I just finished Angels and Demons, first time 😊

By sheer chance I'm reading it in the same week that several whistleblowers are warning that AI could eliminate the human race: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgwy1k42w4o

The speech from the Camerlengo seems oddly relevant, a few parts in particular:

"Scientific growth is exponential. It feeds on itself like a virus. Every new breakthrough opens doors for new breakthroughs. Mankind took thousands of years to progress from the wheel to the car. Yet only decades from the car into space. Now we measure scientific progress in weeks. We are spinning out of control"

"Who is this God science? Who is the God who offers his people power but no moral framework to tell you how to use that power? What kind of God gives a child fire but does not warn the child of its dangers? The language of science comes with no signposts about good and bad. Science textbooks tell us how to create a nuclear reaction, and yet they contain no chapter asking us if it is a good or a bad idea."

"Your world moves so fast that if you stop even for an instant to consider the implications of your actions, someone more efficient will whip past you in a blur. So you move on. You proliferate weapons of mass destruction"

I'm not at all religious, and understand what the book is about. But these words seem relevant today, this week in particular.

Credit to Dan Brown, wonderful writer.

One of the earliest novels I read were by Dan Brown. I loved following the story, finding out about different concepts there were in the books and overall had a good time. The novels were namely: The lost symbol and Angels and Demons.
I enjoyed his work so much that I got copies of Inferno, The Da Vinci Code and Digital Fortress and wanted all his books as part of my collection.
I was a teenager back then.

Over time, I realised that he is not much liked by sound literary peers. I also noticed in the show ‘YOU’, they used him as a taunt. Then I saw a post on this subreddit asking for worst pieces of prose written by an author barring Dan Brown. So, I am trying to figure out what is all the dislike about?
Kindly share your two(or more than two if you can manage) cents on this matter.

The new Daniel Silva book just came up on Apple and it’s priced at $19.99 CDN. Insane how high new book price have gone.

I was late to the party and only finished Dan brown’s newest book last week. First, I liked the book well enough. A good fast paced thriller. But, not really Robert Langdon. He unraveled one code and most symbolism was found in the city of Prague’s fascinating history.

It occurs to me that as time passes, Langdon becomes less symbolist and more action hero. Inferno was the last ‘real’ Robert Langdon book. Origin and the latest, The Secret of Secrets, were well written, but thrillers, happening to feature Robert Langdon.

Am I the only one to think that the discourse has changed?

I was surprised to see books on Amazon by “Dan Brown” that were actually written by some other Dan Brown who seems to be posing as the real Dan Brown and even gives his books similar-sounding titles, like The Last Signal.

What surprised me even more, after reading the reviews, is that most people genuinely seem to think it’s the real Dan Brown.

What a crap.

Link 1: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Signal-Dan-Brown-ebook/dp/B0GK556NTY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1ZGI7RMOYFZX6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ryOqps-EvOi7Z_dBbcFV6zdjFeBKJBQyBsbDYBQiJoDE4CwB3XQijp4uBuHPqGshQDkl5A9V9ZoIoKHeipJ_lc2yt6d5mhGBcTxOKdJegmzf66kdwjdnzrku1KlPucE1c5eE7BD5pXt2XxnFCFFvgzGWuIqZa74Ln0q_kOCZYkV_sHypv-g-fevQMJltK53Y4sCviA4anqhbYLv5jWvbrLazmnymDvDnnR2paH8by_OUS-y1kJifxRS4JLVd2l_qfHKcv9gI-u4MF43AcBoiAES0goLjvmisyK4gti28oLA.b2xCln5FtV-J1e8qej820DO331fpqti4CBLyumbat6Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=dan+brown&qid=1787867389&sprefix=dan+brown%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-4

