Customer Reviews
Much More Than A Super Suspense Thriller!!
Once I began this extraordinary book, I could not put it down. "The Da Vinci Code" is so much more than a gripping suspense thriller. Dan Brown takes us beyond the main plot and leads us on a quest for the Holy Grail - a Grail totally unlike anything we have been taught to believe. With his impeccable research, Mr. Brown introduces us to aspects and interpretations of Western history and Christianity that I, for one, had never known existed...or even thought about. I found myself, unwillingly, leaving the novel, and time and time again, going online to research Brown's research - only to find a new world of historic possibilities opening up for me. And my quest for knowledge and the answers to questions that the book poses, paralleled, in a sense, the quest of the book's main characters. What a trip! What a read!
A violent murder is committed in the Louvre Museum. The museum's chief curator, who is also the head of a remarkable secret society that has existed since the death of Christ, is found dead and gruesomely positioned on the floor near The Mona Lisa. In the minutes before he died, this very complex man was able to leave clues for his daughter to follow. The daughter, a brilliant cryptographer, along with a famed US symbologist, follow her father's codes and leads, hoping that he will, through his death, finally tell her what he wanted to confide in her while he lived. The secret society included members such as: Leonardo Da Vinci, Boticelli, Gallileo, Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, Jean Cocteau, etc. These folks really Did belong to this society, which Really existed! This is when I first began my online search.
The mystery, or mysteries, take us through England, France and far back in time. We learn about the secret of the Knights Templar, and the symbolism in many of the world's most treasured paintings, as well as architectural symbolism in some of history's most sacred churches. Of course, we also learn who committed the murder and why - although this is almost secondary next to the real epic mystery the novel uncovers.
If there are flaws in the plot, I was too busy reading to discover any. That is probably the sign of a terrific book! The writing is excellent and the characters are a bit on the super-hero/heroine side, but who cares? Is what "The Da Vinci Code" proposes true? Well, the research is correct. The historical events and people explored in the book are real. But no one knows the Truth...nor will we ever, probably. I think that some things are meant to be a mystery. With all the world's diverse religions and each individual's belief in what is Divine - the Truth would have to destroy the beliefs, hopes and lives of many of the world's population. So, perhaps, in the divine scheme of things, there are many more Truths than one. Don't take the book too seriously. Just read it and enjoy!
Interesting Premise....Cardboard Characters...
The Di Vinci Code is a murder mystery that starts out fast paced and easily pulls the reader into its exciting plot, but somehow falls short of expectations by the end. Don't get me wrong, it is a good summer/beach read but I found the writing predictable, hollow and at points very melodramatic. If your looking for good writing look elsewhere. If your looking for fast paced, Hollywood style characters and a plot with an interesting premise this book is the one.
The books two main characters Robert Langdon a symbologist and Sophie Neveu a cryptologist meet in an unlikely way; at the murder scene of her grandfather. The story runs away from there when the two discover an ancient secret tied up with a centuries old society that worships the goddess. On the run from the police, Sophie and Robert on limited time try to figure out the code and discover what is hidden. Interesting enough characters to begin with, but they are never really developed and fall into a predictable sequence of boy meets girl patterns. Other characters in the story include; an albino monk, a knight named Sir Leigh Teabing, a bulldog French police captain and a mysterious, faceless character called "the teacher." The greatest strength is the research and attention to detail that Brown uses in his plot. It is fascinating, to read about Da Vinci, the Priory of Scion, Opus Dei and the hundreds of details he works into the plot on religious and pagan symbols. An interesting, fast read but a bit slow during the second half of the book.
Christian Mumbo Jumbo!!
Sorry folks, I know this is supposed to be a great book and I'll admit it did keep me interested but all through the book I kept thinking is this story totally fabricated or is this really based on some factual data somewhere.
Ok, so now I finished the book and in hindsight, from all the hype, I was expecting something a little more interesting. It's not a bad mystery, suspense novel, if you don't take it serious but it's not a great one either.
Le Setting: Paris France
Le Main Characters
Robert Langdon - Symbolologist
Sophie Neveu - French Police Cryptologist and granddaughter of Sauniere
Silas - An albino monk of the order Opus Dei
Captain Bezu Fache - Chief police investigator
The Teacher - an unknown conspirator
Jacques Sauniere - Louvre Curator and Grand Master of the Priory and murder victim.
Bishop Aringarosa - founder and leader of Opus Dei
Leigh Teabing - expert on the Priory and it's functions
Le Plot
The Da Vinci Code is a novel based upon The Priory of Sion, a secret society, whose previous members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others. The Priory is entrusted with the preservation of mysterious archives from the life and death of Christ including the protection of his direct descendants.
Silas now possesses the knowledge and telephones the Teacher with the location of the Keystone, the legendary device from which the location can be derived of the long sought holy treasure, The Holy Grail*.
* lest you be confused, The holy Grail, in this story, is a euphemism for the above mentioned archives and more, that were discovered by the Knights Templar under Solomons Temple during the First Crusade. The Priory is the modern day extension of the Knights Templar. More confused? Sorry!
Silas is confident of his information, for it was obtained from each of the heads of the Priory, including the Grand Master himself, before he separately shot each of them. But Silas has been deceived!
So begins this convoluted tale of suspense and intrigue that has obvious religious connotations.
la Story
Robert Langdon, a renown Symbolologist, is woken in the middle of the night and driven by a Police sergeant the the Louvre at the request of Captain Bezu Fache, ostensibly to aid in the murder investigation of the museum's Curator, Jacques Sauniere, whose nude corpse has been symbolically laid out and marked.
It seems that Sauniere was scheduled to meet Langdon earlier that night but didn't show. This and some other items have Fache convinced that Langdon is their man.
Police Cryptologist Sophie Neveu and the granddaughter of the victim, thinks otherwise and she barges in on the investigation, surreptitiously informs Langdon of his plight and enables him to escape.
Before he and Sophia escape though, Sophia who believes her grandfather left a secret dying message for her, locate a mysterious key behind a painting from which they eventually locate the real Keystone and from there, while fleeing from the police, follow a path as laid out to discover the true location of the Holy Grail. Therein commences an extraordinary race through Paris, London, and beyond.
Conclusion
The author, Dan Brown, has a pleasant easy reading style somewhat like other great suspense novelists such as Tom Clancy or Stephen Coonts. As I mentioned the reading went smoothly and this was an overall enjoyable read. I do think there were a lot of issues, however, that lacked closure.
My problem with the book stems from overall believability. I felt in at least a couple places the author purposely misled the readers in order to draw them away from possible connections and had a tendency to stretch so called facts to further the story. An example is Brown's placement of Mary Magdlene is Da Vinci's Last Supper painting. Existing through hundreds of years of intense scrutiny, nobody had noticed this until Leigh Teabing pointed this out to Sophie.
This is something Clive Cussler might come up with.
I realize that the author was taking artistic license and it portends a extraordinary postulate but it would be more believable if reality was stretched to but not beyond reality.
The Da Vinci Code is a unique novel that should appeal to conspiracy buffs and religion phobes (me excepted). An ingenious postulation but with too little to back it up.
Final Rating: 3.5 Stars, rounded up because.
