Robert Langdon, profesor de simbología e iconografía religiosa de Harvard, llega al ultramoderno Museo Guggenheim Bilbao para presenciar un importante anuncio --la revelación de un descubrimiento que "cambiará la historia de la ciencia para siempre". El anfitrión del evento esa noche es Edmond Kirsch, un billonario y futurista de cuarenta años cuyos deslumbrantes inventos tecnológicos y audaces predicciones lo han convertido en una figura de renombre a nivel mundial. Kirsch, quien hace dos décadas fue uno de los primeros alumnos de Langdon en Harvard, está a punto de revelar un asombroso hallazgo... que dará la respuesta a dos preguntas fundamentales de la existencia humana. Tras el comienzo del evento, Langdon y cientos de invitados se encuentran cautivados por una presentación totalmente original, que --Langdon luego comprenderá-- será mucho más polémica de lo que jamás se imaginó. Pero la función, que ha sido meticulosamente orquestada, de pronto irrumpe en caos y …
Robert Langdon, profesor de simbología e iconografía religiosa de Harvard, llega al ultramoderno Museo Guggenheim Bilbao para presenciar un importante anuncio --la revelación de un descubrimiento que "cambiará la historia de la ciencia para siempre". El anfitrión del evento esa noche es Edmond Kirsch, un billonario y futurista de cuarenta años cuyos deslumbrantes inventos tecnológicos y audaces predicciones lo han convertido en una figura de renombre a nivel mundial. Kirsch, quien hace dos décadas fue uno de los primeros alumnos de Langdon en Harvard, está a punto de revelar un asombroso hallazgo... que dará la respuesta a dos preguntas fundamentales de la existencia humana. Tras el comienzo del evento, Langdon y cientos de invitados se encuentran cautivados por una presentación totalmente original, que --Langdon luego comprenderá-- será mucho más polémica de lo que jamás se imaginó. Pero la función, que ha sido meticulosamente orquestada, de pronto irrumpe en caos y el valioso descubrimiento de Kirsch está al borde de ser perdido para siempre. Frente a una inminente amenaza, Langdon se ve obligado a escapar desesperadamente de Bilbao. A su lado está Ambra Vidal, la elegante directora del museo que trabajó con Kirsch en la organización del provocativo evento. Juntos huyen a Barcelona y emprenden la peligrosa búsqueda de la clave encriptada que revelará el secreto de Kirsch.
Brown is a guilty pleasure for me as an aspiring literature connoisseur. But it seems he's getting better. I enjoyed the ending and the premise. Beware the literary device of character-finds-something-amazing-but-the-author-doesn't-tell-you-to-keep-you-engaged; he uses it like 11 times. A pet peeve of mine.
While not high literature, of course, Brown's books are enjoyable, if a bit slow in the pacing in this case.
Here you have a solid Langdon tale with THREE surprise endings. While taking more than 100 chapters to get there (don't freak, they're short), I found the ending(s) worth it.
Origin is a science-fiction thriller. It plays in the very close future. Self-driving cars are a reality and a proper quantum computer has been developed.
A scientist and overall rich man has figured out the secret to life. But is this really something we want to know?
A lot of inspiration was drawn from existing people and authors. Think of Elon Musk, Peter Diamandis, Ray Kurzweil and many others. If you follow these people, the book may not even feel like SF to you.
In general, I liked the story. The biggest part of the book is an Indiana Jones-like chase across Spain (mostly Barcelona), searching for artifacts, finding clues and solving riddles. This was a great and engaging read.
The final part of the book is a fairly long exposition, which contains interesting ideas, but felt a bit too drawn out.
The actual conclusion of the book was very …
Origin is a science-fiction thriller. It plays in the very close future. Self-driving cars are a reality and a proper quantum computer has been developed.
A scientist and overall rich man has figured out the secret to life. But is this really something we want to know?
A lot of inspiration was drawn from existing people and authors. Think of Elon Musk, Peter Diamandis, Ray Kurzweil and many others. If you follow these people, the book may not even feel like SF to you.
In general, I liked the story. The biggest part of the book is an Indiana Jones-like chase across Spain (mostly Barcelona), searching for artifacts, finding clues and solving riddles. This was a great and engaging read.
The final part of the book is a fairly long exposition, which contains interesting ideas, but felt a bit too drawn out.
The actual conclusion of the book was very short and could have used a bit more depth.
This is a book that will appeal to many people. If you like Dan Brown, if you like a good thriller, if you like some light SF, if you like a light read, if any of the above, this is for you.