Robert Langdon in Spain

I am a sucker for a good NY Times Bestseller by Dan Brown, particularly if the book involves Professor Robert Langdon.  In “Origin,” the professor of symbology again finds himself in the center of a mess not of his own doing with twists and turns on every page.  What made this book an especially fun read for me is that much of it takes place in Barcelona, the city I had just visited before I picked up the book.  It was really fun to re-visit all of the landmarks I had just been to.

Like other books in this series, it does not disappoint.  Professor Langdon spends his time fleeing capture, cheating death in the company of an attractive woman.  The reader does not know who are the “good guys” and who are “bad.”  Excitement and tension build as the author takes the reader on a fast paced journey.  Where this book fell down, as compared to the other books in this series, is that the question of who was on the side of right before the end of the book.  With several chapters left to go, Langdon and the readers knew which of the many characters were trustworthy and which were not.  At this point the book fell flat for me.  It seemed pointless to continue reading (although I did!)  Until that moment though, the element of suspense was as high as readers have come to expect from this author.

The book did have an unexpected story line, which only comes to light toward the end of the book.  It was a nice modern twist.  In my opinion, worth a read if you are a fan of Robert Langdon, but not as good as some of Mr. Brown’s earlier work in the same series.

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