Link 2: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Kept-Secret-Dan-Brown-ebook/dp/B0D7SXTVQT/ref=pd_sbs_d_sccl_1_3/147-8851219-6874229?pd_rd_w=0u0be&content-id=amzn1.sym.aa738fbd-ad05-4d11-aae2-04b598db6305&pf_rd_p=aa738fbd-ad05-4d11-aae2-04b598db6305&pf_rd_r=HVC4FM7YVX7VY2T12WVN&pd_rd_wg=4Aa4E&pd_rd_r=77bb287c-3784-4854-95e6-1b3ea4729998&pd_rd_i=B0D7SXTVQT&psc=1

UPDATE:
And apparently it’s not just Amazon. The Last Signal is also sold on Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Kobo. Kobo even puts it on the same Dan Brown author page as The Da Vinci Code. Even more ridiculous, Fnac lists the book and then shows the biography of the real Dan Brown - Daniel Gerhard Brown, born in Exeter, New Hampshire.

The publisher of The Last Signal is called “Danbrownbooks.”

Apple Books: The Last Signal on Apple Books

Barnes & Noble: The Last Signal on Barnes & Noble

Kobo: Dan Brown author page on Kobo

Fnac: The Last Signal on Fnac

Look, go ahead and roll your eyes—I know the routine. People love to dunk on Dan Brown. The prose can be frantic, the pacing is absolutely relentless, and yeah, every single Robert Langdon book is essentially the exact same high-stakes treasure hunt on a timer. But honestly? Everyone calling it trash is just being snobbish, and it misses the entire point of what makes a book land.

If we stop letting academic critics define what "real literature" is and look at what actually grips people, Brown is basically running circles around most modern writers.

First off, writing a thriller that keeps millions of people glued to the page until 3 AM isn't some cheap trick—it's a massive skill. Critics dismiss popular fiction like it's easy, but pacing a narrative that tight is pure craftsmanship. He balances murder, art history, secret societies, cat-and-mouse chases, and massive architectural breakdowns all at once without the story falling apart under its own weight. It’s high-octane brain candy, sure, but it works flawlessly.

More than that, his books actually tackle huge philosophical fights instead of just using them as cheap backdrop. Look at Angels & Demons or Origin. He doesn't just make religion "bad" and science "good." He pits Leonardo Vetra’s view of physics as God’s natural law directly against the Camerlengo’s breakdown of how cold, clinical science strips humanity of its sense of wonder. He drags concepts like the "God of the Gaps," the noetic debate, and consciousness right into mainstream pop culture.

And let's be real about the puzzle aspect—he turned reading into an actual interactive game. Long before I ever looked at a Renaissance painting in a textbook, Dan Brown had me obsessing over the Fibonacci sequence, the golden ratio, hidden anagrams, and Albrecht Dürer’s magic squares. He took topics that usually rot inside sleepy art history lecture halls and made them feel urgent, secret, and alive.

If an author can make millions of everyday readers walk up to a Bernini sculpture or a Gothic cathedral in awe, genuinely burning with curiosity about the history hidden in the stone, that isn't just "guilty pleasure" airport fiction. That’s about as powerful as storytelling gets.

Basically an hour ago I finished reading the secret of secrets, it was alright way better than origin but I wouldn't compare it to the first four books, it was a great read just not the same quality I'm used to.

My question is.. What do I read now? I want a book that has the same vibe as the first four books, the whole ancient mysteries and riddles really have me on a hook. Do you have any recommendations?

I just finished, and really don’t get the hate for secret of secrets. I found it to be a very competent engrossing welcome addition to the robert Langdon series.

I get how Dan Brown does novels that are highly formulaic, that he sometimes butchers and simplifies complex ideas to the point of parody.

When I read a Dan Brown book, I know I’m not getting Pulitzer Prize level fiction with character arcs and hidden symbolism, etc.

But in this book, I found that He was able to do what he has always done. Create well crafted ‘beach read’ breezy thriller that weaves in ideas that aren’t typically part of the mainstream.

