The Da Vinci Code

I absolutely loved this book. It's one of the best I've never read! In this murder mystery, Robert Langdon is summoned by a French detective. The curator of the Louvre, the most beloved figure in Paris, has just been murdered. On Jacques Saunière's naked body, strange writing and numbers point to Langdon. Langdon is a professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard, but now he is brought to the...more

I absolutely loved this book. It's one of the best I've never read! In this murder mystery, Robert Langdon is summoned by a French detective. The curator of the Louvre, the most beloved figure in Paris, has just been murdered. On Jacques Saunière's naked body, strange writing and numbers point to Langdon. Langdon is a professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard, but now he is brought to the scene where he is is a suspect. Langdon teams up with Sophie Saunière, Jacques' granddaughter, who believes in his innocence. Escaping together, they travel to find the secret her grandfather wanted her to know. The Da Vinci Code is a fascinating, engrossing mystery with compelling stories of Catholicism, conspiracy, insanity and the secrets that lie in the Bible and Da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper."I recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries with twists. The Da Vinci Code will keep you scratching your head days after you've finished it. .   hide

An easy read, but that is about all I can say about the book. The writing was boring and redundant, much of it written more like a newspaper article (see the first sentence) than a novel. The characters were one dimensional and I am a little offended for the British for Dan Brown's painfully stereotypical portrayal of the British characters. The redeeming quality might be the research involved,...more

An easy read, but that is about all I can say about the book. The writing was boring and redundant, much of it written more like a newspaper article (see the first sentence) than a novel. The characters were one dimensional and I am a little offended for the British for Dan Brown's painfully stereotypical portrayal of the British characters. The redeeming quality might be the research involved, except that based on Brown's choice of scenery I might assume that he has never seen Europe except through the Travel Channel and possibly some resort sponsored tours of major national landmarks, and the locations that he implies to be hidden are actually bustling tourist attractions. Historical research? Brown also implies that da Vinci was Leonardo's surname; it wasn't. One would expect that he could get the simplest fact straight, particularly if he is going to name his book after the man. And yes, the knights templar did exist, at least according to most historical accounts of the time, but beyond that he really failed to tell us anything about them, which is funny considering they were the focus of the historical aspect of the book. If you want to read an insightful book about the knights templar and the holy grail and all of that, read Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Next to that, well, I would compare the Da Vinci Code to a children's book, but the Giver is considered a children's book and it was far more compelling than anything by Dan Brown.   hide

Gripping and a vvvvv clever plot started the book out of curiosity of the naive mind swayed by the coverage it received. Think I finished it in record time. Read it everywhere- in bed, at the dining table, in the bus, upon stairs and even at the loo. Dan Brown has successfully managed to create a strong sense of reality out of raw fiction and imagination. The excellent and awesomely crafty...more

Gripping and a vvvvv clever plot started the book out of curiosity of the naive mind swayed by the coverage it received. Think I finished it in record time. Read it everywhere- in bed, at the dining table, in the bus, upon stairs and even at the loo. Dan Brown has successfully managed to create a strong sense of reality out of raw fiction and imagination. The excellent and awesomely crafty plot woven with extreme intelligence often transcends your logic from fictional subjection to a paranoia of reality i expected a better ending though11    hide

Dan Brown proves once and for all that what sells books is not originality and wit but sensationalism and the tried and trusted formula of boy meets girl and fall in love whilst trying to beat the bad guys. In this case the bad guys are Roman Catholics of all sorts of shades - one can't help wondering if Brown had a bad time in school - and the good guys are a secret society who have absolutely...more

Dan Brown proves once and for all that what sells books is not originality and wit but sensationalism and the tried and trusted formula of boy meets girl and fall in love whilst trying to beat the bad guys. In this case the bad guys are Roman Catholics of all sorts of shades - one can't help wondering if Brown had a bad time in school - and the good guys are a secret society who have absolutely no reason to continue being secret. The idea that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children has been around for almost as long as Christianity (but not quite). Scholars are well aware of the texts that make the claim and noone seriously believes that it challenges Christian faith or, to put it another way, "The Bible is an anvil that has worn out many a hammer". It's a shame that it has to be said but we live in a generation that is woefully ignorant and revisionist in its approach to history. Conspiracy theories may seem exciting and feed the desire many have to knock down the beliefs of others but, as we all know deep down, the truth generally comes out. The Church is one of only a few global movements that has survived two thousand years in which many empires and competing ideas have come and gone. Is it too much to consider that they might just be onto something?   hide