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Oh my you rated this 2 stars...not sure what you will rate his latest 'Origin' then...to me that has to be his weakest R.L. book so far. I loved A&D though...

Glad you loved it, Tahera! I enjoyed parts of it, but ultimately I guess this book just wasn't for me. Dan Brown's hit and miss for me. My ratings are all over the place with his books. I haven't read Origin yet, but I do own it and it's sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read. I actually do look forward to getting to it one of these days.

After I read The Da Vinci Code, I haven't found a novel in the Robert Langdon series I liked. I lost interest with every novel, at point that I haven't read Origin and I don't know if I'll do.
I have to admit that these books are a wonderful tourist guide for discover historical places and legends about them.

I was about to pick this book a year back from my school's library but fast forward the first 3 chapters and i was out!! I had tried to pick up a dan brown ever since but idk, guess this author's completely off my radar now. Any good books of his you'd recommend?

Andrew wrote: "After I read The Da Vinci Code, I haven't found a novel in the Robert Langdon series I liked. I lost interest with every novel, at point that I haven't read Origin and I ..."

Yes, they are great for historical tourism. Rick Riordan's also good with that, I've noticed recently. The Da Vinci Code is really the only Dan Brown book I've liked. For me the rest have ranged from middling to terrible. I find they're quick enough reads that I don't mind continuing with the series. Regardless of the quality, they are page-turners and I'll speed through them without any struggle.

Shruti ( Ti /The crazy book lover) wrote: "I was about to pick this book a year back from my school's library but fast forward the first 3 chapters and i was out!! I had tried to pick up a dan brown ever since but idk, guess this author's c..."

The only Dan Brown book I've really enjoyed was The Da Vinci Code, which I've read twice �� once on it own and once in sequence with the rest of the series. But it's very much the same kind of writing style and structure as this, so if you're put off by that, and it seems like you are, it may not be for you. I just thought the story was really interesting and it didn't suffer the same absurdities as the other books of his I've read.

Yeah, I've never understood all the fuss about Dan Brown. His books are readable enough, but there are better thriller writers out there. And he seems to do sloppy research. I can't recall if it was this book or Da Vinci, but he mentions Steve Jackson Games, a company who's products I'm quite familiar with. But Mr. Brown seems to believe they make computer games, which is not really the case.

Stewart wrote: "Yeah, I've never understood all the fuss about Dan Brown. His books are readable enough, but there are better thriller writers out there. And he seems to do sloppy research. I can't recall if it wa..."

I believe that would be in this book. Steve Jackson Games has a game called Illuminati, which is the secret society in this one.

I think there are several factors to Dan Brown's success. None of which are really about his skill as a writer. He got a lot of buzz from the controversy surrounding The Da Vinci Code, which once the Catholic Church denounces a book, people are going to read it. That's just a fact of life. Forbidden knowledge is sexy. And he's ridden that controversy ever since.

Also, I think we're all well aware here that people respond most to books and authors they're familiar with. When a movie comes out you'll see the book everywhere on ŷ������, for example. Additionally, people like to talk about books with people who've also read them, and a lot of people have read Dan Brown. Personally, I appreciate him for the micro length of his chapters.

I unironically enjoyed this 15 years ago.

Amanda wrote: "I unironically enjoyed this 15 years ago."

That's great to hear, Amanda! Certainly a lot of people feel the same 😃👍

Same rating. Love your review!

Jennifer (Jen/The Tolkien Gal) wrote: "Same rating. Love your review!"

Thanks, Jen! That's nice of you to say. Glad we're of like minds about it :)

I think with Dan brown its like you have peer pressure to like his book. What's your take on this?

Literary wrote: "I think with Dan brown its like you have peer pressure to like his book. What's your take on this?"

