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Robert Langdon #5
Origen
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Mystery & Thriller (2017)¿DE DÓNDE VENIMOS? ¿ADÓNDE VAMOS?
Robert Langdon, profesor de simbología e iconografía religiosa de Harvard, acude al Museo Guggenheim Bilbao para asistir a un trascendental anuncio que «cambiará la faz de la ciencia para siempre». El anfitrión de la velada es Edmond Kirsch, un joven multimillonario cuyos visionarios inventos tecnológicos y audaces predicciones lo han convertido en una figura de renombre mundial. Brillante exalumno de Langdon, se dispone a revelar un extraordinario descubrimiento que dará respuesta a las dos preguntas que han obsesionado a la humanidad desde el principio de los tiempos.
Al poco de comenzar la presentación, meticulosamente orquestada por Edmond Kirsch y la directora del museo, Ambra Vidal, estalla el caos para asombro de cientos de invitados y millones de espectadores en todo el mundo. Ante la inminente amenaza de que el valioso hallazgo se pierda, Langdon y Ambra, perseguidos por un atormentado enemigo, deben huir a Barcelona e iniciar una carrera contrarreloj para localizar la críptica contraseña que les dará acceso al revolucionario secreto de Kirsch.
Siguiendo un rastro de pistas compuesto por símbolos ocultos en obras literarias y de arte moderno, tendrán pocas horas para intentar desvelar la fascinante investigación de Kirsch… y su sobrecogedora revelación sobre el origen y el destino de la humanidad.
706 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 3, 2017
About the author
Dan Brown
80 books113k followersDan Brown is the author of numerous #1 bestselling novels, including The Da Vinci Code, which has become one of the best selling novels of all time as well as the subject of intellectual debate among readers and scholars. Brown’s novels are published in 56 languages around the world with over 200 million copies in print.
In 2005, Brown was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME Magazine, whose editors credited him with “keeping the publishing industry afloat; renewed interest in Leonardo da Vinci and early Christian history; spiking tourism to Paris and Rome; a growing membership in secret societies; the ire of Cardinals in Rome; eight books denying the claims of the novel and seven guides to read along with it; a flood of historical thrillers; and a major motion picture franchise.”
The son of a mathematics teacher and a church organist, Brown was raised on a prep school campus where he developed a fascination with the paradoxical interplay between science and religion. These themes eventually formed the backdrop for his books. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he later returned to teach English before focusing his attention full time to writing. He lives in New England with his yellow lab, Winston.
Brown’s latest novel, Origin, explores two of the fundamental questions of humankind: Where do we come from? Where are we going?
In 2005, Brown was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME Magazine, whose editors credited him with “keeping the publishing industry afloat; renewed interest in Leonardo da Vinci and early Christian history; spiking tourism to Paris and Rome; a growing membership in secret societies; the ire of Cardinals in Rome; eight books denying the claims of the novel and seven guides to read along with it; a flood of historical thrillers; and a major motion picture franchise.”
The son of a mathematics teacher and a church organist, Brown was raised on a prep school campus where he developed a fascination with the paradoxical interplay between science and religion. These themes eventually formed the backdrop for his books. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he later returned to teach English before focusing his attention full time to writing. He lives in New England with his yellow lab, Winston.
Brown’s latest novel, Origin, explores two of the fundamental questions of humankind: Where do we come from? Where are we going?
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30,029 reviews
May 20, 2024
(C-) 59% | Very Unsatisfactory
Notes: Smug and sterile, it refuses to get to the point: all idle-talk and touristy tidbits, it's a dumb book that thinks it's smart.
*Check out progress updates for detailed commentary:
Notes: Smug and sterile, it refuses to get to the point: all idle-talk and touristy tidbits, it's a dumb book that thinks it's smart.
*Check out progress updates for detailed commentary:
October 16, 2017
Where do we come from?
Where are we going?
Yes, it's the new Dan Brown book. Yes, it's pulpy and ridiculous. But I have to say it-- it was really entertaining, too.
The thing about Brown is that he's a mediocre-at-best writer with really fascinating ideas. If you spend too much time analysing individual scenes and sentences, then you're going to start to see the cracks, big and small. Big cracks like world-renowned scientists jumping to ludicrous conclusions, and small cracks like world-renowned scientists suddenly knowing nothing about a subject so that Robert Langdon can inform them (and the reader) of some exciting tidbit.
And Langdon himself must be the stupidest genius ever written. He knows absolutely everything about everything until it's convenient for him to not know something so someone can explain it to him.
BUT, for some reason, Brown's plots and codes and puzzles are interesting enough to... kind of make it okay. At least for me. I love all the information about history, science and religion. I love how you can look up the organizations mentioned and find that they are all real. It's very much a plot over writing book, but sometimes that can be exactly what you need. Mindless, pageturning entertainment.
In Origin, famous scientist and billionaire Edmond Kirsch is about to make a world-changing announcement. His research and technology have led him to make a discovery about the origin of humankind, as well as their future destiny, that will shake the foundations of the world, tear apart religions, and change absolutely everything. He has essentially found answers to the two questions: Where do we come from? and Where are we going?
It's hard not to be drawn in by these universal questions. Then when the announcement event goes horribly wrong and it seems his discovery might be buried forever, Robert Langdon and Ambra Vidal must go on a clue-solving, code-breaking spree across Spain to uncover Kirsch's discovery. Throughout, all I could think was "what could his discovery be?" It would need to be something dramatic enough, something with impact... and, well, personally I loved the reveal.
Fake news now carries as much weight as real news.
Origin draws on current events and hot topics to make it more relevant to today's world. Brown touches on subjects like "fake news", the advancement of technology and artificial intelligence, and the dark corners of the Internet. He may not be an amazing writer - whatever that means - but he does play on universal thoughts, fears and questions. It makes for a very compelling tale.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for excellent writing, well-developed characters and a whole lot of sense-making. But if you want to sprint through an almost 500-page novel at breakneck pace and escape from thinking for a while, then it is very enjoyable.
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October 17, 2017
Update:
I just finished the book. It's not the best Robert Langdon book in my opinion but it's entertaining as hell. As always if you are looking for some quality writing this is not the book for you. However I love these books. I love that I can look up a building or a piece of art or a religious organization I never heard of and they are all real. So if that's your cup of tea I would recommend this book for you.
Yes Robert Langdon is my guilty pleasure so sue me! I can't wait for this !!!!!
I know the critics hate Dan Brown and I know that his name has become a punchline. But still I don't care I like his books. They make me want to take long walks in Florence, Rome, The Vatican and Istanbul. They make me want to spend days exploring museums and admiring the art and architecture. I learn trivial information like the word quarantine comes from the italian word "quaranta" meaning forty, as all ships were required to be isolated for forty days before passengers and crew could go ashore during the Black Death plague epidemic. Is it high literature? Most certainly not. But it's an intense, fast paced and intriguing book you can't put down which keeps you guessing until the last page. Is that so bad? I'm gonna say no. So yes i'm gonna read this book and every other book that's gonna be published by Dan Brown in the future.
I just finished the book. It's not the best Robert Langdon book in my opinion but it's entertaining as hell. As always if you are looking for some quality writing this is not the book for you. However I love these books. I love that I can look up a building or a piece of art or a religious organization I never heard of and they are all real. So if that's your cup of tea I would recommend this book for you.
Yes Robert Langdon is my guilty pleasure so sue me! I can't wait for this !!!!!
I know the critics hate Dan Brown and I know that his name has become a punchline. But still I don't care I like his books. They make me want to take long walks in Florence, Rome, The Vatican and Istanbul. They make me want to spend days exploring museums and admiring the art and architecture. I learn trivial information like the word quarantine comes from the italian word "quaranta" meaning forty, as all ships were required to be isolated for forty days before passengers and crew could go ashore during the Black Death plague epidemic. Is it high literature? Most certainly not. But it's an intense, fast paced and intriguing book you can't put down which keeps you guessing until the last page. Is that so bad? I'm gonna say no. So yes i'm gonna read this book and every other book that's gonna be published by Dan Brown in the future.
Want to Read
September 28, 2016All right, Danny boy, let's see what you've got for us this time. Anyone want to take bets on how many times he mentions the Mickey Mouse watch?
Man, I hope that thing gets smashed under a garbage truck.
Man, I hope that thing gets smashed under a garbage truck.
November 17, 2017
Dan Brown is back with some of his best work in a while. I was not a huge fan of his last two – Inferno and The Lost Symbol. I think for me they seemed kind of stale after Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code. Origin is now probably my second favorite of his (behind Angels and Demons).
Some of the key points:
Religion and Science – this is a big battle in our world today. It is an exhausting battle for someone like me who goes to church but also loves science. I worry that the feeling is starting to be that the two cannot exist together. Dan Brown does a great job of addressing this debate in this book (even though at times I was worried that it was going to end up just being another annoying commentary on the same debate)
Lead Female Characters – Brown amuses me with every new lead female character. It is always a scientist, art expert, museum curator, etc. who just so happens to be one of the top 5 most beautiful women alive (he has 5 Langdon books, each with one of those top 5 ;) )
The Dan Brown formula – I will say that each of Brown’s book has basically the same structure. A mystery starts (usually in a museum, church, famous building). Langdon meets a woman (see above). Langdon and this woman run around trying to solve the mystery. Yes, that formula is here. However, that felt okay this time. The last two books it felt like old hat – almost like he was phoning it in. But, with this one I was kind of glad to get back into the same formula and he developed the plot and suspense well.
If you like Dan Brown – I recommend this.
If you thought maybe the Langdon series had no gas left – I recommend this.
If you want an interesting, thought-provoking mystery with a lot of suspense – I recommend this.
Some of the key points:
Religion and Science – this is a big battle in our world today. It is an exhausting battle for someone like me who goes to church but also loves science. I worry that the feeling is starting to be that the two cannot exist together. Dan Brown does a great job of addressing this debate in this book (even though at times I was worried that it was going to end up just being another annoying commentary on the same debate)
Lead Female Characters – Brown amuses me with every new lead female character. It is always a scientist, art expert, museum curator, etc. who just so happens to be one of the top 5 most beautiful women alive (he has 5 Langdon books, each with one of those top 5 ;) )
The Dan Brown formula – I will say that each of Brown’s book has basically the same structure. A mystery starts (usually in a museum, church, famous building). Langdon meets a woman (see above). Langdon and this woman run around trying to solve the mystery. Yes, that formula is here. However, that felt okay this time. The last two books it felt like old hat – almost like he was phoning it in. But, with this one I was kind of glad to get back into the same formula and he developed the plot and suspense well.
If you like Dan Brown – I recommend this.
If you thought maybe the Langdon series had no gas left – I recommend this.
If you want an interesting, thought-provoking mystery with a lot of suspense – I recommend this.
October 31, 2017
If you’re reading this in an effort to determine whether or not you want to read Origins, I’m going to make two assumptions:
1) You’ve already read the previous books in the series and, as such, need no introduction to Robert Langdon or Dan Brown’s art/history/symbol/puzzle MO; and
2) You’re not looking for sparkling prose (because, if you are, it’s a little bit like going to an all-you-can-eat $5.99 buffet and getting pissed that there’s no caviar and foie gras).
Dan Brown is the Hootie and the Blowfish of thriller writers. A smash hit cultural phenomenon early on (like Darius Rucker and the boys), Brown subsequently suffered an unfairly disproportionate critical backlash from holier-than-thou critics who (perhaps not incorrectly, if a bit unfairly and unnecessarily) savaged his writing style and mocked the formulaic nature of his books (which, yes, are a bit like an episode of Home Improvement: Tim creates a crazy situation, Tim screws up, Tim and Wilson have a backyard heart-to-heart, Wilson says something wise, Tim utterly bollixes up communicating the advice to Jill but succeeds in heeding it to fix what he screwed up, Al’s beard gets made fun of, cue credits (…and it just occurred to me that no one under the age of 35 gets that reference, and, if you do get it, you’re sitting there thinking, “Why did he just reference a show whose popularity was utterly inexplicable when considering the quality of its content?”); because, that’s why).
Were The Da Vinci Code (in Brown’s case) and Cracked Rear View (in Hootie’s case) good enough to warrant their absurd sales and global buzz? Probably not. But, neither were their subsequent offerings so impossibly bad that they deserved the mockery that ensued (Inferno, for example, has some fun puzzles and history, and I stand by Fairweather Johnson—“The Earth Stopped Cold at Dawn” might be Hootie’s finest work).
Look, Hootie and the Blowfish wasn’t the first bar band that broke big, and Dan Brown didn’t invent the historical thriller/mystery/puzzle genre, but they both reinvigorated their respective niches, and significantly expanded the audience receptive to such offerings. A lot of subsequent bands and writers owe these cats a debt of gratitude, as they have been able to make a decent living peddling similar (if often inferior) fare thanks to that receptivity—or, if not a decent living, maybe what I like to call “gumball money” (that is to say, pennies), as in the case of the questionable talent responsible for inflicting The Camelot Shadow (not to mention its prequel The Strange Task Before Me: Being an Excerpt from the Journal of William J. Upton) on the world (of all the things Dan Brown should apologize for, its giving the author of those debacles the idea that he could graft a Brownian approach onto a Victorian setting).
(I am just shameless, no?)
All that said, what about Origins? Well, it’s no Da Vinci Code, I’ll tell you that…
I kid. Well, no, I really don’t—it’s not as compelling, or as ingeniously crafted, a book as Da Vinci or Angels & Demons, largely because, save for one impressive feat of mental prestidigitation involving an ampersand, Langdon’s most awe-inspiring moment of symbolic insight is explaining the hidden symbol in the FedEx logo, which has nothing to do with the book’s central mystery and is, I’m sure, known about by anyone with functional eyes. Instead, Langdon relies on oodles of help from, quite literally, deus ex machina—a state-of-the art AI named Winston, the creation of the man whose murder serves as the book’s inciting incident. That, combined with the book’s focus on modern art, a scene in which Langdon is a fish out of water (or, more accurately, a squiggle out of a square, based on what I know about the composition of modern art), makes for a less engrossing and thrilling ride through intricately crafted (if often implausible) historical puzzles than past outings.
Still, there’s something to be said for the book’s concluding chapters, which ultimately convey an uplifting message of hope and unity. Maybe I’m naïve (or, at least, wish I still could be naïve), but there’s something charmingly square about Langdon (and his creator) that, in an age of divisive rhetoric, intolerance, and unbridled hatred for that which is “other” (regardless of who you are and which side of history you think you’re on) resonates and gives an otherwise average (by Brown standards, at least) tale a favorable gloss.
Next time, though, let’s get back into something Langdon actually knows about, eh?
1) You’ve already read the previous books in the series and, as such, need no introduction to Robert Langdon or Dan Brown’s art/history/symbol/puzzle MO; and
2) You’re not looking for sparkling prose (because, if you are, it’s a little bit like going to an all-you-can-eat $5.99 buffet and getting pissed that there’s no caviar and foie gras).
Dan Brown is the Hootie and the Blowfish of thriller writers. A smash hit cultural phenomenon early on (like Darius Rucker and the boys), Brown subsequently suffered an unfairly disproportionate critical backlash from holier-than-thou critics who (perhaps not incorrectly, if a bit unfairly and unnecessarily) savaged his writing style and mocked the formulaic nature of his books (which, yes, are a bit like an episode of Home Improvement: Tim creates a crazy situation, Tim screws up, Tim and Wilson have a backyard heart-to-heart, Wilson says something wise, Tim utterly bollixes up communicating the advice to Jill but succeeds in heeding it to fix what he screwed up, Al’s beard gets made fun of, cue credits (…and it just occurred to me that no one under the age of 35 gets that reference, and, if you do get it, you’re sitting there thinking, “Why did he just reference a show whose popularity was utterly inexplicable when considering the quality of its content?”); because, that’s why).
Were The Da Vinci Code (in Brown’s case) and Cracked Rear View (in Hootie’s case) good enough to warrant their absurd sales and global buzz? Probably not. But, neither were their subsequent offerings so impossibly bad that they deserved the mockery that ensued (Inferno, for example, has some fun puzzles and history, and I stand by Fairweather Johnson—“The Earth Stopped Cold at Dawn” might be Hootie’s finest work).
Look, Hootie and the Blowfish wasn’t the first bar band that broke big, and Dan Brown didn’t invent the historical thriller/mystery/puzzle genre, but they both reinvigorated their respective niches, and significantly expanded the audience receptive to such offerings. A lot of subsequent bands and writers owe these cats a debt of gratitude, as they have been able to make a decent living peddling similar (if often inferior) fare thanks to that receptivity—or, if not a decent living, maybe what I like to call “gumball money” (that is to say, pennies), as in the case of the questionable talent responsible for inflicting The Camelot Shadow (not to mention its prequel The Strange Task Before Me: Being an Excerpt from the Journal of William J. Upton) on the world (of all the things Dan Brown should apologize for, its giving the author of those debacles the idea that he could graft a Brownian approach onto a Victorian setting).
(I am just shameless, no?)
All that said, what about Origins? Well, it’s no Da Vinci Code, I’ll tell you that…
I kid. Well, no, I really don’t—it’s not as compelling, or as ingeniously crafted, a book as Da Vinci or Angels & Demons, largely because, save for one impressive feat of mental prestidigitation involving an ampersand, Langdon’s most awe-inspiring moment of symbolic insight is explaining the hidden symbol in the FedEx logo, which has nothing to do with the book’s central mystery and is, I’m sure, known about by anyone with functional eyes. Instead, Langdon relies on oodles of help from, quite literally, deus ex machina—a state-of-the art AI named Winston, the creation of the man whose murder serves as the book’s inciting incident. That, combined with the book’s focus on modern art, a scene in which Langdon is a fish out of water (or, more accurately, a squiggle out of a square, based on what I know about the composition of modern art), makes for a less engrossing and thrilling ride through intricately crafted (if often implausible) historical puzzles than past outings.
Still, there’s something to be said for the book’s concluding chapters, which ultimately convey an uplifting message of hope and unity. Maybe I’m naïve (or, at least, wish I still could be naïve), but there’s something charmingly square about Langdon (and his creator) that, in an age of divisive rhetoric, intolerance, and unbridled hatred for that which is “other” (regardless of who you are and which side of history you think you’re on) resonates and gives an otherwise average (by Brown standards, at least) tale a favorable gloss.
Next time, though, let’s get back into something Langdon actually knows about, eh?
December 29, 2020
When A-- H-- woke up this morning, at the crack of dawn, she was in no way prepared for the absolute dismay she would have to face during the day. As she pulled her long, black hair into a bun, she contemplated the decision she had made the previous night. She had decided, bravely, to read Dan Brown's new treatise on the amalgamation of history and technology, religion and science. As she thumbed through the massive tome, she was, despite her initial trepidation, caught unawares of how crummy the book was going to be. You see, in this opus, Anuradha had to face her worst enemy yet. Purple prose coupled with a storyline so dreadful, she had to prod herself into finishing it. Anuradha was no quitter. She had endured much worse before.