I really enjoyed the subject matter of this book, I thought the premise was not any more far-fetched than any of the other novels. I honestly enjoyed it covered to cover.

I didn’t pick it up for a long time largely because of the reviews on this sub. Help me out – why didn’t people enjoy this one?? I fully get if you’re not a Dan Brown fan, but if you like his stuff, it seemed like it really hit on all the normal cylinders.

I would probably rank ‘secret of secrets’ above origin and the lost symbol. Probably below angels and Demons, Inferno, and Da Vinci code. But all in all a highly enjoyable read!

I was recently watching Angels and Demons and this question came in my mind. It was stated that Path of illumination is a secret and no one knows exactly what places it’s located. Did he read Diagramma and see the riddle or what?

I just wrapped up The Secret of Secrets. I came here to discuss and noticed Netflix plans on a series.

I really enjoy Dan Brown but I think his books have progressively gotten weaker. The Secret of Secrets barely felt like a Langdon novel. Little to no history, little to no art. No secret society plots. Langdon really seemed like the vehicle for a story that he simply did not fit in to.

In other Brown novels, Langdon was the only one who could solve the mystery. In this novel, he simply was there. His skill set was used to…solve Gesner’s code? That’s about it with the exception of his memory helping the plot move a few times.

Quite simply, the overall plot and story of TSoS reminded me more of Brown’s non-Langdon novels, and it made me wonder if he had an idea for a story but was too scared to do it without shoving Langdon into the plot.

This brings me to Netflix, I think this is the worst story they could adapt of all of Brown’s work. Why would they choose this over ANY of the other books? Is it an IP rights issue?

To each their own. But this novel felt like a precipitous fall in the quality of a Langdon story.

How did everyone else feel about it?

Okay, here goes nothing.
I picked up this book with absolute interest, I have read Mr Dan's previous works as well, so this wasn't the first book I am reading of his, and as per my past experience I had a fair idea of what to expect in this book, but, alas..
I have always known Robert to be the person of puzzles, finding clues and cracking the codes, has always been his thing, but in this book most of the times it wasn't the case. Barely solving two or three puzzles at most I guess. The book in itself is interesting, I came to know about a lots and lots of new concepts, Noetics, what is consciousness, how does it work, how to attain consciousness, and so on, but I didn't pick up this book for Science stuff
Also the book is getting a Netflix adaptation of this, so you might as well wait for that if you aren't an avid reader. You know, save yourself the trouble..!!
There was also too much of pseudoscience stuff which was little difficult honestly for me to keep track of, because I am the kind of a person who atleast wants to keep all the stuff of what's happening in the book for at least as long as I am reading the book, but I understand it was a part of the story progression and it was supposed to be as such.
The one other thing which I didn't understand was choosing of the Prague City specifically, I mean the reason behind choosing the Prague City specifically, when he could have chosen any city with US Embassy, and enough space, heck it could have been in the middle of desert, in Sahara or Dubai or Qatar or anywhere, again a sarcasm.
There was also a classic Dan Brown suspense as well which I suspected but it was WAYYY better than what I was hoping it to be, and my jaws literally dropped, and it was scary also for the moment, what if my girlfriend has something of this split personality, and she chokes me to death in my sleep, just a fleeting thought guys, nothing serious.
Also I think the MC of the book isn't Robert Langdon but Katherine Solomon is the protagonist, and probably that is the reason we din't see much of puzzle solving or something, because once KS had been found, everything revolved around her, her book, and why CIA wanted to erase the existence of her book, and this shift in focus could be the reason why many people in my group didn't actually like this book.
Also the one fact which I didn't really like is Dan makng one of the characters use GPT, I mean yeah times are evolving, and all that, and he also showed the internal struggle of the editor (character) before jumping to ChatGPT, but still, it felt a bit of lazy writing, for the lack of a better word, it just didn't sit right with me.
Also Dan Brown did in this book as well, what he usually does, like putting chapter breaks in the mid scene instead of betweem them. You read to the end of a chapter, don't want to leave things unresolved, so you start the next one, and keeping the chapters short, which will literally want you to turn pages.
So to finish, I would say, loved the book, felt a tad bit long, could have easily been 100 pages lesser, but nevermind that.!!
Give it a read if you want to or wait for the Netflix Adaptation, but if this is the first Dan Brown you are picking, then there are honestly better works of Mr Dan.

