Robert Langdon series reading order

A plan for the whole series

6 volumes, 3,581 pages, about 65 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 3 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 3, “The Lost Symbol” (by 62%). Plan your break after volume 2, before the series plans it for you.
• Readers scored volume 3, “The Lost Symbol”, below its predecessor (7.0 after 7.3). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you. From volume 4 the form returns.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2025. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

5 stages, with 4 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around February 14, 2027, 21 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 120 habout 4 weeksby November 24, 2026

   • 1. Angels & Demons2000 · 576 pages · 11 h
   • 2. The Da Vinci Code2003 · 489 pages · 9 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 3, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 211 h15 daysby December 18, 2026

   • 3. The Lost Symbol2009 · 604 pages · 11 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 22, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 311 h14 daysby January 5, 2027

   • 4. Inferno2013 · 576 pages · 11 h
6. Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by January 8, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 412 h15 daysby January 24, 2027

   • 5. Origin2017 · 632 pages · 12 h
8. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 28, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 513 h17 daysby February 14, 2027

   • 6. The Secret of Secrets2025 · 704 pages · 13 h
10. The end of the series

    February 14, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: uneven. Scores jump by 0.4 points with no clear direction.

Best volume: Angels & Demons (7.4, 3,956 ratings). Weakest: The Lost Symbol (7.0). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 2 and 3: 62%. The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2025. The last volume (7.2) scores close to the series average or above it.