Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” has finally arrived. Yeah! Oh wait, you know what this means… used bookstore patrons will start asking for this this weekend and new bookstore patrons will start asking for his NEXT book as soon as they finish “The Lost Symbol.” (and who knows how long it’ll be til that is out!) Both groups are eager for books with a similar flavor, but there’s only so many Dan Brown books. What should you direct them towards next? Or while they’re waiting for Lost Symbol to appear on the used market?
Here’s some suggestions for books readily available either from your distributor or possibly already roaming around your used book store. This is a mix of recent and not so recent blockbusters and books that slipped under the radar. Some are single books and some are part of a series that can hopefully keep your Dan Brown fans busy for the next few months.
“Holy Blood, Holy Grail”- Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, & Henry Lincoln
An older nonfiction title that was recently reissued. The Da Vinci Code is basically the fictional version of this book. There’s also a follow up book called “The Messianic Legacy” by the same authors, but it was not as popular.
“The Rule of Four”- Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason
Two students at Princeton are about to finally crack the secrets of a Renaissance text that’s baffled scholars for centuries. But when a scholar of the text is mysterious murdered, it seems someone doesn’t want the books secrets unlocked.
“The Templar Legacy”- Steve Berry
A former US operative follows a trail of clues across Europe to uncover the secret history of the Knights Templar. This is the start of a series, with more due out at the end of the year.
“The Icon”- Neil Olson
A stolen religious icon that vanished during WWII reappears and sets off a furious fight to buy or steal it.
“Michelangelo’s Notebook”- Paul Christopher
When a young art history student stumbles on a lost page of Michelango’s notebooks, unknown assassins will stop at nothing to conceal the secrets within. This is the first book of the Finn Ryan series. The other books in the series concern other rare documents and archaelogical finds.
“The Pegasus Secret”- Greg Loomis
When a lawyer’s sister is killed in a bomb blast he suspects a mysterious religious painting she bought just before her death may be why she was killed. This kicks off the Lang Reilly series of thillers, which all focus on similar mysterious paintings and ancient texts.
“White Smoke”- Andrew Greeley
The pope is dead and the cardinals are gathering to elect a new pope. Opus Dei and the Curae use modern methods including lectronic eavesdropping, character assassination and rumor-mongering to block the election of a liberal Pope. Includes many details on past papal election involving married popes and the role of women in the early Christian church. Greeley also has a whole series of books involving a mystery solving priest, but this one deserves a special mention since it involves Opus Dei.
“The Thieves of Heaven”- Richard Doetsch
A thief breaches the walls of the Vatican to steal two keys that supposedly are literally the keys to Heaven. There is a sequal to this, and a third book will be released at the end of the year.
“Preacher” Volume 1-9- Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon
This is a collection of an entire comic book series bound together in 9 trade size volumes. A preacher that’s lost his faith gets the ability to literally use the word of God to command others. And he’d like a few words with God about what a mess the world has become… Meanwhile the organization charged with protecting the living Holy Grail would like to make him into a Messiah… or destroy him as the antichrist.
Despite being a comic series, this should NOT be given to children, EVER. There’s sex, drugs, violence, rape, murder, blasphemy and really everything else objectionable you could ever think of in this series, all to illustrate just how messed up the world really is.
Bonus, it also has VAMPIRES!
“The Historian”- Elizabeth Kostova
Speaking of vampires… a historian persues Dracula across Europe, but the wily vampires is always one step ahead of her it seems. It shares a similar feel to many of these other religious thrillers, but she’s after vampires instead of the Holy Grail/Knights Templar/secret books of the Bible/etc.
and finally a few more vampire fiction books..
I would recommend “The Eight”, by Katherine Neville, which predates Dan Brown by a few years. A great ride, split between historical France and the modern era, and the quest for a chess set that hides the secret of… well, I can’t tell you that. A sequel, published last year, has just been release in trade paperback.