Origin by Dan Brown (Robert Langdon #5)
I’ve been eagerly waiting for Origin by Dan Brown to be published. I even knew the exact day it would come out, and when it was finally released, I bought it right away. That’s how much I love the Robert Langdon series by one of my favorite authors.
Out of the blue, Robert Langdon receives a last-minute invitation from one of his former students to attend an exclusive event that only select people are invited to.
Edmond Kirsch has made a name for himself among the high-tech world geeks with various inventions that are way above what the current society is able to create.
Not surprising, Edmund is now also a billionaire with incredible success in his professional life. Robert was always fond of Edmund and they met several times over the years for exciting intellectual conversations to have over their lunch.
So how could Robert say no to such a strange and most intriguing invitation? The event would be held in Bilbao at the Guggenheim Museum of ultramodern art. Much to his surprise, there were several hundred other prominent guests present as well, although nobody could say for certain what was Edmond’s spiel. Not even his own aides could help the guests with a hint or two because they didn’t know either.
Unbeknownst to Robert Langdon, we, the readers, are privy to a prior event that took place between Edmond Kirsch and three prominent members of various religions around the world a few days before his announced event. While we did not get to learn what they actually talked about, suffice to say one thing was clear: what Edmond Kirsch would present during the upcoming event would shatter the world of religion and science to the core. It would, in fact, totally destroy Church as people knew it today.
The presentation started with a bang, and I would read every single word just to find out what that earth-shattering secret was. Dan Brown has such a knack for teasing us with an unimaginable suspense that, honestly, at that time I would have bought the book only to learn the Secret. That’s all I was living for in those moments.
But, of course, as is common with adventure fiction novels, things never go as planned. Ever. And, thankfully, I was counting on that, so when something terrible happened, I was not all that surprised. Of course, I was deeply saddened that I had to wait until the secret would be revealed, but then so was everyone else.
During the remaining pages of the book, many things happen both to Robert Langdon and his temporary partner, Ambra Vidal, the museum director, and they constantly flee from threats of all kinds. This is very typical in Dan Brown books, so I was counting on being entertained for the next few hours. And I was, indeed.
The story is riveting. I was captivated and couldn’t stop reading. I know there are some reviewers who gave this book less than stellar marks, but for me, it was everything I wanted and expected from Dan Brown. While his previous book, Inferno, did let me down a bit, Origin went back to what made the Robert Langdon series great, starting with Angels and Demons, and the Da Vinci Code.
When I turned the last pages in the book and the big secret has been revealed, I realized the conclusion was so evident, it couldn’t have been anything else but that.
Oh and, btw, when Robert spoke with Ambra about the hidden symbol in the logo of a particular company, he told her that once she sees it, she won’t be able to unsee it. Well, he was right. Every time I see that logo now, my eyes automatically go to the hidden symbol, which is quite plain to see once you’ve figured it out.
