Origin
From the author of the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon Book 5)
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4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
'Fans will not be disappointed' The Times
'Read this is you like high stakes drama' Evening Standard
'A familiar swirl of big ideas and non-stop action' New York Times
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The global bestseller and latest Robert Langdon novel from the author of The Da Vinci Code.
Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend the unveiling of an astonishing scientific breakthrough. The evening’s host is billionaire Edmond Kirsch, a futurist whose dazzling high-tech inventions and audacious predictions have made him a controversial figure around the world.
But Langdon and several hundred guests are left reeling when the meticulously orchestrated evening is suddenly blown apart. There is a real danger that Kirsch’s precious discovery may be lost in the ensuing chaos. With his life under threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape Bilbao, taking with him the museum’s director, Ambra Vidal. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirsch’s secret.
To evade a devious enemy who is one step ahead of them at every turn, Langdon and Vidal must navigate the labyrinthine passageways of extreme religion and hidden history. On a trail marked only by enigmatic symbols and elusive modern art, Langdon and Vidal will come face-to-face with a breathtaking truth that has remained buried – until now.
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Praise for Dan Brown:
‘The master of the intellectual cliffhanger’ Wall Street Journal
‘As engaging a hero as you could wish for’ Mail on Sunday
‘For anyone who wants more brain-food than thrillers normally provide’ Sunday Times
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Dan Brown does here what he does best: crafting a labyrinthine puzzle that gets Harvard professor Robert Langdon hopping across continents, dodging bad guys and unearthing threatening secrets. Edmond Kirsch—former Langdon student and eccentric billionaire—has made a discovery about the origins (and future) of mankind; Langdon and museum director Ambra Vidal are propelled into an urgent quest to protect Kirsch’s discovery. Brown’s snappy writing crackles, bringing the story to life with political relevance (see mentions of “fake news”), religious inquiry and an unquenchable curiosity about the ancient world's mysteries.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fans of bestseller Brown's novels featuring Robert Langdon will probably enjoy the Harvard "symbology" professor's fifth outing, but those who expect coherence in their thrillers will be disappointed. Langdon, last seen in 2013's Inferno, visits the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, to hear a lecture by Edmond Kirsch, a former student of his who's now a "billionaire computer scientist, futurist, inventor, and entrepreneur." Kirsch promises in the buildup to his lecture to answer the questions, "Where do we come from? Where are we going?" Those answers, the reader is repeatedly told, will shatter the foundations of the world's religions. When evil doers thwart Kirsch's efforts to disseminate this great news, Langdon goes on the run, accompanied by Ambra Vidal, the stunningly beautiful director of the Guggenheim Museum, on a mission to find those responsible and to share Kirsch's discovery with the world. The answers to Kirsch's fundamental questions come as a letdown. Brown promises much but delivers little.
Customer Reviews
Anything from Brown goes
Brown is a master. Anything from him goes. I’m yet to be disappointed by a book under his name. “Origin” is entertaining, thought-provoking. Read it, if you can.
What a disappointment
Same old format which has done its time. Very predictable story and the “big reveal” so lame it wasn’t worth it.
Wouldn’t bother buying and will probably pass on any further books in this series.
Too much 'Dan'-splaining
The entire book feels rushed and overly contrived. It gets bogged down in its own theories and concepts with far too much Dansplaining (the Dan Brown version of Mansplaining). Every leap of logic is too comfortable, every decision or twist telegraphed and it becomes a tedious trudge through the expected. The "reveal" is bloated and feels like a plagiarized thesis paper and the somewhat facile ending makes me think Danny boy got as bored writing it as I did reading it.
Still, his publisher will be happy he met the deadline.