The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

Jackson Coppley
Nov 6
2 min read

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown is a thriller set in Prague in winter, featuring Robert Langdon as he becomes entangled in a dangerous quest involving the mysteries of human consciousness, secret organizations, and ancient mythology. When Langdon attends a groundbreaking lecture by noetic scientist Katherine Solomon, she is about to release a manuscript that could disrupt centuries of belief.

Robert Langdon, the hero of Brown’s past novels, is drawn into an international race to unlock the mystery of what happens after death and the true nature of human consciousness. The disappearance of Katherine and her manuscript puts Langdon at odds with a powerful organization seeking to suppress her findings. Ancient Prague mythology inspires the antagonist, known as the Golem, and uses brutal tactics to uncover a secret project hidden beneath the city

The last novel Dan Brown wrote was eight years ago. Apparently, he has not slacked off in the interim. The Secret of Secrets is as well-researched as a scientific or philosophical book, and it also features a typical Dan Brown adventure. He has also gotten the page count up. At 688 pages, The Secret of Secrets is 50% longer than Brown’s hit, The Da Vinci Code. True to his standard concept, the story takes place over twenty-four hours. But this time, it will take the reader twenty-four hours to read it.

I viewed a Master Class conducted by Dan Brown, and he said he leaves the detail descriptions for last. If so, his novel bloomed by a third after he had written the dialog and action. He provides a detailed description of the city. So, add travelog to the features of this book besides action-adventure and philosophy.

Brown frequently dives into details the reader could do without, although this reader has a scientific bent and, for example, how liquid helium expands explosively I find educational.

But Dan Brown played an effective trick on me. When Langdon discovers who the Golem is—well, that was a twist I never saw coming.

Brown also explains trivia in detail. It was cute that he included Random House (which published this book) in the story, but did he really need to dedicate a page to the company's history and its name?

Who is the Golem and why did they name it Random House?

I’ll never tell. You must read the book.