A Book A Week

With only seven novels to his name, Dan Brown is one of the most-read authors of all time. His novel The Da Vinci Code became an instant bestseller, a worldwide phenomenon, and cemented his Robert Langdon series as must read fiction. Following that smash hit, Brown's next two novels were met with a more mixed reaction. Hollywood even skipped an adaptation of The Lost Symbol in favor of the better-reviewed Inferno. Complaints aside, there is no denying Brown's ability to engage a wide audience with his fiction. Having read each of his other novels, it was only a matter of time before I would pick up his latest, Origin.

Edmond Kirsch is about to announce a discovery that he believes will change the world. The billionaire futurist is known for his revolutionary and often controversial inventions and innovations, but his latest is set to be his most impactful. The eccentric futurist has been working on the age-old questions, "Where do we come from and where are we going?". Finally, Kirsch believes he has the answers. Before he presents his revelations to the world, he consults with three leaders of the world's main religions, each of who is certain that Kirsch's breakthrough threatens thousands of years of theology.

Robert Langdon is brimming with anticipation for Kirsch's announcement. Kirsch was one of Langdon's students, and the two have cultivated a long friendship built upon their mutual intellect. Kirsch has partnered with the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to host his unique presentation and has promised that Langdon will share an integral part in it. The interactive demonstration begins with the precision and spectacle that Kirsch excels at, but things soon take a tragic turn. With the entire world tuned in, Kirsch's evening turns to complete pandemonium. With chaos surrounding him, Langdon must step in and work to ensure Kirsch's discovery is not lost forever.

Critics of Dan Brown will say that all of his books follow a similar narrative formula, are too far-fetched, and come off as pretentious. There is certainly truth to each of these complaints, but I feel like those naysayers miss the point. At the outset, Origin teases a revelation that has earth-shattering ramifications. Brown is writing about big topics and ideas, specifically the battle between science and religion and where the two intersect. It is this very big thinking that made his early books so much fun to read. Sure, the odds of one man being involved in five controversial and history challenging situations is a bit unbelievable, but in suspending our disbelief we are taken along one heck of a ride. I'd argue that this is the first novel since The Da Vinci Code to actually deliver on its promise. More so, the topics that help drive the drama of this book are all more timely than ever. While Origin will never pass for high-brow literature, it certainly succeeds as a page-turning thriller that will keep you enthralled and make you ponder its themes long after the last page. 

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2019, 7)

"Hope not ever to see Heaven. I have come to lead you to the other shore; into eternal darkness; into fire and into ice."
- Dante Alighieri, Inferno

Inferno begins with a jolt. Professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) finds himself in a hospital bed with severe head trauma and all of the side effects that accompany it. As Langdon suffers through the sensitivity to light and loud noises, director Ron Howard presents the scenario with fast cuts and sudden volume surges. We become immersed in the moment, feeling every bit as disoriented as Langdon feels. As he struggles to regain his focus, Langdon's thoughts are interspersed with dreamlike visions of humans suffering from horrible afflictions and the outline of a mysterious woman who is covered by a flowing veil.

Langdon barely has time to realize that he is in Florence, Italy before the police arrive. Rather than asking questions, they begin to shoot at him. Thankfully his doctor (Felicity Jones) rescues him and gives him refuge at her apartment. As the events from the previous hours begin to come into focus for Langdon, so do the strange visions he's been having. With various parties using extreme measures to stop him from discovering answers to questions that he's not exactly sure of, Langdon must rely on his intellect and the kindness of a woman he just met to save himself and potentially the entire world.

In this third film adaptation of Dan Brown's bestselling Robert Langdon series, Ron Howard and company rely on many of the same techniques that made the previous films a success. It is impossible not to get sucked into the fast paced mystery, even when the plot becomes far from believable. Like the previous installments, Inferno combines history with an engaging thriller that kept me entertained from beginning to end. This time, the history involves the story of Dante's vision of Hell. For a subject that seems to be so spiritual, this movie comments far less on religion than the other ones did. As always, Tom Hanks shines in his role and Felicity Jones plays a character who holds her own as an equal to Hanks. The ending of the film differs slightly from the novel, but I wasn't as bothered by that as much as I have been by changes in other adaptations. The shortest film in the series, Inferno is a tightly paced, sometimes silly, but thoroughly enjoyable film.