The DaVinci Code
- Thread starter mkillio
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I will definately give this one a go, everyone that read it absolutely loved it, and everyone read it.
Thing is, they can't tell me "what it is about"... :?
Thing is, they can't tell me "what it is about"... :?
I thought it was ridiculously hokey, with characters straight out of (Insert Generic Bestseller Of The Week Here), and with absolutely no redeeming qualities. It was obvious to the point of being humorous...
The Baron said:
I actually felt the same way about it. I thought the beginning of the book was done very well, it built tension, got you interested in reading it. Once the characters started being exposed though, it went down hill. There was no depth to anyone. The entire plot seemed rather far fetched.
As a mystery novel I maybe give it like a 7 as it did keep a good pace going and kept you interested in reading (though I *hated* how the protagonist knew what was going on, but the author was left in the dark to keep you reading it. It's a cheap trick and was over done). As for actually being a good book though, I give it about a 3. Read some Neal Stephenson if you want something actually well written.
Nite_Hawk
I have to agree with those that feel the story was ho-hum. It wasn't very interesting and only got decent at the very end for me. Other than that, I just didn't feel swept up in the mystery.
Maybe I needed the illustrated version so I could see what the author was talking about.
(E.g. when the author spoke about a certain painting where Da Vinci had some character pointing mysteriously at someone else in the painting as if there was some sort of hidden meaning).
Maybe I needed the illustrated version so I could see what the author was talking about.
(E.g. when the author spoke about a certain painting where Da Vinci had some character pointing mysteriously at someone else in the painting as if there was some sort of hidden meaning).Dan Brown's Angels and Demons is more wicked I thought. I hope the movie drops the albino but the other characters are ok (not remove his character altogether just change him into a more believable one).
Another good book Im into currently in this same vein is The Descent by Jeff Long. Cool premise and historical\geographical tidbits also loaded into the storytelling.
Another good book Im into currently in this same vein is The Descent by Jeff Long. Cool premise and historical\geographical tidbits also loaded into the storytelling.
horvendile
Regular
Since everybody else read it, I read it too. And I have mixed feelings.
It's good craftsmanship. The book makes you to read on at all times. There's not a slow moment; it's full car chase mode from the first page. I seldom read a book so fast. But... yes, you knew it was coming! After reading it, it feels thin, somehow. Or to put it another way: I cannot see why I would ever want to read it again.
If books were food, the Da Vinci Code would be a hamburger. It would be a tasty burger, all right. Nothing wrong with hamburgers. Sometimes you want one, and why not? Fills the stomach, tastes reasonably OK. But hardly a culinary masterpiece. Not gourmet food. You are unlikely to think that it's the best tasting food you have ever eaten.
So, it's a burger. Whether it's a tasty burger but still just a burger, or just a burger but a tasty burger, is up to you.
If one wants to read (vaguely) similar stories that admittedly require more of the reader but also, IMO, gives so much more, off the top of my head I would recommend Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum or, one of my favourites, Lawrence Norfolk's Lemprière's Dictionary (I have only read them in Swedish). They both have dull parts, but they are ultimately much more rewarding.
It's good craftsmanship. The book makes you to read on at all times. There's not a slow moment; it's full car chase mode from the first page. I seldom read a book so fast. But... yes, you knew it was coming! After reading it, it feels thin, somehow. Or to put it another way: I cannot see why I would ever want to read it again.
If books were food, the Da Vinci Code would be a hamburger. It would be a tasty burger, all right. Nothing wrong with hamburgers. Sometimes you want one, and why not? Fills the stomach, tastes reasonably OK. But hardly a culinary masterpiece. Not gourmet food. You are unlikely to think that it's the best tasting food you have ever eaten.
So, it's a burger. Whether it's a tasty burger but still just a burger, or just a burger but a tasty burger, is up to you.
If one wants to read (vaguely) similar stories that admittedly require more of the reader but also, IMO, gives so much more, off the top of my head I would recommend Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum or, one of my favourites, Lawrence Norfolk's Lemprière's Dictionary (I have only read them in Swedish). They both have dull parts, but they are ultimately much more rewarding.
Good plot, but hokey writing Imo. The author clearly needs to learn better prose writing.
If you like those sorts of books, I highly recommend Foucalts Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Plot is just as good or better, the level of research far superior, and Eco is a top notch writer (even translated).
If you like those sorts of books, I highly recommend Foucalts Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Plot is just as good or better, the level of research far superior, and Eco is a top notch writer (even translated).
I might buy this as a Christmas gift to my bf, although he isn't that much into fiction literature. But I'll read it anyway
Foucaults Pendelum was good, I quess this is somewhat similar but "lighter", right?
Foucaults Pendelum was good, I quess this is somewhat similar but "lighter", right?
It's a good story (an old fashioned 'page turner') written by an author with a very pedestrian writing style. I enjoyed it for what it is, but can't help thinking that a better writer would have made so much more of it. The story and ideas were great, but the way it was written failed to expand on the ideas and historical data within. Brown's prose style is mundane and his characters very one dimensional and cliched. I often got the impression I was reading a screenplay for a Holywood movie rather than a piece of literature. However, it is a good read and I found myself wanting to know what happens next.
Basically my impression was that it was Foucault's Pendulum Lite
Basically my impression was that it was Foucault's Pendulum Lite
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