The Da Vinci Code

A Novel

By: Dan Brown

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER • While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols.

“Blockbuster perfection.... A gleefully erudite suspense novel.” —The New York Times

“A pulse-quickening, brain-teasing adventure.” —People

As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci—and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever.

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©2003 Dan Brown (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"In this gleefully erudite suspense novel, Mr. Brown takes the format...to blockbuster perfection." (The New York Times)
"Brown solidifies his reputation as one of the most skilled thriller writers on the planet with his best book yet, a compelling blend of history and page-turning suspense." (Library Journal)
"Many notches above the intelligent thriller; this is pure genius." (Nelson DeMille)

did not notice unabridged version

This is only the 2nd fiction book I have listened to from audible. I enjoyed it a lot. Now that I know there is an unabridged version I am going to have to put my science/tech books on hold to listen to it.

Great Ideas Brought to Public Awareness!

Historically speaking, there is nothing new being presented in this book. However I think it is fair to say that the general public is overall not aware of the issues that this book is touches upon; religious iconography, Gnosticism, Nag Hammadi texts...


Brown delivers in the form of accessible media, an excellent introduction into a topic that is nothing less than paradigm shaking! It is fascinating to think that the modern Christendom is by-in-large unaware of the reality, not to mention challenge, posed by the large body of Gnostic texts discovered in Egypt in 1945.

Brown takes creative liberties in his musing about the relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, but the idea is not wholly fictional. The Gospel According to Mary (another Gnostic text) eludes to the idea of a connection these two shared beyond the level of the relationships Jesus shared with the male disciples.

I believe most of the negatives reviews posted here are missing the point of this text (or audio, depending on your medium). I don't see Brown's work here as being on the same level as Harry Potter, or any other modern pure entertainment work, instead I see the role of this book as the embodiment of a question; a challenge of sorts to the popular Christian view about the true nature of Jesus. If this book causes people to question and research the early history of the Christian church, the Nicean councils, or to even explore the actual Gnostic texts themselves, then the book has accomplished its mission.

It Was Great

It was one of the best books I have ever heard. I would recomend it to anyone. It was great.

Awesome book

This is one of the best books I have ever read/listened to.

History with Mystery! AWESOME!!!!

Best book I've read/listened to in years ... seriously! Amazing how it is classified as Fiction since it is based on SO MANY non-fiction aspects. You will be pinned to your listening device, and the story will remain in your thoughts afterwards. Great narrator, too. This story has all the makings for a great movie.

A good read/listen!

I found this audiobook very, very entertaining. Suffice to say, The term holds different meaning to each reader, as is evident with the number of negative reviews. But for those who like historical anecdotes and academic discourses in their story, this book is covered with it. The making of this book involved immense amounts of research, and stringing all these facts together is not an easy feat. It is easy to string a story together straight from one's imagination, much harder to take in and digest seemingly discordant facts and spew out a fantastic, gripping story unified in one theme.

The narrator is good, also. I very much like his style and accents.

Addicting... Couldn't stop listening

It was a good thing I downloaded the book in December, I could listen to it during my vacation and not worry about interfering with my job. My wife was making fun of me because all I did for a few days was listen to this book. I just couldn?t put it down. Every little twist and turn kept me wanting more. Despite what the other reviewers say, I enjoyed the reader?s different voices and accents for the different people.

LOVED IT!!

Very Interesting, Keeps the reader's interest throughout the entire reading.

Great book - too bad this is abridged

I saw this was abridged and had to go buy the printed verison. Well worth the read, the author ties together factual accounts from the religious and art worlds to build a maze of puzzles and clues. Very tight.

The Da Vinci Code

Great book- Holds your intrest all the way through.