The Da Vinci Code

• Read: 18 Jan 2026 - 31 Jan 2026

• Author: Dan Brown

• Year: 2003

• Pages: 592

• Remarks: Robert Langdon Series Book 2

• Synopsis:

  • Harvard Symbologist Langdon was unexpectedly summoned to the Louvre to decipher a baffling code left beside its murdered curator, revealing a trail of clues hidden in Da Vinci’s works. Suspected by the police to have murdered the curator, Langdon soon found himself fleeing across Paris and London to uncover the truth behind the murder, and a religious secret that could shatter the foundations of Christianity.

[31 Jan 2026] ‘The Da Vinci Code’ (2003), by Dan Brown.

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Reading Background:

• Second book read in 2026 in just a month!

• Couldn’t decide initially whether to continue the Langdon series by reading this book, or to start another series.

• Vaguely recall reading the physical book more than 10 years ago, but had forgotten much of the plot.

• Had quite a lot of time to read because I was attending my ICT over the past week, and we ended early daily. But I also had the discipline to read during my free time.

What I enjoyed about the book:

• The mystery and thrill. This book was a page-turner, and I felt compelled to keep reading to find out how it would end, and was frequently surprised by its unexpected turn of events.

• The satisfying ending. I could guess who the “villain” was quite early on, but had not really expected the book’s ending, which I felt was satisfying and wrapped up everything nicely.

• The bite-sized chapters. Again, the relatively short chapters motivated me to read more, and thus faster.

• The humour. I quite enjoyed chuckling at the bits of humour sprinkled throughout.

What I found less enjoyable about the book:

• The lengthy descriptions of places. While I observed less of this in this book as compared to the first, I still felt there were instances where its pace was hindered by lengthy descriptions of environments and settings, especially at thrilling segments.

• The unconvincing villain. The motivations of the villain felt far-fetched, and in turn I was unconvinced that they could compel him to act in the way he did.

• The theories passed off as facts. Many unproven theories were presented, and though I enjoyed reading about them, I disliked that they were treated as facts, and it really took lots of fact-checking and critical thinking to learn to treat this as a work of fiction.

• The lack of character development. This was Langdon’s second outing, but I felt I had not gotten to know him better.

My overall thoughts:

• I felt this was an enjoyable book, once I got used to a few of the series' perennial flaws. I initially thought this book would be better than the first because it received more accolades, but somehow I felt they were on par in quality, with neither significantly better or worse than the other. Overall, I thought this was a good book, and would recommend it!

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• Langdon was summoned to the Louvre by Captain Fache to investigate the murder of curator Saunière, who had arranged his body in the Vitruvian Man pose, and left behind a scrambled Fibonacci sequence.

• Police cryptologist Neveu, Saunière’s estranged granddaughter, revealed to Langdon that Fache suspected him of the murder, and they escaped the Louvre to follow a trail of clues left by Saunière.

• After cracking codes and finding a key in the Louvre, they escaped and retrieved a cryptex from a Swiss bank. We learnt that the cryptex contained secrets to the Holy Grail, and Saunière was the Priory of Sion Grand Master, whose duty was to protect the Grail.

• Langdon and Neveu sought refuge at the house of Grail historian Teabing, who explained that the Grail was actually Mary Magdalene, who carried Jesus’s bloodline and whose remains were hidden and protected by the Priory.

• Meanwhile, Silas, working for Catholic cult Opus Dei and a mysterious figure “The Teacher”, was also hunting for the cryptex. Initially misled by Saunière and 3 sénéchaux (all murdered by Silas) to a false location, he ultimately tracked Langdon and Neveu to Teabing’s place.

• Silas was incapacitated, and Teabing flew Langdon, Neveu and butler Rémy to London. While at a church, Rémy, working for “The Teacher”, freed Silas, snatched the cryptex and “kidnapped” Teabing.

• Teabing was revealed as “The Teacher”. He believed that the Priory had failed its duty to expose the truth of the Grail, and wanted to obtain the Grail to expose it himself. He orchestrated the Priory leaders’ murders, manipulated Opus Dei, killed Rémy and caused Sila’s death.

• At Westminster Abbey, Teabing threatened Langdon to open the cryptex. Langon cracked the code but opened it secretly. In the final showdown, Fache entered and arrested Teabing.

• Langdon and Neveu followed the final code to Scotland. She found her long-lost family there, and learnt that she was a descendent of the bloodline. Langdon also realised later that the Grail (Magdalene) was buried in the Louvre all along.