The Secret of Secrets

by Dan Brown ★★★☆☆

After an 8 year hiatus, Dan Brown and his favorite protagonist Robert Langdon are back for another puzzle-solving international adventure. The setting, this time, is Prague. Langdon is there with long-time friend (and new romantic partner) Katherine Solomon, who was invited to speak at an event to promote her soon-to-be-published book, which delves into new insights into human consciousness. Unfortunately for our heroes, Katherine has stumbled upon information that powerful people believe could throw the world into chaos, and they will stop at nothing to prevent Katherine from publishing her research.

There are several recurring themes in The Secret of Secrets that will be familiar to Dan Brown fans: a romp through an international city, the occasional puzzle to solve based on symbology, a contentious point of view that upsets a powerful group, and even a disturbed character practicing self-mortification who is hunting Langdon. It's a tried-and-true formula that has made Brown millions, but it felt more tired this time around. Brown's books have also traditionally been fast-paced, action-packed reads that I'd finish in a few days. The Secret of Secrets had bits of that, but it dragged at many. moments. It clocks in at 678 pages, and it feels like it. I was nearly halfway through and was still waiting for clarity on exactly where the story was going—it felt unnecessarily long, and unfortunately I found myself ready for it to be done more often than not.

I was generally entertained, and it was fine, but it wasn't as satisfying as I wanted it to be. I think I can confidently say it is the worst Robert Langdon book. It's not a complete disappointment, and I'm sure most who have read the previous five novels in the series will still pick this up. But if you choose to skip it, you're not missing much.