"Origin" by Dan Brown - A Review

“The Da Vinci Code” was the first book I read that had a lasting impact on me. Before that, there were a ton of books that had me totally engrossed, but they were the ‘read and forget about it’ kind of books. It’s the first book I can point to and say: “Now that was amazing”. “The Da Vinci Code” was the first book I read that had a lasting impact on me. Before that, there were a ton of books that had me totally engrossed, but they were the ‘read and forget about it’ kind of books. It’s the first book I can point to and say: “Now that was amazing”.

With schoolwork taking over my high school years, I found myself with little to no time to read for pleasure (my favorite past-time). That was until a few months ago. There was a lull in the academic workload assigned to me, and I grabbed the opportunity hungrily. The first book that caught my eye in my school’s library was “Origin”. I saw the name and was instantly reminded of my mother’s excitement when the book was first released. I picked it up, and took it home, with every intention of reading it slowly and leisurely. As you can probably guess, that’s not what happened. I devoured the book like a prisoner ravishing their last meal. I stayed up at nights and woke up feeling tired, yet completely alive at the same time. All in all, it took me around two days to finish, while juggling my extra-curriculars and schoolwork simultaneously.

Now I’ll start off by saying that it was a great book. The concept it was based on – the origin of life – is something that intrigues all of us, regardless of religious preferences. Dan Brown is famous for incorporating religion in his novels (after all, the protagonist is a professor of religious symbology). While his writing may come off as slightly controversial, I thought the incorporation of religion was extremely tasteful done – not too damning, yet interesting at the same time. The character of Ambra Vidal was exciting and fresh, though at times I felt she was a bit redundant. It seemed to me that her role in the book was to provide a tie to the Spanish Royal family. Sure, she may have helped out a bit here and there, but most of the grunt work was done by our beloved hero Robert Langdon.

The character of Winston was ingenious in my eyes – a way of distinguishing Brown’s previous works to this one. The supercomputer provided a much-needed tie into our current technologically advanced society, along with providing the air of mystery that surrounds artificial intelligence.

The plot was something that made this book one that I just could not put down. Where did we come from? Where are we going? Two questions that have plagued mankind since we first learned to think. Through the ups and downs of the novel, I found myself worried that these questions wouldn’t be answered, and my own curiosity would be rampant. Alas, we did find out the answers to these questions, and I’d be lying if I said that I was content. Frankly, I found the novel to be a bit anti-climactic, and a bit disappointing when it came to the profound revelations that were the entire premise of the novel. The idea of the primordial soup – while interesting – seemed a bit unoriginal and uninspired. Further, the idea that mankind was going to great places, living symbiotically with technology and thriving - while maintaining their position as the most dominant species in the planet - seemed rather utopian to me. In a novel like this, I expected something a bit more brutally honest, even though that may be synonymous with scary.

While the big reveal did leave me thinking for days after finishing the novel, my thoughts were more along the lines of the flaws in the answers provided to these two massive questions rather than their validity. They did however, spark some existential questions in my head, but that’s a topic for another day.

I feel like I may be a bit biased. To me, “The Da Vinci Code” will always be the pinnacle of mystery novels, and though I would’ve loved to have had its position in my head usurped by “Origin”, it still remains the reigning champion. One of the hallmarks of Dan Brown’s novels is their ability to make you question your beliefs – it’s part of what makes them so interesting. This novel definitely succeeded in that aspect. As for making me see the world differently (something that I experienced with “The Da Vinci Code”), I think my opinions remain unchanged.

Book Rating: 7/10