Paris was the place where the story first took place in. Robert Langdon received a call late at night in his hotel room requesting him to go to the crime scene. The room was a plush Renaissance bedroom with exquisite furniture, hand frescoed walls, and a colossal mahogany four poster bed. This call came after he gave a talk about religious symbology in the American University of Paris. The story takes place in the present times.
Robert Langdon is one of the more significant characters in this book. He is a professor and a lecturer at Harvard University. He gets nervous at times during treacherous situations but he is very intelligent and a quick thinker. There were times when they needed to decipher a code fast, and Robert always managed to do it in the end. He is dedicated to his profession as after so many setbacks, he still continued with his work.
The most exciting part is when Robert’s trusted friend, Sir Leigh Teabing helped them against an attacker and escape from the police. When the attacker held them at gunpoint and wanted the sacred treasure clue, Leigh used his clutches to knock him out. Then, the police came. Leigh got into his car with them and escaped to the airport, where they took off in his private jet for London. Unfortunately, the police in London were alerted, but Leigh used his authority to prevent them from checking his plane. He used an arrogant tone saying, “This is private property and until you have a search warrant, you will stay off my plane. I am offering a reasonable option here.” Then they left the airport, with Robert and Sophie already hiding in the car waiting for them.
This is a very interesting and unique book based on the theme about the Priory of Sion, a real European secret society founded in 1099 with members including Sir Isaac Newton, Sandro Botticelli, Victor Hugo and Leonardo Da Vinci. It also mentions about the Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei, a deeply devout Catholic sect that has been the topic of recent controversy due to reports of brain-washing, coercion and a dangerous practice known as “corporal mortification”. This sect still exists today. The codes in the book deciphered by Sophie and Langdon are a little hard to understand. This book would appeal to people interested in art and history.
