'Origin' by Dan Brown

Origin, Dan Brown (3.0)

Given the subject (science vs religion: where did we come from and where are we going), I wanted to like this book more. While it was typical Dan Brown in terms of intrigue, it was also too typical in that it held all the same elements as all his previous books: extreme unknown religious faction – check; crazy person chasing Langdon w/instructions from religious faction – check; good looking lady tagging along – check; multiple interesting locations used and always just a ½ step ahead – check; symbols and codes that only Langdon can solve – check. I found this all unimaginative. I did enjoy the descriptions of the various places in Spain that we’ve visited (Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Montserrat) and those we’ve like to (Bilbao Museum). Unfortunately the ending was obvious and a bit of a let down. Given from the start the secret was going to ‘change the face of science forever’, I expected something a bit more – and the result was not nearly dramatic as built up to be.