I quite like Dan Brown’s novels, which are pretty good on the level of gripping page turning thrillers, and this fits the same mould as his earlier books that I’ve read The Da Vinci Code and Deception Point. This is a sequel to Da Vinci Code, and our hero again is Robert Langdon who has to run around more European cities as he tries to solve clues and avoid a tangled conspiracy.
Langdon is in Madrid to hear a friend and former student deliver a presentation which is touted as having massive repercussions for all mankind. The presentation is to be given by Edmond Kirsch, a billionaire tech genius who promises that it will answer the major questions of “where we come from and where we’re going” as a specious and will damage a lot of religions, which Edmond is fine with, being a rather vocal atheist.
Edmond has shared the presentation with three major religious leaders, who were shaken by his findings. While the presentation is going ahead Langdon is warned of an assassination attempt by Winston, the advanced AI that Edmond built which serves as the guide around the museum where the presentation takes place.
Langdon is unable to stop Edmond being killed and in the aftermath is under suspicion, but the assassin is revealed to have been added to the list last minute at the request of the Spanish royal family. The heir to the Spanish throne, Prince Julian is said to have asked for the man to be admitted and his fiancee, Ambra Vidal, is the museum curator. Are the royal family behind the assassination? Are they in league with the Catholic church to hush up Edmond’s discovery?
Langdon and Vidal, assisted by the computer Winston decide that they should find a way for Edmond’s presentation to be aired and need to work out what Edmond’s secret password was and where the supercomputer to launch it is. And so Langdon and Vidal are on the run while the assassin follows them from Madrid to Barcelona as they follow the clues.
Can they figure out the 47 character password needed to access the presentation? Who can they trust? Who is behind the assassination and can they stay ahead of the killer?
First the good parts of this book, there are some nice discussions of religion vs science, especially the view held by Langdon that both are trying to answer the same questions but in different ways. Can religions survive as science progresses?
Also the action is well done, and Brown’s habit of short, punchy chapters make this a very easy, quick read that quickly draws you in. There’s enough intrigue and doubt to keep you guessing and the mystery over who is behind the assassination is handled well although I did guess it ahead of the reveal. But credit to Brown who does set up a few different possibilities and ensures you’re never sure who Langdon should trust.
And now the weaknesses. One is the character of Edmond, who I thought was a bit of a dick, meaning that when he does get whacked I wasn’t massively upset about it. It clearly has an impact on the other characters, but I was just glad that we wouldn’t have to put up with the pompous character anymore.
Which leads me to the second, and bigger, flaw in the novel. After the entire book sets up the earth shattering nature of Edmond’s presentation when it’s finally revealed I found it massively underwhelming. For one thing, it drags a bit and Edmond continues to be a self aggrandising douche, but worse is that it’s not even that big of a deal. Having been set up as proof that will shake the world’s religions it doesn’t have that impact and the “proof” Edmond has found is a bit shaky.
While some is explained, that Edmond softened the ending a bit, it doesn’t quite hang together. This section of the book stumbles a bit, feeling slow and overly wordy. And as I said, I don’t think anything that is said would impact that much on religion. Maybe Edmond just thought he was a bigger deal than he was?
Verdict: For the most part this book works as a blockbuster read, but the ending lets it down. 6/10.
Any thoughts? You know what to do. BETEO.
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