Book Report #205 Origin

Origin by Dan Brown

Dan Brown is also the writer of The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons where hero Robert Langdon has to save the world from peril in an intellectual and superhero matter, playing an Indiana Jones straight out of Harvard. It's almost like Brown is actively challenging Hollywood as he writes, setting his scenes in some of the world's most iconic buildings and saying, " I dare you to get access to these."

In Origin, Landgon visits his former student, the genius Edmund Kirsch, as he delivers some sort of earth-shattering news to the world from a presentation in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Before Kirsch can deliver the news, he's shot between the eyes right in front of everyone. Langdon grabs the director of the museum, who happens to be the fiance of the crown prince, gorgeous Ambra Vidal. He must make sure she gets out of the building safely. That gives us our female lead who is somewhat smart but also no match for the wits of Langdon or Kirsch.

Vidal and Langdon end up on a mission to find Kirch's password so they can air his pre-recorded announcement to the world. This takes them on a Hollywood blockbuster type of ridiculous adventure. It's Langdon that figures everything out and has to save their lives at one point.

Obviously they find the password and Kirsch's announcement astounds the world. Yadda yadda. We've seen this template before.

Massive critique:
This book is hugely irresponsible in how it glorifies science and the patriarchy. Everybody that is celebrated as a genius in the book is a man, including Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and William Blake. There is no time spent on the gray areas with these men, and the hugely negative things they've done in their lives. Furthermore, it holds science as beyond reproach and the savior of us all. At least with tech, it has a gut-check in the end, even if that gut-check is ripped straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey (and as if we didn't see it coming).

AND the entire book is based on a false dichotomy between science and religion. As if these are the only two possible world views.

This book poses as intellectual when it's like the golden retriever of intellectualism: bounding around on its big paws, tripping over everything, and never deeply considering anything.

General consensus:
Poor writing + Pseudo-intellectualism + Pacing + Larger-than-life action = Another Hollywood movie