As she boarded the metro for her morning class, she looked at her reflection in the window of the train and sighed. Today was going to be a long day. It was in no way going to help the bags under her eyes, but she knew she had to do it. She had to prove it to herself, if nothing else. It was like nothing she had read before. She read in horror as she saw Langdon fly into his "white male saviour" mode and try and save the world in a day. "If he can save the world in one day, I can read this book in the same time", she reflected. She had read enough of Brown's books to know that her troubles had only just began. She chuckled to herself wisely, knowingly. She knew what was coming, and she was prepared for it. At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder, how much preparation was enough preparation?
She took deep, calming breaths and trudged along. She gave a small yelp of pain as she read about every leap, jump, explosion, care chase and art piece mentioned. "Great, there has to be JARVIS in this", she muttered to herself, as her neighbour looked at her with disgust. Little did he know about exactly how much was at stake. She groaned as she read about the quintessential "assassin", the hot lady, her other love interest and the old-fashioned people determined to hurt Langdon. She gave an inward chuckle when she concluded that of course, Langdon wouldn't be the one hurt. Little by little, she started piecing the plot together, when alas, she had to get down for her class. Her German class, though usually interesting, held little interest for her today. All she wanted was more time to figure out who the villain was, and to know if her prediction was right. But as it had to, on such a crucial day, time was a total shrew.
Anuradha practically ran out of the class, her arms and legs flailing around her. She didn't find a seat on the way back, so she had to manage standing. It was okay. Everything would be okay if she was right. "I can bet that is the villain", she texted her brother, but alas, the train went underground and she lost network. She cursed in the dark and continued to read the damned book. Soon, as it had to happen, her stop came and she had to get down again. "This book is going around in circles. Why do all books have to be the same. And why do they have to be so big?" she grumbled. She was hungry, tired, and just wanted the ordeal to be over. She looked up at the sky, groaned because of the sun, and began her long walk home. Heavy bag on her back, and a doorstopper of a book in her hand.
She was only halfway done, and she didn't know if she would survive the day. "Tell mom and dad I love them", she texted her brother again. "Stop being so melodramatic", he texted back. You're going to be just fine. She gave a grim half-smile to herself. Little did he know. Halfway through the book, though, she was tempted to take the wise princess Elsa's advice and let it go, but she persisted. This was her Everest and she was going to conquer it. She sipped her coke and continued, rubbing her perspiring brow and kneading her forehead. She was going to do it. She was going to weave through the copious info dump and live through the terrible storyline. "I can finish it. I am sure of it", she whispered to herself and smiled.
And then, she reached *that* part of the book. The part where Dan Brown tries to (and he really does try) make it as dramatic as possible, but she pretty much knew what was coming. There was no surprised gasp when she read it. A knowing smile, yes. She knew where he was going with this. To her, it was very obvious. "Could really be this easy? This weak?" she thought to herself. It went much faster from there, after all, she was almost at the end. "You have got to stop making these things so obvious, my dear Brown", she thought. "Just a few more pages, you can do it", she pushed herself. "You'll get a chance to write that review you've been meaning to, you know how much you want to do it", she said to herself.
And then, suddenly, she screamed, "I knew it, I knew it. You're predictable as fuck Langdon", as her mother looked at her in amusement. And then, suddenly, she was free. She had done it. She had finished the book. She could breathe the air around her, enjoy the chirping of the birds. She smiled softly to herself. She had done it. She was victorious. The next book was going to be another adventure. Another day. She also hoped to herself, beyond hope, that maybe some day, Dan Brown will actually learn to write. "Well, a girl can dream", she thought.
If you think this review is terrible, imagine how bad the book was. I tried making it Dan Brown-esque, but I don't think I was very successful in my attempt. Purple prose is not my strength. Parts of it have been overdramatised for effect. I will never wake up at the crack of dawn. Of course, it's missing symbols, codes and poetry, but this was all the time I had. Maybe I'll build on this when I have more time.
The book though, is just awful. I appreciate that Brown takes time before his books to do his "research", I do. I also understand that Asimov's laws aren't the gospel truth. If you've churned out some seven books, however, this doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that the research and language are still shite. Essentially, I have nothing to look forward to here. Also, please for the sake of all that is sane and good, the obsessive and excessive describing of everything needs to stop. It makes my head hurt. There is such a thing as too much, and this book was just that. I will give Danny this though, this book was leaps and bounds better than his previous book, and even marginally better than his third.
--
INITIAL REVIEW:
Once was fun, twice was okay. The fourth time had me saying "kill me now". Curiosity killed the cat, and someday it will kill Anuradha. Will it be this book that does the trick? We can only wait...
Side note: The final cover of the book hasn't been released yet, and the expected date of publication is a good eight months from now. How does this book already have a rating of 3.89? Me wonders.
As she boarded the metro for her morning class, she looked at her reflection in the window of the train and sighed. Today was going to be a long day. It was in no way going to help the bags under her eyes, but she knew she had to do it. She had to prove it to herself, if nothing else. It was like nothing she had read before. She read in horror as she saw Langdon fly into his "white male saviour" mode and try and save the world in a day. "If he can save the world in one day, I can read this book in the same time", she reflected. She had read enough of Brown's books to know that her troubles had only just began. She chuckled to herself wisely, knowingly. She knew what was coming, and she was prepared for it. At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder, how much preparation was enough preparation?
She took deep, calming breaths and trudged along. She gave a small yelp of pain as she read about every leap, jump, explosion, care chase and art piece mentioned. "Great, there has to be JARVIS in this", she muttered to herself, as her neighbour looked at her with disgust. Little did he know about exactly how much was at stake. She groaned as she read about the quintessential "assassin", the hot lady, her other love interest and the old-fashioned people determined to hurt Langdon. She gave an inward chuckle when she concluded that of course, Langdon wouldn't be the one hurt. Little by little, she started piecing the plot together, when alas, she had to get down for her class. Her German class, though usually interesting, held little interest for her today. All she wanted was more time to figure out who the villain was, and to know if her prediction was right. But as it had to, on such a crucial day, time was a total shrew.
Anuradha practically ran out of the class, her arms and legs flailing around her. She didn't find a seat on the way back, so she had to manage standing. It was okay. Everything would be okay if she was right. "I can bet that is the villain", she texted her brother, but alas, the train went underground and she lost network. She cursed in the dark and continued to read the damned book. Soon, as it had to happen, her stop came and she had to get down again. "This book is going around in circles. Why do all books have to be the same. And why do they have to be so big?" she grumbled. She was hungry, tired, and just wanted the ordeal to be over. She looked up at the sky, groaned because of the sun, and began her long walk home. Heavy bag on her back, and a doorstopper of a book in her hand.
She was only halfway done, and she didn't know if she would survive the day. "Tell mom and dad I love them", she texted her brother again. "Stop being so melodramatic", he texted back. You're going to be just fine. She gave a grim half-smile to herself. Little did he know. Halfway through the book, though, she was tempted to take the wise princess Elsa's advice and let it go, but she persisted. This was her Everest and she was going to conquer it. She sipped her coke and continued, rubbing her perspiring brow and kneading her forehead. She was going to do it. She was going to weave through the copious info dump and live through the terrible storyline. "I can finish it. I am sure of it", she whispered to herself and smiled.
And then, she reached *that* part of the book. The part where Dan Brown tries to (and he really does try) make it as dramatic as possible, but she pretty much knew what was coming. There was no surprised gasp when she read it. A knowing smile, yes. She knew where he was going with this. To her, it was very obvious. "Could really be this easy? This weak?" she thought to herself. It went much faster from there, after all, she was almost at the end. "You have got to stop making these things so obvious, my dear Brown", she thought. "Just a few more pages, you can do it", she pushed herself. "You'll get a chance to write that review you've been meaning to, you know how much you want to do it", she said to herself.
And then, suddenly, she screamed, "I knew it, I knew it. You're predictable as fuck Langdon", as her mother looked at her in amusement. And then, suddenly, she was free. She had done it. She had finished the book. She could breathe the air around her, enjoy the chirping of the birds. She smiled softly to herself. She had done it. She was victorious. The next book was going to be another adventure. Another day. She also hoped to herself, beyond hope, that maybe some day, Dan Brown will actually learn to write. "Well, a girl can dream", she thought.
If you think this review is terrible, imagine how bad the book was. I tried making it Dan Brown-esque, but I don't think I was very successful in my attempt. Purple prose is not my strength. Parts of it have been overdramatised for effect. I will never wake up at the crack of dawn. Of course, it's missing symbols, codes and poetry, but this was all the time I had. Maybe I'll build on this when I have more time.
The book though, is just awful. I appreciate that Brown takes time before his books to do his "research", I do. I also understand that Asimov's laws aren't the gospel truth. If you've churned out some seven books, however, this doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that the research and language are still shite. Essentially, I have nothing to look forward to here. Also, please for the sake of all that is sane and good, the obsessive and excessive describing of everything needs to stop. It makes my head hurt. There is such a thing as too much, and this book was just that. I will give Danny this though, this book was leaps and bounds better than his previous book, and even marginally better than his third.
--
INITIAL REVIEW:
Once was fun, twice was okay. The fourth time had me saying "kill me now". Curiosity killed the cat, and someday it will kill Anuradha. Will it be this book that does the trick? We can only wait...
Side note: The final cover of the book hasn't been released yet, and the expected date of publication is a good eight months from now. How does this book already have a rating of 3.89? Me wonders.
July 4, 2021
من أين أتينا؟ من نحن؟ إلى أين نحن ذاهبون؟
ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ
سأل جوجان بفرشاته هذا السؤال قبل أكثر من مائة عام
في تاهيتي جزيرة الجمال والألم
التي قدم لنا منها أجمل لوحاته
وفي لوحته بالأعلى أطلق تساؤلاته عن كنه الحياة ومعنى الوجود
وتركها لنا علامات استفهام معلقة في الهواء يحاول البشر الإجابة عنها بلا توقف
مستخدمين العلم والأسطورة والأديان والتخيلات
ويأتي في القرن الحادي والعشرين مؤلف ظريف
متخصص في أدب التشويق والإثارة ولكن بطريقة ليست معتادة أبدا
يستخدم الرموز والخيال والعلم والدين
ويصنع أساطيره الشخصية في روايات موسوعية يمتعنا بها واحدة بعد الأخرى
*******
دان براون يا سادة
المتخفي وراء المؤلف المستوحى من جوزيف كامبل
والذي أسرنا مذ قرأنا عنه لأول مرة
ورأيناه على الشاشات يجسده أحد أهم نجوم السينما
أستاذنا اللطيف الظريف والعبقري روبرت لانجدون
**
هذه المرة يقل عدد اللوحات كثيرا
تقل الرموز
وتخفت حدة المغامرات
فالصوت الذي يعلو هنا هو صوت محبة العلم
العلم الحقيقي دون أن تقمعه حماسة دينية
أو خوف اسطوري غير مبرر
*******
تسلّق موسى جبلا ليستلم كلمة الله ... فيما تسلّقت جبلا لأفعل العكس تماما
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بطلنا هذه المرة والذي طغى حضوره على لانجدون نفسه
هو ادموند كيرش
العالم العبقري
الولوع بكل ما هو عجيب وغريب
ومحب الإثارة والمبالغات
والمعارض لكل دين وجد أو يوجد
ومع توغلك في الأحداث ستفهم لماذا..
ادموند اكتشف شيئا
أو بالأحرى كان يعمل على شيء
شيء ليس بجديد
بل سبقه إليه العالمان ستانلي ميلر وهالولد يوري
اللذان عرفانا لأول مرة على حساء الحياة البدائي
ولكن إدموند عالم الحواسيب والمتنبئ الذي لم يخطئ أبدا
يأخذ التجربة الشهيرة إلى عالمه هو
ويرى ما لم يره أحد
وهنا -وبطريقة البروباجاندا التي يجيدها
يعلن للجميع أنه اكتشف أصل الحياة
وأن ما اكتشفه يهدد كل ما جاء في جميع الأديان
ويتركك براون -طبعا- متشوقا طوال الوقت لهذا الاكتشاف الرهيب
ويقدمه لك في النهاية بطريقة قد لا يراها البعض -أغلب العامة وغير المهتمين بالعلم- لا تليق أبدا بكل هذا التشويق طوال الرواية
ولكنها مثيرة وباعثة على التفكير في نظر الكثيرين وأنا منهم
**
وهناك جزء آخر من ادموند
جزء لا يقل أهمية عن صاحبه
فهو نتاج عقله وخلاصة أفكاره
إنه وينستون
برنامج الذكاء الاصطناعي الذي يسليك ويبهرك على مدار الرواية
ويسمعك صوته الهادئ ذي اللكنة البريطانية الواثقة رغما عنك
والذي لن يتوقف عن إبهارك ومفاجئتك حتى آخر سطر
والذي -برغم كل شيء- وقعتُ في حبه
!
*******
سنطير هذه المرة إلى إسبانيا
بمبانيها المبهرة وتاريخها الأثير
بأماكنها الخفية وأسرارها ودهاليزها
سنتعرف على العائلة المالكة
وسنعرف القليل عن عصر الجنرال فرانكو
عصر الطغيان والاستبداد في أقصى صوره
وسنرى أعجب وأجمل كنيسة هناك
لا ساجرادا فاميليا
التى صممها المعمارى المجنون جاودى
والذي وقع أستاذه شهادة تخرجه بقوله
من يدري هل أعطينا هذه الشهادة إلى مجنون أم عبقري ..؟
جاودي الذي صمم أيضا هذا المبنى العجيب
كازا باتيو
والذي أجد صوره من أعجب ما شاهدت في حياتي
وكذلك سنعرج على متحف بيلباو غوغنهايم
متحف الفن المعاصر
الذي يضم كل ما هو عجيب وغريب ومجنون
والذي أبدا لا يستطيع لانجدون استيعابه أو التفاعل معه
حيث وقف هناك -كالسمكة خارج الماء- على حد تعبير دان براون نفسه
وهذا بالطبع مقصود
لأن العالم الذي يولجه لانجدون هذه المرة يختلف عن عالمه المغرق في الرموز والمباني الأثرية
إنه عالم الحوسبة والروبوتات والأعمال الفنية الحداثية التي تتنوع ما بين عنكبوت ضخم وخطوط متعرجة تصدر أصواتا ومنحوتات عجيبة
وأنوار ودخان وكل ما يمكن لخيالك تصوره
إنها أماكن تناسب تماما أحداث الرواية وبطلها محب الغرائب
كيرش العبقري المتباهي
*******
زال الإيمان المظلم وساد العلم النقيّ
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مع تقدم الأحداث ستجد نفسك متعاطفا مع الجميع
الطيب والشرير ومن تظنه شريرا
الكل له نقاط ضعفه التي تجعلنا "بشريين" في النهاية
حتى هؤلاء الذين "صنعناهم" بعقولنا "البشرية" 1
يقول دان براون ما معناه أن ما يود أن يخرج القارئ به من روايته هذه -من بين أمور أخرى- هي القدرة على التقبل
نبذ التعصب والاستبداد بالرأي
الاستماع إلى الآخر وتقدير ما يقوله
وهذه قيمة وحدها تساوي الكثير
**
ستمر عليك بعض حكم الثعلب الداهية ونستون تشرشل
وستولج إلى عالم ويليام بليك الجميل
وستعرف المزيد عن تاريخ إسبانيا في عصر الطاغية الأعظم
وستتعرف على لوحات ومبان جديدة كما هي عادة دان براون
ولكن لا تنس أن تقرأ لويليام بليك كثيرا
صاحب ابيات الشعر الأكثر إذهالا
**
في رأيي تعد الأصل واحدة من أفضل ما كتب براون بعد شفرة دافنشي
وأنصح بها الجميع
August 13, 2025
Another great trip with Professor Dan Brown Robert Langdon.. to Spain..
In another collision between Science & Religion.
نعود لرحلة جديدة مع العبقري روبرت لانجدون في حلقة جديدة من تصادم العلم والأديان
ولكي تستمتع بتلك الرحلة..لن اقول لك كما في شفرة دافنشي و ملائكة وشياطين و الرمز المفقود و الجحيم أن تجهز نسختك المصورة
Illustrated Edtion لأنه للأسف لم يصدر لها
فالنعتمد علي بحث جوجل للصور فحسب
ولأول مرة، بخلاف روايات لانجدون السابقة، يصطدم بعالم الفن الحديث المعاصر !! ليس أعمال فناني عصر النهضة والعصور الوسطي بل الفن المعاصر الذي لا يقل رمزية
وليست كعادة الروايات السابقة هي قصة جماعات دينية سرية ولا سلاح علمي جديد...بل من خلال الفن المعاصر والتكنولوجيا الحديثة يعود لانجدون للأصول...الأصل وسؤالين من أهم الأسئلة في تاريخ البشرية
كيف نشأ الخلق؟ إلي ما مصيرنا؟
عالم متخصص في علوم الحاسبات يقابل ٣ من كبار ممثلي الأديان الثلاثة ليعرض عليهم اكتشافه الذي يزعم أنه سيمحي فكرة الأديان… يذهل علماء الأديان الثلاثة ...ثم يسقط أحدهم قتيلا في ظروف غامضة قبل أن يعرض العالم اكتشافه علي العالم في حدث إعلامي ضخم
روبرت لانجدون يحضر هذا العرض للعالم الذي كان تلميذه، والذي إستعان بخبرة لانجدون في تاريخ الأديان وتصادمها مع العلم لهذا العرض "المدحض" للأديان..لذلك نجد لانجدون في متحف الفن المعاصر بأسبانيا لعرض هذا المؤتمر العلمي الضخم
ولكن كل شئ ، كالعادة، ينقلب رأسا علي عقب
ونجد لانجدون...كالعادة أيضا، مطاردا من أكثر من جهة..اهمها حرس ملك أسبانيا بنفسهم وقاتل خطير وسر علمي يعد بالكشف علي أهم أسئلة في تاريخ البشرية
هذه المرة برع دان براون في إستخدام عامل الوقت، القصة الرئيسية كلها تدور في حوالي من ست ساعات...الإثارة من بدايتها عن طبيعة الكشف..الأيدي الخفية التي تحاول أيقافه..نظرية المؤامرة والمطاردات المثيرة كالعادة
الاختلاف ايضا ان الأحداث كلها تدور في أسبانيا وذروتها في برشلونة...لم يسافر بعيدا هذه المرة
ولكن كالعادة تطرق براون لأسرار أماكن وجماعات قد تتعرف عليها أو خباياها لأول مرة في تلك البلد الثرية مثل
البابا المضاد و كنيسة بالمارين الكاثوليكية
أسرار الكنيسة المهيبة "ساجاردا فاميليا" والفنان الذي وراءها
أنه الفنان انطوني غاودي وعمارته السابقة عصرها
وسر المزج بين الكنيسة والسوبركمبيوتر
وبالطبع متحف الفنون الحديثة والأعمال المهيبة به
وجزء مثير ببودابست لحاخام يهودي في خيط فرعي للأحداث "يعزمك" فيها براون علي قهوة في مكان بعيد مميز ذو تاريخ
الرواية أيضا تتطرق بشكل ضخم للذكاء الاصطناعي لدرجة أن أحد الشخصيات الرئيسية هي شخصية أفتراضية...ومن وجهة نظري قدمها براون بشكل أكثر من ممتاز
ليس معني ان تكون الأحداث فقط 6 ساعات أنك لن تتعرف علي شخصيات الرواية الجديدة بخلاف لانجدون طبعا الذي نعرفه جيدا
ستتعرف علي كل الشخصيات الفرعية ودوافعها وكل ما حدث في حياتها ليخدم القصة في ذلك اليوم أو بمعني أدق تلك الست ساعات الرهيبة المثيرة
ولكن تظل الشخصية الأهم بعد لانجدون هي شخصية "وينستون" ...شخصية ذكاء اصطناعي ستجعلك تتمني ان تكون موجودة معك...ربما
هي شخصية قريبة ان يتحقق حدوثها في ظل التطور التكنولوجي الرهيب وهي التيمة الأساسية للقصة
بالطبع الكشف والنهاية لن تدحض الدين كما زعم العالم ادموند ان كشفه سيمحي وجود الدين...ولكن بالطبع الكشف سيفتح أفاق التفكير بناء علي أفتراضيات واقعية وحقيقية تابعة لعلوم الطبيعة ...تفتح جدل ونقاش لا ينتهي حول بداية الأرض والحياة عليها ونظرية التطور وماذا سيقدم لنا المستقبل
ديستوبيا أم يوتوبيا
وقدم براون علي لسان لانجدون بكل حيادية وبشكل أكثر من ممتاز تلك الفكرة الجهنمية بشكل يحترم الأديان
لن أحرق تفاصيل عن تلك الرواية الممتازة، وكنت محظوظا أن أنتظر ٤ سنوات دون أن يحرق لي أي تفصيلة من الرواية حتي صدور النسخة المصورة والتي للأسف لم تصدر حتي تاريخه واضطررت قراءة النسخة الإنجليزية المعتادة
Please release the Illustrated Edition
Mohammed Arabey
From 12 February 2021
To 21 February 2021
the preview in the spoiler
In another collision between Science & Religion.
