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Summary: Terrible style and characterization
Review: The DaVinci Code is a terribly written book. Halfway through, I started turning down the corners of pages with egregious errors of style or usage; I probably turned down a dozen pages, and if I'd been wiser, I would have turned down the entire book in the first place. The characters have the depth of puddles. The plot unfolds in real time, which is for the best, since I strongly doubt the author could have handled anything more complex.The protagonists break the DaVinci code by figuring out a series of puzzles. Several of the puzzles are unbelievable, and one is painfully obvious. ("It's like no language I've ever seen before!") What is of interest in the DaVinci Code is not due to the author. He draws on a changing view of Mary Magdelene, as not a prostitute but someone equal to the other apostles, and perhaps even the wife of Christ. He imagines that some of the hidden symbolism that does in fact exist in Leonardo's Last Supper and in his other works refers to Magdelene's true identity. The historical material is fascinating, reminding us that history is indeed written by the winner. It's only too bad that a better writer didn't elect to make use of this compelling historical information.
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Summary: Very good book
Review: The Davinci Code is a VERY good book.
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Summary: The DaVinci Code - A review
Review: The DaVinci Code is an exceptionally written and deceptive story that takes you through the twists and turns of a mystery that keeps you on your toes the entire time.
Sophie Nevue is a DCPJ cryptologist, which is someone who deciphers codes. She was raised by her grandfather, Jacues Sauniere. They had a fall out when Sophie was in college and accidentally saw something unforgivable. She hadn't talk to her grandfather in 10 years until a picture of him dead was sent to her at the DCPJ lab which had a code next to him. The last line of the code clearly had the words saying, P.S. Find Robert Langdon. As a young child her grandfather had called her Princess Sophie so she new that she had to find Robert and figure out what he was trying to tell her.
Robert Langdon is a Harvard symbologist who has published many books. Robert and Sophie play a cat and chase game with Bezu Fache, the head of the DCPJ police who believes Robert to be the killer. Fortunately Jaques had left many clues that all were interconnected and made the path for Sophie and Robert to find out the truth about her deceased family and how to find the most sought after possession for over 200,000 years.
As they make there way from place to place they find out that Jaques was part of a secret society, which were the protectors of the possession. By the end of the story they have the power to keep the secret that has lasted since Christ's death or to change history for ever. Robert and Sophie meet many people that help them but at the same time make it that much harder to find whatever Jaques intended for them to find. Dan Brown, the author, is able to lead you in one direction and then completely change it to the point that you are completely baffled. After finding out the history and the intelligence of Jaques Sauniere you think of him as a wonderful and powerful man that you would be honored to meet. The book has so many twists that there isn't a point in the book that you aren't fully intrigued. Another part of this book that stunned me is how much I learned about Jesus and the sought out possession as well as the true meaning of signs we use today. Over all this book is incredibly well written and beats all other books that I have read in the past. Dan Brown was able to combine history into a thrilling mystery.
I don't have any complaints about the book at all because you couldn't tell what was going to happen in the future and you learn many things about the history of paintings and unknown facts about famous people. The one small change that I would have is that there is a code towards the end of the book which dumfounded Robert and a man who has devoted his life to learning about the possession and trying to find it. It was easy for even me to figure it out. But that only lasted maybe a page and didn't have any affect on the book. From beginning to end this gripping story of two young, intelligent people seeking for the most powerful object in the world is believable and amazing. Dan Brown did an exceptional job and The DaVinci Code is sure to be a Pulitzer Prize winner. I would recommend this book to anyone who really wants to hear a story which will mislead you, interest you, and teach you all in an amazingly written novel.
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Summary: Worthy of the hype...as a work of fiction
Review: The DaVinci Code is an exciting, well-paced, and intriguing mystery. Readers are taken through a whirlwind plot that is chock full of information about Christianity, symbolism, and the Grail. I picked up this book to see for myself as to whether or not it "debunks" Christianity as so many have claimed. The important idea to remember while reading this book is that it is a work of fiction. The book is well-researched and is a great mystery. While some of the facts that Brown includes are true, the story itself is fiction. Simple as that. I feel that those who are critical of the novel are afraid...afraid of what they themselves do not know or understand. I appreciate any work of fiction that compels me to go out and learn MORE--The DaVinci Code does this. Being secure in your own beliefs is also important in truly enjoying and appreciating this book. Sure, there are some holes in the plot and the "truth" about Sophie's family didn't come as much of a surprise. I still enjoyed the story because Brown does a wonderful job of describing the historical structures and figures, from DaVinci to Alexander Pope and from the Louvre to Westminster Abbey. So read The DaVinci Code...Enjoy it for what it is--a fascinating and exciting work of fiction that will keep you reading long into the night.
