Summary-
"Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum 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."
This was my first Dan Brown book, and I wasn't entirely dissatisfied with what I read. I am aware that I'm reading them out of order, but I only realised that once I had started reading. The plots do not intersect, only the characters, so it didn't matter. Three stars isn't a bad rating, but I did find some things that I disliked. The characters were too lost in the past, and there were many unnecessary scenes that could have been cut out. The book focused more on life in Spain and telling us facts about all the places than the actual story. One thing I did like, was that the chapters were all short, which encouraged me to read more as I could stop after reading virtually a couple more pages. Most of them ended on a slight cliff-hanger, which helped keep me engaged. More on all of this ahead.“Well, science and religion are not competitors, they’re two different languages trying to tell the same story. There’s room in this world for both.”I want to say "it's not the book, it's me" but isn't that the case with every book we dislike that someone else has loved? Origin wasn't bad, truly. The plot was interesting and the characters were decently developed. I just found the story very slow and dull to read. It took ages to pick up, and almost all of it was what we already knew from reading the blurb. True, there were a few twists to it at the end, but they were not as exciting as I had hoped. I had gone into this book thinking it would be a gripping crime mystery about two people travelling around the world searching for clues hidden in riddles about modern art. Instead, it was... this.I did not feel invested in any of the character's lives. They were all dull old people with a strong sense of duty, bent on solving the problem at hand. All the main characters were shown to be famous, well established and intelligent people, which was a refreshing change, but I could not bring myself to like anyone much. Edmond was hardly in the book for me to form an opinion of him. Robert, his ex-teacher, was okay, but I didn't enjoy his chapters much. His claustrophobia was mentioned too many times and each chapter reminded us about how he felt uncomfortable in small spaces. Ambra more of an over-thinker than I would have liked a book character to be. She was painfully average when it came to most things, but that was not an issue. A lot of the reviews have also mentioned that all of Dan Brown's books have an "exotic beauty" in them, and this was no exception. Ambra Vidal was a beautiful Spanish... museum owner? Which somehow made her BFFs with the Edmond guy? I'm not sure how it worked, but her character seemed forced and unoriginal.
“There is only one way to triumph over death, and that is by making our lives masterpieces.”
Another thing I want to talk about is Robert's creepy behaviour towards Ambra. He took being a gentleman to a whole new level. I would have felt really uncomfortable if a stranger was being so friendly and getting into my space as much as Robert was. His questions seemed an invasion of her privacy. There was hardly any reason for them to get along so well, and I didn't get why they trusted each other so much. Not to mention all those "awkward" and "uncomfortably small" spaces they kept getting into, which clearly showed that the author intended to create some tension. There is also a line about Robert thinking about the "last time he had been this close to a woman in the back of a car", or something of that sort, which sounded really creepy to me. She was way younger than him, his student's friend, and already engaged besides. To top it off, they had met only a few hours ago. In the end of the book, when Ambra realises that her love can expand to accommodate another man besides her fiancé- uhm, I hope for their sakes that she means platonic love.
The ending was nicer than the rest of it. The plot did not develop much, and everything was what we already knew would happen. There was a little more action and finally, something seemed to happen in the last about eighty pages. When the killer was revealed, I was not very surprised, but it was fun to see the revelation unfold. It proved that Edmond's prediction of the future might not be as fun as it sounds. Robert's inhibitions felt more believable, and I liked how the author ended the book on that note to leave us to ponder the meanings.
I cannot say much about the character development, since I haven't read the other books. Robert's personality was easy to grasp though, so I would say the author did a good job. Ambra did not have many traits that stood out to me, but she was an independent woman, and that side of her appealed to me. The book was written from the point of view of many characters, but they got plenty of screen time since the book was long. It focused a lot on the character's lives apart from the actual plot. There were also many facts in the book and the author appeared very well informed. The extra information, however, made it a slight bother to read the book since it felt like too much work.
Coming to the scenes I felt were unnecessary. After Edmond's great announcement, there is a chapter from Valdespino's POV, where absolutely nothing happens. He only receives the news that the presentation has gone viral, and ponders what the other might be thinking of it. This is only one example that I remember, but plenty of Avila's chapters were repetitive too. Mentioning his past was required for the reader to understand him, but perhaps the information could have been shortened.
The author writes in such a way that we are not immediately told what the characters discover. He often gets back to it later in a roundabout way, and after a while, it got a bit annoying. When the characters found suspicious texts on a character's phone, we are not told what they say. If the author ever disclosed their contents, I do not remember. The author prolonged Edmond's announcement too much. I had been excited to read about it in the beginning, but by the end, it did not feel very special. I did not like the announcement very much either. I admit that I liked Edmond's style and stage presence, and he did make it very interesting. However, he only told us what we already knew, and his proof was a computer program.
“May our philosophies keep pace with our technologies. May our compassion keep pace with our powers. And may love, not fear, be the engine of change.”
The climax was dragged out, and I would have liked it if the author had ended the story quickly after the announcement was revealed. A few ends were left loose, and the rest was written off to be the killer's fault. The whole book was well-written though, and the author kept up the standard till the end. I would recommend reading the books in order if you want to try them out. They make sense separately too, and I do not think there are spoilers. So if you find the blurb of any middle book exciting- give it a try!
