Techno-Thrillers discussion
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The Secret of Secrets
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Oct 2025 BOTM: The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
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"Annoyingly, 57 people have already submitted ratings, and many reviews."I'm a relative newcomer to Goodreads, and I'd no idea that this went on. How depressing.
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My preordered book was there today on Audible. Going to dive in. Let’s try page 1. Someone always dies right off the bat. That’s Dan Bown’s style … his version of in medias res. Let’s see …
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Started this on the plane yesterday. Enjoying and intrigued by the premise so far! I read another thriller with a golem recently, trying to remember which one it was.
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• Technothrillers: Best of the 2020s
• Best Books of Dan Brown
I’ve also created a Dan Brown Challenge:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Well, I've got through Secret of Secrets. This is only the second Dan Brown novel I've read. The first, naturally, was the Da Vinci Code, back in the day. My recollections of that experience are mainly of the short, very punchy chapters that kept the pace high. I'd already read The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, so some of the story elements weren't surprising, but it was still an easy read. That said, it didn't turn me into a Dan Brown fan particularly, and I probably wouldn't have thought to read Secrets if it hadn't popped up as BOTM.In the end I did quite enjoy it. Not as punchy as the Dan Brown I remember (I do wonder if a hard edit that halved the length would have resulted in a better novel), but some of the ideas were interesting and the plot resolutions worked fairly well (for me). As did the details of Prague.
Brown's writing style does look a little odd. There's a good deal of 'tell don't show' rather than the opposite; and of breathless, explicative and occasionally melodramatic 'goshing', some of which felt repetitive. I did find the story a bit difficult to get into in the first half of the book, but it seemed to come together better in the second half. I sometimes wondered what Langdon was there for, though. The 'symbology' that gave him something of a role in the narrative felt a bit contrived (presumably to do precisely that).
I haven't posted a review, because I can't really see the point (and I suspect that Brown is very much a 'Marmite' writer in any case -- beloved by some, loathed by others). But these are my reflections having closed the book.
Summary: I don't regret reading it.
Done! I found the premise interesting and the plot fun, and there's a pretty good cast of characters, too. On the downside, Secret of Secrets didn't live up to my (possibly inflated) memory of The Da Vinci Code. In short, this latest Dan Brown book felt pretty paint-by-the-numbers to me. Part of that could be because I've read so many technothrillers, and all of Brown's books. But overall it felt kinda predictable/boring--I frequently looked to see how many pages I had left to grind out to the end.
There also were a lot of info dumps, some trite/cliche areas, repetition, and speechifying. And it was probably too long. The aftermath stuff in particular could've been cut way back. I know Brown is a famous and wildly successful author, but the edit was too light. I remember Da Vinci Code being much tighter, cleaner. Maybe this is just what happens when an author writes long series.
Oh, and as Chris noted above, the symbology stuff seems kinda tacked on.
All that said, it's a solid, interesting book. I'll probably be thinking about the non-local consciousness stuff for a long time!
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I’m reluctant to share right away when that’s the overall feel. I don’t want to be a buzzkill for someone who just got the book and is enjoying the first chapter.
If, like me and Jed, you’ve read all Dan Brown’s books, nothing negative is going to stop you, … and this one is about as enjoyable as the bottom half of his books, which all seem to be all of comparable quality. Some pleasure is still possible, but I won’t be enthusiastically recommending any of those to anyone.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Some of his books I am more enthusiastic about:
Da Vinci Code
Angels & Demons
Deception Point
Digital Fortress
I wouldn’t recommend the rest, but concede … they were good enough for me … and I did get a little more out of Origin, though I guess I’m a little ashamed to admit it for some reason.
I’m going to move on and reread the other BOTM, Project Hail Mary, which is my favorite techno-thriller of all time. We’ll see if I still feel that way on the 3rd reading.
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The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (2025)
This book comes out tomorrow, Sep 9, 2025. Annoyingly, 57 people have already submitted ratings, and many reviews. One guy gave it 2 stars before it is even published because he thinks it is going to be too many pages. Can’t say how much I hate that. I personally would not allow anyone to do that before a book comes out.
Publisher's Summary
The world’s most celebrated thriller writer returns with his most stunning novel yet—a propulsive, twisty, thought-provoking masterpiece that will entertain readers as only Dan Brown can do.
Robert Langdon, esteemed professor of symbology, travels to Prague to attend a groundbreaking lecture by Katherine Solomon—a prominent noetic scientist with whom he has recently begun a relationship. Katherine is on the verge of publishing an explosive book that contains startling discoveries about the nature of human consciousness and threatens to disrupt centuries of established belief. But a brutal murder catapults the trip into chaos, and Katherine suddenly disappears along with her manuscript. Langdon finds himself targeted by a powerful organization and hunted by a chilling assailant sprung from Prague’s most ancient mythology. As the plot expands into London and New York, Langdon desperately searches for Katherine . . . and for answers. In a thrilling race through the dual worlds of futuristic science and mystical lore, he uncovers a shocking truth about a secret project that will forever change the way we think about the human mind.