Product Description

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to see -- yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion -- an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others.

In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret -- and an explosive historical truth -- will be lost forever.

THE DA VINCI CODE heralds the arrival of a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thriller…utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15247 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-18
• Released on: 2003-03-18
• Original language: German
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 454 pages

Amazon.com Review
With The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown masterfully concocts an intelligent and lucid thriller that marries the gusto of an international murder mystery with a collection of fascinating esoteria culled from 2,000 years of Western history.

A murder in the silent after-hour halls of the Louvre museum reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has been protected by a clandestine society since the days of Christ. The victim is a high-ranking agent of this ancient society who, in the moments before his death, manages to leave gruesome clues at the scene that only his granddaughter, noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can untangle. The duo become both suspects and detectives searching for not only Neveu's grandfather's murderer but also the stunning secret of the ages he was charged to protect. Mere steps ahead of the authorities and the deadly competition, the mystery leads Neveu and Langdon on a breathless flight through France, England, and history itself. Brown (Angels and Demons) has created a page-turning thriller that also provides an amazing interpretation of Western history. Brown's hero and heroine embark on a lofty and intriguing exploration of some of Western culture's greatest mysteries--from the nature of the Mona Lisa's smile to the secret of the Holy Grail. Though some will quibble with the veracity of Brown's conjectures, therein lies the fun. The Da Vinci Code is an enthralling read that provides rich food for thought. --Jeremy Pugh

From Publishers Weekly
Brown's latest thriller (after Angels and Demons)is an exhaustively researched page-turner about secret religious societies, ancient coverups and savage vengeance. The action kicks off in modern-day Paris with the murder of the Louvre's chief curator, whose body is found laid out in symbolic repose at the foot of the Mona Lisa. Seizing control of the case are Sophie Neveu, a lovely French police cryptologist, and Harvard symbol expert Robert Langdon, reprising his role from Brown's last book. The two find several puzzling codes at the murder scene, all of which form a treasure map to the fabled Holy Grail. As their search moves from France to England, Neveu and Langdon are confounded by two mysterious groups-the legendary Priory of Sion, a nearly 1,000-year-old secret society whose members have included Botticelli and Isaac Newton, and the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. Both have their own reasons for wanting to ensure that the Grail isn't found. Brown sometimes ladles out too much religious history at the expense of pacing, and Langdon is a hero in desperate need of more chutzpah. Still, Brown has assembled a whopper of a plot that will please both conspiracy buffs and thriller addicts.

From Library Journal
When Brown regular Robert Langdon is called in to investigate the murder of a curator at the Louvre, he discovers that the body is surrounded by strange ciphers evidently linked to the paintings of Da Vinci-and a powerful relic protected by the Priory, a secret society to which the artist belonged.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

As a work of thriller fiction, it is very enjoyable
I knew better than to take this book at anything more than what it is: A work of fiction. With that approach, I found it very fun to read. The plot is interesting, the characters are well written and believable, and there is enough back-story to help suspend disbelief.

Fantastic Read. Read this one and ended up read all of his books.
Ignore the religious truth or whatever. This is a fantastic thriller with great writing. Angels and Demons is slightly better in my opinion, but this book is on the top of my list as must reads. Absolutely fantastic writing.

Selling Jesus All Over Again
It is no secret that I am deeply charmed and swept off my feet by atheists who make the engine of my mind work and work; they make me feel alive. What Dan Brown does on the other hand is spreading around historical fallacies and lies. Even as fiction, his work at best is nothing but literary parasitism. It is now a fashionable trend in the world of literary market to see actual parasites who can't stand on their own intellectual merit but take advantage of the vast resonance associated with the name of Jesus and what he represents in order to secure profit at a very low effort. This is nothing but literary parasitism.

Regarding the book itself, I observe:


1. The writing style is torturous.

2. As far as history, it is terribly inaccurate. If you choose to read it, read Bart Ehrman's book on it to get your history info there set straighted. He was so misleading. He gave the impression that his research on history is accurate while it was full of horrible mistakes. But Americans generally like any type of book that has words such as "codes", "problems and secret hidden info about Jesus", etc. People cannot be happy except with the suspense and thriller. There is a lot of talk about the betrayal of Judas, and the people are not aware that it is happening again. Christ is being sold again, not to the leaders of the Sanhedrin for thirty pieces of silver but to editors and booksellers of millions of dollars. . .