ORIGIN: A Novel: 5 (Robert Langdon)

IN ONE OF HIS INTERVIEW'S DAN BROWN STATES THAT "THE PROBLEM IN MAKING BOOKS INTO MOVIES IS THAT IMAGINATION BECOMES LIMITED. BEFORE THE HARRY POTTER MOVIES EVERY KID WHO READ IT HAD HIS OWN VERSION OF THE WIZARD HERO BUT AFTER THE MOVIES CAME OUT EVERY KID IMAGINED THE SAME DANIEL RADCLIFFE FACE. BOOKS NO LONGER REMAINED OPEN TO ONE'S IMAGINATION." I WOULD AGREE ,AS I STARTED IMAGINING TOM HANKS IN A SUIT WITHIN THE FIRST FEW PAGES OF DAN BROWN'S LATEST NOVEL ORIGIN. BUT THE OTHER CHARACTERS I COULD PICK AND CHOOSE FROM THE VAST ARRAY OF HOLLYWOOD'S ACTORS I LIKED. I COULD STILL IMAGINE THE NEXT PAGE'S HAPPENING OR VISUALISE HOW I WOULD REACT IF I WERE IN THE SCENE. HENCE DESPITE THE MOVIES , ONE'S IMAGINATION STILL RUNS FREE MR.BROWN! AS AN ARDENT ADMIRER OF DAN BROWN'S WRITING MY SPIRITS WERE DAMPENED AFTER READING INFERNO BUT I STILL BOUGHT A COPY OF ORIGIN ON THE VERY DAY OF IT'S RELEASE HOPING FOR A MORE POSITIVE THEME. HAVING SEEN HIS INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE I SOMEHOW SENSED THAT SHARJAH WOULD BE FEATURED IN THE BOOK AND IT WAS. ALSO I THOUGHT THAT THE RECURRENT QUESTION OF SCIENCE VERSUS GOD WOULD BE EXPLORED IN SOME NEW WAY ALONG WITH THE TIMELESS QUESTION WHERE DO WE COME FROM ? “Human creation and human destiny. They are the universal mysteries.” BUT THIS BOOK RUNS MUCH DEEPER. THE WASHINGTON POST , THE TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN AND THE NEW YORK TIMES HAVE GIVEN VERY SCATHING REVIEWS TO THE BOOK BUT THE REAL REVIEW IS IN THE SALES FIGURES AND THE RECEPTION FROM THE MASSES IT IS AIMED AT. THE CRITICS EVEN NOTIFY TOM HANKS FOR HIS UPCOMING MOVIE SHOOTING IN SPAIN AND COMMENT ON THE BOOK'S FORMULA. THE REASON FOR A FORMULA BEING REPEATED BY SOMEONE IS THAT IT WORKS. IT IS A THRILLER SET IN A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY WITH GREAT HISTORICAL MONUMENTS EXPLORING EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS. HISTORY +BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE + SMART DAMSEL IN DISTRESS + SOLVING CODES + CONTROVERSIES + UNDERDOG GEEKY HERO OVERCOMING ALL OBSTACLES DESPITE CLAUSTROPHOBIA & THE WORLD AGAINST HIM ETC = MILLIONS OF BOOK COPIES SOLD ALONGWITH MOVIE RIGHTS. “In your world of classical art, pieces are revered for the artist’s skill of execution—that is, how deftly he places the brush to canvas or the chisel to stone. In modern art, however, masterpieces are often more about the idea than the execution.“ THIS INSIGHT FROM THE BOOK IS A VERY SIMPLE WAY TO EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF MODERN ART TO THOSE WHO ARE PERPLEXED BY IT. I liked the way he has approached modern art by making Bilbao museum the starting point for the story. The description of ideas behind modern art is a gateway for people who do not appreciate it perhaps and I for one have added the Guggenheim museum to my bucket list. ON MY PART, I AM FASCINATED BY THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF MONUMENTS AND THE VARIED THEORIES DAN BROWN SHARES USING LANGDON HIS ALTER EGO PERHAPS. I DO NOT MIND THE DESCRIPTIONS ABOUT CITIES AND MONUMENTS WHICH IS WHAT THE CRITICS ABHOR THE MOST IN HIS BOOKS. LEARNING ABOUT A PLACE DURING A STORY IS MORE INTERESTING THAN PICKINGUP A TRAVEL BOOK. I READ HIS BOOKS SLOWLY, SEEING VIDEOS AND PICTURES OF THE PLACES AND READING A BIT ABOUT THEM BEFORE MOVING ONTO THE NEXT MONUMENT. HE MOVES FROM MONUMENT