I don't know if it's necessarily peer pressure to like the book as it is peer pressure to read the book. I think there's a general feeling that Dan Brown writes popcorn thrillers: that he's not the most technically skilled writer, but that he has a talent for drawing people into his stories. I suppose it depends on where you are, but from my end I perceive a slight societal bias against liking his books. Possibly it's different depending on where you are or what peer circles you're in.

Jayson wrote: "Literary wrote: "I think with Dan brown its like you have peer pressure to like his book. What's your take on this?"

I don't know if it's necessarily peer pressure to like the book as it is peer p..."

Societal bias would be the appropriate word and not peer pressure. You got is right

Yeah, because of his massive best seller status and choice of subject matter, I felt compelled to check out his work, but I never got a sense that I wasn't one of the In Crowd for not having read his books. As I've said before, he writes a reasonably compelling book, but there are much better thriller writers out there.

Literary wrote: "Societal bias would be the appropriate word and not peer pressure. You got is right"

Thanks, though I wouldn't entirely discount peer pressure as a factor with Dan Brown books. I remember a number of years back, even if you weren't a reader, everyone was adamant that you had to read The Da Vinci Code. I know that's the reason I decided to read it. But that depends on what circles you inhabit.

Stewart wrote: "Yeah, because of his massive best seller status and choice of subject matter, I felt compelled to check out his work, but I never got a sense that I wasn't one of the In Crowd for not having read h..."

Yes, I'm totally with you on that. As a writer he's not particularly special or standout. Even when I mentioned that people were telling me to read it I never got the sense of it being a social requirement, or to paraphrase you, a ticket to the "in-crowd." I think for me it was more so that people knew I read books and his books are ones that "non-readers", in the recreational sense, will have read.

Dan Brown managed to ride the wave on controversy to become a household name, and it's on the back of it that I think he still stays relevant. It's not like his more recent books have been particularly controversial or noteworthy for their subject matter. It helps to have a major movie franchise stoke sales periodically.

I read the whole RL-series and I loved them. But to be fair, "Origin" wasn't nearly as good as the others. But it's all about taste so not everyone can like the books. What I liked the most about those books, were the true facts Dan Brown used. He tok his time or a precise research so we could learn a lot by readig the books. "Angels & Demons", "The Da Vinci Code" and "Lost Symbol" were pretty helpful with my studies for university. But of course I accept your bad review

Amanda wrote: "I read the whole RL-series and I loved them. But to be fair, "Origin" wasn't nearly as good as the others. But it's all about taste so not everyone can like the books. What I liked the most about t..."

I'm glad to hear your opinion about it, Amanda! I'm always appreciative of different takes on the books I read. Dan Brown books have been all over the place for me, I think I've given a different star rating for each of them. I've yet to read Origin but mean to in the near future. Also, I'm happy to know they helped you in your studies, it's great when recreational reading is able to do that :)

Probably the most accurate definition for this book

Doppelganger wrote: "Probably the most accurate definition for this book"

Thanks! I'm happy you think so :)

Probably the most accurate definition for all of Dan Brown’s books from this one on. His earlier books , e.g. Digital Fortress were interesting.

I loved this book until the ending. It was such a let down.

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of this one.

Henry wrote: "Probably the most accurate definition for all of Dan Brown’s books from this one on. His earlier books , e.g. Digital Fortress were interesting."

Thanks, nice of you to say, Henry. I've not read any of his earlier work, but perhaps I might one day if I'm up for something different or, as you say, particularly interesting from Brown.

Patrick wrote: "I loved this book until the ending. It was such a let down."

Yeah, I was totally with this too until the ending(s). I'm probably less a fan of it than you, but it's nice to know I'm not alone at being let down at the finish.

Alexis wrote: "Yeah, I wasn't a fan of this one."

This is one I really wanted to like, but apparently the book decided otherwise, and did everything at the end to spoil the experience. Some books are unfortunately not meant to be.

