Dan Brown Books in Order
Dan Brown is an American thriller author best known for the Robert Langdon series following a Harvard symbologist as he investigates and solves international conspiracies involving art, cryptography, science, and religion. The Da Vinci Code (2003) became one of the bestselling novels in publishing history, and in 2005 Time magazine named Dan Brown one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. His books have since sold over 250 million copies in 56 languages.
The Robert Langdon books always follow the same recognizable pattern: a tight timeline, a foreign city used as both setting and puzzle to solve, and plots that often test current scientific and religious ideas. Angels & Demons uses Vatican politics and antimatter, The Da Vinci Code turns Renaissance art and Christian history into clues to solve puzzles, Inferno follows Dante through Florence, Venice, and Istanbul, and The Secret of Secrets takes the series to Prague and the science of non-local consciousness. The standalone novels Digital Fortress and Deception Point have been written before Robert Langdon and are closer to the techno-thriller genre.
This page lists all Dan Brown books in order, including the Robert Langdon series, standalone novels, the early humor book 187 Men to Avoid written under the alias Danielle Brown, and his children’s picture book Wild Symphony.
Latest Dan Brown Books
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Where to Start with Dan Brown
→ New to Dan Brown? Start with Angels & Demons if you want the Robert Langdon books in publication order.
→ Curious about the book that made Robert Langdon popular? Start with The Da Vinci Code. It is book 2 in the Langdon series, but it works without reading Angels & Demons first.
→ The Robert Langdon books are mostly standalone. Each novel has its own mystery, city, and central conspiracy, so you can skip around, but publication order gives the clearest reading order.
→ Prefer reading standalone novels? Try Digital Fortress for a suspense story about code-breaking and intelligence-agency, or Deception Point for a political thriller involving science, government pressure, and a controversial discovery.
→ Watched the films first? The movie order is different from the book order. The books begin with Angels & Demons, then continue with The Da Vinci Code, while the movies start with The Da Vinci Code and then continue with Angels and Demons.
Robert Langdon Series (Books in Order)
The Robert Langdon series follows Harvard professor Robert Langdon, who is specializing in religious symbology and iconography, during his investigations of unusual mysteries involving old symbols, hidden codes, architecture, art, science, and belief system. As Robert Langdon doesn’t have the usual police methods of investigation available, he solves the problems by using his own knowledge of symbolism, finding clues in paintings, ritual objects, church layouts, old texts, and other locations hidden in plain sight.
Each novel is set in a different city or country, so the series overall takes us from Rome and Vatican City, to Paris, London, Washington, D.C., Florence, Venice, Istanbul, and Prague. The events in the books often take place over a short period of time, and we often see Robert Langdon racing against time.
- Angels And Demons, 2000
- The Da Vinci Code, 2003
- The Lost Symbol, 2009
- Inferno, 2013
- Origin, 2017
- The Secret of Secrets, 2025
Standalone Novels
- 187 Men to Avoid, 1995 (written as Danielle Brown)
- Digital Fortress, 1998
- Deception Point, 2002
Picture Books
- Wild Symphony, 2020
Anthologies
- By the Book, 2014
Dan Brown Biography
Dan Brown is an American author whose work includes the Robert Langdon thrillers, standalone techno-thrillers, an early humor book written under an alias, and the children’s picture book Wild Symphony. He has published bestselling novels since Digital Fortress in 1998.
Official website: danbrown.com
Dan Brown was born in 1964 in Exeter, New Hampshire and grew up at the Phillips Exeter Academy’s campus, where his father taught mathematics and his mother was a church organist. That background, with a mix of science, music, and religion became a recurring theme in his novels. His books often place numbers, codes, music, art, science and religion in the same story, all of which eventually become clues to solving the cases.
He studied at Amherst College from where he graduated in 1986. First he tried to become a musician, and he also spent time in Seville studying art history, and before becoming a full-time author, he returned to Phillips Exeter to teach English and creative writing. While teaching there, he became interested in secret agencies and code-breaking after Secret Service agents visited the school to investigate a student email. That experience was one of main catalysts to write Digital Fortress, his first thriller.
In 2000, Dan Brown published Angels and Demons, which introcuded professor Robert Langdon, but it took writing The Da Vinci Code, published in 2003, to turn it into a world-wide popular series that led to multiple film and TV adaptations. The book became what is called a publishing phenomenon, and it drew attention to theories, true or otherwise, about early Christian history, Leonardo Da Vinci, secret societies, religious conspiracies. It also created the historical puzzle thriller subgenre that would become very popular with readers and new authors trying to copy the formula as well.
After The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown continued the series with The Lost Symbol, Inferno, Origin, and The Secret of Secrets, each taking place in other locations around the world, with a recognizable pattern that the series is known for: Robert Langdon is suddenly pulled into a dangerous situation in order to solve a mystery, and real places around the world become part of the puzzle. His books always ask the same question: what happens when old, established beliefs collide with new scientific or historical claims.
Dan Brown also wrote two standalone thrillers and later published Wild Symphony, a picture book for young readers. His very first book written before he started writing thrillers, 187 Men to Avoid, was published with his wife, Blythe, under a pseudonym, Danielle Brown.
In addition to writing, he created a music record company called Dalliance, created a children’s cassette with the title SynthAnimals, and in 1990, he published a CD called Perspective.
Currently, Dan Brown lives in New England.
Dan Brown Book Adaptations
- The Da Vinci Code – adapted into the film The Da Vinci Code (2006)
- Angels & Demons – adapted into the film Angels & Demons (2009)
- Inferno – adapted into the film Inferno (2016)
- The Lost Symbol – adapted into the television series The Lost Symbol (2021)
- The Secret of Secrets – adaptation in development as a Netflix Langdon series (announced 2025)
Dan Brown Awards and Honors
Awards
- The Da Vinci Code – Book Sense Book of the Year, Adult Fiction (2004)
- The Da Vinci Code – British Book Award, Book of the Year (2005)
- Hungarian Golden Book Award (2015)
- Origin – Nielsen Gold Bestseller Award (2018)
- Esquire Spain Global Icon of the Year (2025)
- Time magazine 100 Most Influential People in the World (2005)
Nominations and Shortlists
- The Da Vinci Code – International Dublin Literary Award (2005)
- The Lost Symbol – CrimeFest Sounds of Crime Award (2010)
- The Lost Symbol – International Dublin Literary Award (2011)
- Inferno – British Book Award, International Author of the Year (2013)
I am a huge fan of your books, are you planning to continue writing for Robert Langdon Series?
Yep, a new Robert Langdon is scheduled for Fall 2025.
If you have come to enjoy and appreciate Mr. Brown’s work, I strongly encourage you to attend his Master Class lectures. It is like spending two hours with him, one on one, and gaining full insight into how he creates his stories.
I am a struggling author trying to make it. Mr. Brown shared all of his experiences, methods, process, and philosophy in this Master Class. HOW he presented this invaluable information was as beneficial as WHAT he presented.
He has personally walked in the shoes of a struggling author and gladly, kindly shares his wisdom. Best of all, he humbly states what it takes to succeed sans any hype, hyperbole, advertisements, or promotions.
why Dan Brown do not write a novel about the most bloodiest group of history of Islam ‘ASSASSINS’
WSill we ever see another book in the Robert Langdon series? If so, when?
What is the retentive memory thing called that the girl had in his books
My considered opinion? Dan Brown ROCKS!!
I am widely read … both fiction and non-fiction … former college lecturer (72 years old and no dementia!!)Sorry