نعود لرحلة جديدة مع العبقري روبرت لانجدون في حلقة جديدة من تصادم العلم والأديان
ولكي تستمتع بتلك الرحلة..لن اقول لك كما في شفرة دافنشي و ملائكة وشياطين و الرمز المفقود و الجحيم أن تجهز نسختك المصورة
Illustrated Edtion لأنه للأسف لم يصدر لها
فالنعتمد علي بحث جوجل للصور فحسبولأول مرة، بخلاف روايات لانجدون السابقة، يصطدم بعالم الفن الحديث المعاصر !! ليس أعمال فناني عصر النهضة والعصور الوسطي بل الفن المعاصر الذي لا يقل رمزية
وليست كعادة الروايات السابقة هي قصة جماعات دينية سرية ولا سلاح علمي جديد...بل من خلال الفن المعاصر والتكنولوجيا الحديثة يعود لانجدون للأصول...الأصل وسؤالين من أهم الأسئلة في تاريخ البشرية
كيف نشأ الخلق؟ إلي ما مصيرنا؟
*** القصة ***
عالم متخصص في علوم الحاسبات يقابل ٣ من كبار ممثلي الأديان الثلاثة ليعرض عليهم اكتشافه الذي يزعم أنه سيمحي فكرة الأديان… يذهل علماء الأديان الثلاثة ...ثم يسقط أحدهم قتيلا في ظروف غامضة قبل أن يعرض العالم اكتشافه علي العالم في حدث إعلامي ضخم
روبرت لانجدون يحضر هذا العرض للعالم الذي كان تلميذه، والذي إستعان بخبرة لانجدون في تاريخ الأديان وتصادمها مع العلم لهذا العرض "المدحض" للأديان..لذلك نجد لانجدون في متحف الفن المعاصر بأسبانيا لعرض هذا المؤتمر العلمي الضخم
ولكن كل شئ ، كالعادة، ينقلب رأسا علي عقب
ونجد لانجدون...كالعادة أيضا، مطاردا من أكثر من جهة..اهمها حرس ملك أسبانيا بنفسهم وقاتل خطير وسر علمي يعد بالكشف علي أهم أسئلة في تاريخ البشرية
هذه المرة برع دان براون في إستخدام عامل الوقت، القصة الرئيسية كلها تدور في حوالي من ست ساعات...الإثارة من بدايتها عن طبيعة الكشف..الأيدي الخفية التي تحاول أيقافه..نظرية المؤامرة والمطاردات المثيرة كالعادة
الاختلاف ايضا ان الأحداث كلها تدور في أسبانيا وذروتها في برشلونة...لم يسافر بعيدا هذه المرة
ولكن كالعادة تطرق براون لأسرار أماكن وجماعات قد تتعرف عليها أو خباياها لأول مرة في تلك البلد الثرية مثل
البابا المضاد و كنيسة بالمارين الكاثوليكية
أسرار الكنيسة المهيبة "ساجاردا فاميليا" والفنان الذي وراءها
أنه الفنان انطوني غاودي وعمارته السابقة عصرها
وسر المزج بين الكنيسة والسوبركمبيوتر
وبالطبع متحف الفنون الحديثة والأعمال المهيبة به
وجزء مثير ببودابست لحاخام يهودي في خيط فرعي للأحداث "يعزمك" فيها براون علي قهوة في مكان بعيد مميز ذو تاريخ
الرواية أيضا تتطرق بشكل ضخم للذكاء الاصطناعي لدرجة أن أحد الشخصيات الرئيسية هي شخصية أفتراضية...ومن وجهة نظري قدمها براون بشكل أكثر من ممتاز
*** اشخصيات ***
ليس معني ان تكون الأحداث فقط 6 ساعات أنك لن تتعرف علي شخصيات الرواية الجديدة بخلاف لانجدون طبعا الذي نعرفه جيدا
ستتعرف علي كل الشخصيات الفرعية ودوافعها وكل ما حدث في حياتها ليخدم القصة في ذلك اليوم أو بمعني أدق تلك الست ساعات الرهيبة المثيرة
ولكن تظل الشخصية الأهم بعد لانجدون هي شخصية "وينستون" ...شخصية ذكاء اصطناعي ستجعلك تتمني ان تكون موجودة معك...ربما
هي شخصية قريبة ان يتحقق حدوثها في ظل التطور التكنولوجي الرهيب وهي التيمة الأساسية للقصة
*** النهاية ***
بالطبع الكشف والنهاية لن تدحض الدين كما زعم العالم ادموند ان كشفه سيمحي وجود الدين...ولكن بالطبع الكشف سيفتح أفاق التفكير بناء علي أفتراضيات واقعية وحقيقية تابعة لعلوم الطبيعة ...تفتح جدل ونقاش لا ينتهي حول بداية الأرض والحياة عليها ونظرية التطور وماذا سيقدم لنا المستقبل
ديستوبيا أم يوتوبيا
وقدم براون علي لسان لانجدون بكل حيادية وبشكل أكثر من ممتاز تلك الفكرة الجهنمية بشكل يحترم الأديان
لن أحرق تفاصيل عن تلك الرواية الممتازة، وكنت محظوظا أن أنتظر ٤ سنوات دون أن يحرق لي أي تفصيلة من الرواية حتي صدور النسخة المصورة والتي للأسف لم تصدر حتي تاريخه واضطررت قراءة النسخة الإنجليزية المعتادة
Please release the Illustrated Edition
Mohammed Arabey
From 12 February 2021
To 21 February 2021
the preview in the spoiler
October 1, 2017
Dan Brown is back with another thriller so moronic you can feel your IQ points flaking away like dandruff.
“Origin” marks the fifth outing for Harvard professor Robert Langdon, the symbologist who uncovered stunning secrets and shocking conspiracies in “The Da Vinci Code” and Brown’s other phenomenally best-selling novels. All the worn-out elements of those earlier books are dragged out once again for Brown to hyperventilate over like some grifter trying to fence fake antiques.
This time around, the requisite earth-shattering secret is a discovery made by Edmond Kirsch, a computer genius with a flair for dramatic presentations and infinite delays. Kirsch has called the world’s intelligentsia to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, where he plans to reveal his findings to the world because. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
“Origin” marks the fifth outing for Harvard professor Robert Langdon, the symbologist who uncovered stunning secrets and shocking conspiracies in “The Da Vinci Code” and Brown’s other phenomenally best-selling novels. All the worn-out elements of those earlier books are dragged out once again for Brown to hyperventilate over like some grifter trying to fence fake antiques.
This time around, the requisite earth-shattering secret is a discovery made by Edmond Kirsch, a computer genius with a flair for dramatic presentations and infinite delays. Kirsch has called the world’s intelligentsia to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, where he plans to reveal his findings to the world because. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
March 18, 2019
DNF.
Even though I spent quite some money on this book, I can’t finish it. That’s because this book is an exact replica of all of Dan Brown’s previous books about Robert Langdon and I’m so bored and frustrated with how unoriginal this is. The same protagonist who finds himself in the same kind of situation and makes the same decisions. The structure of the plot is the same with short chapters that all end on “cliffhangers”, and to top it all off Dan Brown throws in a beautiful female - just like in all of his previous novels about professor Langdon.
I feel like Dan Brown wrote this book on autopilot and I’m not liking it one bit. Even though I’m not going to finish reading it, I have a pretty good feeling I know how it’s all going to end. *yawn* I wonder if Dan Brown won’t find himself losing a lot of fans exactly because of this unoriginality of his - even though he might be hoping for the opposite because in writing what we’ve already been loving for years.
Even though I spent quite some money on this book, I can’t finish it. That’s because this book is an exact replica of all of Dan Brown’s previous books about Robert Langdon and I’m so bored and frustrated with how unoriginal this is. The same protagonist who finds himself in the same kind of situation and makes the same decisions. The structure of the plot is the same with short chapters that all end on “cliffhangers”, and to top it all off Dan Brown throws in a beautiful female - just like in all of his previous novels about professor Langdon.
I feel like Dan Brown wrote this book on autopilot and I’m not liking it one bit. Even though I’m not going to finish reading it, I have a pretty good feeling I know how it’s all going to end. *yawn* I wonder if Dan Brown won’t find himself losing a lot of fans exactly because of this unoriginality of his - even though he might be hoping for the opposite because in writing what we’ve already been loving for years.
February 23, 2022
"History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it."
Finally made it to the last (as of now) RL book, hoping that Brown would continue to maintain the upward trend established with Inferno. I'm happy to say Origin did manage to reach the bar, once again proving that Brown's slump with repeating the same is finally over! While a new young and attractive foreign female sidekick (Spanish this time) makes it to the main cast as always, it's probably the only similarity there is.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
The author takes a rather unique approach to the start yet again, by teasing the reader about a question on 'where do we come from and to where are we going' and building the story around finding the answer. Then a couple of large bombs are dropped on the reader, and, as usual, things escalate quickly after that, followed by an insanely fast-paced plotline with ever-present twists around every corner, and plenty of code-breaking to keep the readers immersed while Langdon's humor keeping a check on all the suspense.
"The human mind has the ability to elevate an obvious fiction to the status of a divine fact, and then feel emboldened to kill in its name."
The core of the story was not as mysterious as it was with Inferno, but it was still quite good. Decided to round up what felt like 3.5-stars to 4, for much improved handling of the plotlines, especially towards the end. Though the ending wasn't very satisfying, I think Brown made sure everything was concluded neatly.
"Nothing is invented, for it's written in nature first."
Finally made it to the last (as of now) RL book, hoping that Brown would continue to maintain the upward trend established with Inferno. I'm happy to say Origin did manage to reach the bar, once again proving that Brown's slump with repeating the same is finally over! While a new young and attractive foreign female sidekick (Spanish this time) makes it to the main cast as always, it's probably the only similarity there is.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
The author takes a rather unique approach to the start yet again, by teasing the reader about a question on 'where do we come from and to where are we going' and building the story around finding the answer. Then a couple of large bombs are dropped on the reader, and, as usual, things escalate quickly after that, followed by an insanely fast-paced plotline with ever-present twists around every corner, and plenty of code-breaking to keep the readers immersed while Langdon's humor keeping a check on all the suspense.
"The human mind has the ability to elevate an obvious fiction to the status of a divine fact, and then feel emboldened to kill in its name."
The core of the story was not as mysterious as it was with Inferno, but it was still quite good. Decided to round up what felt like 3.5-stars to 4, for much improved handling of the plotlines, especially towards the end. Though the ending wasn't very satisfying, I think Brown made sure everything was concluded neatly.
"Nothing is invented, for it's written in nature first."
May 28, 2025
This is one of my least favorite books written by Dan Brown. The funny thing is that when I read the book for the first time when it was published, I actually liked it, probably due to the pace at which the author wrote it. But coming back to the present from 2017, when it was first published, I decided to reread all the books from the Langdon series, and I found this one utterly disappointing.
All the character's arcs are disappointing, and even the ending is written in an unconvincing manner. I honestly don't know the real reason why I initially liked this book when I read it a few years ago. Maybe the younger version of me might have succumbed to the bandwagon effect due to the hype created by its publication.
Despite all these, you can still go for this one if you are just looking for a fast-paced thriller without much substance or if you are a fan of the Langdon series and want to read all the books written in the series.
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All the character's arcs are disappointing, and even the ending is written in an unconvincing manner. I honestly don't know the real reason why I initially liked this book when I read it a few years ago. Maybe the younger version of me might have succumbed to the bandwagon effect due to the hype created by its publication.
Despite all these, you can still go for this one if you are just looking for a fast-paced thriller without much substance or if you are a fan of the Langdon series and want to read all the books written in the series.
—————————————————————————
You can also follow me on
Instagram ID - Dasfill | YouTube Channel ID - Dasfill | YouTube Health Channel ID - Dasfill - Health | YouTube Malayalam Channel ID - Dasfill - Malayalam | Threads ID - Dasfill | Twitter ID - Dasfill1 | Snapchat ID - Dasfill | Facebook ID - Dasfill | TikTok ID - Dasfill1
July 5, 2018
There are some laughably bad and some insanely-good parts in this novel. If you like Dan Brown, your skin will already be toughened for the bad writing in parts and you will be thrilled with the genius parts. This novel, like Brown's others, will not pull at your heartstrings; it's very much an intellectual adventure--just like you'd expect from a Harvard professor who seems to have no sex drive nor any desire to fall in love. He's in love with ideas and he makes the reader fall in love with ideas too. The obscure facts in the novel titillate our intellectual appetite and Brown delivers again on fleshing out a mysterious world hiding in plain sight.
Where do we come from? Where do we go? These phrases act as a refrain throughout the novel. They're the two things all humans want to know. The brilliant part of this is that we, as readers, really do want the answers and Dan keeps us hanging on until the end. The bad part of the refrain is that the phrases are repeated so often you start to scream.
Robert Langdon is a brilliant Harvard professor who has an eidetic memory and is the world-leading authority in symbology. He is invited to attend the unveiling of a discovery that promises to change mankind's understanding of ourselves and the universe we live in, in the same way Galileo and Einstein did. The speaker is Edmond Kirsch, Langdon's former student, a genius ala Jobs and Wozniak, who has created a quantum computer with a personality that passes the Turing test. . The mystery that lasts throughout the book is: can Langdon discover and reveal Kirsch's discovery?
What endears Langdon to us besides his intellectual acumen is that he is always a fish out of water: he's a Harvard scholar with a Mickey Mouse watch who is thrown into the middle of a murder scene and becomes the target of the real murderers. The scholar running for his life, keeping one step in front of the bad guys is the juice that keeps the plot flowing, and allows Langdon to prove himself a hero.
The good: brilliant concept. The twist at the end about the computer is unexpected and easily missed; it is as chilling as it is understated. The descriptions of the churches in Spain and the danger Langdon goes through keep the plot moving. Langdon is Langdon with the Mickey Mouse watch and we love him.
The less than spectacular: The novel falls too much into a formula discovered in Brown's previous books:
* The bad guys are religious zealots who are willing to kill to protect their turf rather than be open to other points of view.
* Langdon travels puritanically with a beautiful sidekick. This time she is a beautiful curator who is about to marry a prince.
* Langdon has to solve interesting, symbolic puzzles. Unfortunately, there are far fewer in this novel than in previous ones.
Dan leans on the formula too heavily and it is becoming tired. But he is smiling all the way to the bank.
The writing in places is laughably bad, for example, the text says that Langdon walks into a church that is inside a carved-out portion of a mountain. The next sentence is Langdon thinking, "I am standing inside the carved-out inside of a mountain." OMG, Dan! Come on. LOL. In other places, the POV jumps around from one person to another (called head-hopping). And Dan takes the liberty of dropping out of POV altogether and lecturing us, as author, about some historical fact or symbol his minions have discovered in their research to form some of the interesting "real" facts behind the novel.
Still, even with all of these detractors, the novel is great fun. There's very good world building and the computer, Winston, helps provide an interesting answer to the refrain said a thousand times. You won't be bored; the plot moves well and the two lead characters are fun to watch.
I will be interested to read the obscure facts and relics in the next novel that the Harvard professor will surely bring out of obscurity and decode for simpletons like me.
Where do we come from? Where do we go? These phrases act as a refrain throughout the novel. They're the two things all humans want to know. The brilliant part of this is that we, as readers, really do want the answers and Dan keeps us hanging on until the end. The bad part of the refrain is that the phrases are repeated so often you start to scream.
Robert Langdon is a brilliant Harvard professor who has an eidetic memory and is the world-leading authority in symbology. He is invited to attend the unveiling of a discovery that promises to change mankind's understanding of ourselves and the universe we live in, in the same way Galileo and Einstein did. The speaker is Edmond Kirsch, Langdon's former student, a genius ala Jobs and Wozniak, who has created a quantum computer with a personality that passes the Turing test. . The mystery that lasts throughout the book is: can Langdon discover and reveal Kirsch's discovery?
What endears Langdon to us besides his intellectual acumen is that he is always a fish out of water: he's a Harvard scholar with a Mickey Mouse watch who is thrown into the middle of a murder scene and becomes the target of the real murderers. The scholar running for his life, keeping one step in front of the bad guys is the juice that keeps the plot flowing, and allows Langdon to prove himself a hero.
The good: brilliant concept. The twist at the end about the computer is unexpected and easily missed; it is as chilling as it is understated. The descriptions of the churches in Spain and the danger Langdon goes through keep the plot moving. Langdon is Langdon with the Mickey Mouse watch and we love him.
The less than spectacular: The novel falls too much into a formula discovered in Brown's previous books:
* The bad guys are religious zealots who are willing to kill to protect their turf rather than be open to other points of view.
* Langdon travels puritanically with a beautiful sidekick. This time she is a beautiful curator who is about to marry a prince.
* Langdon has to solve interesting, symbolic puzzles. Unfortunately, there are far fewer in this novel than in previous ones.
Dan leans on the formula too heavily and it is becoming tired. But he is smiling all the way to the bank.