TO MONUMENT AND CITY TO CITY SOLVING A PUZZLE. I AM AS A READER INTRIGUED BY THE PUZZLE AS MUCH AS BY THE ARTWORK AND PASSAGES OR POETRY SHARED DURING THE QUEST. Getting a fresh perspective about works of Nietzsche and William Blake as an interwoven part of the tale makes it DEEPER THAN A SIMPLE THRILLER. DAN BROWN STEPS CAUTIOUSLY INTO ISLAM for a brief moment AND MOVES INTO THE Familiar territory of Christianity for the rest of the book. He shares the controversies of the Christian world in interesting plot twists. I like the manner in which he deals with religious fanaticism subtly and even provides a solution of sorts “that the human mind has the ability to elevate an obvious fiction to the status of a divine fact, and then feel emboldened to kill in its name. He believed that the universal truths of science could unite people—serving as a rallying point for future generations.” “That’s a beautiful idea in principle,which is why Edmond hoped science could one day unify us,” Langdon said. “In his own words: ‘If we all worshipped gravity..." In making up artificial intelligence as a main character Dan Brown shows the contentious cusp between present and future possibilities. To quote“ assess a machine’s ability to behave in a manner indistinguishable from that of a human“ makes it sound achievable. The concept of building intelligence that can be near human but not humane is intriguing and scary both. “the human brain is a binary system—synapses either fire or they don’t—they are on or off, like a computer switch. The brain has over a hundred trillion switches, which means that building a brain is not so much a question of technology as it is a question of scale.“ I WONDER IF THE FUTURISTIC UPGRADED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGANCE WINSTON WHO PUTS SIRI TO SHAME IS BEING DEVELOPED SOMEWHERE. THE "SMART DAMSEL IN DISTRESS SOLVING CODES" THEME RECURRS HERE AND I WONDER HOW HIS NOVELS WOULD FARE IF THE FEMALE LEAD WOULD BE A MUCH OLDER MARRIED LADY OF GRANDMOTHERLY AGE OR MAY BE EVEN A MALE SCIENTIST? DESPITE THE PLATONIC FRIENDSHIP PORTRAYED, A RAVISHING FEMALE LEAD ADDS AN ELEMENT OF WOW DEFINITELY. THOUGH STATED AT A DIFFERENT POINT IN THE STORY ,AN AUTHOR HAS TO TAP INTO BASIC HUMAN TENDENCIES AT SOME POINT BECAUSE IN DAN BROWN'S OWN WORDS "humans, despite being God’s most sublime creation, were still just animals at the core, their behavior driven to a great extent by a quest for creature comforts." MOST READERS' ATTENTION WOULD BE DRAWN TO ATTRACTIVE FEMALE LEADS IN TROUBLE AND IN HIS NOVELS IT IS BEAUTY WITH BRAINS. THERE IS A TENDENCY TO INCLUDE INTERNATIONAL CHARACTERS TO GET WIDER AUDIENCE AND AN INTELLIGENCE OPERATIVE OF INDIAN ORIGIN MAKES AN APPEARANCE BUT I HOPE DAN BROWN CHOOSES A BETTER INDIAN NAME NEXT TIME. I HAVE READ ALL OF DAN BROWN'S BOOKS AND MY RATINGS WERE THE HIGHEST FOR THE DIGITAL FORTRESS FOLLOWED BY DA VINCI CODE FOLLOWED BY ORIGIN FOLLOWED BY DECEPTION POINT FOLLOWED BY ANGELS AND DEMONS FOLLOWED BY THE LOST SYMBOL FOLLOWED BY INFERNO. I HATED THE NEGATIVE THEMED INFERNO THE MOST . ALL IN ALL HIS RECENT BOOK"ORIGIN" IS A PLEASANT READ AND I WOULD RATE THE PLOT AS 3.5/5 AND THE WRITING AS 4/5 BECAUSE I LIKE TRAVEL AND MYSTERY BOTH AND DAN BROWN MARRIES THEM IN QUITE A DECENT NARRATIVE. I ALSO LIKED THE WAY I WAS FORCED TO THINK OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE FUTURE IN MYRIAD HUES AND NOT JUST AS AN AID TO HUMAN KIND.

