Product Description

Robert Langdon, Harvard Professor of symbology, receives an urgent late-night call while in Paris: the curator of the Louvre has been murdered. Alongside the body is a series of baffling ciphers. Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, are stunned to find a trail that leads to the works of Da Vinci - and further. The curator, part of a secret society named the Priory of Sion, may have sacrificed his life to keep secret the location of a vastly important religious relic hidden for centuries. It appears that the clandestine Vatican-sanctioned Catholic sect Opus Dei has now made its move. Unless Landon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine code and quickly assemble the pieces of the puzzle, the Priory's secret - and a stunning historical truth - will be lost forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3218 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 605 pages

Amazon.co.uk 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 esoterica culled from 2,000 years of Western history. A murder in the silent after-hours 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 not only for 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 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, Amazon.com

From the Back Cover
An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci

A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe

An astonishing truth concealed for centuries…revealed at last.

‘Wow … Blockbuster perfection … An exhilaratingly brainy thriller. Not since the advent of Harry Potter has an author so flagrantly delighted in leading readers on a breathless chase’
NEW YORK TIMES

Harvard professor Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call while on business in Paris: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been brutally murdered inside the museum. Alongside the body, police have found a series of baffling codes. As Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, begin to sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to find a trail that reveals a mystery stretching deep into the vault of history.

But unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine code and quickly assemble the pieces of the puzzle, a stunning historical truth will be lost forever…

‘Brown’s novel adroitly blends the chase-scene-stuffed thrillers of Robert Ludlum and the learned romps of Umberto Eco…For anyone who wants more brain-food than thrillers normally provide’
Sunday Times

About the Author
Dan Brown is the bestselling author of Digital Fortress, Angels and Demons and Deception Point. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he has taught English and creative writing. He lives in New England and can be found on the web at www.danbrown.com

Customer Reviews

A Great Story in a Mediocre Book
I had expected amazing things when I picked up the Da Vinci Code earlier this year and perhaps I was always going to be disappointed. The sad truth is, the Da Vinci Code is an interesting book, but not a good one.

What has made this story such a roaring success is its engrossing plot and the "truth" behind the fiction. For those unfamiliar with the blood line; sang-real; holy grail; templar etc legends this book is at least a decent introduction.

What lets it down is Brown's amateurish writing style. Although it is a vast improvement on the laughable Angels and Demons, Brown still likes to describe everything in almost baby language, using a wide range of the very oldest writing cliches. In the hands of a better writer this book could have been truly awesome (then again, it has been hugely popular so maybe it's just my taste!).

It should be mentioned that the research for which Dan Brown has been so greatly praised is almost entirely based on the works of Baigent, Lincoln and Leigh, most notably "Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" (a non fiction book but still hugely readable). It should also be mentioned that Dan Brown has taken much of the research done by these men (which generally left you to draw your own conclusions) and distorted it for the story. Indeed, as with Angels and Demons, when left to his own devices Brown is an amazingly poor researcher, here he fails to accurate locate several major landmarks in the story and frequently underestimates distances between places quite ridiculously (a recurrent theme in Brown's book).

Ultimately the Da Vinci Code is worth reading, just to know what the hype is all about at least. The plot is well conceived, if not actually well written and drawn from a genuinely fascinating topic. It must however be taken with a pinch of salt as much of what is purported fact simply isn't.

Hardy Boys anyone?
Reminded me of a Hardy Boys book I read 20 years ago. About the same level of literary sophistication - and resemblance to reality!

AMAZING
best book i have ever read

thats all i can say

face-paced, well-described and full of twists and turns
you never know whats going to happen next

i personaly loved the characters and the way they were built up, i htough the book was jampacked with clever escapes and fabulous jinxes

a must read for ALL -
adults and teenagers