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magikspells's review against another edition
4.0
I would like the preface this by saying I thought this was a lot better than [b:Inferno|17212231|Inferno (Robert Langdon, #4)|Dan Brown|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397093185s/17212231.jpg|23841765], but I thought it was weird that there was no mention of that book given what happened at the end. I digress.
I really enjoyed the majority of the book. I think the first half could be a strong commentary on the problematic role that religion continues to play in decision making, particularly in terms of laws. I think Dan Brown does a good job at looking at religion and the media in this book and how both of them can work to your benefit but also be toxic. Honestly, a lot of it felt like it could be echoes of America over the past two years.
As it got further, it was no less interesting, the story veered into what felt like a strange direction given the strong tones of history and religion at the beginning. I think perhaps it was the whole story with the king and Julian that I didn't find to be totally necessary, so I wondered why it kept going back to it.
All in all, these books are always a fun ride and I love hearing how Brown describes things or places and builds a story.
I really enjoyed the majority of the book. I think the first half could be a strong commentary on the problematic role that religion continues to play in decision making, particularly in terms of laws. I think Dan Brown does a good job at looking at religion and the media in this book and how both of them can work to your benefit but also be toxic. Honestly, a lot of it felt like it could be echoes of America over the past two years.
As it got further, it was no less interesting, the story veered into what felt like a strange direction given the strong tones of history and religion at the beginning. I think perhaps it was the whole story with the king and Julian that I didn't find to be totally necessary, so I wondered why it kept going back to it.
All in all, these books are always a fun ride and I love hearing how Brown describes things or places and builds a story.
laurenpat's review against another edition
4.5
Another awesome Robert Langdon story! The best part of these books is that you can read them out of order, yet still be completely immersed in the mystery and action. Very much a page turner, with great locations through Spain as a backdrop.
thephdivabooks's review against another edition
3.0
I really did enjoy this book. It definitely isn’t my favorite of the Robert Langdon books, but it was incredibly well done and very interesting!
Robert Langdon is invited to attend a special event in Spain hosted by a former student of his, Edmond. Edmond has a discovery he has made that he plans to unveil to the world, and that he claims will have catastrophic implications.
I won’t spoil, but if you’ve read Dan Brown books before, of course there are a mix of religious and scientific undertones, and obviously someone tries to prevent the presentation from being revealed.
I wanted a bit more of the chase and the life-in-danger aspect I’ve come to expect in Brown books. Of course, we get a little of that, but it’s never really as heart-stopping as I’m used to. Perhaps Langdon can’t be on death’s door every time, or he’d have to stop traveling and we wouldn’t get more books.
I really enjoyed Winston as a character/plot-element. Langdon’s feelings towards Winston felt very authentic to me, and I enjoyed their conversations. I found Ambra, the lead female, to be less interesting than the female characters we usually get. Really, Langdon doesn’t interact much with her. A good portion of his storyline is in his head. I’m ok with this, since that’s where we get our history lesson :)
All together, this is a great read and I’ll definitely be waiting for the next one!
Robert Langdon is invited to attend a special event in Spain hosted by a former student of his, Edmond. Edmond has a discovery he has made that he plans to unveil to the world, and that he claims will have catastrophic implications.
I won’t spoil, but if you’ve read Dan Brown books before, of course there are a mix of religious and scientific undertones, and obviously someone tries to prevent the presentation from being revealed.
I wanted a bit more of the chase and the life-in-danger aspect I’ve come to expect in Brown books. Of course, we get a little of that, but it’s never really as heart-stopping as I’m used to. Perhaps Langdon can’t be on death’s door every time, or he’d have to stop traveling and we wouldn’t get more books.
I really enjoyed Winston as a character/plot-element. Langdon’s feelings towards Winston felt very authentic to me, and I enjoyed their conversations. I found Ambra, the lead female, to be less interesting than the female characters we usually get. Really, Langdon doesn’t interact much with her. A good portion of his storyline is in his head. I’m ok with this, since that’s where we get our history lesson :)
All together, this is a great read and I’ll definitely be waiting for the next one!
hinesight's review against another edition
3.0
Less annoying than his other books, but if you don't know who the Regent is by page 100, you're not paying attention.
agentnk_'s review against another edition
4.0
just finished the book. giving four stars. this is the 5th book from Langdon series and little bit different one from others. this time dan choose religion vs science as a theme for the story and i actually enjoyed. unfortunately i felt like ending is somewhat predictable comparing to other books
almacd's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite book with Robert Langdon. I usually love Dan Brown's writing style but this time the message was very repetitive and it got on my nerves. Also I felt it was more predictable than other of his previous books, where i'm usually clueless of what is going to happen
thecurseofchris's review against another edition
5.0
I've read all of the Langdon books and this one is up there as my favorite one yet. It's a definite return to form for Dan Brown.
d3vilxl3gacy's review against another edition
3.0
Plenty of twists and run arounds for the professor here, some easily seen with some very surprising. Over all quite enjoyable without feeling too drawn out.
mrbear's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and would recommend it highly to fans of either science, Dan Brown, or lazy but interesting reads.
Cons: The mystery wasn't that interesting or developed. I guessed a fair bit of where the story was going before it happened. Thankfully, this wasn't that important, since unlike many of Dan Brown's books, the topic is more central than the story.
Pros: I learned a lot about recent advances in Big Bang science (and some older stuff I'd never heard of since I'm not current on my science knowledge). The ideas are interesting. Some of the perspectives on science vs religion are well stated (including some of the stuff from the religions perspective, particularly about how religion and philosophy can be complementary to science, particularly if religious people can recognize the potentially crucial role of religion in tempering reckless scientific advancement.
Overall, it's hard to describe all my thoughts about the book. I'll conclude with just my favorite quote, which sums up the sort of high level discourse about science, religion, and their roles in the future that Dan Brown addresses in this book:
"It is very obvious to me," Bena said as they walked, "that there is only one way Christianity will survive the coming age of science. We must stop rejecting the discoveries of science. We must stop denouncing provable facts. We must become a spiritual partner of science, using our vast experience-millennia of philosophy, personal inquiry, meditation, soul-searching-to help humanity build a moral framework and ensure that the coming technologies will unify, illuminate, and raise us up... rather than destroy us."
Cons: The mystery wasn't that interesting or developed. I guessed a fair bit of where the story was going before it happened. Thankfully, this wasn't that important, since unlike many of Dan Brown's books, the topic is more central than the story.
Pros: I learned a lot about recent advances in Big Bang science (and some older stuff I'd never heard of since I'm not current on my science knowledge). The ideas are interesting. Some of the perspectives on science vs religion are well stated (including some of the stuff from the religions perspective, particularly about how religion and philosophy can be complementary to science, particularly if religious people can recognize the potentially crucial role of religion in tempering reckless scientific advancement.
Overall, it's hard to describe all my thoughts about the book. I'll conclude with just my favorite quote, which sums up the sort of high level discourse about science, religion, and their roles in the future that Dan Brown addresses in this book:
"It is very obvious to me," Bena said as they walked, "that there is only one way Christianity will survive the coming age of science. We must stop rejecting the discoveries of science. We must stop denouncing provable facts. We must become a spiritual partner of science, using our vast experience-millennia of philosophy, personal inquiry, meditation, soul-searching-to help humanity build a moral framework and ensure that the coming technologies will unify, illuminate, and raise us up... rather than destroy us."