Though the books takes you on a rollercoaster ride through history of Spain...conspiracies...and creation theories..somehow I felt thay Dan Brown is getting increasingly repititive. Most of his books ..I have noted now ..after reading all of them ( I would like to call myself a fan) have a notable similarity of patterns. I mean..the big event...a billionaire scientist..or head of secret society with history of hundreds of years..the conflict or crime..the result is of this conflict is a problem that has the capacity to shake the roots of some religion..or can destroy the world...a cold blooded hitman (who is obviously misguided by secret society head) murdering aroubd people and eventually follows langdon..and his quest to be saviour of world or religion or whatever. The book builds up the secret like Dan Brown built it (alien life -planktons in DECEPTION POINT)...only to be released towards the end. You end up wondering for almost 80% of thr book what the hell are they looking..and your confusion matches with confusion of the characters as well. Much like this every novel has a cokd blooded misguided hitman..take it Da Vinci code...take Inferno ir take any other book. And one thing is totally distateful is that in the ending the conflict..or the secret comes out tobe such a dud..like planktons...like technium. Apart from "Angels and Demons" where in the threat really sounded lethal. Rest in most of his books..it becomes anti climax wherein the gravity of the threat( which comes out to be dud) is compensated by philosophical mumbo jumbo. Personally..I felt the discovery about the King of Spain and Valdespino having a secret love affair woukd have been more catastrophic for spain and religion rather than Technium. Nevertheless...I loved Winston. ..the way I loved Camerlengo. But again the tendency to repeat the trend of portraying the most noble/ resourceful/ sober all through in the novel character ..as antagonist had been seen earlier as well. The current book lacked the threat element..which was way better in Inferno and Angels and Demons and even in Da Vinci Code (upto an extent). It also lacked the emotional connect "The lost symbol"...the father son story. The female companion of Langdonin this novel has been the weakest ever...in comparison to earlier ones like Ms Vittoria Vetra or Ms Sophie Neveu. The vivid description of buildings..arches..pathways..cities..could have been shortened..i hope they edit it appropriately in the movie adaptation. But again..all said and done...it was entertaining in Dan Brown's and Robert Langdon's way. The narration ..the conversations..are informative and well researched...so credit does goes to Dan. He tests your brain ending the chapters at most cliffhanging sequences..which is teasing ..and irritating in the right mix..in a good way. The build up of Edmond discovery was good. ..but it was extended a lil too long Overall...a good read for all history mystery ..codes...and conspiracy theories fans like me. However, I expect Dan to come up with really different one from his earlier work ..next time. Nevertheless...he still remains one of my fav Novelist..not because of Origins..but for "Angels and Demons" and "Inferno". Pardon me of any typos or writing errors..this was written in one go..while I had a flight to catch. See ya..bye.

good quality pages, overall nice

Big fan of Dan Brown. I would say this is not one of his best works. The intensity, mystery, and pace, which is his signature, is there. But the primary plot is a little thin compared to Angels or Da Vinci.

Although I wasn't the first ones to pre order this book, I had Origin on the top of my TBR since I knew of its publishing date. I got it on time and the sight of the large hardcover stirred up my reader's appetite and before I knew it, I was head on into its exciting, deep labyrinth. Robert Langdon is back to what he does best. Solving a mystery. Only this time, it doesn't involve religious symbols or codes. Langdon is invited to an event in Bilbao by Edmond Kirsch, a friend and former student, where shocking discoveries would be revealed by him. Edmond claims that these discoveries would change the course of mankind and especially affect the religious institutions all over the world. People from all over the world watch as the presentation goes live, when Edmond is shot dead just before he reveals his discoveries. Shocked and enraged, Langdon along with the future Queen of Spain, race against time and unknown patriarchs who try their best to keep the discoveries under wraps. Origin has all the usual Dan Brown signatures - intrigue, famous landmarks, descriptive mentions of art and artists and of course, Langdon. The book is 544 pages long and some would hesitate but trust me, you can't get enough of it! In fact, I found the length of the book a promising prospect, more to indulge in! The story is captivating right from the start, as is always the case with Brown's books. Narrative and character description - excellent. Writing style, well, mesmerizing, once again! I find myself comparing Origin with Inferno, most of the times. In this book, Dan Brown revels Spain for us all to admire. The art works of Antoni Gaudi, the many strange works in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Sagrada Familia. Just as with Inferno, the readers this time are taken for an in depth tour of Bilbao and Barcelona, which is fantastic, to say the least. The argumentative topic in the book is this - Will God survive Science? By the end of the book, many secrets are revealed giving a much needed closure to the readers after the adventurous journey. Just like in the previous book Inferno, here too, Brown leaves us readers to ponder on our current state as mankind and to contemplate on our centuries old prophecies and the deep impact it has on us. Needless to say, I most definitely enjoyed Origin, but I did miss Langdon's symbol deducting skills this time. Nevertheless, Dan Brown has proved himself again as a wonderful, adventurous writer and gives us a fantastic experience with this new book. Definitely recommended.

