The latest Dan Brown thriller
I finished Origin by Dan Brown and I thought I'd give a little spoiler-free review.
Origin is the fifth Robert Langdon novel. This one takes place in Spain, and explores some of Spain's more modern history (19th and 20th century) whilst the main plot is about a computer programmer tech futurist who claims he has figured out how life on Earth began and where humankind is going next. However, just as he is about to present his findings to the world in what is the equivalent of the most elaborate TED talk of all time, he is suddenly assassinated live for the world to see. What follows is a labyrinth of intrigue and conspiracy to solve the mystery of his presentation and release it to the world, all the while keeping one step ahead of forces who want to keep it hidden at all costs.
Dan Brown has a knack for writing stories that deal with big, high concept ideas. Angels and Demons was about the Creation story and the Big Bang, and The Da Vinci Code was all about the Holy Grail. The Lost Symbol explored the roots of the United States government and and Inferno deals with human overpopulation. After The Da Vinci Code the stories seemed to more or less move on from using Christianity as a major plot device but whilst it took a backseat role in The Lost Symbol and Inferno, it came back to the forefront here in Origin.
As I read, I felt like I was reading The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons again, and this actually felt quite refreshing (seeing as my first Dan Brown novels were those two, back in 2005).
However, his writing style has evolved since then, as have the structures of his plots (which are honestly extremely predictable by the fifth outing). Where things felt interesting and novel back when I was reading Angels and Demons for the first time, felt like retreading the same steps by now. Not to mention I knew exactly what to expect, and that was to expect the unexpected. I successfully figured out the identity of the primary antagonist relatively early on in the book and was confirmed by the reveal at the end.
It has the Dan Brown touch...
You may or may not be aware, but Dan Brown has this particular style of writing that he is notorious for. This style draws the ire of many literary critics who accuse him of .. well... simply writing poor English. If you're already aware of this, these inaccuracies (are they intentional at this point?) are quite obvious and glaring. Some sentences just don't really make alot of sense... I understand what Brown is trying to say but literally speaking it doesn't make sense. Some words are used completely incorrectly (Brown is known for his work to feature malapropisms). Sometimes sentences become aggressively flashy and ostentatious - particularly whenever Brown is describing a location.
Another thing I noticed very acutely was Robert Langdon.
Robert Langdon is Wikipedia on legs. He knows everything about everything... ever.
For example, when entering the Sagrada Familia for the first time, Robert Langdon seems to know numerical statistics about stuff like floor space. It seems unrealistic that people would be able to recall this kind of information (although it is possible, but Langdon has proven to have such a strong memory - we are never allowed forget that his memory is eidetic - that he could probably tell me how many bricks were used to build my house).
Brown has this habit of trying to relate pop culture to history. He pulls references out of thin air and ties them to something historical in an attempt to contemporize the historical thing and make it seem more relatable to something we would more commonly know.
One example of this was when Brown mentioned that the Gaudi statues on the top of Casa Milà served as the inspiration for the Stormtrooper helmets in Star Wars. Relevant? Not at all. Interesting? Possibly... I guess it was in my case, since I like Star Wars.
At the end of the day, a fictional story is still a story, and I had a good time reading it. It wasn't as earth-shatteringly profound as what Angels and Demons felt like, when perhaps I feel it could have been, and there wasn't really a climax (the high point of this story is basically a powerpoint presentation). I also felt that the sub-plot about the Spanish royal family was rather shoehorned in and barely anything happened in that subplot.
I really would have liked to see more plot synergy and seeing the characters come together. I'm not sure if this is part of a new style for Brown (some characters never meet each other), but I hope something is done about it. I did, however, really enjoy the most important part of the story, and that was the presentation that Langdon and his accomplice had been trying so hard to unveil.
I'd give it a read if you're a diehard Dan Brown fan (even if you're not), but if you're a casual reader, it's really up to you. As a techno-thriller it's more techno than thriller, and if you love seeing interesting futurist technologies or if you own a Tesla automobile, give it a shot.
