The Da Vinci Code

A Novel

By: Dan Brown

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 16 hrs and 59 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.

Can't get enough of The Da Vinci Code? Check out our store devoted to all things Da Vinci.

©2003 Dan Brown (P)2003 Books On Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The Da Vinci Code sets the hook-of-all-hooks, and takes off down a road that is as eye-opening as it is page-turning. You simply cannot put this book down. Thriller readers everywhere will soon realize Dan Brown is a master." —VINCE FLYNN, New York Times bestselling author of Separation of Power

"Dan Brown is my new must-read. THE DA VINCI CODE is fascinating and absorbing -- perfect for history buffs, conspiracy nuts, puzzle lovers or anyone who appreciates a great, riveting story. I loved this book." —HARLAN COBEN, New York Times bestselling author of Tell No One

"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)

I loved this book

This book is full full of suspense, the best part is that it is read to you with the accents that really makes you feel like you are there. IT really makes you re-think the whole christian faith, and to realize that if christ was discovered to have a wife and family, the whole catholic faith will come spiriling down.

My First Dan Brown Book

This book was extraordinary! I am amazed at how Brown can intertwine religious history, action/adventure and international plottings by European 'power-players' into one non-stop text. This book was seamless. It's likely the negative reviews come from people who are unhappy about some of the 'history' revealed herein regarding Jesus Christ, Mary Magdeline and the Catholic church. As a Christian, I don't know how historically correct it is(if at all). But I can see how many would say anything to keep people from reading the book because it conflicted with what they learned in Sunday School or Masses. If you are one of those people, find something else. This book did not change my core beliefs and I was more than able to enjoy every minute. The narrator did an extraordinary job too!

Great Book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would certainly recommend this book to a friend. Dan Brown does an excellent job on all of his books

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, very much so. I was constantly thinking about the next puzzles

What about Paul Michael’s performance did you like?

His voice changes, and the accent whenever needed.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no, the whole book was great

Very intriguing, but drawn out at times

Believe it or not, I have't yet seen the movie, but plan to now that I have finished the book. If you haven't been living under a rock this past decade, you pretty much already know the gist of the story and the controversy surrounding the book that religious circles have crowded around for sometime now.

Well, let me first say I am a Christian, and never felt one iota of doubt in my faith after listening to the book. I understand that this is in-fact a 'novel' which the author (in a very nice audio interview addition that appears at the end of the reading) re-iterates is a 'fictional' account on 'what-if' and 'possibles', not as 100% fact, so hopefully you won't let political and religious ignorance get in the way of a good yarn.

I enjoyed this tale on the foundation of comaprison to movies like 'National Treasure' or 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'...the story itself is inspired by actual events and documented history, but with a lot of conspiracy and X-Files like cover-ups and investigations. I think that Brown does a phenominal job of weaving in art history, symbology, secret societies and blending in religion as a 'plausible' turn your beliefs upside down story.

Narrator Michael does a great job in portraying various characters, even the female lead. His renditions are rife with in the moment emotion, and he obviously speaks pretty good French as well from his accents.

I won't summarize the story, that's what all the other reviews before mine have done, but here are a few notes why I would score the story as 3.5: A) At times, the dialogue between characters can be a tad long-winded. They can take a sentance and turn it into a paragraph easily. B) There are a few conversations that seem repetitive...throughout the book, a few things are touched on, and then touched on again, and circled back a third time. C) Sofie's reluctance of divulging her grandfathers secret on what she saw years ago gets a tad annoying at a point, until the 'reveal', but preior to that moment, author Brown teases us mercilessly about her secret, and in the end, I didn't really think it was a big deal. And finally, D) there are a few minor loose ends I felt cheated on what the outcome was.

The nice thing about the unabridged edition was the two audio extras at the end, one with the screenwriter talking about adapting the book with Ron Howard and David Brown, and the then the audio David Brown himself talking about his book to a large crowd. I give him a lot of respect for explaining 'his' beliefs, and as a Christian, I didn't feel slighted at all.

Overall, a good entertaining read/listen.

A travesty? A bestseller!

All are entitled to their opinions, and there are certainly a variety of those here. For myself, I am going to throw my lot in with the guy who states "Who cares if I can't put the book down". As a writer - as an intelligent human being - I can see as easily as any others where the plot holes are, the narrative lacks, and the dialogue disappoints. But I assure any prospective reader that this book is a bestseller for a good reason (unlike some). It is at it's core a fun, and occasionally very interesting, story. It certainly kept me sitting in my driveway on more than one occasion, not wanting to get out of the car because I had to see what happened next!

Most awesome book I've read in a long time

This was not only a great novel, but a truely in depth book based on possible facts. It was very interesting to read a novel in the religious sense that entailed such broad knowledge of the vatican and the possibility that a lot of information could have been withheld for the bettermint of the church. Read it!!! I was very enlighted!!

Great, beginning to end.

Loved it. Great story concept. The performance was well done. Voice acting was good.

very well written

A complex, well written novel that fits together in the end like a puzzle! The different voices, accents, and languages produced by the narorator make it all the easier to keep track of each character. Just keep in mind that this is a FICTION book and the author states some Biblical information as fact.

A wonderful tale

I was definitely skeptical when choosing this title, but it definitely was well worth it. The book caught my attention at the very beginning and had me craving more. The only problem I had with this book was the author's attempts at describing the world around; there were definitely times when he spent way too much effort developing the sites, sounds, smells around the characters when I could have cared less to hear any of it. Beyond that, this book was an excellent read.

It really sparked my interest as it introduced mixed fiction and facts with relation to religion. It definitely had me (and still has me) researching many of the topics discussed in the book to see whether or not they were fact or simply made up by the author.

Great book!

The Da Vinci Code

What made the experience of listening to The Da Vinci Code the most enjoyable?

I loved listening to the history. Such a good book. Dan Brown really did his research.