Perhaps best known for his book The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown continues the adventures of his chief protagonist Robert Langdon who seems to keep getting himself embroiled in one world changing event after another. If finding the Holy Grail wasn’t enough, he is now smack dab in the middle of solving the greatest questions ever spoken by man. “Where do we come from, and where are we going ?” Origin dives deep into the world of Religion and Science and although the reveal in the end left me a little underwhelmed the overall story did not disappoint and as always along the way I discovered a great deal about a new country, its religious, political and artistic history. What more could anyone ask for.
If there is one thing Dan Brown does well is his ability to mix reality with fiction. He has a wonderful way of mixing real world locations and building a coherent thriller around it. Every one of his books I have read has had me googling up locations, looking at pictures, and maps and really finding myself completely engrossed in the story in a way that rarely occurs when reading other fictional books. His exquisite attention to detail in describing these wonderful locations has made me feel like I was actually there and often time when I have visited those places after reading about them I almost have a sense of Deja Vu. On this front Origin does not disappoint. This time around our character is roaming around the country of Spain; which I have to say I was rather ignorant of as far as its history , art and architecture are concerned. Brown does this thing where he pretty much gives you a Art 101 course as he tells the story. Through Origin’s I was introduced to the great architectural works of Antoni Gaudi, the art and poetry of William Blake and even water color paintings of Winston Churchill (yes the Winston Churchill) which who knew was also a prolific Artist.
Now if you have read Dan Brown before then you know that he does not shy away from controversial and complex topics. More often then not his books tend to center around religion in some way shape or form. This book is no different except this time he has decided to take on Religion head on with Science. The book starts off by giving you this amazing tease by discussing that the answers to life’s biggest questions have been found and its unveiling could change the course of history. Of course the unveiling does not go as planned and what follows is a wonderful mystery filled with modern technology elements like AI, Dark Web, Quantum computers and good old fashion fisticuffs. If there is a fault, it is that the story took longer then his other novels to really grab me into the story line and often I felt there was more backstory told then was needed to drive a characters motivation. After the beginning few chapters I was entirely hooked and I found myself unable to put this book down to the detriment of some chores that I really needed to do this weekend but didn’t as the story kept me hooked like a meth addict needing his next fix, I couldn’t put it down for more then 5 minutes…
Now the big question, Do I recommend this book? Absolutely!!!! if you have read any of Dan Brown’s previous books then you will most definitely like this one. Brown is again at the top of his game crafting this incredible story around the realities of today but also giving us a taste for what might be coming tomorrow. All that with the added benefit that you will learn such amazing things about this place that you now want to plan a vacation around it. Last but not least, if you do read this book, I highly recommend this companion website langdonsworld.com which gives one a visual play by play organized by chapter. For me, actually seeing where the story takes place and actually seeing the art and architecture discussed in the book made the entire story that much more captivating and a truly multi dimensional experience.