Dan Brown needs no introduction. At some point in our lives, I assume, we've all heard of him and some have even read him. I have read all his books and was most impressed by them all, despite all the 4 books of the Robert Langdon series being in the same plot design. Origin by Dan Brown is no different. The recipe? A setting featuring a full part Robert Langdon, half a part intellectually sexy lady (preferably more than a decade younger than him), full part country with a tumultuous past and lots of historical and modern architecture and art which allows numerous conspiracy theories around them, a scintillating murder of a renowned person who happened to be Langdon's close friend/known, a delusional assassin following close on the heels of our symbologist and his lady with attempts to silence them as well, a shadowy master ordering the kills, some religious groups and their over-zealous members, jet setting across the country/countries, full part of the ever raging war between religion and science and their flag bearers fighting over a dark/shocking secret and finally, the big reveal...all of this in the span of one night. Phew! Having read Origin now, I am pretty convinced that Mr. Brown has some really cool ideas and some really obvious theories. It's like a guilty pleasure, reading his books, you admit and you feel guilty, you don't admit and you feel guiltier. I had decided not to read any more of his books unless I get good reviews about it or he deviates from his overdone plot design, but given my mild OCD, before it turned to a monster demanding the book to be read, I caved in. Langdon is in Spain, at the Bilbao Guggenheim museum for an event hosted by his student turned friend, the genius computer scientist Edmond Kirsch and the director of the museum, Ambra Vidal who is engaged to the future king of Spain. Kirsch's guest list includes a variety of names, all of whom know him personally, including an exception, a not so important and out of place Admiral Luis Alvira. Needless to say, this unknown man kills Kirsch just before he was about to reveal a discovery so huge that it would have changed the way people looked at religion, both believers and non-believers alike. Now, running from the Royal guards because Ambra thinks her life is in danger, Langdon and she races against the killer and the police alike who are both after them, to silence them forever. With the motive of the killer quite clear yet his master still behind the curtains, Langdon and Ambra have every reason to doubt everyone who even remotely has any links to any religion. What was Kirsch's big discovery for which he lost his life? How will Langdon and Ambra save it from getting lost forever with Kirsch dead and apparently no one else in the world who knows what it was about!? So, down goes the drain on my resolve of not reading any more of Robert Langdon's stories. I just can't stop myself! Having said this, I must also say that this is the book with which I can relate to more levels than any other of Mr. Brown's works. Firstly, I believe I am an atheist. My entire life seems like a sham when I realized that humanity is above God. Didn't I just spend my entire childhood praying to God for things I wanted and yet be mean to the ones less fortunate at times, or have mean thoughts at least!? No doubt I never got what I wanted because, duh, Karma! Secondly, like Mr. Brown, I too believe that an age of digital revolution like never before is just around the corner, a Digi-human or a humanoid or whatever one calls the people surviving it. And lastly, I believe that all religions are a sham. With their histories bloodier than the world wars (or so I feel because there is no end to "My God is mightier than yours") and no respite in sight even though we live in 2020 (I am not getting started on this topic, too vast and debatable), there is nothing as dark as the religions of the world today, twisted and presented to the masses only to fulfill the lusts of a handful of people. Now the question is, what did I like about this book apart from the above-mentioned similarities in thought. I liked the theory on which the whole story is based. The transition from the murdered to the criminal while hopping across the country's finest artistic and historical places with an AI as a super sidekick got the ball rolling for me and pretty detailed insight for amateurs like me who know practically nothing about world history. Not that I would remember all of what was said, but at least I would be able to recollect where I read something and go back and research if it interested me further. What I disliked were the preposterous amount of information and preachy dialogues. I'd be better off with some more conspiracy theories. And also, the same plot design as all Langdon stories. This story, in particular, had some loopholes which I could pick immediately after the completion, a new one for me considering I haven't been able to pinpoint any fault in other Langdon books. I wouldn't tell them here because it would be like giving spoilers. I'd say this was because I've now read 5 of similar stories and readily anticipate what is about to happen long before it happens. Not to mention, I figured out the shadowy master and most of the details once things were moving fast enough. I appreciate how smoothly Mr. Brown amalgamated science, technology, and religion with art and history, a seamless piece of clothing that fits beautifully for everyone. The characters were plenty, some had crucial but short roles, some were just present for the sake of variety, I think, given the length of the book. Each character had depth irrespective of its requirement. A depth that I found boring and unnecessary at times like it was placed there only to increase the length and put the reader away from the main plotline. Having read some fast-paced thrillers before picking this book up, my judgment might be clouded, but I don't think I am wrong in saying that Mr. Brown tends to stretch the story as far as he can and then some more before realizing that it's time. Have you read the book? What are your views? Do leave a comment and let me know.

