The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon #6)-Dan Brown

Book: The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon #6)
Author: Dan Brown
Publisher: Penguin India

What if a secret was so powerful that it could change the world of it was revealed?

Accompanying celebrated academic, Katherine Solomon, to a lecture she’s been invited to give in Prague, Robert Langdon’s world spirals out of control when she disappears without trace from their hotel room. Far from home and well out of his comfort zone, Langdon must pit his wits against forces unknown to recover the woman he loves. But Prague is an old and dangerous city, steeped in folklore and mystery. For over two thousand years, the tides of history have washed back and forth over it, leaving behind echoes of everything that has gone before. Little can Langdon know that he is being stalked by a spectre from that dark past. He must use all of his arcane knowledge to decipher the world around him before he too is consumed by the rings of treachery and deception that have swallowed Katherine. Against a backdrop of vast castles, towering churches, graveyards buried twelve deep and labyrinthine underground passages, Langdon must navigate a shadow city hiding in plain sight, a city which has successfully kept its secrets for centuries and will not readily deliver them.

Dan Brown’s books have already kept me interested, especially the way he blends the mythology, science, and secrets in all his books. The Secret of Secrets stands out in its writing which keeps you gripped till the last page. The storytelling is classic Brown and you are kept guessing the intentions of the characters as you see them in action. I loved how the author uses the city of Prague and its local legends as a plot point and introduces you to some hitherto unknown elements of the city. Another aspect of the book that I really loved was its science, and how Dan reveals it piece by piece, till you realise the enormity of the secret in the climax. The entire story arc taking place in the Penguin Random House Office was a wonderful surprise, and honestly, I loved that Dan breaks the wall between the reader and the publisher, giving us a peek into the publishing aspect. The plot moves at a decent pace and as a reader, you have enough time to read, absorb and contemplate the events as the occur in the book. Having read his previous books, The Secret of Secrets is almost at par with The Da Vinci Code with the level of thrill and intrigue that it brings to the fore. The climax is well written, and does full justice to the ride that the 600 odd pages in the book take you through.

Coming to the characters, Robert Langdon in this 6^th rodeo is the same old professor who manages to get himself into tight spots but is also able to get out of them. Dan retains the charm for Langdon that was there in the previous books, and keeps his problem-solving ability intact. Jonas Kaufman was a wonderful surprise, and I must say his character was very well written, and the sub-story that runs in the PRH office was wonderfully captured. Ambassador Nagel’s character arc was nicely written, and I liked that there was a complete curve in the way her character was written. The other characters were also wonderfully plotted and did complete justice to the story.

Overall, a definite recommendation if you are looking to pick up a thriller, and if you are a Dan Brown Fan, then do not miss the title. The book scores a 4.88/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book on Amazon India or a bookstore near you.