ORIGIN

5 stars out of 5

Perhaps I say this because when I got within a couple of hours of finishing this book nothing short of an act of God could have pried my hands off my Kindle, but I truly believe that of all the author's books I've read, I enjoyed this one the most. His always extensive research is borderline awesome here, and the plot was totally engrossing. While I might not call the action nonstop, there was more than enough to hold my attention right from the git-go.

A couple of other pluses: The central theme - the age-old questions of where human life came from and where it is headed - is thought-provoking (though I'm pretty sure Bible literalists will disagree). Both the plot and the action seemed more within the realm of possibility than in previous books - meaning I wasn't saying, "Oh, c'mon, get real!" throughout. As usual, the settings provided a ton of learning opportunities, all so well written that a devout non-lover of history like me enjoyed every word. One of those settings, in fact, was of special interest: the still-unfinished Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain - a structure that fascinated me as the subject of a CBS "60 Minutes" segment a while back.

The story begins as Robert Langdon, professor of symbology and religious iconology at Harvard University, is at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Spain) at the request of former student, billionnaire scientist and self-proclaimed athiest Edmond Kirsch. Here, Kirsch has promised, he will reveal a scientific breakthrough that will, by answering those two fundamental questions, render moot all organized religions. The event, with a guest list of hundreds, was coordinated by the beautiful Ambra Vidal, the museum director who just happens to be engaged to marry the future king of Spain.

But just as Kirsch is about to make his big pronouncement, something unthinkable happens; the crowd is thrown into a panic, Robert lands next to Ambra, and suddenly, the two of them are on the run. They don't know who to trust nor the real significance of Kirsch's botched presentation, but they're certain they must find the password that will unlock and release the program he intended to bring to the world before someone else finds and destroys it. 

Meanwhile, the man responsible for creating the panic is found to have ties to the Palmarian Church, an ultra-conservative offshoot of the Roman Catholic Church. That in turn brings up questions as to whether that group's arms extend into the Vatican and the Spanish government - and if they do, to whom. As a result, the issue of who can be trusted takes a few even more sinister turns that threaten the lives of Robert and Ambra. Unfortunately, their search of Kirsch's almost unbelievably high-tech Barcelona home yields only vague clues as to where the password may be, prompting the pair to set off once again - guided in large part by Robert's noted eidetic memory and the assistance of a very unusual "friend."

But can they find the password before someone finds them? Who, really, is behind the efforts to stop them? And what, if anything, is the significance of Kirsch's discovery? All I'll say is that it's a neck-and-neck race from the starting gate to the finish line - and you won't want to miss a second of it. Outstanding!

Origin by Dan Brown (Doubleday, October 2017); 480 pp.

INFERNO

4 stars (out of 5)

By the time I'd read the first half-dozen chapters in the latest adventures of Harvard professor (and art historian who specializes in iconography) Robert Langdon, I concluded this book must have been written with a movie in mind. And now that I've finished it, I'm even more sure of it.

I'll also say up front that my reason for giving the book 4 stars instead of 5 (as I did for two of the author's other incredibly popular Langdon books, The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons) is - ironically - that this one seemed easier to read: much less complex and difficult to follow. And in many instances, that's is a good thing. But ease of reading doesn't necessarily mean better - and while I enjoyed this one, I can't honestly say it's as well written as those other two.

That Brown has done considerable research is obvious; if nothing else, this book is a history lesson on the architecture of important buildings in all the places in which Langdon finds himself as the plot develops as well as insights into a literary masterpiece, Dante's <i>Inferno</i>, from which the book gets its title. But frankly, such in-depth descriptions of the meaning of every little nook, cranny and horse's foot can get a little tiresome fairly quickly.

From the start, Langdon and his female companion in this book, the beautiful and secretive Sienna, spend much of their time evading capture by forces out to get them (which includes the U.S. government), scurrying in and out of seemingly inescapable hidey-holes. And too often, the situations they encounter seemed contrived (bringing the concept of writing for a movie back to mind again). Yes, Langdon has an eidetic memory, but the uncanny knack of knowing exactly where the secret passageway is and how to get it open sort of strains credulity after the second or third time. 

The same can be said about Langdon's responses at the times when interpretation of a symbol, word, or lines from Dante's work are crucial to solving a particular mystery. Oh, whatever does this mean? Oh wait! I'll just spin around three times, turn the letters upside down, eliminate all the vowels and spit into a silver bucket and eureka - now I've got it! 

Still, it's fun to watch as Langdon uncovers not only who the bad guy is but what he's up to - something that threatens humankind as we know it - and then unearths clues that hopefully will lead him to a way to stop it from happening. There are a few surprises (although not altogether unpredictable). There's even one plot twist that's reminiscent of the ending of Bob Newhart's second TV show when he wakes up in bed next to Suzanne Pleshette, his wife from the first show.

Apparently, I'm not alone in my criticism of this book; of the 220 reviews of the book at Amazon.com at the time of this writing, 92 readers gave it three stars or less. But all things considered, I say it's a decent book - just not quite up to the level of writing I'd expected.

But hey. Maybe this will be one of those rare books that works better on the big screen.


Inferno by Dan Brown; Doubleday (May 2013); 480 pp.