Origin
Disclaimer
Owing to the very nature of thrillers or suspense books, anything we say about them may end up as a spoiler. In order to protect you from such misdeed, I have kept this review as less revealing and removed from the book as possible. This would mean that it may read as rather daunting and monotonous. I urge the readers of this post to bear with this discomfort and understand the trade offs made thereby.
What do you get when you mix art, science, and technology in generous proportions? And what is to happen if you throw in a history professor, a museum’s director, and a naval admiral into this concoction? As weird as it may sound, this 2017 thriller by Dan Brown goes on to perform this very experiment (albeit in words). And once again, Brown, remaining true to his style of writing, weaves an intricate and racy tale around real facts and contexts.
Overview
The book starts off in a beautiful mountain of Catalonia state, in a monastery called the Abbey of Montserrat. Some of the key characters of the book are introduced in this prologue section of the book.
Post this initial context setting, the novel kicks off into an event organized by Edmond Kirsch. Kirsh is written to be a hardcore technologist who has given to this world numerous scientific discoveries. He is an atheist and a famous figure amidst the tech community. The lead protagonist of this book, Robert Langdon, is also invited to this event.
Quick Plugin
Robert Langdon is Brown’s star character and was previously seen in Angels & Demons, Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, and Inferno.
Going forward, the narrative quickly takes a drastic turn and leaves you wide-eyed. Langdon is teamed up with a beautiful lady, Ambra Vidal, and both of them are quickly made to run for their lives. The story from hereon is suspense-driven (as is expected in suspense genre) and keeps you on the toes. The unexpected turn of events is bound to make you throw out a lot of ‘oh’s and ‘aw’s as the story progresses.
Notwithstanding the thrilling nature of the book and an obvious blow to your heartbeat, Brown very subtly and beautifully mixes interesting details about Spain in the narrative. The specific settings of the book in two of the largest cities in Spain: Bilbao and Barcelona, are bound to elicit interest in football fanatics, historians, and technologists alike. Trivia on Spain’s football craze and the royal family is really interesting.
At its core, this book touches upon such topics as digital penetration, artificial intelligence, and modern art. Owing to these already interesting topics and the author’s prowess in painting your imagination with his words, your joy in reading this can be immense.
Good, Better, Best
Dan Brown has been my personal favorite for ages now. His first book I read was The Deception Point and it had blown my mind back then. Fast forward to the present day and Brown continues to spin out his magic. Origin is a book written for the modern audience. Of a type that is busy with their Instagram feeds and Facebook likes.
It raises some very important questions that we as dwellers of a progressive society are supposed to seek answers to. It also reveals to us some shocking realities of modern technology and its consequences. Despite the grimness of these topics, the book continues to be stimulating and keeps you glued to itself.
The Hard Take
Unlike his previous work, such as the Da Vinci Code and Inferno, Origin is a tad bit, for the lack of a better word, abstract. Of course, it’s a fiction but given Brown’s identity as a phenomenal writer set from his other work, we are left a little disappointed. It’s a book that stood ground until the last lap of the race and nevertheless, took a hit right when it shouldn’t have. The climax of the book turns out to be very anticlimactic and is not powerful enough.
Conclusion
Origin is a summer holiday book. It’s meant to be read with a light heart. A few of the reasons to pick this book can be entertainment, recreation, and self-reflection. It certainly puts you on an exciting journey via the streets of Spain but disappoints you with its central plot. Do not pick this book if this is your first one from the author but do so if it isn’t (it’ll add more color to your favorite character).
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