The Da Vinci Code

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

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. (Mar. 18) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Dan Brown

Dan Brown was born and raised in the small New England town of Exeter, New Hampshire in 1964. He was a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he spent time as an English teacher before turning his efforts to writing. In 1996, his interest in code-breaking and covert government agencies led him to write his first novel, Digital Fortress, which quickly became a #1 national bestselling eBook. In its first week on sale, The Da Vinci Code debuted at #1 on The New York Times Bestseller list, simultaneously topping bestseller lists at The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and San Francisco Chronicle. Later, the book hit #1 on every major bestseller list in the country. The book is now being adapted for film by Columbia Pictures. Brown has made appearances on CNN, The Today Show, National Public Radio, Voice of America, as well as in the pages of Newsweek, People, Forbes, Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and The New Yorker. His novels have been translated and published in more than 30 languages around the world.

Customer Reviews

• The DaVinci Code - Another Masterpiece

  Posted March 31, 2009 by Fifille, Cupertino

  I have to say I have never read a bad book from Dan Brown. All his books are suspenseful and hard to put down. Da Vinci Code is no exception, this book., like the others is wonderful!

• don't want to set it down

  Posted April 24, 2009 by Ronald, Anytown

  A really good one too pick up and read. Full of everyday thriller and the drama, all the way page one to the end you don't want to miss this story.

Additional Info

Imprint

Random House

Filesize

1.33 MB

Number of Pages

496

eBook ISBN

9780385504218

Awards

• Book Sense Book of the Year
• Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
• Galaxy British Book Awards
• Teen Buckeye Book Award