Book Review – Origin by Dan Brown

Goodreads Synopsis:

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to attend a major announcement—the unveiling of a discovery that “will change the face of science forever.” The evening’s host is Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old billionaire and futurist whose dazzling high-tech inventions and audacious predictions have made him a renowned global figure. Kirsch, who was one of Langdon’s first students at Harvard two decades earlier, is about to reveal an astonishing breakthrough . . . one that will answer two of the fundamental questions of human existence.

As the event begins, Langdon and several hundred guests find themselves captivated by an utterly original presentation, which Langdon realizes will be far more controversial than he ever imagined. But the meticulously orchestrated evening suddenly erupts into chaos, and Kirsch’s precious discovery teeters on the brink of being lost forever. Reeling and facing an imminent threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape Bilbao. With him is Ambra Vidal, the elegant museum director who worked with Kirsch to stage the provocative event. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirsch’s secret.

Navigating the dark corridors of hidden history and extreme religion, Langdon and Vidal must evade a tormented enemy whose all-knowing power seems to emanate from Spain’s Royal Palace itself . . . and who will stop at nothing to silence Edmond Kirsch. On a trail marked by modern art and enigmatic symbols, Langdon and Vidal uncover clues that ultimately bring them face-to-face with Kirsch’s shocking discovery . . . and the breathtaking truth that has long eluded us.

My Opinion:

“Where do we come from? Where are we going?
Human creation and human destiny.
They are the universal mysteries.”- Edmond

These are the underlying questions in Dan Brown’s newest book. He has written another captivating, fast-paced mystery that takes us on a journey throughout Spain.

Edmond Kirsch has a scientific discovery that he wants the world to know. This announcement is slated to change everything we know and believe to be true. Edmond has invited Robert Langdon, his trusted friend and former professor, to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain to witness his announcement firsthand. Little did Robert know that this would be a night he would not soon forget.

I am continually amazed at the amount of research that goes into a Dan Brown book. I find myself Googling often while reading his books. Is that person real? Did that really happen? And so on. I love how much of his book is based on real places, events, people, and/or things. Then he intricately weaves a fictionalized story around all this factual research.

My favorite character is Winston, which is actually quite funny. I’ll have to leave it at that and let you read the book to find out why that would be amusing. I would love to see Winston find his way into future books in this series.

This story started off really strong and I was completely engaged until the last twenty percent. I feel that it became a bit drawn out and a little too sciencey for me. There were multiple storylines and some of them fell a bit flat for me and didn’t wrap up as well as I had expected them to.

I am a Dan Brown fan for life and will continue to read future installments of this series. Although this book is part of a series, you can jump in at any point and read them in any order. There isn’t much of a backstory in these books, so they all read really well as standalones.

Do you have a favorite Dan Brown book?

My Rating: 3.5/5

Genre: Mystery

Series: Robert Langdon, #5

Publisher: Doubleday Books

Publication Date: 10/3/2017

Pages: 482 (eBook)

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