The writing in places is laughably bad, for example, the text says that Langdon walks into a church that is inside a carved-out portion of a mountain. The next sentence is Langdon thinking, "I am standing inside the carved-out inside of a mountain." OMG, Dan! Come on. LOL. In other places, the POV jumps around from one person to another (called head-hopping). And Dan takes the liberty of dropping out of POV altogether and lecturing us, as author, about some historical fact or symbol his minions have discovered in their research to form some of the interesting "real" facts behind the novel.
Still, even with all of these detractors, the novel is great fun. There's very good world building and the computer, Winston, helps provide an interesting answer to the refrain said a thousand times. You won't be bored; the plot moves well and the two lead characters are fun to watch.
I will be interested to read the obscure facts and relics in the next novel that the Harvard professor will surely bring out of obscurity and decode for simpletons like me.
February 25, 2018
عزيزي المقبل على قراءة رواية الأصل :
أولاً : تأكد من اتصالك بمخدم الانترنت فأنت بحاجة للبحث عن الكثير من المواقع و الأعمال الفنية و الأدبية و ربما بعض الأسماء .
ثانياً : هذه الرواية تحتاج الكثير من رحابة الصدر و العقل ، فاعمل على تنحية تعصبك الديني جانباً قبل البدء بها
و الآن انطلق ، فأمامك رحلة فنية معمارية ساحرة في أروقة اسبانيا يصحبك فيها دان براون بالإضافة إلى خليط باهر من المعلومات العلمية و الأدبية التي ستشغل تفكيرك وقتاً طويلاً
دان براون ، الإسم الذي لم يخذلني يوماً ، و الذي لم يكتف بالشخصية الخلابة التي أسرتنا على مدى أربع روايات (روبيرت لانغدون) بل أوجد لنا شخصية براقة أخرى لتفتن قلوبنا و عقولنا معاً (إدموند كيرش) . و كأننا بحاجة إلى سبب آخر لقراءة كتابه !
و هنا كيرش رجل العلم الاستثنائي و العالم المستقبلي ، صاحب الاكتشافات الرنانة و عبقري النمذجة الحاسوبية ... ، يعلن عن توصله لاكتشاف سيغير وجه العلم إلى الأبد من خلال إجابته عن لغزيين كونيّين (من أين أتينا؟ و إلى أين نحن ذاهبون؟) و لكن في لحظة الحقيقة و عن طريق رصاصة في الرأس يتم إسكات كيرش إلى الأبد ليبقى اكتشافه سجين الظلمات و يُحرم العالم من لذة الأجوبة المنتظرة .
ثم تبدأ بعدها رحلة لانغدون و مهمته في اخراج سر كيرش إلى النور .
و خلال حل الألغاز و بعض المطاردات و مواجهات الموت الوشيك ، تتوالى علينا كنوز المعرفة التي عرضها براون ، بدءاً بالذكاء الاصطناعي و المحاكاة الحاسوبية مروراً بمفهوم التطور و الحساء البدائي .... ختاماً بمملكة التكنولوجيا ، بالإضافة إلى الكثير الكثير من الرموز و الشيفرات التي تشتهر بها روايات براون .
من أين أتينا؟
و إلى أين نحن ذاهبون؟
طرح فكرة المملكة السابعة (التكنولوجيا) و تمثيلها و مناقشتها بهذا الأسلوب الأدبي الرفيع المستوى كان عملاً ذكياً من براون بالإضافة إلى أن فكرة تجسيد الذكاء الاصطناعي في الرواية عن طريق شخصية وينستون ، كانت لمسة إبداع تُرفع لها القبعة !
أجد شبهاً بين الأصل و سابقتها الجحيم ، فكلتا الروايتين تنبأت بمستقبل البشرية و الكوكب الأم و لكن من منظورين مختلفين .
و أخيراً سأنهي الريفيو بما ختم به كيرش عرضه :
فلتواكب فلسفاتنا تكنولوجياتنا ، و ليواكب تعاطفنا قوانا ، و ليكن الحب و ليس الخوف محرك التغير .
و أترككم برعاية الله 😊
أولاً : تأكد من اتصالك بمخدم الانترنت فأنت بحاجة للبحث عن الكثير من المواقع و الأعمال الفنية و الأدبية و ربما بعض الأسماء .
ثانياً : هذه الرواية تحتاج الكثير من رحابة الصدر و العقل ، فاعمل على تنحية تعصبك الديني جانباً قبل البدء بها
و الآن انطلق ، فأمامك رحلة فنية معمارية ساحرة في أروقة اسبانيا يصحبك فيها دان براون بالإضافة إلى خليط باهر من المعلومات العلمية و الأدبية التي ستشغل تفكيرك وقتاً طويلاً
دان براون ، الإسم الذي لم يخذلني يوماً ، و الذي لم يكتف بالشخصية الخلابة التي أسرتنا على مدى أربع روايات (روبيرت لانغدون) بل أوجد لنا شخصية براقة أخرى لتفتن قلوبنا و عقولنا معاً (إدموند كيرش) . و كأننا بحاجة إلى سبب آخر لقراءة كتابه !
و هنا كيرش رجل العلم الاستثنائي و العالم المستقبلي ، صاحب الاكتشافات الرنانة و عبقري النمذجة الحاسوبية ... ، يعلن عن توصله لاكتشاف سيغير وجه العلم إلى الأبد من خلال إجابته عن لغزيين كونيّين (من أين أتينا؟ و إلى أين نحن ذاهبون؟) و لكن في لحظة الحقيقة و عن طريق رصاصة في الرأس يتم إسكات كيرش إلى الأبد ليبقى اكتشافه سجين الظلمات و يُحرم العالم من لذة الأجوبة المنتظرة .
ثم تبدأ بعدها رحلة لانغدون و مهمته في اخراج سر كيرش إلى النور .
و خلال حل الألغاز و بعض المطاردات و مواجهات الموت الوشيك ، تتوالى علينا كنوز المعرفة التي عرضها براون ، بدءاً بالذكاء الاصطناعي و المحاكاة الحاسوبية مروراً بمفهوم التطور و الحساء البدائي .... ختاماً بمملكة التكنولوجيا ، بالإضافة إلى الكثير الكثير من الرموز و الشيفرات التي تشتهر بها روايات براون .
من أين أتينا؟
و إلى أين نحن ذاهبون؟
طرح فكرة المملكة السابعة (التكنولوجيا) و تمثيلها و مناقشتها بهذا الأسلوب الأدبي الرفيع المستوى كان عملاً ذكياً من براون بالإضافة إلى أن فكرة تجسيد الذكاء الاصطناعي في الرواية عن طريق شخصية وينستون ، كانت لمسة إبداع تُرفع لها القبعة !
أجد شبهاً بين الأصل و سابقتها الجحيم ، فكلتا الروايتين تنبأت بمستقبل البشرية و الكوكب الأم و لكن من منظورين مختلفين .
و أخيراً سأنهي الريفيو بما ختم به كيرش عرضه :
فلتواكب فلسفاتنا تكنولوجياتنا ، و ليواكب تعاطفنا قوانا ، و ليكن الحب و ليس الخوف محرك التغير .
و أترككم برعاية الله 😊
April 28, 2024
I first fell in love with Dan Brown's books when I read Deception Point and Digital Fortress many years ago. I used to get the audiobook CDs from the library and I would listen to them on my commute. His novels kept me completely captivated.
Now let's talk about Origin, his latest novel. This is the 5th Robert Langdon novel and it has the same elements of the previous books in the series: a crime in a relevant location such as a museum, a mystery to solve, a beautiful and smart woman that teams up with Robert Langdon and assists him in solving said mystery, conspiracy theories, religious intrigue, and interesting and scientific historical facts.
Although some parts were interesting, the novel did not engaged me. The author did not charm me like his previous novels did in the past. I did enjoy the chapters where a character named Winston made an appereance. What was interesting about him? You will have to read to find out, I feel that revealing it might be a spoiler.
Overall it was ok, I recommend it to those who have enjoyed his previous Robert Langdon novels.
Now let's talk about Origin, his latest novel. This is the 5th Robert Langdon novel and it has the same elements of the previous books in the series: a crime in a relevant location such as a museum, a mystery to solve, a beautiful and smart woman that teams up with Robert Langdon and assists him in solving said mystery, conspiracy theories, religious intrigue, and interesting and scientific historical facts.
Although some parts were interesting, the novel did not engaged me. The author did not charm me like his previous novels did in the past. I did enjoy the chapters where a character named Winston made an appereance. What was interesting about him? You will have to read to find out, I feel that revealing it might be a spoiler.
Overall it was ok, I recommend it to those who have enjoyed his previous Robert Langdon novels.
October 6, 2025
Long a fan of Dan Brown and this series, I chose a return to the wonders of
Robert Langdon and the adventures he tripped upon. They dazzled me when first
I picked up these books and have done so again, even as some try to critique the effort. With a new book just released, I wanted to refresh my memory of the past adventures and reveals. I have used my previous review as a foundation, peppering in some new insights with this re-read:
Dan Brown is back with yet another explosive addition to the Robert Langdon series, after a less than enthusiastic fourth book. When iconoclast and renowned atheist Edmund Kirsch speaks, the world listens. His premonitions along all fronts have been earth-shattering and by enriching his statements with the use of computers, Kirsch adds a level of 21st century to his Nostradamus character. Meeting with senior representatives of the world’s three major monotheistic religions, Kirsch tells of an announcement that he wishes to make to the world in which he will refute their importance. There seems to be a great deal of uneasiness at this, but the world has no idea what awaits them.
At an exclusive and “who’s who” event at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Robert Langdon has been summoned by his former student to attend this announcement. It is here that Langdon meets Winston, his docent for the evening, who turns out to be one of Kirsch’s greatest creations and shows the new levels Artificial Intelligence is reaching. As the presentation begins, Kirsch lays out a strong argument against the need for religion to explore the world at its core. While computers are happy to say “cannot compute” when something has no firm answer, the brain turns to religion to fill the cracks and acts as a crutch to help the individual hobble through existence. It is this that Kirsch wants to dispel with his announcement.
As the world watches, Kirsch is about to access his news, when an assassin’s bullet tears into him and kills the brilliant computer scientist. Rushing to his side, Langdon is accompanied by the museum’s director, Ambra Vidal. Both want to ensure the message of Kirsch’s presentation is revealed and the news not silenced by the bullet. Armed with Winston’s help, the two (point-five) of them rush to get out of the museum with Kirsch’s phone, where the final piece of the puzzle is locked away. Now, to crack into the 47-character password and reveal all. As Spanish authorities try to solve the murder, there are new issues, with Vidal having close ties to the Spanish monarchy and their ultra-Catholic views. As they flee, Langdon is determined to crack the code and let the world see what Kirsch wanted to reveal.
Meanwhile, the assassin is still on the loose and two of the three religious leaders who know Kirsch’s valuable information have been murdered. All eyes turn to a Spanish schism in the Catholic Church and a group that has nothing to lose by annihilating all things that may turn the world away from religion. With time running out and the world waiting with bated breath, Robert Langdon may hold the key to removing the foundations of all things religious, creating a seismic void for vast amounts of the population. A brilliant piece that keeps the reader thinking throughout and learning in equal measure. There is little time for rest and Langdon fans will appreciate this jam-packed piece, even if it does get tangential at times.
The story’s premise is highly controversial and Brown seeks to fan the flames between religion and science. Long deemed poor bedfellows, Brown seeks to push the science versus religion debate to new levels by extrapolating the Darwinian issues over evolution and positing an argument about the beginning of human existence. This goes further than the Big Bang versus Genesis and Brown seeks to create a new and science-based argument to send the fragility of religion toppling over again. The open-minded reader will surely see all sides to the arguments made within the larger story and find a truth for themselves, but there is a strong push towards science and technology to better explain life and its origins. Does religion have any chance against this ocean of information, for it is trust versus fact that finds its way into this discussion? Brown does not parse words, but he also seeks to explore things from a perspective that the lay reader can likely understand. Yes, there are segments of the story that are jargon-filled, but it is done to teach and not speak above the head. Brown is also the king of the tangential storyline and inserts minutiae into the story to teach as well as entertain. That is plentiful here and the reader has much that can be taken away.
Dan Brown always packs a punch with his novels, seeking to push the envelop, but does so in such a way that the narrative does not usually seem far-fetched. Those who have never delved into a Robert Langdon story may not be as well-versed with his nuances, but there is little character development in the true sense. Brown tends to pull memories or events from the past to complement the present story, rather than build a character who draws on these elements the further the series evolves. Langdon’s academic past and sharp mind help to develop a strong and likeable character, though he is surely the kid in school you’d punch in the arm for being a know-it-all. Another of Brown’s formulaic additions to each novel in the series is the young and beautiful woman, done here with Ambra Vidal. Vidal is not the helpless woman who requires saving by Langdon as much as a vessel into which the protagonist can pour his knowledge (thereby educating the reader as well). Vidal’s story is vast and quite interesting, giving the reader much to use to help form their opinion of the woman. Her character thread is long and can be seen woven into many interesting subplots. The vast array of other characters enrich the story and provide interesting storylines to keep the narrative moving forward in an interesting fashion. With such a large collection of characters, it is sometimes hard to remember all the literary crumbs that are being dispersed, but Brown does well to create interesting subplots to keep the reader curious.
Brilliantly placed throughout the story, Brown shows his dedication to research and sharing of knowledge. There are so many parts embedded into this wonderful writing that the reader may bask in the smooth flow of the words on the page, the great deal of factual information that serves to substantiate the plot, or even the dedicated dialogue that is not as jilted as some popular authors of the genre. Some may say that the core story and the eventually revelation of the secret Kirsch had to offer are anti-climactic, which is their right. It is, perhaps, only a means to an end, as Brown wants to open the Pandora’s Box and let both sides bump chests to discredit the strength of the other. Whatever the outcome of the debate in the reader’s mind, it would seem that some symbiosis and a joint approach might fuel a more civilized and yet still fruitful discussion. Bring on the latest novel, for which this binge was so important.
Kudos, Mr. Brown, for another wonderful story. I remained entertained and educated throughout, which serves the purpose in a piece of fiction. I enjoy the controversy as well and hope it will fuel many a discussion.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Robert Langdon and the adventures he tripped upon. They dazzled me when first
I picked up these books and have done so again, even as some try to critique the effort. With a new book just released, I wanted to refresh my memory of the past adventures and reveals. I have used my previous review as a foundation, peppering in some new insights with this re-read:
Dan Brown is back with yet another explosive addition to the Robert Langdon series, after a less than enthusiastic fourth book. When iconoclast and renowned atheist Edmund Kirsch speaks, the world listens. His premonitions along all fronts have been earth-shattering and by enriching his statements with the use of computers, Kirsch adds a level of 21st century to his Nostradamus character. Meeting with senior representatives of the world’s three major monotheistic religions, Kirsch tells of an announcement that he wishes to make to the world in which he will refute their importance. There seems to be a great deal of uneasiness at this, but the world has no idea what awaits them.
At an exclusive and “who’s who” event at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Robert Langdon has been summoned by his former student to attend this announcement. It is here that Langdon meets Winston, his docent for the evening, who turns out to be one of Kirsch’s greatest creations and shows the new levels Artificial Intelligence is reaching. As the presentation begins, Kirsch lays out a strong argument against the need for religion to explore the world at its core. While computers are happy to say “cannot compute” when something has no firm answer, the brain turns to religion to fill the cracks and acts as a crutch to help the individual hobble through existence. It is this that Kirsch wants to dispel with his announcement.
As the world watches, Kirsch is about to access his news, when an assassin’s bullet tears into him and kills the brilliant computer scientist. Rushing to his side, Langdon is accompanied by the museum’s director, Ambra Vidal. Both want to ensure the message of Kirsch’s presentation is revealed and the news not silenced by the bullet. Armed with Winston’s help, the two (point-five) of them rush to get out of the museum with Kirsch’s phone, where the final piece of the puzzle is locked away. Now, to crack into the 47-character password and reveal all. As Spanish authorities try to solve the murder, there are new issues, with Vidal having close ties to the Spanish monarchy and their ultra-Catholic views. As they flee, Langdon is determined to crack the code and let the world see what Kirsch wanted to reveal.
Meanwhile, the assassin is still on the loose and two of the three religious leaders who know Kirsch’s valuable information have been murdered. All eyes turn to a Spanish schism in the Catholic Church and a group that has nothing to lose by annihilating all things that may turn the world away from religion. With time running out and the world waiting with bated breath, Robert Langdon may hold the key to removing the foundations of all things religious, creating a seismic void for vast amounts of the population. A brilliant piece that keeps the reader thinking throughout and learning in equal measure. There is little time for rest and Langdon fans will appreciate this jam-packed piece, even if it does get tangential at times.
The story’s premise is highly controversial and Brown seeks to fan the flames between religion and science. Long deemed poor bedfellows, Brown seeks to push the science versus religion debate to new levels by extrapolating the Darwinian issues over evolution and positing an argument about the beginning of human existence. This goes further than the Big Bang versus Genesis and Brown seeks to create a new and science-based argument to send the fragility of religion toppling over again. The open-minded reader will surely see all sides to the arguments made within the larger story and find a truth for themselves, but there is a strong push towards science and technology to better explain life and its origins. Does religion have any chance against this ocean of information, for it is trust versus fact that finds its way into this discussion? Brown does not parse words, but he also seeks to explore things from a perspective that the lay reader can likely understand. Yes, there are segments of the story that are jargon-filled, but it is done to teach and not speak above the head. Brown is also the king of the tangential storyline and inserts minutiae into the story to teach as well as entertain. That is plentiful here and the reader has much that can be taken away.
Dan Brown always packs a punch with his novels, seeking to push the envelop, but does so in such a way that the narrative does not usually seem far-fetched. Those who have never delved into a Robert Langdon story may not be as well-versed with his nuances, but there is little character development in the true sense. Brown tends to pull memories or events from the past to complement the present story, rather than build a character who draws on these elements the further the series evolves. Langdon’s academic past and sharp mind help to develop a strong and likeable character, though he is surely the kid in school you’d punch in the arm for being a know-it-all. Another of Brown’s formulaic additions to each novel in the series is the young and beautiful woman, done here with Ambra Vidal. Vidal is not the helpless woman who requires saving by Langdon as much as a vessel into which the protagonist can pour his knowledge (thereby educating the reader as well). Vidal’s story is vast and quite interesting, giving the reader much to use to help form their opinion of the woman. Her character thread is long and can be seen woven into many interesting subplots. The vast array of other characters enrich the story and provide interesting storylines to keep the narrative moving forward in an interesting fashion. With such a large collection of characters, it is sometimes hard to remember all the literary crumbs that are being dispersed, but Brown does well to create interesting subplots to keep the reader curious.
Brilliantly placed throughout the story, Brown shows his dedication to research and sharing of knowledge. There are so many parts embedded into this wonderful writing that the reader may bask in the smooth flow of the words on the page, the great deal of factual information that serves to substantiate the plot, or even the dedicated dialogue that is not as jilted as some popular authors of the genre. Some may say that the core story and the eventually revelation of the secret Kirsch had to offer are anti-climactic, which is their right. It is, perhaps, only a means to an end, as Brown wants to open the Pandora’s Box and let both sides bump chests to discredit the strength of the other. Whatever the outcome of the debate in the reader’s mind, it would seem that some symbiosis and a joint approach might fuel a more civilized and yet still fruitful discussion. Bring on the latest novel, for which this binge was so important.
