The Da Vinci Code

DArcy

Wondering if anyone else has read this book? (bet there's an old thread around here somewhere that I missed :rolleyes: )

I finished it a few days ago...couldn't put it down. Haven't enjoyed a book like that in years. I don't have any particular interest in symbolism or the history of religions (or anything that was dealt with in the book for that matter!) but the whole concept really grabbed me.

Has anyone read the first book "Angels & Demons"?

secret_squirrel

yes - its better - although the hero survives an awful lots.

Both books have done the rounds of half my office

dudara

I really enjoyed it. A much better than average airport read. I think I read it all in the space of a day. I like the way the author drew so much history, hearsay and fact together.

grumpytrousers

I'm on the fourth Dan Brown book now. They're all good in the 'one more chapter' sort of way...classic Brain Candy sort of stuff. Actually, Deception Point is quite good, in that it's got a bit of a political thriller about it.

Mr E

Da Vinci Code was good. Stong start, excellent middle (particularly the revelation), but

the ending was a bit limp

.

Angels and Demons was also good. More action packed, and a bit less believable (particularly the antics towards the end of the book).

Deception Point was enjoyable enough, but I read it 2 months ago and can't remember it at all! I know I enjoyed it, though (I bought the other 3 because of it)

Digital Fortress is really good. Its more 'techie' than the other 3, but had a great story and lots of twists and turns (reminded me a little bit of Matthew Reilly's scarecrow books)

Cactus Col

I've picked it up ... and barely got a few pages into it ..... read some bad reviews about it .. and they put me completly off the book .... but will probably give it another crack in a couple of months ... if only to see what all the fuss is about .... and I'm sure at it's very worst it's not the worst book in the world (which is John Grisham's "The Partner" if anyone was curious)

Cyrus

Ive read them all save Deception point, enjoyed Da vinci codes and angel and demons (altho it really stretches the boundaries in believeability!) more than deception point, not to say it wasnt good mind

IMO The da vinci codes is one of the best books this past 5 years, really gives you a new perspective

DArcy

really gives you a new perspective

Definitely...some of the ideas it conjured up made me really think. I was contemplating new ideas...things I would never have thought up on my own.

It's crazy - if you'd asked people 2 months ago who Dan Brown was, most of them wouldn't have known.

Dancing duck

Granted I haven't actually read the book, but I saw one person go through it in a frenzy, desperate to find out how it all ended. Then I heard others, very disappointed, and saying it was written in a child-like manner and how some discrepancies in the simple facts made them not at all confident in the bigger picture of what he had to say.

secret_squirrel

Originally posted by Dancing duck
it was written in a child-like manner

No - not at all. Its not a literary masterpiece by anyone standards but its up there with most of the thriller genre. Its not Matthew Reilly type prose by any means (which is a good thing for those of you who havent read him)

Originally posted by Dancing duck
..and how some discrepancies in the simple facts..

Its fiction...there are no 'simple facts'...they should be taking the whole book with a pinch of salt.
The central pillar of the story Major

that mary magdalene was both jesus' wife and the holy grail

- has been floating around for years, although poo poo'ed by most bible scholars.

What I find amusing is that the religious nutters in the US have approx 17 books either published or being published, that 'refute' the 'facts' of a work of fiction.

Im waiting for archeologists to find page 1 of the bible

- The Holy Bible

- This is a work of fiction, all places and characters within are fictional.......

(stolen joke)

ixoy

Just finished it. It's very easy to read, although not fantastically written. I felt sometimes that the author was trying to "wow" us with his research but I had certainly heard of

the Mary Magdalene theory before as well as the Divine Proportion

. I also felt that the characters were occasionally a bit stupid, as if to give the reader a chance, e.g.

the Fibonacci sequence was easy to spot and, in the second cryptex, I recognised it was mirror hand-writing instantly but it took the protaganists an age

.

