I expected a lot from this book, probably because it came after such a long time, and because it was supposed to touch on the topic of consciousness.
Have to say that I was a bit disappointed….
Brown promotes New Age spirituality at the expense of rationalism, much like The Alchemist. A lot of Neotic jargon is pushed around, including ESP, OBE, Clairvoyance, the Akashic field, the Universal Mind, Anima Mundi, Cosmic Consciousness, Catoptromancy, Pareidolia, and many more, without much scientific backing.
Even scientifically there were inconsistencies. The results from the delayed‑choice quantum eraser and retrocausal interpretations are treated as if they directly validate human precognition: “if quantum events can be influenced by the future, then brains can access future information.” Epilepsy patients can reliably become “psychic superspies”? Seriously?
Agree that newborns have relatively high levels of GABA in their developing brains, but it functions to promote brain growth and organization rather than inhibition. While total GABA levels might be high, their function shifts from excitatory to inhibitory as the brain matures, a critical developmental process known as the GABAergic switch.
Also, the examples of Sudden Savant Syndrome mentioned in the book…they did not suddenly learn a new skill, but suddenly became skilled on something they tried as a child and probably forgot as an adult. There are conventional explanations like reorganisation, obsessive practice, and pre‑existing but unnoticed abilities.
Of course, there are mysteries in the world they we are trying to understand, but Brown tries to sell pseudo-science as real without solid evidence to back up the claim. Just naming a few scientific jargons like the holographic universe, Sudden savant syndrome, Toroidal, SMES, Triadic dimensional vortical paradigm, The Ganzfeld experiment, Retrocasuality, The delayed-choice quantum eraser, GABA, does not make universal consciousness real.
He should stick to history and symbology. That’s where he does best, as he did with his early novels.
The secret bloodline of Jesus was easier to imagine as fiction than something like Non-Local Consciousness. It might have worked had there been more rational explanations.
There are a few in this book:
Vel spear- Murugan, Enochian – angelic tongue
Immurement, Sedlec ossuary- the bone chapel, Art Nouveau- Jan Hus, Prague spring, Golem- Judah Loew Ben Bezalel, Gur Aryeh Al Ha Torah, Codex Gigas – Devils Bible, Folimanka shelter, Bohemian uprising, Kafka, Klementinum Library etc etc…
But these passing mentions were not the meat of the story.
There is suspense and a twist at the end, and multiple parallel plots, in true Dan Brown style. So Brown fans should definitely give it a try. Some might even like it. Also, the book will give you a lot of neotic, scientific and pseudo-scientific jargon for you to research.