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Summary: An Amazing Code
Review: The DaVinci Code is another great adventure for Dan Brown's character, Robert Langdon. Dan Brown writes a great thriller that contains a lot historical facts. He keeps you turning the pages until you have finished the book. You are either intrigued with what you may learn next or what is going to happen next. After reading the book you understand why the book has been such a huge success.
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Summary: Bic Mac w/fries
Review: The DaVinci Code sparked my interest with the fabulous reviews and information relating to the ancient symbols, the art world and secret societies. The first three hundred pages were engaging providing historical references and some interesting ideas. By the time I got to the last hundred pages the author had played through the history and the lore and the conclusion is based on just the characters. The problem is the characters, thin at best, don't elicit emotion from the reader. I'm left thinking about some of the issues the book raised but completely let down by the conclusion. I think the book was clearly written with a movie in mind and is geared toward that type of reader. Yes, at times, it was fun to read, but it could have been so much better.
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Summary: Big Hype - Little Follow Through
Review: The Davinci Code starts out with a bang and disappointingly leaves you hanging at the end. Though it is a work of fiction, it includes some inaccurate references to real events. Things as simple as the date the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered are inaccurate. It's an average thriller, but I am concerned that Christians may take some of his other presentations at face value and feel they need to rationalize their faith in light of some disturbing "facts." I don't think the book is worth the time one spends reading it, and Dan Brown should certainly refrain from attempting to incorporate fact - especially important ones - into his works of fiction.
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Summary: Sacreligious Wild Goose Chase
Review: The Davinci Code unfolds as a Grail Quest, but it's really just a wild goose chase. The book has to be one of the most sacreligious books in recent memory; doing for Christianity what Muslims felt the Satanic Versus did for Islam.
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Summary: Nearly One Sitting
Review: The DaVinci Code was a page turner, I must say. I read it in nearly one sitting, and enjoyed it a lot. It's a good read, and a simple one. There were some complicated puzzles, some fascinating theories, and interesting facts. I'm hoping that Fibonacci sequences and the number PHI will be topics of conversation, when and if I get a chance to discuss this book with anyone. Also, I ran and got my book on Italian Renaissance Art when I read Brown's description of Leonardo's The Last Supper, and sure enough, he describes it accurately. It makes me want to find out more about Leonardo DaVinci, that's for sure. Since there are many reviews discussing the nature of the mystery, I won't bring that up other than to say Interesting. The Chalice as metaphor. I enjoyed the little plot twist at the end, dealing with the heroine's family, quite a bit. That having been said, I must qualify my enthusiasm.
As much fun as this was to read, I was wondering about halfway through the book, "Well, wonder what difficulty they'll be running into now, and how they'll get out of it" in a ho-hum-who-really-cares way. There were just so MANY times the pair had to deal with entrapments, chases, thefts, guns, and the like. And, there was one place that is such a glaring flaw, I must mention it. At one point in the story, Langdon, Sophie, and Sir Leigh come across a clue written in mirror writing. This clue stumps them for quite a long time. Tell me, how is it that an expert on symbology, who has revealed time and time again his expertise in the life of Leonardo DaVinci, can miss so broadly and for so long, a clue written in mirror writing? How can a cryptology expert, whose grandfather's passion was Leonardo, not see the "(reverse) handwriting on the wall" and know it for what it is IMMEDIATELY? Also, a historian whose passion has been the Holy Grail, who knows everything about Leonardo that the hero and heroine know, is completely at a loss. Dan Brown only makes it worse by including a picture of what the clue looked like, within the text. Leonardo's penchant for writing his notebooks in mirror writing is well known to anyone who has ever read a Time Magazine article about the man. How then, can it be mistaken for the scrit of some ancient, lost culture, by people who specialize in the man's life? This part of the plot made me laugh out loud, and my respect for the story was somewhat disrupted. In the middle of a pretty good, intelligent story, it really stood out. Bottom line: mostly enjoyable, with one laughable, glaring, really STUPID plot error. Borrow it from your library if you see it on the "new book" shelf.
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Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: The DaVinci Code was one I couldn't put down - a true rarity for me. Brown has blended a wonderful array of topics into a truely suspensful story. Stories of code breaking, religon, art history, secret societies and more are all woven together to form a fantastic story. Highly recommended!
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