I was excited to read the newest Robert Langdon book Origin expecting a fresh adventure after the good Inferno. Unfortunately it felt a complete waste of time and money when I was done. It got me thinking about the story structure that is common to all Robert Langdon novels.

The Template

Below is the rough structure of a Robert Langdon Novel.

• Someone is killed or is missing in mysterious circumstances
• Dr Langdon teams with a beautify lady to solve the mystery
• The Church has interest in the mystery
• An assassin on the chase to kill Dr Langdon
• The assassin is possibly instructed by a church member
• Dr. Langdon, conveniently has a friend for help
• Travel through a big city and visit all historic places with a day
• The Assassin gets killed
• Turns out the assassin was not instructed by the church
• Whoa! Langdon’s friend turns out to be deceptive
• Save the world from impending doom and crisis

Novels

Angels and demons is the first and original Robert Langdon novel and provided a good reading experience as good thrillers do. What captured me was the perfect description of the places in Rome as well all the detailed architecture. It was as if walking around Rome from your seat from many miles away. Its disappointing that Mr Brown has taken this structure and followed it to make multiple followups in the same vein.

The Da Vinci Code divides the crowd and many people haven’t read it due to religious reasons. I have tried to explain to some that it is just a story and explores a theory supported by many from unverified researches. This novel continues Dan Brown’s attack on The Church and reached a nadir questioning it’s very existence. I always suggest everyone to read it and make their own decision.

In The lost Symbol, it felt as if the church accusations were toned down after a backlash from Da Vinci Code, but still followed similar template, but is so worse as a story. I honestly don’t remember the story except a research that says the weight of the soul is 21 grams or something, and I am not even concerned to research on what that novel is all about.

Up next, Inferno was like Angels and Demons in that the description and history of Florence and Venice were great. I always wanted to visit these places, so it was a good virtual tour. Apart from the change in scenery, the story was setup in almost the same way. It was a better read than The Lost Symbol. One change was the assassin on Langdon’s tail was a female character.

And few months back I got my hardback copy of Origin. It tells the story of what we already know as if Mr Brown is predicting the future. Two thirds of the book is waste, read it only if you want to know about churches and buildings in Barcelona. Otherwise you can skip right to the last 3-4 chapters after reading the novels summary.