books, so this one might as well be your first.

Drink tip:

Red Bull

Music room:

I’d say weird epic soundtracks for science fiction movies. Futuristic ones. With a hint of old schooly melodies. (I hear it in my ears, I just can’t think of anything specific that matches it. Sorry. Crazy musichead on board.)

Future:

I’m not sure if Dan Brown should continue writing these very similar stories about Langdon. But hey, who cares what he should or should not do? I’m going to read his next book anyway.

 

Have you read ‘Origin’? Or any other Dan Brown book? What do you think of them?

 

Hugs 🙂

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