Did you know we're celebrating a milestone this year? It's true! 2025 is Robert Langdon's 25th literary birthday. The Harvard symbologist known for his Mickey Mouse watch and penchant for faux profundity, dumb jokes, and mansplaining first appeared in 2000's Angels & Demons, and has been solving mysteries and uncovering the secrets of the universe ever since. On the occasion of Langdon's 25th anniversary of being in the world, as well as the publication of the sixth Langdon novel, The Secret of Secrets, I thought it'd be fun to make the definitive ranking of all six of the novels.
6. Inferno (2013) -- Had AI existed in 2013 as prominently as it does today, I would've sworn this piece of crap was written by ChatGPT. It's formulaic and cliche -- both in terms of the plot (Langdon wakes up with amnesia -- massive eyeroll) and its structure (every chapter seemingly starts the same way, describing a tourist attraction in Florence). So our guy Langdon and a smoke-show doctor named Sienna have to figure out what the hell happened last night (Dude, where's my Dante?!), with only a few lines of The Inferno to guide them. If you want to read more about why I severely disliked this book, check out my post "Five Thoughts About Dan Brown's Inferno."
5. The Lost Symbol (2009) -- Brown's first novel after The Da Vinci Code was a total stinker. I see what he's doing here -- trying to bring the formula that worked so well in that book to a more Americanized plot (the Freemasons). But it was just so lame. Here is what I wrote in 2009 upon finishing the book. Looking back, honestly, I was probably harsher on this book than it deserved -- it's really difficult to follow up a massive success. But still, it's staying here at second-worst.
4. Origin (2017) -- Okay, we're finally getting slightly better. Here, Langdon's pal -- a cross between Steve Jobs and Elon Musk with a little Richard Branson -- has discovered the "origin" of not just all religions, but all humankind. Unfortunately, he's killed before he can present his findings. So Langdon and a comely museum director (sure are a lot of beautiful nerds in the Langdon-verse) have to figure out the dude's iPhone password, or all will be lost! There's more to it than that, of course. I actually had fun with this one -- here's the full review.
3. Angels & Demons (2000) -- This is the book everyone went back to read right after reading The Da Vinci Code (me included). Here, we meet Langdon for the first time in this novel of the Vatican and antimatter and a murdered Pope. Really entertaining, but perhaps the most over-the-top of any of the six Langdon novels.
2. The Secret of Secrets (2025) -- Yay! We're back, baby! The first Langdon novel in eight years is a little different, and that's unquestionably a good thing. This is the longest Langdon novel at nearly 700 pages, but it's set over the course of a single day. It's highly entertaining, and moves along at Brown's signature breakneck speed. Langdon is almost a secondary character here. Katherine Solomon, who we first met in The Lost Symbol, is really the protagonist. They were friends before, but now they're knockin' boots. Noetic science, life after death, and nonlocal consciousness are the cornerstones of this return to form for Brown.
1. The Da Vinci Code (2003) -- The first Langdon book almost everyone read remains my favorite. It's hard to overstate what a phenomenon this book was that summer of 2003 -- prime time specials, magazine covers, etc. There was the inevitable pushback, too, as Brown got more and more defensive about the plot he stole (remember, he was sued for plagiarism by the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail), and the fact that it was all fully true. Sure, buddy. Even with all the peripherals, it made for a MASSIVELY entertaining novel, though -- and a perfect role for Tom Hanks. Still the best, in my book.
(Side note: I've only read one of Dan Brown's two non-Langdon novels -- 1998's Digital Fortress -- and it's my no-hesitation answer to the question: "What's the worst book you've ever read?" But that's a story for another day...)
