Origin

Oh man. You don't expect much from a Dan Brown book, but this was just so much nothing dressed up to sound smart and interesting, and it takes forever for anything to happen. The reveal at the end was interesting though, I'll give him that.

Also, two books in a row where the woman can't have children and is haunted by it? Gross. Plus, given how the last book ended, does it even matter in this one that the woman can't have kids?

There was also one of the interviews where someone described themselves as “a space scientist”, which, wut?

It was good enough fluff, but any of the previous Langdon books are better.

eta: I was reminded about another issue I had with this when I saw a meme on Facebook. There's a part where Langdon's written a problem out in Greek and asks the woman if it's correct or not. It turns out that from her angle it's wrong and his it's right! And he explains that it's all in perspective, yada yada. No. The problem is either right or wrong. Don't go using tricks to try and make a point about perspective, etc.

Also, I forgot to mention before what a cheap, stock atheist Kirsch is. Way to make us all seem arrogant and kind of awful. Thanks, Dan Brown.

This was predictably entertaining, with lots to learn about architectural marvels in Spain and a little bit more about religions. But it took too long for the mystery to be solved and the reveal was very anticlimactic, while the identity of the murderer was boringly obvious. While I didn't hate the book and it kept me good company over the weekend, I definitely wished it was shorter.

Å si at dette, eller de fleste Dan Brown-bøker, er gode bøker er nesten en anakronisme. Skal sies at jeg slukte Da Vinci-koden, og at Engleder og demoner har en del meget gode trekk, men gode bøker? Ikke helt. Og det er heller ikke Origin. Til det er det alt for mange indre motsigelser, tullete handlingstvists og inkomprehensible utsagn og valg som bokens karakterer gjør eller mumler på spanglish underveis.

Origin handler om de virkelig store spørsmålene; Hvor kommer vi fra, hvor skal vi hen, og hva er relasjonen mellom mennesket og teknologien? De to første spørsmålene prøver Dan Brown i tillegg å gi svar på, og (spoilervarsel): Du får faktisk et svar! Men godeste Brown legger opp til at det virkelig store svaret er svaret på det siste spørsmålet, hvor skal vi hen - mens det som faktisk kan være interessant for en reflekterende leser som er opptatt av forholdet mellom religion og vitenskap, er svaret på det første spørsmålet. At svarene som gis utfordrer verdens religiøse institusjoner er opplagt, og det er egentlig dette boken handler om.

Underveis besøker vi spennende lokasjoner som Guggenheim-museet i Bilbao (Verd et besøk i levende live også), Sagrada Familia i Barcelona (verd å stå to timer i kø for å se? Vet ikke, jeg gadd ikke), Madrid og Sevilla - og vi får et ganske så solid innblikk i polemikken mellom nyateister som Harris, Dawkins og Hithcens og kirkelige kirkens tenkere, blant annet Augustin. Så som en slags dannelsesreise er dette ikke så verst.

Men skrivingen da? Og at alle interne refleksjoner og tankespinn hos ALLE ALLTID SKAL SKRIVES I KURSIV kan være grunn til innleggelse på nærmeste psykiatriske institusjon for denne leser. I tillegg til at romansene er like spennende som flatbrød med salami.

Dan Brown er en merkelig forfatter: Det ér bare ikke bra, likevel sluker bøkene hans meg, også Origin. Beats me.

Exciting and fast-paced but utterly stupid. Once again Robert Langdon is on a righteous crusade to save the world from evil Christians; at his side a new gorgeous, seductive, intelligent and fiercely independent sidekick. Unlike previous outings, Origin lacks much of the puzzles and art history (although there is still enough art trivia for a good dinner table conversation).

What can I say, it's the typical Dan Brown book; full of sentences crammed with tangentially related factoids just to justify countless hours that Brown must've spent unearthing them. Of course, it's no Dan Vinci code. The final reveal isn't even that “earth-shattering” after all that buildup. But it's compelling enough to keep reading and go through that familiar guilt for reading this instead of something else.

This book was a typical Robert Langdon symboligist story filled with fast paced action packed adventure shall we say.

As much fun as I had reading this book, its hard to give it a great rating mainly because I found the plot predictable and the shocking reveals were quite frankly not that shocking. Where did we come from, Where are we going?

These question and the big revelations surrounding them were not all that shocking at all and easily predictable I found even for those who don't have a strong foundation in scientfic way of thinking.

While the book was not terrible, it was fast paced, full of actions and a fun ride, its predictability of who did what and when just makes it hard for me to give a glowing review

http://charami.com/2018/10/08/gelezen-in-mei-2/#oorsprong

Dit boek maakt nogmaals duidelijk dat Dan Brown al zijn romans volgens dezelfde formule schrijft, waardoor het geheel nogal saai en voorspelbaar wordt.
Het enige dat de plot nog een beetje vooruit dreef was dat ik wou weten wat die grote ontdekking nu eigenlijk wel was, maar ook dat was nogal teleurstellend en getuige van weinig verbeelding: is het ‘dat' maar?

Het verhaal had bijzonder weinig om het lijf. Nadenken werd ten zeerste afgeraden, tenzij ik plotgaten van de grootteorde van zwarte gaten wilde ontdekken.
De personages vond ik saai of clichématige of ronduit ongeloofwaardig.
De achtergrond, doorgaans een leuke gimmick in de Dan Brown boeken, sprak me deze keer totaal niet aan.

Kortom, voor mij was Oorsprong een heel groot ‘meh' boek, waarvan ik het merendeel alweer ben vergeten. Misschien heb ik deze keer mijn lesje geleerd en neem ik niet opnieuw een Dan Brown boek in de hand.
Eén-en-een-halve ster.