Kudos, Mr. Brown, for another wonderful story. I remained entertained and educated throughout, which serves the purpose in a piece of fiction. I enjoy the controversy as well and hope it will fuel many a discussion.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
October 15, 2017
FIVE STARS and FIVE MORE!!
Nothing is invented, for its written in nature first. Originality consists of returning to the Origin." -Antoni Gaudi
Where did we come from? Where are we going? These are the two most basic, yet important questions mankind asks of itself. For thousands of years man has struggled with these questions and, in an attempt to fill the void where there is no definite absolute, has created stories and gods to explain the inexplicable.
This book, which is one of the most thrilling books I've read in ages, looks at the science behind "the Origin" while taking Robert Langdon and us on a mind blowing trip around Spain! Dan Brown began writing Science Fiction before he started his Langdon series. Origin harkens back to those days when his books were filled with startling scientific data more than religious codes and dogma. While there still is the religious aspect in the book, the sheer volume of scientific data in Origin is staggering - especially if you are fact checking everything as I was doing. I suspect there will be those who find the science in this book too overwhelming and will not enjoy the book as a result. I, however, wanted MORE!
Yes, there is a questioning of blind religious faith. Yes, Brown does once again shed light on extremists within the Catholic Church - as we should on all extremism. Yes, Brown does force the reader to look at fascism in a hard, cold light - AS WE ALL SHOULD!!! This book is one of the most timely, relevant fiction based on fact novels published in a long time. Already there are those who are saying it is "tripe." I daresay that they have not read the book OR it pointed a finger at them and they felt uncomfortable. This is not a "typical Dan Brown tromp." It is far better than that. The writing is impeccable, the characters fully developed and the research is thorough and well sussed. Moreover, it is a thriller that will keep you guessing until the end of the book which is exactly what thrillers should do.
And that, my friends, does not even allow for the surprise twist at the end!! The answer to "where are we going" left me dumbfounded, speechless, flabbergasted!! Yes. YES. YES!!! OMGOSH!!! The entire book is worth reading just to get to that point!! I almost closed the books hen I read it! I was too emotionally overwhelmed - but - the ending is beautiful! This a MUST READ book!! Go. Now. Get this book!!
I leave you with this riddle:
Ampersand phone home
Nothing is invented, for its written in nature first. Originality consists of returning to the Origin." -Antoni Gaudi
Where did we come from? Where are we going? These are the two most basic, yet important questions mankind asks of itself. For thousands of years man has struggled with these questions and, in an attempt to fill the void where there is no definite absolute, has created stories and gods to explain the inexplicable.
This book, which is one of the most thrilling books I've read in ages, looks at the science behind "the Origin" while taking Robert Langdon and us on a mind blowing trip around Spain! Dan Brown began writing Science Fiction before he started his Langdon series. Origin harkens back to those days when his books were filled with startling scientific data more than religious codes and dogma. While there still is the religious aspect in the book, the sheer volume of scientific data in Origin is staggering - especially if you are fact checking everything as I was doing. I suspect there will be those who find the science in this book too overwhelming and will not enjoy the book as a result. I, however, wanted MORE!
Yes, there is a questioning of blind religious faith. Yes, Brown does once again shed light on extremists within the Catholic Church - as we should on all extremism. Yes, Brown does force the reader to look at fascism in a hard, cold light - AS WE ALL SHOULD!!! This book is one of the most timely, relevant fiction based on fact novels published in a long time. Already there are those who are saying it is "tripe." I daresay that they have not read the book OR it pointed a finger at them and they felt uncomfortable. This is not a "typical Dan Brown tromp." It is far better than that. The writing is impeccable, the characters fully developed and the research is thorough and well sussed. Moreover, it is a thriller that will keep you guessing until the end of the book which is exactly what thrillers should do.
And that, my friends, does not even allow for the surprise twist at the end!! The answer to "where are we going" left me dumbfounded, speechless, flabbergasted!! Yes. YES. YES!!! OMGOSH!!! The entire book is worth reading just to get to that point!! I almost closed the books hen I read it! I was too emotionally overwhelmed - but - the ending is beautiful! This a MUST READ book!! Go. Now. Get this book!!
I leave you with this riddle:
Ampersand phone home
July 20, 2019
Dan Brown is the premiere source for edge-of-your-seat thrillers, and Origin doesn't disappoint. This time Robert Langdon finds himself somewhat out of water when a murder ploy involving a futurist atheist and varying religious figures takes a high-tech turn. As always, the secret sauce is Brown's ability to incorporate research into the high-stakes adventure. We get some of the classic art history type stuff, but also a lot of forward-thinking technology concepts that truly fascinate.
On the positive side, Origin is an impossible-to-put-down thrill ride that masterfully handles mystery to the point that you're desperate to find out what happens. On the negative end, the reveals don't quite equal the substantial build-up, and there's at least one major mystery that's pretty obvious early on. Also--I don't know if it's for legal reasons or what--but Brown essentially cites some of his research sources through Langdon, and they are disappointing. Travel blogs and TED Talks come up, for example. I like it better when he plagiarizes and looks like a genius - ha!
Overall, the great aspects of the book heavily outweigh a few imperfections. If you're a Dan Brown fan, no need to fear - he's still got it!
On the positive side, Origin is an impossible-to-put-down thrill ride that masterfully handles mystery to the point that you're desperate to find out what happens. On the negative end, the reveals don't quite equal the substantial build-up, and there's at least one major mystery that's pretty obvious early on. Also--I don't know if it's for legal reasons or what--but Brown essentially cites some of his research sources through Langdon, and they are disappointing. Travel blogs and TED Talks come up, for example. I like it better when he plagiarizes and looks like a genius - ha!
Overall, the great aspects of the book heavily outweigh a few imperfections. If you're a Dan Brown fan, no need to fear - he's still got it!
May 16, 2025
When Origin, the fifth in the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown, was published last Fall, I couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately, I had several ARCS, giveaways, and commitments that forced me to hold off until just this week to read it - nearly 5 months of misery. I cried when my fellow readers published reviews and I couldn't look at them. I kicked things when the book mocked me on the shelf. Yet I survived and made it my priority this week... in the end, it was a good read and I will always enjoy Brown's style, plots and characters. I'm giving this one 3.5 out of 5 stars and will rate either a 3 or 4 on each of the book sites depending on their ratings meanings.
The story is quite intriguing, as always. A man holds a press conference / big reveal event to account that he has found the answers we've all been searching for: (1) Where did we come from, and (2) Where are we going? It kicks off a series of events including his murder, the ire of many established world religions and the envy of historians and cultural icons. Langdon pairs up with the future Queen of Spain who runs the museum where the murder occurs, then they travel the country to discover all the answers.
The scenery, setting, and backgrounds are marvelous. Brown is highly adept at giving readers exactly as much as they need to picture the story without coloring it in too much... a few blurry edges for personal imagination. The sheer intensity of the research he must have done in the worlds of science, religious, museums, Spain and art is admirable. The volume of characters, the who is good versus who is evil balance, the red herrings, the small and large steps during the chases... all of these facts and the enveloped tone completely make this a 5 star read from those perspectives.
But then I started comparing it to his previous novels, to other works in this sub-genre and to his overall approach in telling the story. It fell short for me. There weren't enough side stories. The characters were flatter than usual. I would love to have seen a bigger story about the Spanish royalty's influence and history (other than Franco) in regard to science, evolution and romance. There were no scenes except a memory between the prince and his future consort, so I didn't root for them. Langdon almost felt like a secondary character in the book. And the various sects of religious and military groups involved in the story seemed too fluid and/or disorganized in terms of the bigger picture. It made the story less interesting as I couldn't really latch onto any specific character. Even Langdon had a minimal connection to the man who was murdered... despite being professor and student, we saw very little memories of a bond between them. Throw in a few conversations at a pub bonding over a theory, or an argument over the church, something to connect them for us in the present.
That said, I do enjoy these types of novels and there was enough to keep my interest. It just wasn't a consistent page-turner throughout the whole book. I'll still read the next one. And I'll always be in awe of the author's intelligence, world knowledge and style.
The story is quite intriguing, as always. A man holds a press conference / big reveal event to account that he has found the answers we've all been searching for: (1) Where did we come from, and (2) Where are we going? It kicks off a series of events including his murder, the ire of many established world religions and the envy of historians and cultural icons. Langdon pairs up with the future Queen of Spain who runs the museum where the murder occurs, then they travel the country to discover all the answers.
The scenery, setting, and backgrounds are marvelous. Brown is highly adept at giving readers exactly as much as they need to picture the story without coloring it in too much... a few blurry edges for personal imagination. The sheer intensity of the research he must have done in the worlds of science, religious, museums, Spain and art is admirable. The volume of characters, the who is good versus who is evil balance, the red herrings, the small and large steps during the chases... all of these facts and the enveloped tone completely make this a 5 star read from those perspectives.
But then I started comparing it to his previous novels, to other works in this sub-genre and to his overall approach in telling the story. It fell short for me. There weren't enough side stories. The characters were flatter than usual. I would love to have seen a bigger story about the Spanish royalty's influence and history (other than Franco) in regard to science, evolution and romance. There were no scenes except a memory between the prince and his future consort, so I didn't root for them. Langdon almost felt like a secondary character in the book. And the various sects of religious and military groups involved in the story seemed too fluid and/or disorganized in terms of the bigger picture. It made the story less interesting as I couldn't really latch onto any specific character. Even Langdon had a minimal connection to the man who was murdered... despite being professor and student, we saw very little memories of a bond between them. Throw in a few conversations at a pub bonding over a theory, or an argument over the church, something to connect them for us in the present.
That said, I do enjoy these types of novels and there was enough to keep my interest. It just wasn't a consistent page-turner throughout the whole book. I'll still read the next one. And I'll always be in awe of the author's intelligence, world knowledge and style.
November 10, 2017
It was morning. It was possible to tell this because the sun was in the sky and it was no longer dark out. Chestnut maned, voluptuous reference librarian Sara Fiore gradually felt herself awaken from a sleep which had lasted approximately seven hours. She turned on her side and allowed her brown eyes, one of which was slightly droopier than the other to linger lazily on the still sleeping form of her lithe and marvelously sexy husband Dan (who might be just a tad annoyed at being included in this review but I won't tell if you won't).
Oh how they had laughed delightedly the night before when she let her mind drift back in time to the days of her winsome youth when she had trained briefly as an actress and used all her old skills (thank heaven for those improv classes!) to perform for him the very best parts of Dan Brown's latest bestseller.
How the relief had coursed through her like fine mulled wine, that she no longer drank being a recovering alcoholic of some years (who could forget that misspent night in Greece!), when she first learned that the best selling, barely literate, blithering moron was not in fact going to butcher her beloved William Shakespeare into easily digested but utterly tasteless morsels of pop culture twee as the self described "author" himself had implied when first teasing his new book. Such was her relief upon discovering that he would instead be dumbing down Darwin's theory of evolution to a degree where her rambunctious, beloved, but insanely stupid rescue dog, who was the result of a very questionable union between a beagle and a German Shepard, could understand it, that she actually awarded him a single star on Goodreads!
And so the night had passed as she laughingly regaled her insanely attractive, yet ever so slightly mysterious in an amusingly innocent way husband with yet another mind numbingly dull exercise in how not to write a novel. They chortled with glee over the nonsensically scattered italics, two page chapters, and claustrophobia still being bumbling dimwit Robert Langdon's sole defining characteristic. They marveled at imbecilic Brown's ham handed attempts at yet another story pitting Monty Pythonesque religious zealots against devil may care, cheeky scientific geniuses who in no way whatsoever bear any kind of even passing resemblance to either Elon Musk or Richard Branson. But even they were left scratching their slightly graying heads uncomprehendingly over the author's asinine belief that a mentally impaired eggplant wouldn't be able to figure out that by titling his book "Origin" and constantly referring to "something that would change creation stories all around the world forever" the BIG REVEAL might possibly have something to do with our ORIGINS as a species.
Okay I can't do this anymore. Maybe I should give this collection of papers inside two pieces of super stiff cardboard (I refuse to call it a novel or a book) another star because dear god does it take effort to write that badly.
Religion is bad and if you're religious you're stupid. Science is good and it turns out virtual reality is the key to figuring out how we emerged from the primordial ooze even though using virtual reality to figure that out is kinda sorta the exact polar opposite of using actual science instead of you know a computer program that you can design to tell you whatever you want. But before the whole world can learn this amazing news there's a murder and some people are chasing Robert Langdon and another in a long line of much smarter than him women while they look for...I think it's a flash drive...or maybe a password...I honestly can't be arsed to remember. Then some more stuff happens and THE WORLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN. Except it will because after every single one of the earth shattering, universe shifting events in each of these books everything resets as though Jesus's kids weren't found, a plague rendering everyone infertile wasn't released, and whatever the hell happened in The Lost Symbol didn't happen.
Oh and before I forget...
SYMBOLOGY IS STILL NOT A THING DAN BROWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*It occurs to me that I really should share the inspiration for this review, a wonderful, wonderful and far funnier review/commentary on the "author" written in 2013 by Michael Deacon* http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/auth...
Oh how they had laughed delightedly the night before when she let her mind drift back in time to the days of her winsome youth when she had trained briefly as an actress and used all her old skills (thank heaven for those improv classes!) to perform for him the very best parts of Dan Brown's latest bestseller.
How the relief had coursed through her like fine mulled wine, that she no longer drank being a recovering alcoholic of some years (who could forget that misspent night in Greece!), when she first learned that the best selling, barely literate, blithering moron was not in fact going to butcher her beloved William Shakespeare into easily digested but utterly tasteless morsels of pop culture twee as the self described "author" himself had implied when first teasing his new book. Such was her relief upon discovering that he would instead be dumbing down Darwin's theory of evolution to a degree where her rambunctious, beloved, but insanely stupid rescue dog, who was the result of a very questionable union between a beagle and a German Shepard, could understand it, that she actually awarded him a single star on Goodreads!
And so the night had passed as she laughingly regaled her insanely attractive, yet ever so slightly mysterious in an amusingly innocent way husband with yet another mind numbingly dull exercise in how not to write a novel. They chortled with glee over the nonsensically scattered italics, two page chapters, and claustrophobia still being bumbling dimwit Robert Langdon's sole defining characteristic. They marveled at imbecilic Brown's ham handed attempts at yet another story pitting Monty Pythonesque religious zealots against devil may care, cheeky scientific geniuses who in no way whatsoever bear any kind of even passing resemblance to either Elon Musk or Richard Branson. But even they were left scratching their slightly graying heads uncomprehendingly over the author's asinine belief that a mentally impaired eggplant wouldn't be able to figure out that by titling his book "Origin" and constantly referring to "something that would change creation stories all around the world forever" the BIG REVEAL might possibly have something to do with our ORIGINS as a species.
Okay I can't do this anymore. Maybe I should give this collection of papers inside two pieces of super stiff cardboard (I refuse to call it a novel or a book) another star because dear god does it take effort to write that badly.
Religion is bad and if you're religious you're stupid. Science is good and it turns out virtual reality is the key to figuring out how we emerged from the primordial ooze even though using virtual reality to figure that out is kinda sorta the exact polar opposite of using actual science instead of you know a computer program that you can design to tell you whatever you want. But before the whole world can learn this amazing news there's a murder and some people are chasing Robert Langdon and another in a long line of much smarter than him women while they look for...I think it's a flash drive...or maybe a password...I honestly can't be arsed to remember. Then some more stuff happens and THE WORLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN. Except it will because after every single one of the earth shattering, universe shifting events in each of these books everything resets as though Jesus's kids weren't found, a plague rendering everyone infertile wasn't released, and whatever the hell happened in The Lost Symbol didn't happen.
Oh and before I forget...
SYMBOLOGY IS STILL NOT A THING DAN BROWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*It occurs to me that I really should share the inspiration for this review, a wonderful, wonderful and far funnier review/commentary on the "author" written in 2013 by Michael Deacon* http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/auth...
December 14, 2017
So after reading all Dan Brown’s books, I think I finally found the most interesting book among the five; which is ORIGIN
This book also starts with the same structure like his previous novels which focuses about the religion and the past while this book speaks about the religion and the future. In here the author gives the answers to the most basic and important questions which are;
Where did we come from?
Where are we going?
The second question made me astounded, but in a way I agree with that fact.
While reading, I had to google for many places, and art works which I did for every novel he has written so far. It helped me to visualize the facts written in the novel and made it hardly to put it down.
“Well, science and religion are not competitors, they’re two different languages trying to tell the same story. There’s room in this world for both.���
This book also starts with the same structure like his previous novels which focuses about the religion and the past while this book speaks about the religion and the future. In here the author gives the answers to the most basic and important questions which are;
Where did we come from?
Where are we going?
The second question made me astounded, but in a way I agree with that fact.
While reading, I had to google for many places, and art works which I did for every novel he has written so far. It helped me to visualize the facts written in the novel and made it hardly to put it down.
“Well, science and religion are not competitors, they’re two different languages trying to tell the same story. There’s room in this world for both.���
June 13, 2020
Again, Dan Brown wrote about the journey of Robert Langdon, the character that he has presented since his second book titled Angles and Demonds (2000). Robert Langdon was a Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology. As usual, Robert was accompanied by a woman along his journey of revealing the mystery. In this novel, he was accompanied by Ambra Vidal. She was a curator of Guggenheim Bilbao, and she was also a fiancee of Spanyol’s prince, Don Julian.
The collaboration of Robert Langdon and Ambra Vidal on their exploration was started when a rich futurist named Edmond Krisch was suddenly killed in the middle of his presentation that was trying to reveal two fundamental questions namely Where do we come from? and Where will we go? Such questions tend to be discussed and emerged in the overall story. He was a computer programmer, scientist, billionaire, artist, and atheist. It seems like when I imagine Edmond Krisch, I also imagine Stephen Hawking, a scientist that is also an atheist. As long as his life, Edmond Krisch always regarded that religion had failed to answer such questions since he thought that the answers given by religion were always the illusion only. It didn’t like science which always gave the exact answers. Thus, he spent his time to seek the answers of such two questions.
Along their journey, Langdon and Ambra tend to cite the wonderful masterpieces such as the masterpieces of Winston Churchill, Friedrick Nietzsche, and William Blake. Besides, the readers are also amazed by the building established by Antonio Gaudi, namely Casa Mila, la Sagrada Familia’s Basilica, and Park Guell. However, it’s unlike The Davinci Code and other Dan Brown’s book. In this Novel (Origin), the Langdon’s missions are easier compare to the previous book, since the writer is likely not emphasizing on the enigmas of code and symbol. Langdon and Ambra are amazed by the sophistication of future technology that they found upon their exploration.