A great book. Well-paced. Classic Dan Brown, where you cannot keep the book aside, despite it being a book full of so many details. He is a great writer who can constantly engage the reader. Jaw-dropping ending. Not as action-packed as his previous books, but still a great read.

It's by Dan Brown, so the linguistic supremacy is expected. Loved the ending which I was wondering until the end. This character Robert Langdon has become an icon now with his ability to see the most complex patterns and untie it's threads . He is a perfect sought after protagonist of all time. From the perspective of thrills, I found it average however it kept me engaged throughout with the ideas of different philosophers and scientists and the interesting description of Madrid and Barcelona. Nice book overall. The King & Valdespino's relationship was pleasantly surprising, however i guess the context got overshadowed.

Come da descrizione .Tutto ok.Arrivato prima del previsto.👍

In Origin, Dan Brown departs from the comfort zone of a conventional techno-thriller and delivers something far more ambitious: a meditation on intelligence, belief, and the future trajectory of the human species. While the novel retains Brown’s signature pace, global canvas, and puzzle-driven narrative, its true power lies in the philosophical questions it dares to raise rather than the answers it pretends to settle. At its core, Origin explores the uneasy but inevitable convergence of human and artificial intelligence. Brown does not present AI merely as a technological convenience, but as an emerging moral and cognitive force, one that challenges long-held assumptions about agency, ethics, and authorship. The novel invites readers to reflect on a future in which intelligence may no longer be exclusively biological, and where humanity’s next evolutionary chapter may be collaborative rather than competitive. Equally compelling is the book’s engagement with science and metaphysics. Without lapsing into didacticism, Brown weaves contemporary ideas from evolutionary biology, information theory, and physics into a broader inquiry about origins of life, of consciousness, and of meaning itself. Science is portrayed not as an adversary of spirituality, but as a powerful explanatory tool that nevertheless leaves behind an irreducible residue of mystery. The novel understands, and quietly respects, the boundary between explaining how and answering why. The setting is another triumph. Spain is rendered not simply as a backdrop, but as an intellectual and aesthetic landscape where history, art, and innovation collide. Architectural masterpieces and iconic art installations are integrated into the narrative with symbolic precision, reinforcing the novel’s central concern with hidden structures—whether in buildings, algorithms, or belief systems. What distinguishes Origin from earlier works in the genre is its tonal maturity. Rather than pitting religion against science or humanity against machines, Brown gestures toward integration. The novel suggests that the future may belong not to replacement or rupture, but to synthesis where technology deepens, rather than diminishes, humanity’s search for meaning. Fast-paced yet contemplative, provocative without being prescriptive, Origin is best approached not simply as a thriller, but as an invitation to think, to question, and to linger on ideas long after the final page. Readers willing to engage with its deeper currents will find it not only entertaining, but quietly unsettling in the best possible way.

Tam beklendiği gibi...

Science future for mankind

The story contains some mystery & intrigue. Also scientists one in particular try to find how the world became? Having a strong Christian faith at one stage I wondered if I should be reading it, but it was gripping & my faith told me what the outcome would be. Whilst it's fiction, all the cities they got to were real, some of the places they saw took me back, as I had been to & seen them. It is a very good read, few slow spots "if any" Typical Dan Brown.