The Robert Langdon Series || My Favorite Book Series #9

fanfictioner (50)in #review • 6 years ago

Hello, Steemit friends!

Unlike all the other series I've reviewed so far, the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown is an ongoing one, with the last book in the series, 'Origin' being just September last year. However, due to Dan Brown's captivating writing style and the controversy surrounding the 2nd book in the series 'The Da Vinci Code', the series has since enjoyed widespread popularity, three live-action movie adaptations.

Called 'The Robert Langdon series' after it's primary character, the series is less of a continuous flowing story than a collection of tales starred in by the same character, who is actually the only one to appear in all five books. All the books deal with the interpretation of ancient symbols to solve modern mysteries, but the actual themes vary so much that sometimes, one questions if it is Robert Langdon in all the stories. This is because the books were to actually written to be a series from the start. Each is largely independent from the others.

The Plot(s)

The novels are released chronologically starting with Angels and Demons, Robert's first adventure in which he has to rescue four kidnapped Catholic cardinals and figure out their abductors in time for conclave --the election of a new Pope. This proves more complex when it turns out the culprit is not an ancient group outside the Church but one of their own who had misunderstood the previous Pope and killed him, and thought he was acting for the best. In the end, Robert ultimately fails his mission, but he does find the killer and Conclave is held with a new Pope elected outside the preferati that comprised of the four cardinals.
The Da Vinci code is another religion-oriented adventure. This time, Robert is drawn in as a murder suspect and has to figure out a string of mysteries to save both his life and that of his new acquaintance, Sophie, and at the same time protect a secret about Christainity that has been kept for generations.
The Lost Symbol has less to do with religion than the meeting point of its ideals and science, and the mysteries surrounding the Freemasons and is the first in which Langdon doesn't leave the United States. In Inferno, the problem of world overpopulation and the post-humanist movement are tackled, and once again, Robert fails his mission when a genetic virus to turn a third of the population sterile is released. Origin, the latest story

Robert Langdon

Robert Langdon is a symbologist and professor of Harvard university, and a hard hitting atheist. He is however, very open minded, making him perfect for to solve the various problems with which he is presented, either in the Vatican or the Washington Monument. Throughout the books he remains single, although he and Vittorie have sexual relations at the end of the first, and some tensions do develop between him and Sophie in The Da Vinci Code. He is presented as smart, thoughtful and caring, and trusting to a fault being very virtuous himself.
Robert loves his work and puts his all into it. His only noted fault is an intense claustrophobia caused by a childhood-incident.

Movie Adaptations

Interestingly, the books have not been adapted into movies in order of their release. The first to be released was The Da Vinci Code, then Angels and Demons as a prequel. The Lost Symbol was skipped entirely, and Inferno released in 2016. Future works have not been announced.

If you love mysteries and thrillers, this series is for you! It's great fun trying to figure out who the true villain is every time! Look out for more works from Dan Brown such as Digital Fortress and Deception Point.