Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist, is sucked into murder and mystery while visiting Paris. Called to the Louvre in the middle of the night, Langdon stumbles across the dead body of curator Jacques Sauniére, spread-eagled on the floor surrounded by and covered in strange symbols. The softly-spoken scholar is plunged into a mystery that threatens to tear apart the Catholic church, and re-write the history of Jesus Christ himself.

 

Brown was made instantly famous with this novel. It was a good, fast read and upon first reading it, I was sucked into the conspiracy and mystery of the plot as much as the next person. However, having re-read this novel -- as well as devouring Brown's other works -- the flaws now jump out at me. The characterisations are weak at best, apart from Langdon. The material itself is an age-old conspiracy that does not offer anything new. Perhaps the most apalling spin of the novel is that it tries to present many unconfirmed allegations as fact, quite deliberately. However, I did enjoy this book, for all its flaws. I quite liked Sophie the first time, and the action is intriguing and doesn't stop.