Perfect review for this book. Lol. I only finished reading this book to laugh and out of curiosity 😂

Syd the Kid wrote: "Perfect review for this book. Lol. I only finished reading this book to laugh and out of curiosity 😂"

Thanks a lot, Syd! I'm happy to hear you at least got a laugh out of it :)

Hilarious! I wonder what your review and rating would be for Origin!!

Alex wrote: "Hilarious! I wonder what your review and rating would be for Origin!!"

Thanks, Alex! I do own Origin, but haven't had the time or inclination to read it yet. Perhaps I'll start it once I get my reading challenge done. I will say that I've given every book in the series a different star rating so far, all except for 5-stars. So, logically, "Origin" should be a 5-star book Lol :)

Personally I feel Origin is the most flawed among Brown's works. It is similar to other Langdon books, but tried to blow up a not so major issue into something phenomenal, and failed badly at it! 🙃🙃

Alex wrote: "Personally I feel Origin is the most flawed among Brown's works. It is similar to other Langdon books, but tried to blow up a not so major issue into something phenomenal, and failed badly at it! 🙃🙃"

I look forward to seeing how I feel about it. It's going to have to be pretty bad to overtake The Lost Symbol for my least favorite Dan Brown book.

Fantastic review Jayson!! Have you read the other works of Dan Brown as well ?

Rusty wrote: "Fantastic review Jayson!! Have you read the other works of Dan Brown as well ?"

Thanks, Rusty! I've only read his Robert Langdon series, and only up to book four. I do plan to read Origin sometime in the near future :)

Great review Jayson!😉👍

Kat wrote: "Great review Jayson!😉👍"

Thank you very much, Kat!

Absurdity because it must be truth?

And did you try to write own books to judge Dan Brown? Did you become a bestseller? No. So you have no right to say such things. Pathetic.

Olivia wrote: "Absurdity because it must be truth?"

Um... no. I'm not rendering judgement on any of Dan Brown's "Facts," but rather referring to the multiple false endings that pile up, each more absurd than the one before.

Olivia wrote: "And did you try to write own books to judge Dan Brown? Did you become a bestseller? No. So you have no right to say such things. Pathetic."

You gotta be joking, right? This can't be a serious comment. 🤨

I love his books. I wonder why other do not? Maybe jealousy because they cannot write like him and become famous?

ElenaE wrote: "I love his books. I wonder why other do not? Maybe jealousy because they cannot write like him and become famous?"

Or maybe people are different, and can have differing opinions about the same thing. That's always a possibility. 🤷‍♂��

Also, you need not wonder, there are plenty of negative reviews on this site to tell you why. Many at length, and in great detail 😁��

I completely agree...I just finished reading the book yesterday . At first, I was very fascinated by it but once I crossed the 40 percent mark, it just got boring .

Diya wrote: "I completely agree...I just finished reading the book yesterday . At first, I was very fascinated by it but once I crossed the 40 percent mark, it just got boring ."

Yeah, it really wears on you by the end. I was really put off by the multiple false endings, each more ridiculous than the last.

I read it years and years ago and loved it. I have no idea what I will think of it now though. I've become a harsher critic since I've read more.

Manisha wrote: "I read it years and years ago and loved it. I have no idea what I will think of it now though. I've become a harsher critic since I've read more."

Yeah, I often have a different view of books on subsequent readings. I think the more books you read the more refined your literary palate becomes. I think that's the case with most things. For example, I don't really drink alcohol, so every wine tastes the same to me, but I'm sure if I got into it I'd be able to tell the difference between cheap and expensive ones.

Anyway, the thing to remember is that you had a great experience the first time you read this, and so no matter how any subsequent reading turns out, you've already got a win out of it and under your belt :)

Jayson wrote: "Manisha wrote: "I read it years and years ago and loved it. I have no idea what I will think of it now though. I've become a harsher critic since I've read more."

Yeah, I often have a different vi..."

That’s a great way of looking at it. 😄

Manisha wrote: "That’s a great way of looking at it. 😄"

😁��