The underlying theme of this novel is religion, technology, and science. Such things that make Dan Brown’s books are entertaining since it makes the readers are confused in differentiating which one is the truth or fiction. When I was reading it, I tried to read as a neutral position, didn’t put my mind in one side whether religion or science.
As usual, Dan Brown is always wise to present the sweet ending after the high tense of conflict. There are many moral values which I could get from this book. Firstly, I am thinking of how sophisticated technology, like Artificial Intelligence (AI), can easily danger human life. That isn’t very pleasant to see the sophisticated technology in the future when human haven’t known wholly about this new creature made by human itself. Further, I understand how we need to prepare ourselves to face the future.
One thing I can reflect according to the novel is that in whole life, we do not only need the rationality, but also hearth, love, and feeling thus the humanity are formed.
That’s all about my review. Thank you
The collaboration of Robert Langdon and Ambra Vidal on their exploration was started when a rich futurist named Edmond Krisch was suddenly killed in the middle of his presentation that was trying to reveal two fundamental questions namely Where do we come from? and Where will we go? Such questions tend to be discussed and emerged in the overall story. He was a computer programmer, scientist, billionaire, artist, and atheist. It seems like when I imagine Edmond Krisch, I also imagine Stephen Hawking, a scientist that is also an atheist. As long as his life, Edmond Krisch always regarded that religion had failed to answer such questions since he thought that the answers given by religion were always the illusion only. It didn’t like science which always gave the exact answers. Thus, he spent his time to seek the answers of such two questions.
Along their journey, Langdon and Ambra tend to cite the wonderful masterpieces such as the masterpieces of Winston Churchill, Friedrick Nietzsche, and William Blake. Besides, the readers are also amazed by the building established by Antonio Gaudi, namely Casa Mila, la Sagrada Familia’s Basilica, and Park Guell. However, it’s unlike The Davinci Code and other Dan Brown’s book. In this Novel (Origin), the Langdon’s missions are easier compare to the previous book, since the writer is likely not emphasizing on the enigmas of code and symbol. Langdon and Ambra are amazed by the sophistication of future technology that they found upon their exploration.
The underlying theme of this novel is religion, technology, and science. Such things that make Dan Brown’s books are entertaining since it makes the readers are confused in differentiating which one is the truth or fiction. When I was reading it, I tried to read as a neutral position, didn’t put my mind in one side whether religion or science.
As usual, Dan Brown is always wise to present the sweet ending after the high tense of conflict. There are many moral values which I could get from this book. Firstly, I am thinking of how sophisticated technology, like Artificial Intelligence (AI), can easily danger human life. That isn’t very pleasant to see the sophisticated technology in the future when human haven’t known wholly about this new creature made by human itself. Further, I understand how we need to prepare ourselves to face the future.
One thing I can reflect according to the novel is that in whole life, we do not only need the rationality, but also hearth, love, and feeling thus the humanity are formed.
That’s all about my review. Thank you
September 8, 2018
I read this as summer reading. It was fun and thought provoking for me. I do find the way Dan Brown tells the story to be so annoying. He draws certain things out to create tension, but in me it was not good. It made me want to set the book aside because it was so annoying. He will start telling part of the narrative we want to hear and then a character will go off on a tangent for a while before coming back to the story. Really?
This is the 5th Robert Langdon book and I love the symbologist and why doesn't the way Robert changes our world every show up in the next book. Dan keeps bringing religion up, but each book is supposed to alter religion and yet by the next book it doesn't seem to have made a dent. I do see one thing. In the Inferno a virus was released to keep the population down and in this story Ambra cannot have children. Is that from the virus of the previous book? Could be. We won't know.
Such a huge deal is made out of faith in this book and the fact that once this new paradigm is out, people will lose faith. I don't think there is any kind of proof that can be offered to stop the majority of believers from believing. I did like the question Robert Langdon asks, "Who made the laws of physics for life to begin?" It's a great question.
What I love is that Dan Brown only leaves questions about faith using his characters. Someone makes a point and Dan goes out of his way to then have a little question at the end of that statement. He wants to promote dialogue.
I'm not saying the writing is the best here, but the ideas about computers, religion, where we come from and where we going are huge and I feel they are handled well. The race around Spain isn't as awe inspiring as other places, but I have seen enough pictures in my head that it is interesting. There are a few symbols in here, but not as much as normal.
I was able to surmise several big plot points before they were revealed, which makes me feel smart and 'go me.'
Even though the pacing drives me crazy, this book was everything I want. I was engaged, my mind was provoked and made me think about deep topics and the nature of humans and technology while also just being a totally fun read. I had a great time reading this. It was better than his previous 2 books I felt. This is the best book since the Da Vinci Code I think.
There were good mysteries and I really like Winston. There was a great little chilling twist right at the end that once again turned everything on it's head. Dan is an expert at that. You think it's all played out and then there is one slight twist to shift the paradigm.
There is an idea of Entropy in this story and the way it's described is amazing. I never thought of this as a law of the universe, but it fits so much of life. Entropy is an interesting study and that is what blew my mind - BAM - splat, all over the way. It's a great concept and a paradigm shift to move forward.
I assume much of the science and math in the story from professors is real, it is all theoretical at this point. I will have to research when I am done with school.
That's all I got. Glad I read this.
This is the 5th Robert Langdon book and I love the symbologist and why doesn't the way Robert changes our world every show up in the next book. Dan keeps bringing religion up, but each book is supposed to alter religion and yet by the next book it doesn't seem to have made a dent. I do see one thing. In the Inferno a virus was released to keep the population down and in this story Ambra cannot have children. Is that from the virus of the previous book? Could be. We won't know.
Such a huge deal is made out of faith in this book and the fact that once this new paradigm is out, people will lose faith. I don't think there is any kind of proof that can be offered to stop the majority of believers from believing. I did like the question Robert Langdon asks, "Who made the laws of physics for life to begin?" It's a great question.
What I love is that Dan Brown only leaves questions about faith using his characters. Someone makes a point and Dan goes out of his way to then have a little question at the end of that statement. He wants to promote dialogue.
I'm not saying the writing is the best here, but the ideas about computers, religion, where we come from and where we going are huge and I feel they are handled well. The race around Spain isn't as awe inspiring as other places, but I have seen enough pictures in my head that it is interesting. There are a few symbols in here, but not as much as normal.
I was able to surmise several big plot points before they were revealed, which makes me feel smart and 'go me.'
Even though the pacing drives me crazy, this book was everything I want. I was engaged, my mind was provoked and made me think about deep topics and the nature of humans and technology while also just being a totally fun read. I had a great time reading this. It was better than his previous 2 books I felt. This is the best book since the Da Vinci Code I think.
There were good mysteries and I really like Winston. There was a great little chilling twist right at the end that once again turned everything on it's head. Dan is an expert at that. You think it's all played out and then there is one slight twist to shift the paradigm.
There is an idea of Entropy in this story and the way it's described is amazing. I never thought of this as a law of the universe, but it fits so much of life. Entropy is an interesting study and that is what blew my mind - BAM - splat, all over the way. It's a great concept and a paradigm shift to move forward.
I assume much of the science and math in the story from professors is real, it is all theoretical at this point. I will have to research when I am done with school.
That's all I got. Glad I read this.
August 27, 2025
Even though this book was published back in 2017, time doesn’t stand still, and just like us, Dan Brown and our beloved Robert Langdon have aged. This time, AI and modern technology bring a fresh twist to the story, changing the way we’ve come to experience Robert’s adventures.
Did I enjoy the book? Absolutely. It’s brilliantly written and still dives into the big mysteries, where do we come from, and where are we going? But while I appreciated how the series has adapted to modern times, I wasn’t completely sold on the shift.
It was a great read, and I’m really curious to see where the next book (coming next month) will take us.
Did I enjoy the book? Absolutely. It’s brilliantly written and still dives into the big mysteries, where do we come from, and where are we going? But while I appreciated how the series has adapted to modern times, I wasn’t completely sold on the shift.
It was a great read, and I’m really curious to see where the next book (coming next month) will take us.
January 5, 2018
Kako Brown piše svoje knjige?
Malo mitova i legendi i koja kontroverzna tema, malo povjesnih atrakcija, malo šifri, moćan neprijatelj, obavezno zgodna i pametna pomoćnica i sveznajući profesor Robert sve začiniti s malo akcije i neočekivanih obrata i aaajmo udri!
Nisam čitala Browna od Da Vincijevog koda ali da vam pravo kažem malo se toga promjenilo. Vječita borba između znanosti i religije ostala je nedorečena tako da poslije ove knjige nećete znati ništa što već niste znali. Baš šteta jer ideja bila dobra ali je totalno ne maštovito provedena. Znam da svi ističu kako su Brownovi romani dobra zabava, ali eto, ja se u ovom slučaju nisam zabavila
Malo mitova i legendi i koja kontroverzna tema, malo povjesnih atrakcija, malo šifri, moćan neprijatelj, obavezno zgodna i pametna pomoćnica i sveznajući profesor Robert sve začiniti s malo akcije i neočekivanih obrata i aaajmo udri!
Nisam čitala Browna od Da Vincijevog koda ali da vam pravo kažem malo se toga promjenilo. Vječita borba između znanosti i religije ostala je nedorečena tako da poslije ove knjige nećete znati ništa što već niste znali. Baš šteta jer ideja bila dobra ali je totalno ne maštovito provedena. Znam da svi ističu kako su Brownovi romani dobra zabava, ali eto, ja se u ovom slučaju nisam zabavila
March 31, 2018
At the outset, I must admit that I am a big fan of Dan Brown. I have read his every book and the Robert Langdon series is one of my favourites. But the latest offering has left me disappointed. His latest offering Origin is by far his weakest; a uninspired narrative, lacking creative depth and most importantly a formulaic Langdon thriller that just doesn’t feel like a Dan Brown original. Origin is the fifth Dan Brown book featuring Langdon. Brown’s story explores the two existential questions: Where do we come from? Where are we headed? (With the usual theme of clash between Science & Religion.)
If you have read more than a couple of books involving Robert Langdon, you already know how the story will move ahead:
1. A scientist (almost always Langdon’s friend) on the verge of major scientific breakthrough is killed by a mysterious assassin.
2. Robert Langdon somehow becomes a prime suspect and is hunted by the police. He is accompanied by a female companion (always) in decoding the codes and patterns in the race against time.
3. The entire mystery unfolds around one of the iconic world cities scattered with architectural landmarks (It could be Vatican, Florence, Madrid or Paris), heavily focussing on an artist and his works (In some it is Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo etc) and now in Origin it is Antoni Gaudi.
4. A dark assassin brainwashed by a mysterious cult (Illuminati /Opus Dei/Templars) into thinking that he is fighting for a worthy cause after having been saved from the personal demons of his past.
5. A chase across the city, solving puzzles involving symbols, anagrams, icons, an encounter with assassin and the final reveal which will change the world forever.
It feels like you are reading the same story over & over again.You could almost tell what is going to happen next, who could the antagonist and you can even guess the final reveal in the first half of the book itself, if you are paying attention. Even Inferno was a tad predictable but the clues always kept you on the edge. In Origin though, most of the clue finding is replaced by mindless chase sequences. Even the final reveal is underwhelming compared to previous books. Hopefully Dan Brown reboots the Robert Langdon series because the Robert Langdon series deserves better and even the fans deserve much better.
If you have read more than a couple of books involving Robert Langdon, you already know how the story will move ahead:
1. A scientist (almost always Langdon’s friend) on the verge of major scientific breakthrough is killed by a mysterious assassin.
2. Robert Langdon somehow becomes a prime suspect and is hunted by the police. He is accompanied by a female companion (always) in decoding the codes and patterns in the race against time.
3. The entire mystery unfolds around one of the iconic world cities scattered with architectural landmarks (It could be Vatican, Florence, Madrid or Paris), heavily focussing on an artist and his works (In some it is Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo etc) and now in Origin it is Antoni Gaudi.
4. A dark assassin brainwashed by a mysterious cult (Illuminati /Opus Dei/Templars) into thinking that he is fighting for a worthy cause after having been saved from the personal demons of his past.
5. A chase across the city, solving puzzles involving symbols, anagrams, icons, an encounter with assassin and the final reveal which will change the world forever.
It feels like you are reading the same story over & over again.You could almost tell what is going to happen next, who could the antagonist and you can even guess the final reveal in the first half of the book itself, if you are paying attention. Even Inferno was a tad predictable but the clues always kept you on the edge. In Origin though, most of the clue finding is replaced by mindless chase sequences. Even the final reveal is underwhelming compared to previous books. Hopefully Dan Brown reboots the Robert Langdon series because the Robert Langdon series deserves better and even the fans deserve much better.
October 25, 2017
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.-------------------------- Genesis 1:1
Where did God come from? And if we decide this to be unanswerable, why not save a step and decide that the origin of the universe is an unanswerable question?
--------------------------Carl Sagan
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
----------------------- Paul Gauguin
Langdon's fifth outing to the world questions the origin of life and future of mankind, and promises exciting answers to these questions that will shake the foundation of the world... Whether the impact of these shakes is a 1 or a 10 is for you to decide!
Surprisingly, Mr Brown doesn't kill anyone off in the prologue, instead he opens the story with a rather interesting meeting between Edmond Kirsch, a billionaire/ inventor/ futurist/ celebrity and above all, a devote atheist, and three well respected religious leaders from three different faiths. Kirsch shares a presentation on a new finding with them and these three religious leaders go...
You might expect that the story will take off right after this interesting prologue, but after prologue comes the preamble, or the setting of the stage (quite literally so). We, along with Robert Langdon are invited to attend a spectacular event hosted by Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, where Edmond Kirsch will unveil the discovery that will...
Yea, we get it, It's going to be Earth-shattering and paradigm shifting stuff. So what is it?
Aaaaaand that's how Dan Brown gets you. Now you'll have to read the whole book to know the "truth".
We spent the first quarter of the book inside Guggenheim Museum, and a good part of that quarter acts as exhibition guide to the museum. My friend, I suggest you watch a video tour of the museum or else you will be switching back and forth between the Internet search and the novel for quite some time, like I did.
We are introduced to Ambra Vidal, the director of Guggenheim Museum, and apparently this book's Bond girl (Or Langdon Girl! Does that sound right?) and Winston, an A.I. created by Edmond. Langdon calls him Siri on steroids and I call him distant cousin of Samantha from Her.
You know, the one with Scarlet Johansen's sexy voice.
The novel has its ups and downs, and it is probably the least challenging of all Langdon novels, mainly because of moderate level code breaking, easily guessable man-behind-the-curtain, a plot that goes from point A to point B to C without any hiccups, and little too mainstream central science plot.
Yet, Origin redeems itself because of the charms of our ageing leading man, the selection of beautiful locations and epic architectures, and Brown's usual interesting info dumps. None of the action felt far-fetched, and the tweaks Brown did with the usual Langdon formulas were fun to read.
And above all, it is entertaining.
And as to the questions of our origin and future, I and Calvin have the same answer.
***** End of the review*****
Beginning of rants (Major Spoilers Ahead)
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
I know I gave three stars, but I got so many issues with this one. Starting with *inhales*
The code-breaking! Did you see that shit? Edmond literally handed over a checklist of clues for his password, and it feels so absurd. Even after that, the search for the password was not even clever, but a normal, logical search. I mean, Langdon and Ambra attained the password without any rigorous intellectual brainstorming. What happened to all the brainy stuff?
And hyping the "discovery" was so overdone, considering the actual discovery. Copernicus of our age, Edmond? YOU DIDN'T EVEN INVENT THE THEORY. You took thermodynamics theory of the origin and ran a simulation in your supercomputer! Edmond invented the computer and the simulation, but all glory belongs to Jeremy England who proposed the theory.
BTW, Jeremy England's theory is pretty cool (and real). You can read an article about his Thermodynamics theory of origin here ------>https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-...
And back to ranting.
The answer to where we are going? Dan Brown was hyping it even though he knew it's a really underwhelming concept because EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT IT. Humanity infusing itself with technology is not a revelation, but a simple fact I face every time when my nephews or nieces ask me to lend them my smartphone, instead of asking for chocolates. So, the revelation that we are going to evolve from Homo Sapiens to Homo machines or whatever was a resounding "duh" for me.
And the whole destruction of religion was a sham too! The religious leaders were disturbed because THEY THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS GOING TO END. Nothing more. And as for the new Origin theory disrupting religions, anyone remembers Darwin's theory? Remember how it destroyed all religions? No? Me neither. Religion has a tendency to...uh... overlook and see what they need to see. And I could be wrong, but I don't think simulations are considered as proof. (Many computer models states that we have a ninth planet in the solar system, but it's not yet official because we haven't found one. Same logic?)
And finally, the reveal involving I called it even before I finished the first half. I felt it was a no-brainer because of the resourcefulness of the informer and the sheer quantity and quality of the leaks. It was obvious that only one person could do that. I suspected the identity of Regent too, and when Edmond's mortality was revealed, I was quite sure of that too.
Parting thoughts: Either that or he is a poor planner. Food for thought.
Want to Read
November 9, 2017[Oct 15, 2016] I can't wait for this!
Months and months and months ago (last year), I was waiting for September to come, when the date was pushed to October and when October the 3rd came I forgot about the release date, which is today! I went for lunch and walked as usual to the nearest bookstore to find the display to Origin being set!
I'm glad to announce that I am the first person to buy this book in Kuwait! How cool is that?! I can't wait to begin reading! This edition is the UK first edition.
Months and months and months ago (last year), I was waiting for September to come, when the date was pushed to October and when October the 3rd came I forgot about the release date, which is today! I went for lunch and walked as usual to the nearest bookstore to find the display to Origin being set!
I'm glad to announce that I am the first person to buy this book in Kuwait! How cool is that?! I can't wait to begin reading! This edition is the UK first edition.
January 28, 2018
( سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ )
أنحن – بني آدم – مجرد حادث كوني, و سنموت قريبًا؟
هل حياتنا نشأت من العدم؟
من أين أتينا؟ و ما نحن؟ و إلى أين نحن ذاهبون؟
بادئ ذي بدء أود أن أوضح أن تلك المراجعة لا علاقة لها بالحيادية, و لست آسفةً على هذا, فعقيدتي ليست صلاةً و لا حجابًا و لا صومًا و لا اختزالًا شعائري, و الأمر ليس مجرد كلامًا أجوف و ترديد لعبارات حماسية, فأنا إن كنت سأتعرض لنقد هذا العمل نقدًا حقيقيًا...فسأنطلق بلا أدنى شك من أساس وجودي في هذا الكون, ألا و هو...ديني.
الإسلام لا فصل فيه بين العقيدة و العمل, الإسلام لا يجعل معتنقيه بمنأى عنه حين نتحدث عن الفكر و العلم بحجة أن الدين للأمور الروحانية و لا علاقة له بأمور العقل...الإسلام جاء و نبع من القرآن و القرآن هو دستور الحياة الأوحد و الأعظم في هذا الكون, لذا الأمر بالنسبة لي لا علاقة له بالحيادية... الأمر تعدى حدود تلك الفكرة و سمح هذا الكاتب لنفسه بأسس واهية مثيرة للشفقة أن يأتي و يكتب لنا في عمل روائي ضخم أننا جئنا من مجرد حادثة بسبب اصطدام أربع غازات بعامل كهربائي و عزل للبرودة!
