62 pages • 2 hours read
Dan BrownOrigin
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2000A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Series Context: The Robert Langdon Series
Robert Langdon is the protagonist in five of Dan Brown’s books, the most famous being The Da Vinci Code. Each book in the Robert Langdon series follows a similar pattern wherein Langdon must use his background in religious symbology to solve complicated mysteries with real-world consequences while facing down a secret religious or fraternal sect. The books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide. Three of the books (The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, and Inferno) were made into feature-length films starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard.
In the first book of the series, Angels and Demons, a physicist at the CERN is murdered and marked with an Illuminati symbol. Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is introduced and is called to assess the brand. Along with the physicist’s daughter, Langdon travels to the Vatican to find the killer. In the second book, The Da Vinci Code, Langdon becomes the prime suspect in the murder of the Louvre curator, who dies covered in religious symbols. Along with the curator’s granddaughter, Langdon hunts the real killer while attempting to avoid capture. In the third book, The Lost Symbol, Langdon hunts his friend’s kidnappers, uncovering a freemason legend about a power source similar to God’s natural power. In the fourth book, Inferno, Langdon wakes up with amnesia in a hospital and, with the help of his beautiful doctor, must piece together the previous days using clues from Dante’s Inferno.
Authorial Context: Daniel Gerhard Brown
Dan Brown studied music and worked as an English and Spanish teacher until he turned to writing full time in 1996. Brown’s books were wildly successful, and by 2004, he had four books on the New York Times Bestseller list. Among his influences are Sidney Sheldon, Joseph Campbell, and Alfred Hitchcock.
Dan Brown’s thriller novels follow a formula, which he adheres to closely in all five Robert Langdon books. The protagonist is an everyman archetype with a calm, diffusing personality. He is cast into a tumultuous world, forced to race against time. The protagonist is intelligent, worldly, and most importantly, open to learning and growing. In the majority of Brown’s novels, the protagonist teams up with a beautiful woman who is the deuteragonist. Over the course of 24 hours, they attempt to solve a mystery that will save lives, including their own. The antagonists in Brown’s books are either religious zealots or those who abuse religion for personal gain. Brown’s books deal heavily with the occult, especially secret or mystical sects of Catholicism. While his books are critical of the Church, Brown asserts that he is not an atheist but rather growing more convinced of a divine creator the more science he explores.
Brown’s works have been criticized for poor grammar, weak syntax, and predictable plots; still, he remains one of the bestselling authors of mystery thrillers in the United States, and his stories have captivated millions.
Related Titles
By Dan Brown
