Rating: Summary: Great read Review: A friend recommended this book to me, it was fun to read with all the twists. I really liked the bit about the two dead parents... what a common theme in books and movies...seems like we can't get away from this basic need. Noticed it from Harry Potter too. I also liked a new book called The Fifth Internationale by Jack King... Thilling too! Lots of twists and page turner. I would recommend both DaVinci and Fifth Internationale to anyone. Thanks everyone for reading.
Rating: Summary: Not up to the hype Review: I enjoyed the book and found the premise to be facinating. Good thing, because the details are tough to get through--very technical in some aspects. Unfortunately, the hype surrounding the book somewhat spoils it. Even more unfortunate, Dan Brown (author) does not draw a clear line between historical fact, his own hypothesis, and sraight out fiction. The reader, will need to read all of this with a grain of salt. The storyline has just enough elements of truth to be plausible, but not probable. Remember, IT'S FICTION!
Rating: Summary: What is all the hype about? Review: A good looking guy, a good looking girl, both very smart, both in danger, both with incredible luck... Ok, I've read books like that before... Too many things seem to happen just at the right time in this book. We just happen to have 2 people with bottomless knowledge on cryptology and symbology, perfect for the story. And then, oh no, can you believe it? We meet another person who knows all there's to know about the Grail! It's just too farfetched in my opinion. And what was the author trying to do with that simple code that never one of the main characters can figure out for a good while (you know the one)? Come on, it was easy to see how to read it, even I who do not have any cryptology background could decipher it! What, am I supposed to think that these 3 super intelligent characters cannot figure it out at a glance but everything else is a breeze to them? Although I found the descriptions of the two religious groups and the da Vinci paintings interesting, I still cannot see why this book has been a bestseller for so long. By the end, I didn't care if the Grail was ever found... But that's just me.
Rating: Summary: Hollywood style formula fiction Review: Historic/Government secret + Discovery channal information + conspiracy/mystery murder + innocent figitive + romance = Pop fiction/movie The Da Vinci Code is the same produce after the calculation. No bad, but not too much suprise, quite enteraining
Rating: Summary: A poorly structured novel Review: Whether or not the alternative Grail theory is accurately presented, the novel's structure is dreadful. The organization is of the episodic, meanwhile-back-at-the-ranch variety; much of the action is tedious, unsuspenseful, and repetitious, e.g, by Chapter 10, the professor and the lady have made five escapes by motor vehicle; and excessive use of flashback, digression, and/or set-piece "lectures" in almost every scene (as if sidebars had been inserted into the narrative) stalls forward action. Then there is the author's seeming unwillingness to omit ANY of his research. The one redeeming feature for mystery fans: a well-sustained red herring. Deapite all the hype, Mr. Brown's tome is not worth the time required to get through it.
Rating: Summary: Fun Yet Educating Review: Filled with riddles, intrigues, and unexpected outcomes, "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown can practically be called a puzzle book. Not only does it keep the reader's mind alert, it also quenches the reader's thirst for knowledge. Filled with interesting facts and opinions on art and religion, the book challenges the reader to question his own beliefs about religion. "The Da Vinci Code" follows Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu's desperate search for the Holy Grail in order to preserve its ancient secrets. Along their journey they find themselves connected with these secrets in more ways than they could have ever imagined. "The Da Vinci Code" is destined to become a well-loved classic.
Rating: Summary: Excellence Review: This book was by far the best book I've ever read. Dan Brown presents so much information in this book. Some things I thought weren't true, so I looked them up, and I must commend him because he obviously did his research. While this is a fiction book, he presents an immense amount of factual information to tie in with his story.And to the contrary of what another reviewer said...this book is anything BUT predictable. The storyline was invented in the mind of Mr. Brown and has so many twists and turns, a claim that this is "predictable" is entirely false. I strongly urge everyone to read this book. It is guaranteed to make you think twice about some things in the future, and make you look at things in a whole new light. You will probably find yourself looking up things online to see if they're true, and then find yourself amazed when you reveal the truth and you realize Dan Brown knows his stuff. A great book by a great author and it tops my "must read" list. If my review doesn't convince you...look at the bestseller list for the past weeks...you'll notice a familiar name around the top.
Rating: Summary: Overrated Review: This book is overrated. The characterizations are inconsistent and the plot is simplistic. Dan Brown is unable to develop any coherent ideas of his own. I wouldn't recommend reading it.
Rating: Summary: Pedantic Review: The curator of the Louvre museum in Paris has been murdered, leaving behind a string of clues--not to his murderer's identity, but to a secret for which he and others like him have been responsible for keeping. Faced with the idea that the secret might die with him, he spends his last minutes setting up a treasure hunt for two people: his granddaughter, a cryptologist with the French version of the FBI, and Robert Langdon, a professor of symbology. Together they embark on what turns out to be a quest for the Holy Grail, but a Holy Grail unlike anything the reader has ever heard of. Or so the author seems to hope. This novel relies very highly on the supposed sensational nature of the secret. Much of the drama, especially in the early parts of the book, hinges on interrupted revelations. Unfortunately if you already have read the source material, or have been exposed to Mr. Brown's subject before, the contrived nature of his plot becomes not only apparent but tedious. As a digest of various...alternative religious beliefs, secret societies, philosophies and conspiracy theories, this volume is not without interest. However, the writing is pedantic, sometimes sounding as if it had been excerpted verbatim from various encyclopaediae. In other areas the plodding conversations, stereotyped characters and trite similes also make the reading a trial. I have to admit my reading habits are eclectic, but I had a hard time believing in the blindness of the main characters when it came to the puzzles; more often than not I solved them full chapters before Mr. Langdon and company. I also didn't find the ending any great surprise. In spite of its faults, _The DaVinci Code_ does manage to be a page turner and as such is a relatively quick read. My disapointment stems from the fact that I was hoping for some new treatment of the subject matter and didn't find any. I give the book credit for taking the subject into the realm of popular fiction and exposing it to a wider audience than it has heretofore enjoyed. But I can't help but think that had the topic not been in itself so controversial, _The Da Vinci Code_ just wouldn't have gained such noteriety. The quality just isn't there.
Rating: Summary: awful! Review: There is very little to be said in favour of this novel: it is a rehash job with a bad plot added to it, it is badly written, it lacks research (and provides lots of false information) and contains no characterization. Why on earth was this a bestseller? And why are all the main characters so useless at getting the clues? Anyone can point out the factual errors, but which young French Parisian woman would ever utter the following: "You're kidding, right? We're going to visit a knight?" What a waste of money! I can only hope it kept a few ignorant Americans amused on their cruises - or that it encourages them to visit the Temple Church (based on the Church of the Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which I suppose is pagan inspired, too ...), etc., etc.
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