هكذا إذن...فنحن في نظر هذا الرجل, جئنا من التصادف الكيميائي و نشأنا من أربعة غازات و تيار كهربي, ثم حين نطرح عليه التساؤل الأهم: " و ما مصيرنا؟"يجيبنا أننا في الخمسين عامًا القادمة سننقرض و نندمج بالتكنولوجيا المتقدمة التي تزداد توغلًا في حياتنا ببراثنها المريبة بنبرة تفاؤلية كي يحاول إثبات بيت الشعر الخاص بويليام بليك " The dark religions are departed and sweet science reigns " و الذي استخدمه في روايته ككلمة سر لإطلاق الحقيقة التي ستدحض كل المزاعم الإيمانية و تثبت أن لا وجود لتلك الأساطير القديمة الخرافية التي تسمى " أديان "
لن أجعل مراجعتي محاولة للرد على إدعاءات إلحادية قد استطاع من هم أفضل و أعلم و أجدر مني على كافة المستويات أن يناهضوا و يقوضوا خرافاتها المضحكة و من أنا؟
و لكن باعتباري قارئة تهتم بأعمال هذا الكاتب المريب و تحترم موسوعيته البحثية ثم صُدمتْ بما قرأتْ...سأحاول تفنيد هذا الهراء بدون حيادية و بانطلاق عقائدي إسلامي بحت...آسفة و لكن لا احترام عندي لأشخاص يرون أن مجيئي إلى هذا الكون مجرد عبث و صدفة كونية غازية و ستنتهي بالدمج مع التكنولوجيا!
لاحظت قبل كل شيء أن حتى دان براون مصاب بمرض أسميه " و لا تقربوا الصلاة " هذا المرض ما شاء الله يصاب به كل شخص أعجمي يحاول تفسير علوم الإسلام الشرعية أو ما يتصل بتفسيرها و تأويلها, أقول أعجمي لأني أؤمن أن امتلاك ناصية المعجم اللغوي العربي و الشعور بأدق الفروقات بين كل كلمة و كل تركيب و كل بنية صرفية و إلى آخره...أمر لا يستطيع هؤلاء فهمه و لا الشعور به.. و لذلك يذكرونني بمن يحاولون تفسير تركهم للصلاة بابتسارهم لأول الآية قائلين: " و لا تقربوا الصلاة", ناسين "وَأَنتُمْ سُكَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَعْلَمُوا مَا تَقُولُونَ ".
ففي بداية خطبة بطل الرواية العالم المستقبلي و التي تمثل كعب أخيل هذا العمل, نجد المؤلف يقول على لسانه, أن أبا حامد الغزالي يحارب علم الرياضيات و يجدها كفرًا و زندقة و بسبب هذا الكلام تأخر تقدم المسلمين...
حسنًا, من الواضح أن كاتبنا المحترم قرأ ترجمة ساذجة لأعمال الغزالي أو قرأ مقالًا كتبه حاقد على الإسلام و أتعجب من سطحية دان براون و سرعة تسليمه لأي شيء يقال!
قال الغزالي في كتابه المنقذ من الضلال :" أعلم: أن علومهم - بالنسبة إلى الغرض الذي نطلبه - ستة أقسام رياضية، ومنطقية، وطبيعية، وإلهية، وسياسية، وخلقية.
أما الرياضية: فتتعلق بعلم الحساب والهندسة وعلم هيئة العالم، وليس يتعلق منه شيء بالأمور الدينية نفياً وإثباتاًِ، بل هي أمور برهانية لا سبيل إلى مجاحدتهم بعد فهمها ومعرفتها. وقد تولدت منها آفتان: الأولى: من ينظر فيها يتعجب من دقائقها ومن ظهور براهينها، فيحسن بسبب ذلك اعتقاده في الفلاسفة، فيحسب أن جميع علومهم في الوضوح وفي وثاقة البرهان كهذا العلم. ثم يكون قد سمع من كفرهم وتعطيلهم وتهاونهم بالشرع ما تناولته الألسنة فيكفر بالتقليد المحض ويقول: لو كان الدين حقاً لما اختفى على هؤلاء مع تدقيقهم في هذا العلم! فإذا عرف بالتسامع كفرهم وجورهم استدل على أن الحق هو الجحد والإنكار للدين، وكم رأيت من يضل عن الحق بهذا العذر ولا مستند له سواه.
وإذا قيل له: الحاذق في صناعة واحدة ليس يلزم أن يكون حاذقاً في كل صناعة، فلا يلزم أن يكون الحاذق في الفقه والكلام حاذقاً في الطب، ولا أن يكون الجاهل بالعقليات جاهلاً بالنحو، بل لكل صناعة أهل بلغوا فيها رتبة البراعة والسبق، وإن كان الحمق والجهل يلزمهم في غيرها، فكلام الأوائل في الرياضيات برهاني وفي الإلهيات تخميني"
بل قال الغزالي في المنقذ من الضلال وهو يذكر الآفة الثانية:" الآفة الثانية: نشأت من صديق للإسلام جاهل، ظن أن الدين ينبغي أن ينصر بإنكار كل علم منسوب إليهم. فأنكر جميع علومهم وادعى جهلهم فيها حتى أنكر قولهم في الكسوف والخسوف، وزعم أن ما قالوه على خلاف الشرع فلما قرع ذلك سمع من عرف ذلك بالبرهان القاطع، لم يشك في برهانه ولكن اعتقد أن الإسلام مبني على الجهل وإنكار البرهان القاطع، فازداد للفلسفة حباً وللإسلام بغضاً، ولقد عظم على الدين جناية من ظن أن الإسلام ينصر بإنكار هذه العلوم، وليس في الشرع تعرض لهذه العلوم بالنفي والإثبات، ولا في هذه العلوم تعرض للأمور الدينية. وقوله صلى الله عليه وسلّم: " إن الشمس والقمر آيتان من آياتِ الله تعالى لا ينخسفان ِ لموتِ أحدٍ ولا لحياته، فإذا رأيتم فافزعوا إلى ذكر الله تعالى وإلى الصلاة ".
وليس في هذا ما يوجب إنكار علم الحساب المعروف بمسير الشمس والقمر، واجتماعهما أو مقابلهما على وجه مخصوص، أما قوله عليه السلام: " لكن الله إذا تجلى لشيءْ خضع لهُ " فليس توجد هذه الزيادة في الصحيح أصلاً"
وقال ابن تيمية في الرد على المنطقيين :" وأيضا فان النظر في العلوم الدقيقة يفتق الذهن ويدر به ويقويه على العلم فيصير مثل كثرة الرمي بالنشاب وركوب الخيل تعين على قوة الرمي والركوب وإن لم يكن ذلك وقت قتال وهذا مقصد حسن."
و أقتبس من مقال وضّح هذه الفرية:
" وفي الواقع فالغزالي كان يهدف من خلال نقده للفلسفة إلى تشجيع التفكير النقدي. ويُعتَبر أول عالم دافع عن فصل العلوم الاجتماعية عن العلوم الطبيعية، وقال إن بعض الأصوليين رأوا أن الفلسفة لا يمكن فصلها عن الدين واتجهوا نحو رفض جميع أصناف الفلسفة بما في ذلك حقائق علمية كخسوف القمر وكسوف الشمس.
ووصف الغزالي هؤلاء الأصوليين بكونهم "مؤمنين مقلِّدين، يَقبلون ـ وبتسرع ـ حقائق مغلوطة دون التحقق من صحتها أو التحري في مصداقيتها".
وغالبا ما يُنظَر في البحوث الحديثة إلى الغزالي باعتباره عالما مُعرِضاً عن العلم، لكنه لا يوجد عالم واحد في تلك الحقبة التي عاش فيها الغزالي ينتقد العلم بسبب تأثير محتمل من الغزالي. فالعكس هو الحاصل تماما. وحتى معاصرو الغزالي لاحظوا أنه بقي وفيا للفلسفة حتى وفاته. ويلخِّصون نظرتهم إليه بالقول "معلمنا تَشَرَّب الفلسفة لدرجة صَعُب عليه بصقها".
وفي المقابل همشت المدارس التجديد والابتكار العلمي من خلال تركيزها على الدراسات الدينية لخدمة أهداف سياسية. وهو نهج لايزال تأثيره ساري المفعول إلى يومنا هذا. أما رجال الدين السنة فهم يمدحون الدور الذي يقوم به الواقفون وراء تلك المدارس في الإسلام السني"
و لكن ابتسر كاتبنا العزيز كل هذا كي يصرخ قائلًا: " انظروا فواحد من أهم العلماء المسلمين يزندق من تعلم الرياضيات ".
هذه نقطة مهمة للغاية أردت توضيحها لأنها مستفزة و فعلًا ذكرتني بهؤلاء من يقولون " لا تقربوا الصلاة" ...و تنطوي على خداع لعقلية القارئ و تضليل للديانة الإسلامية و الله أعلم ماذا أخفى أيضًا فيما يتعلق ببقية المعلومات.
ثم تأتي النقطة الأهم, النقطة التي بنى عليها دان براون كل هذه الضجة و ملأ صفحات الكتاب بالحديث عن كل ما قد يجذب القارئ, تشارلز داروين, التطور, النشوء و الارتقاء, الانفجار الأعظم و إلى آخره...
كيف جئنا؟
قام " ستانلي ميلر " بمساعدة أستاذه " هالولد يوري " سنة 1953م باستخدام خليطًا غازيًا من 1- الأمونيا 2- الميثان 3- الهيدروجين 4- بخار الماء (مفترضًا وجود هذه الغازات في الأرض البدائية) وقام ميلر بغلي هذا الخليط لمدة أسبوع بواسطة حرارة تبلغ 100 ْم، وأضاف إليها تيارًا كهربائيًا (وكأنها ومضات البرق في الأرض البدائية) وفي نهاية الأسبوع حلَّل المواد الكيميائية في قاع الوعاء فعثر على ثلاثة أحماض أمينية، فقام لوقته بعزلها, و لكن جاء دان براون كي يقول أنهم وجدوا في أنابيب هذه التجربة بعد خمسين عامًا تقريبًا عام 2007 بعض البدايات البكتيرية و بدء تكون شريط RNA !
نعم,أي قارئ متزعزع الإيمان يقرأ هذا الكلام و يبحث في بعض المواقع الإلحادية كي يتأكد أو حتى مواقع علمية...سينهار أمامه كل شيء, أنا شخصيًا أوقفت القراءة و حاولت تجميع شتات نفسي و لكني عندما ركزت في التجربة, وجدت وجود بخار الماء و الخطوات ذاتها ليست منطقية إطلاقًا..و بحثت و وجدت هذا الكلام في كتاب " النقد الكتابي: مدارس النقد و التشكيك و الرد عليها" :
1- أقر العلماء في الثمانينيات بأن الغازات التي كانت تحيط بالأرض البدائية هما النيتروجين وثاني أكسيد الكربون، ولم يكن هناك غاز الميثان ولا الأمونيا، ولكن ميلر اضطر لاستخدام غاز الأمونيا ليصل إلى حمض أميني، وكتب " كيفن ماكين " في مقاله بمجلة الاكتشاف Discover يقول " قام ميلر ويوري بمحاكاة الجو القديم للأرض بخليط من غازي الميثان والأمونيا.. كان يجب أن يتكون الجو الكيميائي لتلك الفترة في معظمه من النيتروجين وثاني أكسيد الكربون وبخار الماء، ولا تعد هذه الغازات غازات مناسبة مثل الميثان والأمونيا لتكوين جزئيات عضوية"(1)(2) وعندما قام " فيريس" و"" تشين " بتكرار تجربة ميلر في بيئة تحتوي على ثاني أكسيد الكربون والهيدروجين والنيتروجين وبخار الماء، فشلت التجربة ولم يتمكنا من الحصول على أي حمض أميني(3).
2- بمجرد أن أنهى ميلر تجربته عزل الأحماض الأمينية بطريقة تُسمى " المصيدة الباردة " Cold Trap ولو تركها لتدمرت ثانية، ومن الطبيعي أن ظروف العزل هذه لم تكن متوفرة في الأرض البدائية، ويقول " ريتشارد بليس " العالِم الكيميائي " لولا هذه المصيدة الباردة، لكانت المنتجات الكيميائية قد دُمّرت بفعل المصدر الكهربائي"(4).
3- بانتهاء تجربة ميلر تكونت أحماض عضوية ذات خواص مدمرة لبنية الكائنات الحيَّة، وهذه الأحماض العضوية كانت كفيلة بالقضاء على الأحماض الأمينية لو لم يتم عزلها فورًا.
4- ما تكون من تجربة ميلر أحماض أمينية ذات الاتجاه الأيمن، ومن المعروف أن هذه الأحماض الأمينية اليمناء لا يمكن أن تُكوّن جزئ بروتين واحد.
5- اعترف " هارولد يوري " بأن الموضوع يدخل في نطاق أكثر من التطوُّر فيقول " يكتشف كل من يقوم منا بدراسة أصل الحياة بأنه كلما أمعن النظر في هذا الموضوع كلما شعرنا بأنه أعقد من أن يتطور في أي مكان، وكلنا نسلم، كقضية عقائدية، بأن الحياة قد تطوَّرت من المادة الميتة في هذا الكون، ولكن كل ما في الأمر أن تعقيدها من الضخامة بمكان بحيث يصعب علينا أن نتخيل وقوع الأمر بهذه الطريقة"(5)(6).
ونشرت مجلة الأرض EARTH في عددها الصادر في فبراير 1998م رغم أنها تناصر نظرية التطوُّر تقول " يعتقد الجيولوجيون الآن أن الجو البدائي قد تكون في معظمه من ثاني أكسيد الكربون والنيتروجين، وهما غازان أقل تفاعلًا من تلك الغازات التي اُستخدمت في تجربة عام 1953م وحتى إن أمكن لجو ميلر أن يُحدِث، فكيف يتسنى لك أن تجعل جزئيات بسيطة مثل الأحماض الأمينية تمر بالتغيرات الكيميائية اللازمة التي ستحولها إلى مركبات أكثر تعقيدًا أو بوليمرات مثل البروتينات؟ ميلر نفسه عجز عن حل ذلك الجزء من اللغز، وقد تنهد قائلًا بسخط: أنها مشكلة كيف تصنع البوليمرات؟ لا يتم الأمر بكل هذه السهولة"(7)(8).
ونشرت مجلة "ناشيونال جيوغرافيك" في عدد مارس 1998م مقالة بعنوان " ظهور الحياة على الأرض " جاء فيها " أن العديد من العلماء الآن يشكُّون في أن الجو البدائي كان مختلفًا عما أفترضه ميلر في البداية. أنهم يعتقدون أنه كان متكونًا من ثاني أكسيد الكربون والنيتروجين بدلًا من الهيدروجين والميثان والأمونيا، وهذه أخبار سيئة للكيميائيّين، فعندما يحاولون أن يشعلوا شرارة في ثاني أكسيد الكربون والنيتروجين، سيحصلون على كمية تافهة من الجزيئات العضوية تكافئ إذابة قطرة من مُلوّن طعام في بركة سباحة، وهكذا يجد العلماء صعوبة في تخيل أن الحياة قد نشأت في مثل هذا الحساء المخفف"
و كان لـ بول دافيس Paul davies وهو فيزيائي له شهرة عالمية و له كتابات علمية تعليقه الخاص أيضا بخصوص هذا الموضوع
)يعتقد بعض من العلماء أن الحياة تتكون من تلقاء نفسها بمجرد إضافة قدر من الطاقة فقط و هذا يتشابه بالضبط مع قولنا لنضع ديناميت تحت كومات من لبنات الآجُرّ ثم لتنفجر هذه الكومات و جرَّاء هذا الانفجار سوف يتشكل بيت ! و مما لا شك فيه أن هذا الانفجار لن يسفر إلا عن وجود حالة من الفوضى والتشوّش و لن يتكون البيت بحال من الأحوال وتكمن الصعوبة في تفسير أصل الحياة في السؤال كيف يمكن أن يُفَسَّر ذلك البناء المنظم و المعقد الذي تتداخل فيه الجزيئات بأن هناك طاقة دخلت إليه عن طريق المصادفة و كيف أتت الجزيئات المعقدة تعقيدا نوعيا للغاية بنفسها في مكان واحد و بهذا الشكل و ذلك الترتيب الدقيق (
إذن...ما المغزى من هذا العمل؟
كيف لكاتب مثل دان براون أن يفرط في اسمه و سمعته الأدبية المشهورة و يكتب عملًا في هذا المستوى من الدناءة و الرخص التجاري ..هل وصل دان براون لمستوى أحمد مراد عندنا في مصر كي يلفت الأنظار و يكون مثارًا للجدل وسط الرأي العام, هل الكاتب يخضع في كتاباته لعامل " الميول الرائجة" ؟
أفهم أن يهتم الكاتب الأدبي بمعالجة القضايا الشائعة في مجتمعه, و لكن هنا دان براون لا يعالج...بل يفرض وجهة نظره بأسس واهية كي يكون عمله فرقعة أدبية!
لا أنكر عامل التشويق و لا أنكر براعة الاهتمام البحثي و المعلوماتي و لكن ما جدوى كل هذا و نحن نرى كاتبًا يردد دعاوي إلحادية ساذجة شعواء؟
نعم...ساد الاعتقاد في عصر داروين أن الخلية ما هي إلا كيس يملؤه سائل إلا أن الابحاث التي اجريت في السنوات الاخيرة أثبتت أن الخلية عبارة عن بناء معقد للغاية يتكون من مواد عضوية كثيرة للغاية
و أظهر علم الاحياء الجزيئي في عصر داروين أن الحياة معقدة لدرجة لا يمكن للخيال حتى أن يتقبلها نعرف اليوم أن الخلية هي بناء أرقى من كل الآثار التي صنعها الانسان و هذه الحقيقة تدحض نظرية داروين التي تدعي أن الحياة نتاج للمصادفات فقط .
بقي أن أشير إلى شناعة الأخطاء الإملائية و النحوية التي ملأت هذا العمل و كانت مزعجة لي على الرغم من جودة الترجمة.
و ليس لي سوى أن أقول:
(وَيَرَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ هُوَ الْحَقَّ وَيَهْدِي إِلَىٰ صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ)
27 يناير 2018
أنحن – بني آدم – مجرد حادث كوني, و سنموت قريبًا؟
هل حياتنا نشأت من العدم؟
من أين أتينا؟ و ما نحن؟ و إلى أين نحن ذاهبون؟
بادئ ذي بدء أود أن أوضح أن تلك المراجعة لا علاقة لها بالحيادية, و لست آسفةً على هذا, فعقيدتي ليست صلاةً و لا حجابًا و لا صومًا و لا اختزالًا شعائري, و الأمر ليس مجرد كلامًا أجوف و ترديد لعبارات حماسية, فأنا إن كنت سأتعرض لنقد هذا العمل نقدًا حقيقيًا...فسأنطلق بلا أدنى شك من أساس وجودي في هذا الكون, ألا و هو...ديني.