Dancing duck

Its fiction...there are no 'simple facts'...they should be taking the whole book with a pinch of salt.

Bit late now

My (and perhaps their) mistake, just that I was under the impression that although it was part-fiction, it was part-exposé.

ArthurG

Actually, I believe some of the 'facts' are indeed facts. Agreed, the central pillar of the story may have been debunked to a certain degree, but other details are correct as far as i know:

Constantine's conversion to Christianity and the amalgamation of the pagan worship of Sol Invictus with Christian doctrine.

The council of Nicea at which Jesus' divinity was decided upon by a vote.

There may be other examples in there, but its been a while since I read it.

Try something like 'The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail' for a more in depth look at these ideas.

secret_squirrel

Originally posted by ArthurG
Actually, I believe some of the 'facts' are indeed facts. Agreed, the central pillar of the story may have been debunked to a certain degree, but other details are correct as far as i know:

I dont dispute that at all, but what I really dont understand is where people get the idea from that there is any more 'truth' (for want of a better word) in the Da Vinci Code than in say the exploits of of Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy's books. Most thrillers share a common grounding in the real world, and then extrapolate from there. The Da Vinci code is no different in that respect, however since that extrapolation dives into the depths of the the catholic church and Opus Dei, rather than the more common political/military/espionage arena occupied by most thrillers, some people are more willing to suspend their disbelief.

Admittedly the Da Vinci code blur's the lines between fact and fiction better than most, and also contains a horde of fascinating historical references that are good fun to find out about, but in the end it still has the usual disclaimer at the front...."This is a work of fiction" etc etc.....

Dancing duck

I suppose the people who say it somehow changed their lives, said so meaning it made their questioning nature more questioning, and told them not to believe all they read... with the exception of this book :dunno:

Gavin

Dan Browns earlier books are just a tad similar. Deception Point & Digital Fortress are ridiculously alike stories. Entertaining reads alright, but I'm not amazingly impressed.

Gav

V1llianous

I have just finished reading both "Angels & Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code" and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them.

I gather it is quite a good idea to read one of the following:

Cracking The Da Vinci Code

or

Da Vinci Code Decoded

as both of these books give a good factual reference and fill in the gaps.

I am debating whether to look at one of these or go back to Deception Point next.

Cactus Col

[URL=http://]nypress.com/17/28/books/KenMondschein.cfm[/URL]

TomTom

I have yet to read deception point, I liked the da vinci code, angles and deamons and digital fortress. I though angles was the best as the story raced faster and i prefered the ending.
Digital fortress was all over the place though, was not my cup of tea.
The fact the it grabs so many peoples attention is that you put in a few true facts and lots of people automaticaly presume the fictious ones are also true, thus sparking off a barage of interist in the topic.

jmcc

Originally posted by secret_squirrel
I dont dispute that at all, but what I really dont understand is where people get the idea from that there is any more 'truth' (for want of a better word) in the Da Vinci Code than in say the exploits of of Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy's books. Most thrillers share a common grounding in the real world, and then extrapolate from there.

There is a big difference between the Tom Clancy thriller and the DaVinci Code. The DaVinci Code is more of a pseudo techno-thriller with some codes thrown in for that zeitgeist buzz. Clancy's books also seem to have stories that operate from a lot of perspectives and are technology rich whereas the DaVinci Code characters are a just a handful and there is not that much technology. I found the whole female cryppie angle very politically correct but the alternative was probably to make her some kind of historian because the codes were more simple literary ones.

Admittedly the Da Vinci code blur's the lines between fact and fiction better than most, and also contains a horde of fascinating historical references that are good fun to find out about, but in the end it still has the usual disclaimer at the front...."This is a work of fiction" etc etc.....

Yeah it is a good waste of a few hours. It doesn't require the reader to think too hard and it has the bonus of making the reader interested in history.

