Book Review - Origin

Before you give me that look, dear reader, allow me to explain why I decided to read this.

I have, in the past, read Dan Brown. Two, to be exact. Angels and Demons (which I surprisingly liked) and The Lost Symbol (which I liked at the time [I wrote a review on it and everything], but looking back, I hold a "What the?" reaction to it). I am considering reading all his novels next year as a challenge to push myself into reading more grown-up books (because, as I told one person jokingly, I hate myself...). And I wasn't planning on reading this, truth be told. I was going to let this slip on by. I thought I was done with Dan Brown. I thought I was done with Robert bloody Langdon. I was done.

Until I preordered the book. I'm not entire certain when I did this...

Anyway, to the review/discussion/whatever the hell this is.

Robert Langdon has been invited to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to watch an announcement from his friend and former student, Edmond Kirsch, make an announcement that he claims with challenge and shake the fundamentals of human existence.

But before this revelation is unveiled, Edmond is shot and the Langdon is on the run, his life in danger. He runs with museum's director, Ambra Vidal, who wants to discover the truth. But as they run round Barcelona, looking for clues and symbols in modern art to help bring the truth to light, an enemy is getting closer to them. An enemy that might have connections to the Church or the Spanish Royal Family...

Out of the three Dan Brown books I have read, this is the worst. It's not awful, but it's lacking so much.

Am going to get this off my chest: this is meant to be a thriller. I'm meant to be on the edge of my seat, holding my breath, hoping that Langdon will survive at the end. But a thriller needs to grab me from the start - and this didn't. It took over 100 pages for something to happen that kickstarted the story (in my opinion), and then took another 100 pages before I felt the pace kick into gear.

That's 200-odd pages before I felt sucked in. That's half the book! Normally, I would have given up and moved on, but I was on holiday and thought "Let's see if this can save itself."

But this sticks to the Dan Brown formula. Smart male lead, a smart and beautiful female lead who has a personal connection to the mystery (in this case, she was close friend to Edmond and there's a second reason which comes later), a secret that will shock the world, a baddie assassin, religion, art, high-powered originations trying to stop our leads revealing the secret... It's all there!

This should work as a thriller. Dan has stuck to this formula with most of his books and they work. But this time, it doesn't. He throws subplots, facts that have no importance to the story whatsoever, things that slowed the plot down and weren't needed. Info-dumping stopped the story moving at a fast pace. If these were removed or put in footnotes, the plot would have moved faster and the story would have been tighter.

Plus, I thought he had jumped the shark in Lost Symbol with the breathable gel. Well, he outdid himself this time with Winston...

Now, if you are a fan of Dan Brown, you know what you're going to get and if you enjoy reading him, go forth and read him! Read what makes you happy!

But for me, this didn't work. It felt dull compared to Angels and Demons and, after my possible Dan Brown 2018 Reading Challenge (still in two minds over this), I think I'm done with Mr Brown and Langdon. I have to make peace with this and move on...

GoodRead - "The Lost Symbol" Review

A few weeks ago, Dan Brown finally released his sequel to his bestseller “The Da Vinci Code”, “The Lost Symbol”. And, getting a little curious about all the hype and all the intrigue behind it, I got myself a copy and started reading it.

Took me a while but I have literally just finished and I'm writing this review about the book.

Without giving too much away, this is how “The Lost Symbol” starts up. After arriving at Capitol Building in Washington DC, Robert Langdon comes across a disturbing find. Because of this find, Robert finds out that his old friend, Peter Solomon, has been brutally kidnapped, our hero finds himself getting involved in yet another mystery to save his friend's life.

Now, before we go any further, I need to say something. I haven't read “The Da Vinci Code”. Apart from “The Lost Symbol”, the only other Dan Brown novel I have read is “Angels and Demons”. (I have watched the films but, like most film adaptation of books, there never truly live up to how good the book was.)

So, where to start with this review?

Let's start with the good points of this book and then the negavite.

This book is an enjoyable read. The chapters are short so it feels like your reading more of the book than you actually are. And because of the idea that this story takes over a 12 hour timespan, these short chapters work very well. Also, once you get into the story, it's a fast and enjoyable read.

Ah, you noticed that I said “once you get into the story”. Well, one of the flaws I found with Lost Symbol that, for a thriller novel, it took a long time before the story finally started to get started. The Prologue got my attention with the idea of a secret society and a soon-to-happen betrayal, but after that, it took almost twenty chapters before things seemed to go up a gear.

Another flaw (if you can call this a flaw) is that Dan Brown sticks to what works for him. He stuck to his checklist – smart hero, a smart female assistant with a personal involvement with the mystery, a secret that will shock the world, a baddie, a high-organization that chases our two heroes down. Check to them all! So, some people might read Lost Symbol and go “I've read this before.”

I have one small fault. It's nothing, seeing as this is a thriller so my fault really doesn't mean much. But because you got caught up with the thrill of the chase, there wasn't much emotion in the story. For our strong female lead, Katherine Solomon, she could have truly shown us the emotion that the story could have had. But the emotion wasn't there. Now, whether I missed that through getting caught up with the story or because the language used, I can't possible say.

But saying that, she is possible one of the most interesting characters within the book. Her and the bad guy, Mal'akh. Because they held my attention, they made me read the story.

So, how can sum up this novel? At times, it's a smart thriller. Then, at times, it goes into the realms of the slightly ridiculous. But it was a fun story to read, though at times, you did feel a bit overloaded with information. But it's an okay read. Just not my kind of read, sadly.

But, at least I sat down and read it. And I finished it!

The Da Brown Code

For some people, this is what you've been waiting for. For others... well, don't read this, nor go into a book shop. Or the book section of your local supermarket. Or online.

Yes, that's right, Dan Brown's new novel - sequel to "Angels and Demons" & the even-so-popular "Da Vinci Code" - "The Lost Symbol" has been released and, already, reviews of it have been released, stating that Dan Brown has outdone himself.

So... six years after the "Da Vinci Code" was released, is the wait what we're looking for, or is it going over old ground due to the old saying "If it any broke, don't fix it"?

When you guys have read it, let me know. If you're not, then tell me what you think of the hype. Am very curious. (I did buy myself a bopy and, if I ever find the time to read it after TRUE BLOOD, CATCHING FIRE and goodness know what else, will let you know...)

Oh, small thing I read and laughed at (minor spoiler? Well, two lines from the book so STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED!!!")





Right, have you stopped? Are you sure? Last chance...

Well, here's what I found! And am sure Mr. Brown himself was speaking, not Mr Robert Langdon.

Within the first few pages of chapter one, a woman rushes over to our hero and says, after explaining that her book group read his novel on the Sacred Feminine and the Church, "...What a delicious scandal that one caused! You do enjoy putting the fox in the henhouse!"

Langdon smiled. "Scandal wasn't really my intention."


FOOTNOTES
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8254238.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8009049.stm

Quote taken from "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown, page 8, published in the UK by BANTAM PRESS. Copyright of quote belongs to author, Dan Brown.