About the AuthorDAN BROWN is the author of numerous #1 international bestsellers, including The Da Vinci Code, Inferno, The Lost Symbol, Angels Demons, Deception Point, and Digital Fortress. how do you find the genre of a book Origin: A Novel
91 of 98 people found the following review helpful. Racing through Spain with Robert LangdonBy History reader"Origin" is a blockbuster! Racing through Spain with Robert Langdon and a captivating young woman named Ambra Vidal is an intriguing way to get us into this world of symbols, artwork and religious extremism. Id still love to see Dan get back into the Templars someday, like he did in "The Da Vinci Code," but at least some good nonfiction books do that now. And certainly "Origin" satisfies the Dan-Brown-novel itch today!Moving from a secret, mountain-top meeting at Montserrat just outside Barcelona to a huge public affair at the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, we are teased with the idea that a revelation will be made which shakes all known religions to their core. Then things blow up and Langdon is on the run with the remarkable Ambra by his side. Yet even in the midst of all that we are bombarded with clues and insights about modern art that I would not have imagined could be so fascinating. And Im still shaking my head over the very strange Uber car ride. How does he come up with these things?Every time I thought Id figured out who the "bad guy" was, it shifted and looked like it was someone else. Finally I just stopped trying and went along for the ride. And it is a joyride! If I had any complaint, it would be that Dan has developed a habit of sometimes opening new scenes while giving us no idea where we are (until later). It interferes with the otherwise enjoyable story, but its not a big problem. The most exciting thing that happens is when Langdon . . . well, OK, I wont tell you the rest. Read the book and see for yourself!121 of 132 people found the following review helpful. "Origin;" A Fun Thriller in Brown's Characteristic Exploration of History Spirituality. A Page-Turner Set in SpainBy Andy Anderson aka Travis C.INTRO: Origin is another fun spiritual journey through history and the origins of religious belief. Although Browns writing will not rank well among the great classics, his books turned into film will pack theaters and encourage history buffs to travel Europe. Set in Spain, this book, ironically, was released just as the people of Catalonia voted for independence from Spain. Read on to learn more...*** ARE THERE PROFANITIES USED? ***Extremely few. Indeed, the f-word makes just one appearance and I didnt find any s-words.BLUSH FACTOR Your 80-year-old grandmother will probably be begging you to read more books just like this. No worries here.POV Written in third person primarily from Robert Langdons POV.KEY POINTS Using history, science and religion for a thriller is one of the better ways to incite curiosity among readers. By this, I mean, curiosity to learn the truth. In other words, Browns books should not be regarded as actual history, although they certainly are fun and informative.LANGUAGE Written in everyday English, the book is not especially artsy. Yet, it is a quick, fun read because the writing is honest, clear, and concise.DOES THIS WRITER SHOW OR TELL WHAT WE SEE/FEEL/HEAR? Mostly, it is written to show us what is seen, felt, heard or feared.DOES THE WRITER EVOKE THE FIVE SENSES? Yes.IS THIS THE FIRST IN A SERIES OR SHOULD I READ AN EARLIER BOOK FIRST?CLIFFHANGER? Although it leaves us in knowledge that another tale is coming, this is a stand-alone novel.Q - How was this book obtained?A I bought both the Kindle version and the Audible Whispersync copy so I could read and listen.Q - Are there a lot of typos/misspellings, grammatical errors or other editing failures?A No.Q - Is this a fast, easy read or is it more of a leisure read?A A page-turner leisure read. Youll probably skip a meal or two.Q - My biggest pleasure or disappointment?A Cant wait for the movie.To give a feel for the editing, and the style and flow of this work, I am posting a brief excerpt below.ExcerptIf youve read my books, Langdons voice continued, you will have heard me use the term God of the Gaps. That is to say, when the ancients experienced gaps in their understanding of the world around them, they filled those gaps with God.The sky filled now with a massive collage of paintings and statues depicting dozens of ancient deities.Countless gods filled countless gaps, Langdon said. And yet, over the centuries, scientific knowledge increased. A collage of mathematical and technical symbols flooded the sky overhead. As the gaps in our understanding of the natural world gradually disappeared, our pantheon of gods began to shrink.On the ceiling, the image of Poseidon came to the forefront.For example, when we learned that the tides were caused by lunar cycles,Poseidon was no longer necessary, and we banished him as a foolish myth of an unenlightened time.The image of Poseidon evaporated in a puff of smoke.As you know, the same fate befell all the godsdying off, one by one, as they outlived their relevance to our evolving intellects.Overhead, the images of gods began twinkling out, one by onegods of thunder, earthquakes, plagues, and on and on.As the number of images dwindled, Langdon added, But make no mistake about it. These gods did not go gentle into that good night; it is a messy process for a culture to abandon its deities. Spiritual beliefs are etched deeply on our psyches at a young age by those we love and trust mostour parents, our teachers, our religious leaders. Therefore, any religious shifts occur over generations, and not without great angst, and often bloodshed.The sound of clattering swords and shouting now accompanied the gradual disappearance of the gods, whose images winked out one by one. Finally, the image of a single god remainedan iconic wizened face with a flowing white beard.Zeus, Langdon declared, his voice powerful. The god of all gods. The most feared and revered of all the pagan deities. Zeus, more than any other god, resisted his own extinction, mounting a violent battle against the dying of his own light, precisely as had the earlier gods Zeus had replaced.On the ceiling flashed images of Stonehenge, the Sumerian cuneiform tablets, and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Then Zeuss bust returned.Zeuss followers were so resistant to giving up on their god that the conquering faith of Christianity had no choice but to adopt the face of Zeus as the face of their new God.On the ceiling, the bearded bust of Zeus dissolvedBrown, Dan. Origin: A Novel (Kindle Locations 1554-1576). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.Bottom Line:A bit of a challenge to decide between four stars and five. In the end, though, the story is just too darned fun to read for me to rate it lower than five stars.Five stars out of five.Comments regarding your opinion of this book or of my review, whether favorable or unfavorable, are always welcome. If you buy the book based on my review and become disappointed, especially, I do want to know that and I want to understand how I can improve as a book reviewer. Just please be polite.Thank you.30 of 33 people found the following review helpful. Disappointed... wish Brown would find a new model.By LovrromacesI wish I could give this 3.5 stars, but it doesn't warrant 4 in my opinion. I love Dan Brown's novels, his writing style, and his extensive use of history/tech in most of them, and I always learn something when I read his books. Robert Langdon is one of my favorite fictional characters. However, as this series moves on, it's more of the same. Brown has a plug and play format that he follows, and as I read this book, it's basically Robert Langdon at some educational/art venue where a friend/colleague, etc. asks for his presence only to witness a murder or event that threatens the world. insert new villain here that is on a mission from God because his/her family was wronged. Run to this historical place, find something they were looking for, find it quickly and then all is right again. There was supposed suspense, in that you want to find out what in the world Langdon's friend had to say before his murder--and of course, you have to wait until the end to find out. But I skimmed a lot of it because it was just more of the same. By the end of the book, I wasn't particularly enlightened by the so-called "discovery that would change the world." And, the side plot (that actually seems like part of the larger plot) of the Prince and Bishop was a distraction. The only part that was remotely interesting was the use of "Winston" in the novel. I was hoping for something more original from Dan Brown, especially after paying $15.00. I wish he'd return to the days of Digital Fortress. He's such a talented writer, but if this is his whole mantra for novel writing, I'm not sure I'll buy the next one.