I think that Dan Brown has a new book out about NSA and some virus (Digital Fortress ?) but I haven't read it yet. Some people do techno well and Dan Brown is not one of them. But on literary-historical fiction, he seems to have a knack for simplifying things well and making the story readable.

Regards...jmcc

secret_squirrel

Originally posted by jmcc
I think that Dan Brown has a new book out about NSA and some virus (Digital Fortress ?) but I haven't read it yet. Some people do techno well and Dan Brown is not one of them.

Its an old one re-published to cash in on the sucess of DVC. And you're right he doesnt seem to have the understanding for techno that he does for history, some good idea's in it though, but only averagely executed.

HostMan

I'm just about finished the da vinci code and I got to admit I'm not that impressed...

The story is pretty basic and the characters are pretty lame. The twists are not believable.

...

The people who's lives have been changed by this book... oh dear...

secret_squirrel

Originally posted by HostMan
the story is pretty basic and the characters are pretty lame. The twists are not believable.

Its a thriller - not great literature. What were you expecting?

HostMan

Originally posted by secret_squirrel
Its a thriller - not great literature. What were you expecting?

Even thrillers should be better than "pretty basic and the characters are pretty lame" don't you think? Or should only great literature not be like this?

...

My point was - so many people are talking about DVC being some kind of gospel... best book in years etc etc...

I guess the average leaving cert points being 245 might explain a thing or two!!

secret_squirrel

I tend to agree with you - the characters arent the best although the 2 leads are ok, a lot of the rest can seem 2 dimensional - and if you read his others you will find the villainous henchmen are virtually identical in each book.

I think you're being a bit harsh on the story though...its very original compared to most thrillers and at least it attempts to cover (relatively) new ground.

He also has a really good knack for getting the story to rattle along at a frantic pace, which makes up for a lot. And to be honest its one of the few books thats made me jump on the internet to find out more about it.....

Angels and Demons is also very good in this respect. Taken overall both books arre definately above average for their genre.

HostMan

OK - point taken.

I don't think the book is worth the hype though... It didn't really do anything for me.

secret_squirrel

To be fair in this case it hasnt really been hyped that much - ok its been getting good shelf position, but the copy that did the rounds of my office was all by word of mouth, and thats a good measure of how much people liked it.

Its not the second coming tho

OfflerCrocGod

Originally posted by secret_squirrel
Its an old one re-published to cash in on the sucess of DVC. And you're right he doesnt seem to have the understanding for techno that he does for history, some good idea's in it though, but only averagely executed.

I didn't think it was that well worked either - some of the ideas just didn't make sense, there was a lack of technical detail in the description of the virus, when was it executed (codes to be cracked shouldn't be executed as binaries), what platform was it running on it was nice of him to name some real programming languages at least:rolleyes:

secret_squirrel

To be fair (Im saying that a lot!) there are very few thriller authors who get much right when it comes to accurately describing technology and certainly computing. They either dumb down the techie bits for their audience or are repeating dumbed down stuff the were told.

Most authors who are techies seem to gravitate towards sci-fi territory. If you want a really techie novel, decent thriller and top read - try Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson - you can tell that guy is a major nerd!

vinvon

Enid Blython-esque with badly developed characters.

grumpytrousers

Enid Blython-esque with badly developed characters.

Dunno - that's a touch harsh, innit. I'll grant you it's hardly Tolstoy, but doesn't it depend on your definition of a good book. For some it's a good story well told.

I'll be the first to say I was disappointed with the ending of the Da Vinci Code, but the narrative was sufficiently zippy to keep me a-reading. I can understand irritation at 'badly developed characters' but to be honest, in yer average book like this, who cares.

It's the first book in ages which I've seen just get popular by pure and utter word of mouth....Most will agree that whatever its failings regarding characterisation, it's a novel with a relatively original story involving Religion, sado-masochism, conspiracies and murder.

I don't remember f*** all of that going on with the Folk of the Faraway Tree, much less the Five Find Outers...