Book Review: Origin, by Dan Brown

This is the fifth Robert Langdon thriller by Dan Brown, and I will rank it in the top two of the five along with The Da Vinci Code (which was the first book of his that I read - and I've read all of his books).  When I heard it was being published this year I was anxiously awaiting it.  While the last two books, The Solomon Key and Inferno, weren't quite as good as The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons (or even Digital Fortress, which isn't a Robert Langdon thriller), I enjoyed the story elements, and I really like Brown's writing style.  As with the other Langdon novels, the subject matter sounded very interesting to me.  In fact, my reaction to the description of the story was stronger than for any of his other books - the premise has earth-shattering ramifications.

Edmond Kirsch, a tech billionaire and former student of Robert's, is about to announce a startling breakthrough that will change *everything* by providing answers to two questions that human beings have been asking for centuries:  Where do we come from? and Where are we going?

Robert is invited to a global presentation at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, which Edmond plans to broadcast live to the world over the Internet.  Naturally, the announcement is very controversial, chaos ensues at the event, and Langdon finds himself on a desperate quest to find the password needed to complete the broadcast of the presentation to he world, or the information may be lost forever.  Langdon's companion in this adventure is Ambra Vidal, a museum director who helped Kirsch plan the event.  Working behind the scenes is an enemy who is intent on preventing this information from being revealed to the world, putting Langdon and Vidal in danger.

I thought that Origin was a great read, every bit as gripping as The Da Vinci Code.  But there are some major differences in the action of the stories.  The Da Vinci Code starts off with a murder, and then guides Langdon through a maze of mysterious symbols and puzzles that Langdon needs to decipher, leading him to numerous physical locations before reaching the conclusion.  Origin spends the first 100 pages or so working up to Edmond's presentation, after which the real quest begins, and the number of symbols and puzzles is significantly smaller in this story.  But, as with Brown's other novels, Origin is an onion, and there are many layers.  The story keeps the reader engaged with fascinating information - even during the 100 pages that lead-up to the presentation, where there is very little action.  Of course, to the reader, everything is not always as it seems, and Brown will keep the reader guessing until the very end.

Unlike the other Langdon novels, Origin is much more focused on technology, and is very reminiscent of Brown's first book, Digital Fortress.  Edmond made his fortune by creating several gadgets that we learn more about as the story progresses - so the story is filled with gadgets from the very beginning.  Central to the story is a rather impressive piece of technology which aids Langdon and Vidal on their quest.

In the end, when Edmond's revelation is finally revealed, it was not what I would have expected.  In fact, I had no idea what to expect.  But I will say that Kirsch's presentation is very thought-provoking, and it ends the story in a great way.  The plots twists and turns continue right up until the end, which was very satisfying.  If you enjoyed the other Langdon thrillers, you should enjoy this one.

Once again, I'm always interested in hearing from others.  Whether you've read the book, or my review aided in your decision to read it, I'd like to hear from you.  Feel free to leave a comment.