Dan Brown has found great success with his thriller novels having sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide. Despite being a bestselling author, he’s not always a huge hit with the critics. But with Angels and Demons only at number four in this ranking, what will make the top spot?
Now 60 years old, the Da Vinci Code writer has had a long career – with his most famous novel even being turned into a movie. Despite much anticipation, the film adaptation was not a roaring success, only scoring 24% on Rotten Tomatoes despite raking in miillions at the Box Office – becoming the second most highest grossing film of 2006.
Here are his seven most notable reads ranked in order of best to worst by The Week.
1. The Da Vinci Code, 2003
This one comes at no surprise. Brown is best known for his thriller novels based on Robert Langdon. While in Paris on business, Langdon is in Paris on business when he is tasked with solving the murder of the elderly curator of the Louvre. While investigating, Langdon is shocked to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci.
2. Deception Point, 2001
Next on the list is Deception Point, another mystery thriller but this time set between space and the Arctic. When a NASA satellite discovers a rare metoeroite buried deep in the Arctic ice, they beleiive it’s a victory that looks set to chnage the political landscape in the run up to the upcoming presidential election.
3. Origin, 2017
Another edition to the Langdon series, Origin follows Langdon, this time as he travels to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao with an aim to see the unveiling of a huge discovery set to change science as they know it. But the guests are left in horrow as the evening is blown apart before the discovery takes place.
4. Angels and Demons, 2000
This installment of the Langdon series takes place before The Da Vinci Code, despite this, publishers say it doesn’t matter whatorder you read the novels in. Most of this story takes place in the Vatican in Rome and the book focuses on the conspiracies of the Catholic Church. The book opens with the murder of a physicist who also had the word “Illuminati” branded on to his chest.
5. The Lost Symbol, 2009
In this installment, Langdon is summoned to deliver a lecture in the US Capitol Building unexpectedly, but the evening takes a bizarre turn onlyminutes into his arrival. The Lost Symbol recieved a mixture of praise and criticism upon release.
6. Inferno, 2013
Inferno follows Langdon after he wakes up in an Italian hospital with no memory of how he got there or how he came to acquire a myseterious object in his possession. Langdon and his doctor, Sienna Brooks, are forced to flee Florence after a relentless female assassin trails them.
7. Digital Fortress, 1998
This was Brown’s first big release and it was not his best. It tells the story of Commander Trevor Strathmore, the NSA’s deputy director of operations, who has created a confidential super-computer that can crack any code in a short space of time.