This felt like reading a film manuscript poorly transformed into a book.

The ideas behind the main plot, where we come from and where we are going, are really clever. However, they are squeezed into the regular Robert Langdon scheme and would have benefitted greatly from Dan Brown writing a different kind of Robert Langdon story this time.

So disappointing. Gone is the interwoven magic of The Da Vinci Code, replaced by an unbelievable miasma of current-event headlines (Uber! Self-driving cars! AI!), fall-flat “shockers” that aren't shocking at all, and an utterly formulaic approach to suspense and mystery.

When you learn the plot device 90% in and it doesn't invite critical thought at all, you know you have a problem.

Farewell, Mr. Langdon; I'm moving on to greener pastures.

Ugh. I read The Da Vinci Code years ago and enjoyed it immensely: the fast pace, tight plotting and clever marriage of the thriller genre with conspiracy theory made it a compelling read. Of course, the characterisation and dialogue and writing were awful, but it was a great page-turner.

This one was just dreadful. The writing was worse than I remember. Every single noun comes with a primary school adjective (for example - not actually from the book! - “the pretty lady watched the tall man walk down the dark corridor”) until you're going tum-te-tum-te-tum in your head and start losing your mind. Buildings are “massive”, cliffs are always “sheer” and there are no libraries or houses or shelves that contain books, just “tomes”.

I probably noticed this more because the plot is a lot thinner, there is very little symbology for Langdon (and his “eidetic memory”) to interpret and I worked out the ‘twist' quite early on.

I did enjoy the fact that the book is very up to date, referencing some modern cultural debates (Catholic crimes, the rise of the New Atheists, creationism vs evolution, existential threats, AI), but since these were represented without any kind of nuance - more storybook simplifications - this wasn't enough to drag my review beyond 2 stars.

So I am a bad friend, my best friends birthday was October 5th and I had it linked it to the release of this book. I am one of those people who truly looks forward to Dan Brown novels and inhales them in a day or so. This one does not disappoint. The locations are beautifully described, the story line is true to Dan Brown books, short chapters that keep you turning pages, an of course an ending YOU DONT SEE COMING!

I was intrigued with the premise of this book but found that the middle 3/4's of it really dragged. I didn't get the historical puzzle solving expertise from Langdon that I have come to expect from his character. The story plodded along and he seemed to just be there for the ride. There were a few surprises at the end which made me glad that I finished it. Just an okay read overall, though.

I know Dan Brown isn't for everyone but I generally enjoy his books. Yes, they're far-fetched and not exactly literary masterpieces but they keep me entertained for a few days and that's okay for me.

That said this was a bit of a disappointment, it was the weakest of the Robert Langdon series in my opinion. I felt like it was too long, it easily could have had whole chapters edited out and still made sense, it's like certain scenes were being strung out to hit a word count which annoyed me. I also found there was a lot of repetition, I mean how many times do we need to be reminded that Langdon has an eidetic memory?! My memory isn't eidetic but I can still remember that, thanks! And finally, I think the big reveal was a little underwhelming and the twists at the end were a bit predictable.

On a positive note, I've always enjoyed Robert Langdon as a character and still did in this book. He's quirky and likeable, and I love a good puzzle like he does. The pacing is fast and chapters are short so it's quick and easy to read. Also I loved the setting of Barcelona! It's a city I love and I enjoyed finding myself familiar with a lot of the places they went to, and found some more I would like to visit!

Lots to digest in this one. The historical, religious, technological, moral, and ethical aspects are all presented and all mixed up into this puzzle solving mystery.

Dan Brown has wonderful ideas but the writing feels like the has to hold your hand through every little step.

Merged review:

Lots to digest in this one. The historical, religious, technological, moral, and ethical aspects are all presented and all mixed up into this puzzle solving mystery.

Dan Brown has wonderful ideas but the writing feels like the has to hold your hand through every little step.

Fantastic thrill-ride as you'd expect from Dan Brown and Robert Langdon.

This story occurs mostly in and around Bilbao, Spain where Robert has been invited to attend a former student (now very much an Elon Musk-style individual). As you'd expect, art features prominently in the story and given the setting, you can probably guess that in this case it's Antoni Gaudi. I won't go further into depth about the story, but there are intrique, unexpected friends, unexpected enemies, narrow escapes, and maybe a twist or two. And, of course there is art and religion and the interplay between them.

All in all, my guess is that if you've enjoyed the previous Langdon books, you'll dig this one, too.

I would say Dan Brown is back. In fact in some parts Origins does one better than Da Vinci Code. Dan sticks as close to the truth as possible all through the book but just goes into fantasy probably in the last 10 pages of the book leaving you to wonder which parts are real and which fiction. The mixture of art and science cannot be matched by anyone else I have ever read and that is saying a lot. Hope he can continue to find such inspiration. Highly recommended

Merged review:

I would say Dan Brown is back. In fact in some parts Origins does one better than Da Vinci Code. Dan sticks as close to the truth as possible all through the book but just goes into fantasy probably in the last 10 pages of the book leaving you to wonder which parts are real and which fiction. The mixture of art and science cannot be matched by anyone else I have ever read and that is saying a lot. Hope he can continue to find such inspiration. Highly recommended

Perry predictable, I hate when I think I have it figured out and I'm right. The entire premise has a pretty big flaw too. It might make a decent movie though

Merged review:

Perry predictable, I hate when I think I have it figured out and I'm right. The entire premise has a pretty big flaw too. It might make a decent movie though

Merged review:

Perry predictable, I hate when I think I have it figured out and I'm right. The entire premise has a pretty big flaw too. It might make a decent movie though