Consciousness

http://looneybooks79.blog/2025/09/24/robert-langdon-6-the-secret-of-secrets/

Robert Langdon is in Prague with his newfound love, Katherine Solomon. Katherine was invited to this mythical city to have a lecture on noetic science, the study of human consciousness. She has just written a book on a groundbreaking discovery she made, one that will shatter the current beliefs. But a ruthless and powerful organisation has made it its goal to destroy every copy of the manuscript before its published. And when Katherine suddenly disappears, Robert has to go looking for her while being chased by either the organisation and by the Czech police. All the while a nefarious mythical creature roams the streets of Prague preparing to destroy a secret hidden within the city, even ready to kill for it! Langdon has to race against time to help Katherine, stop the destruction of her book and to save their lives. Meanwhile the events happening in Prague have serious repercussions in New York and in London.

A new Robert Langdon, something the fans have been waiting eight years for. (and yes, I am one of those fans!). And again this is a true rollercoaster of a novel, adventurous and very fast-paced. Robert Langdon seems to attract a certain danger. In his sixth novel with Langdon as the protagonist, we are taken to the magical city of Prague, the capitol of the Czech Republic.

It's without a doubt that Dan Brown knows how to write a very suspenseful adventure thriller, with one of the most beautiful cities in the background. If you've never been to Prague, I highly recommend it! Using its mythology around the Golem, roaming the famous places in Prague (such as the Charles bridge with its statues, the castle overlooking the city, how the city has embraced modern art and architecture and its historic background) we are immersed in one of the greatest stories this year published this year.

But... and yes there is a little bit of a but... don't expect the same puzzle solving like Brown used in his first four novels. Even though Robert Langdon is a symbologist, which came in handy when solving the riddles and puzzles in books like The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons or The Lost Symbol, this time the novel is about science and his flight through the city, away from the people trying to stop (and kill) him and Katherine. Sometimes the book dwells a bit too much into the theoretics of the science but that doesn't take change anything about the awesomeness of the story!

'The Secret of Secrets' is a thrill, a ride, a fantastic journey and even without the puzzles it's a great read. I am sure all Dan Brown fans will have a blast with this novel, like I had! I love this cover by Penguin Random House / Doubleday Books, by the way! And the map of Prague on the inside of the cover is a great guide, I often visited while reading. The book also brought back some memories to 2005 (already twenty years ago!) when I visited the city, the bridge, the castle, the astronomical clock, Fred & Ginger (dancing house), Kafka's house (where I bought the book 'The Golem')... and this during winter with incredibly cold temperatures. Time to go back, I think!

And there's the little inside joke Dan Brown added giving the Penguin Random House editor of this novel (Jason Kaufman) a little part in this novel, although changing his name enough! It's all in the details!