الإسلام لا فصل فيه بين العقيدة و العمل, الإسلام لا يجعل معتنقيه بمنأى عنه حين نتحدث عن الفكر و العلم بحجة أن الدين للأمور الروحانية و لا علاقة له بأمور العقل...الإسلام جاء و نبع من القرآن و القرآن هو دستور الحياة الأوحد و الأعظم في هذا الكون, لذا الأمر بالنسبة لي لا علاقة له بالحيادية... الأمر تعدى حدود تلك الفكرة و سمح هذا الكاتب لنفسه بأسس واهية مثيرة للشفقة أن يأتي و يكتب لنا في عمل روائي ضخم أننا جئنا من مجرد حادثة بسبب اصطدام أربع غازات بعامل كهربائي و عزل للبرودة!
هكذا إذن...فنحن في نظر هذا الرجل, جئنا من التصادف الكيميائي و نشأنا من أربعة غازات و تيار كهربي, ثم حين نطرح عليه التساؤل الأهم: " و ما مصيرنا؟"يجيبنا أننا في الخمسين عامًا القادمة سننقرض و نندمج بالتكنولوجيا المتقدمة التي تزداد توغلًا في حياتنا ببراثنها المريبة بنبرة تفاؤلية كي يحاول إثبات بيت الشعر الخاص بويليام بليك " The dark religions are departed and sweet science reigns " و الذي استخدمه في روايته ككلمة سر لإطلاق الحقيقة التي ستدحض كل المزاعم الإيمانية و تثبت أن لا وجود لتلك الأساطير القديمة الخرافية التي تسمى " أديان "
لن أجعل مراجعتي محاولة للرد على إدعاءات إلحادية قد استطاع من هم أفضل و أعلم و أجدر مني على كافة المستويات أن يناهضوا و يقوضوا خرافاتها المضحكة و من أنا؟
و لكن باعتباري قارئة تهتم بأعمال هذا الكاتب المريب و تحترم موسوعيته البحثية ثم صُدمتْ بما قرأتْ...سأحاول تفنيد هذا الهراء بدون حيادية و بانطلاق عقائدي إسلامي بحت...آسفة و لكن لا احترام عندي لأشخاص يرون أن مجيئي إلى هذا الكون مجرد عبث و صدفة كونية غازية و ستنتهي بالدمج مع التكنولوجيا!
لاحظت قبل كل شيء أن حتى دان براون مصاب بمرض أسميه " و لا تقربوا الصلاة " هذا المرض ما شاء الله يصاب به كل شخص أعجمي يحاول تفسير علوم الإسلام الشرعية أو ما يتصل بتفسيرها و تأويلها, أقول أعجمي لأني أؤمن أن امتلاك ناصية المعجم اللغوي العربي و الشعور بأدق الفروقات بين كل كلمة و كل تركيب و كل بنية صرفية و إلى آخره...أمر لا يستطيع هؤلاء فهمه و لا الشعور به.. و لذلك يذكرونني بمن يحاولون تفسير تركهم للصلاة بابتسارهم لأول الآية قائلين: " و لا تقربوا الصلاة", ناسين "وَأَنتُمْ سُكَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَعْلَمُوا مَا تَقُولُونَ ".
ففي بداية خطبة بطل الرواية العالم المستقبلي و التي تمثل كعب أخيل هذا العمل, نجد المؤلف يقول على لسانه, أن أبا حامد الغزالي يحارب علم الرياضيات و يجدها كفرًا و زندقة و بسبب هذا الكلام تأخر تقدم المسلمين...
حسنًا, من الواضح أن كاتبنا المحترم قرأ ترجمة ساذجة لأعمال الغزالي أو قرأ مقالًا كتبه حاقد على الإسلام و أتعجب من سطحية دان براون و سرعة تسليمه لأي شيء يقال!
قال الغزالي في كتابه المنقذ من الضلال :" أعلم: أن علومهم - بالنسبة إلى الغرض الذي نطلبه - ستة أقسام رياضية، ومنطقية، وطبيعية، وإلهية، وسياسية، وخلقية.
أما الرياضية: فتتعلق بعلم الحساب والهندسة وعلم هيئة العالم، وليس يتعلق منه شيء بالأمور الدينية نفياً وإثباتاًِ، بل هي أمور برهانية لا سبيل إلى مجاحدتهم بعد فهمها ومعرفتها. وقد تولدت منها آفتان: الأولى: من ينظر فيها يتعجب من دقائقها ومن ظهور براهينها، فيحسن بسبب ذلك اعتقاده في الفلاسفة، فيحسب أن جميع علومهم في الوضوح وفي وثاقة البرهان كهذا العلم. ثم يكون قد سمع من كفرهم وتعطيلهم وتهاونهم بالشرع ما تناولته الألسنة فيكفر بالتقليد المحض ويقول: لو كان الدين حقاً لما اختفى على هؤلاء مع تدقيقهم في هذا العلم! فإذا عرف بالتسامع كفرهم وجورهم استدل على أن الحق هو الجحد والإنكار للدين، وكم رأيت من يضل عن الحق بهذا العذر ولا مستند له سواه.
وإذا قيل له: الحاذق في صناعة واحدة ليس يلزم أن يكون حاذقاً في كل صناعة، فلا يلزم أن يكون الحاذق في الفقه والكلام حاذقاً في الطب، ولا أن يكون الجاهل بالعقليات جاهلاً بالنحو، بل لكل صناعة أهل بلغوا فيها رتبة البراعة والسبق، وإن كان الحمق والجهل يلزمهم في غيرها، فكلام الأوائل في الرياضيات برهاني وفي الإلهيات تخميني"
بل قال الغزالي في المنقذ من الضلال وهو يذكر الآفة الثانية:" الآفة الثانية: نشأت من صديق للإسلام جاهل، ظن أن الدين ينبغي أن ينصر بإنكار كل علم منسوب إليهم. فأنكر جميع علومهم وادعى جهلهم فيها حتى أنكر قولهم في الكسوف والخسوف، وزعم أن ما قالوه على خلاف الشرع فلما قرع ذلك سمع من عرف ذلك بالبرهان القاطع، لم يشك في برهانه ولكن اعتقد أن الإسلام مبني على الجهل وإنكار البرهان القاطع، فازداد للفلسفة حباً وللإسلام بغضاً، ولقد عظم على الدين جناية من ظن أن الإسلام ينصر بإنكار هذه العلوم، وليس في الشرع تعرض لهذه العلوم بالنفي والإثبات، ولا في هذه العلوم تعرض للأمور الدينية. وقوله صلى الله عليه وسلّم: " إن الشمس والقمر آيتان من آياتِ الله تعالى لا ينخسفان ِ لموتِ أحدٍ ولا لحياته، فإذا رأيتم فافزعوا إلى ذكر الله تعالى وإلى الصلاة ".
وليس في هذا ما يوجب إنكار علم الحساب المعروف بمسير الشمس والقمر، واجتماعهما أو مقابلهما على وجه مخصوص، أما قوله عليه السلام: " لكن الله إذا تجلى لشيءْ خضع لهُ " فليس توجد هذه الزيادة في الصحيح أصلاً"
وقال ابن تيمية في الرد على المنطقيين :" وأيضا فان النظر في العلوم الدقيقة يفتق الذهن ويدر به ويقويه على العلم فيصير مثل كثرة الرمي بالنشاب وركوب الخيل تعين على قوة الرمي والركوب وإن لم يكن ذلك وقت قتال وهذا مقصد حسن."
و أقتبس من مقال وضّح هذه الفرية:
" وفي الواقع فالغزالي كان يهدف من خلال نقده للفلسفة إلى تشجيع التفكير النقدي. ويُعتَبر أول عالم دافع عن فصل العلوم الاجتماعية عن العلوم الطبيعية، وقال إن بعض الأصوليين رأوا أن الفلسفة لا يمكن فصلها عن الدين واتجهوا نحو رفض جميع أصناف الفلسفة بما في ذلك حقائق علمية كخسوف القمر وكسوف الشمس.
ووصف الغزالي هؤلاء الأصوليين بكونهم "مؤمنين مقلِّدين، يَقبلون ـ وبتسرع ـ حقائق مغلوطة دون التحقق من صحتها أو التحري في مصداقيتها".
وغالبا ما يُنظَر في البحوث الحديثة إلى الغزالي باعتباره عالما مُعرِضاً عن العلم، لكنه لا يوجد عالم واحد في تلك الحقبة التي عاش فيها الغزالي ينتقد العلم بسبب تأثير محتمل من الغزالي. فالعكس هو الحاصل تماما. وحتى معاصرو الغزالي لاحظوا أنه بقي وفيا للفلسفة حتى وفاته. ويلخِّصون نظرتهم إليه بالقول "معلمنا تَشَرَّب الفلسفة لدرجة صَعُب عليه بصقها".
وفي المقابل همشت المدارس التجديد والابتكار العلمي من خلال تركيزها على الدراسات الدينية لخدمة أهداف سياسية. وهو نهج لايزال تأثيره ساري المفعول إلى يومنا هذا. أما رجال الدين السنة فهم يمدحون الدور الذي يقوم به الواقفون وراء تلك المدارس في الإسلام السني"
و لكن ابتسر كاتبنا العزيز كل هذا كي يصرخ قائلًا: " انظروا فواحد من أهم العلماء المسلمين يزندق من تعلم الرياضيات ".
هذه نقطة مهمة للغاية أردت توضيحها لأنها مستفزة و فعلًا ذكرتني بهؤلاء من يقولون " لا تقربوا الصلاة" ...و تنطوي على خداع لعقلية القارئ و تضليل للديانة الإسلامية و الله أعلم ماذا أخفى أيضًا فيما يتعلق ببقية المعلومات.
ثم تأتي النقطة الأهم, النقطة التي بنى عليها دان براون كل هذه الضجة و ملأ صفحات الكتاب بالحديث عن كل ما قد يجذب القارئ, تشارلز داروين, التطور, النشوء و الارتقاء, الانفجار الأعظم و إلى آخره...
كيف جئنا؟
قام " ستانلي ميلر " بمساعدة أستاذه " هالولد يوري " سنة 1953م باستخدام خليطًا غازيًا من 1- الأمونيا 2- الميثان 3- الهيدروجين 4- بخار الماء (مفترضًا وجود هذه الغازات في الأرض البدائية) وقام ميلر بغلي هذا الخليط لمدة أسبوع بواسطة حرارة تبلغ 100 ْم، وأضاف إليها تيارًا كهربائيًا (وكأنها ومضات البرق في الأرض البدائية) وفي نهاية الأسبوع حلَّل المواد الكيميائية في قاع الوعاء فعثر على ثلاثة أحماض أمينية، فقام لوقته بعزلها, و لكن جاء دان براون كي يقول أنهم وجدوا في أنابيب هذه التجربة بعد خمسين عامًا تقريبًا عام 2007 بعض البدايات البكتيرية و بدء تكون شريط RNA !
نعم,أي قارئ متزعزع الإيمان يقرأ هذا الكلام و يبحث في بعض المواقع الإلحادية كي يتأكد أو حتى مواقع علمية...سينهار أمامه كل شيء, أنا شخصيًا أوقفت القراءة و حاولت تجميع شتات نفسي و لكني عندما ركزت في التجربة, وجدت وجود بخار الماء و الخطوات ذاتها ليست منطقية إطلاقًا..و بحثت و وجدت هذا الكلام في كتاب " النقد الكتابي: مدارس النقد و التشكيك و الرد عليها" :
1- أقر العلماء في الثمانينيات بأن الغازات التي كانت تحيط بالأرض البدائية هما النيتروجين وثاني أكسيد الكربون، ولم يكن هناك غاز الميثان ولا الأمونيا، ولكن ميلر اضطر لاستخدام غاز الأمونيا ليصل إلى حمض أميني، وكتب " كيفن ماكين " في مقاله بمجلة الاكتشاف Discover يقول " قام ميلر ويوري بمحاكاة الجو القديم للأرض بخليط من غازي الميثان والأمونيا.. كان يجب أن يتكون الجو الكيميائي لتلك الفترة في معظمه من النيتروجين وثاني أكسيد الكربون وبخار الماء، ولا تعد هذه الغازات غازات مناسبة مثل الميثان والأمونيا لتكوين جزئيات عضوية"(1)(2) وعندما قام " فيريس" و"" تشين " بتكرار تجربة ميلر في بيئة تحتوي على ثاني أكسيد الكربون والهيدروجين والنيتروجين وبخار الماء، فشلت التجربة ولم يتمكنا من الحصول على أي حمض أميني(3).
2- بمجرد أن أنهى ميلر تجربته عزل الأحماض الأمينية بطريقة تُسمى " المصيدة الباردة " Cold Trap ولو تركها لتدمرت ثانية، ومن الطبيعي أن ظروف العزل هذه لم تكن متوفرة في الأرض البدائية، ويقول " ريتشارد بليس " العالِم الكيميائي " لولا هذه المصيدة الباردة، لكانت المنتجات الكيميائية قد دُمّرت بفعل المصدر الكهربائي"(4).
3- بانتهاء تجربة ميلر تكونت أحماض عضوية ذات خواص مدمرة لبنية الكائنات الحيَّة، وهذه الأحماض العضوية كانت كفيلة بالقضاء على الأحماض الأمينية لو لم يتم عزلها فورًا.
4- ما تكون من تجربة ميلر أحماض أمينية ذات الاتجاه الأيمن، ومن المعروف أن هذه الأحماض الأمينية اليمناء لا يمكن أن تُكوّن جزئ بروتين واحد.
5- اعترف " هارولد يوري " بأن الموضوع يدخل في نطاق أكثر من التطوُّر فيقول " يكتشف كل من يقوم منا بدراسة أصل الحياة بأنه كلما أمعن النظر في هذا الموضوع كلما شعرنا بأنه أعقد من أن يتطور في أي مكان، وكلنا نسلم، كقضية عقائدية، بأن الحياة قد تطوَّرت من المادة الميتة في هذا الكون، ولكن كل ما في الأمر أن تعقيدها من الضخامة بمكان بحيث يصعب علينا أن نتخيل وقوع الأمر بهذه الطريقة"(5)(6).
ونشرت مجلة الأرض EARTH في عددها الصادر في فبراير 1998م رغم أنها تناصر نظرية التطوُّر تقول " يعتقد الجيولوجيون الآن أن الجو البدائي قد تكون في معظمه من ثاني أكسيد الكربون والنيتروجين، وهما غازان أقل تفاعلًا من تلك الغازات التي اُستخدمت في تجربة عام 1953م وحتى إن أمكن لجو ميلر أن يُحدِث، فكيف يتسنى لك أن تجعل جزئيات بسيطة مثل الأحماض الأمينية تمر بالتغيرات الكيميائية اللازمة التي ستحولها إلى مركبات أكثر تعقيدًا أو بوليمرات مثل البروتينات؟ ميلر نفسه عجز عن حل ذلك الجزء من اللغز، وقد تنهد قائلًا بسخط: أنها مشكلة كيف تصنع البوليمرات؟ لا يتم الأمر بكل هذه السهولة"(7)(8).
ونشرت مجلة "ناشيونال جيوغرافيك" في عدد مارس 1998م مقالة بعنوان " ظهور الحياة على الأرض " جاء فيها " أن العديد من العلماء الآن يشكُّون في أن الجو البدائي كان مختلفًا عما أفترضه ميلر في البداية. أنهم يعتقدون أنه كان متكونًا من ثاني أكسيد الكربون والنيتروجين بدلًا من الهيدروجين والميثان والأمونيا، وهذه أخبار سيئة للكيميائيّين، فعندما يحاولون أن يشعلوا شرارة في ثاني أكسيد الكربون والنيتروجين، سيحصلون على كمية تافهة من الجزيئات العضوية تكافئ إذابة قطرة من مُلوّن طعام في بركة سباحة، وهكذا يجد العلماء صعوبة في تخيل أن الحياة قد نشأت في مثل هذا الحساء المخفف"
و كان لـ بول دافيس Paul davies وهو فيزيائي له شهرة عالمية و له كتابات علمية تعليقه الخاص أيضا بخصوص هذا الموضوع
)يعتقد بعض من العلماء أن الحياة تتكون من تلقاء نفسها بمجرد إضافة قدر من الطاقة فقط و هذا يتشابه بالضبط مع قولنا لنضع ديناميت تحت كومات من لبنات الآجُرّ ثم لتنفجر هذه الكومات و جرَّاء هذا الانفجار سوف يتشكل بيت ! و مما لا شك فيه أن هذا الانفجار لن يسفر إلا عن وجود حالة من الفوضى والتشوّش و لن يتكون البيت بحال من الأحوال وتكمن الصعوبة في تفسير أصل الحياة في السؤال كيف يمكن أن يُفَسَّر ذلك البناء المنظم و المعقد الذي تتداخل فيه الجزيئات بأن هناك طاقة دخلت إليه عن طريق المصادفة و كيف أتت الجزيئات المعقدة تعقيدا نوعيا للغاية بنفسها في مكان واحد و بهذا الشكل و ذلك الترتيب الدقيق (
إذن...ما المغزى من هذا العمل؟
كيف لكاتب مثل دان براون أن يفرط في اسمه و سمعته الأدبية المشهورة و يكتب عملًا في هذا المستوى من الدناءة و الرخص التجاري ..هل وصل دان براون لمستوى أحمد مراد عندنا في مصر كي يلفت الأنظار و يكون مثارًا للجدل وسط الرأي العام, هل الكاتب يخضع في كتاباته لعامل " الميول الرائجة" ؟
أفهم أن يهتم الكاتب الأدبي بمعالجة القضايا الشائعة في مجتمعه, و لكن هنا دان براون لا يعالج...بل يفرض وجهة نظره بأسس واهية كي يكون عمله فرقعة أدبية!
لا أنكر عامل التشويق و لا أنكر براعة الاهتمام البحثي و المعلوماتي و لكن ما جدوى كل هذا و نحن نرى كاتبًا يردد دعاوي إلحادية ساذجة شعواء؟
نعم...ساد الاعتقاد في عصر داروين أن الخلية ما هي إلا كيس يملؤه سائل إلا أن الابحاث التي اجريت في السنوات الاخيرة أثبتت أن الخلية عبارة عن بناء معقد للغاية يتكون من مواد عضوية كثيرة للغاية
و أظهر علم الاحياء الجزيئي في عصر داروين أن الحياة معقدة لدرجة لا يمكن للخيال حتى أن يتقبلها نعرف اليوم أن الخلية هي بناء أرقى من كل الآثار التي صنعها الانسان و هذه الحقيقة تدحض نظرية داروين التي تدعي أن الحياة نتاج للمصادفات فقط .
بقي أن أشير إلى شناعة الأخطاء الإملائية و النحوية التي ملأت هذا العمل و كانت مزعجة لي على الرغم من جودة الترجمة.
و ليس لي سوى أن أقول:
(وَيَرَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ هُوَ الْحَقَّ وَيَهْدِي إِلَىٰ صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ)
27 يناير 2018
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