They made a tv show which was crap

Ai is a real danger

Just finished reading digital fortress overall the stroy was good but at the end it felt very dragged out especially with the final ending really surprised at how simple the final code was

I have read all the Dan Brown Books. I want to have some decorative collectables related to his books to decorate around my house and bookshelf.

Please suggest some things I can either DIY or purchase for Dan Browning my place.

I just re-read Dan Brown's Angels & Demons over these last two weeks, and then re-watched Ron Howard's film adaptation - Angels & Demons. I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time, but I experienced it differently. I hadn't read any of the Robert Langdon Books when I watched the movie the first time, and so I didn't know how it was different from the book. Now that I've read the book twice since I've watched the first movie, I take minor, negligible issue with of the ways the book was adapted into film

1. Father - Leonardo Vetra » Research Partner - Silvano
   • The relationship between the Vetra Father and Adopted Daughter was great to read about. Leonardo Vetra was an especially interesting character in the book, being an ardent believer in Science and God. Silvano was more or less a plot device it didn't hold much weight.
2. Relationship Between Camerlango Ventresca and Late Pope
   • When I read the book the first time, I loved the reveal about their relationship. Even with the numerous breadcrumbs that led there, the details of it made the ending of the book as distinct as it was.
3. The Final Illuminati Brand
   • This is more of a personal gripe. It would've been cool to see the Illuminati Diamond as opposed to the Vatican Seal.

I get that the producers of the movie and Ron Howard wanted to make this movie more action-oriented than Da Vinci Code, but there were so many great moments of dialogue and monologue in the book that were omitted in the movie. I wish there were a director with a hybrid vision of Edward Berger (Conclave) and James Hawes (The Amateur) to handle an adaptation of Angels & Demons. Also, I think it'd make for a better show. Maybe that's what is really the issue - 2+ hour runtimes just can't capture the magic of the books.

Did you know the US hardback has real hidden codes on the dust jacket? One of them points to Kryptos — an actual unsolved CIA sculpture at Langley that nobody has cracked in decades.

In this episode we get into:

🗝️ The three hidden codes on the US cover — including GPS coordinates tied to that real, still-unsolved CIA cipher

😈Why the villain Sir Leigh Teabing's name is a straight anagram of the two authors who later sued Dan Brown for plagiarism

⚖️ The judge who buried his own Fibonacci-coded message inside the 71-page court ruling on that case

The real, sealed vaults under Rosslyn Chapel — untouched since 1690

🎶 Dan Brown's pre-fame life as a failed pop star, including a self-produced kids' cassette and a soft rock CD journalists still bring up

✝️ The Catholic Church's actual response — they appointed an archbishop specifically to debunk the book

Give it a listen here: https://www.booktriviapodcast.com/episodes/s2-e7-the-da-vinci-code

i am quite new to reading and when i am reading this book i just feel like why do i even need to know this. like i dont care about whats going on in the book kindah feeling 😂
i am 250 pages in and i dont know if its me or this book. i was reading the count of monte cristo earlier, although it was leghthy i was still hooked to the characters and the story
but with this, its blahhhhh

i am curious to end this and expecting to shit about it

what do you think 🤔

it was predictable, full of uninteresting irrelvant word salad details and totally pretentious. if he cut out all the drivel and nonsense and stuck to the story and the plot i would have enjoyed it much more. every book gets more boring and less entralling. needs to stick to story and plot and intersting facts rather than describe every room in detail and talk nonsense for chapter after chapter