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The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon #2)

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 · rating details · 991,125 ratings · 30,637 reviews

Harvard professor Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call while on business in Paris: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been brutally murdered inside the museum. Alongside the body, police have found a series of baffling codes.

As Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, begin to sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to find a...more

Paperback, 590 pages

Published 2003 by Corgi

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Dec 25, 2007 Mer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: morons and troglodytes

Shelves: tripeshitandgarbage

PLEASE do NOT recommend The Da Vinci Code to me because you think it's brilliant. Please do not try to explain to me that it is a "really interesting and eye-opening book." Just don't. Please.

I've read Iain Pear, I heart Foucault's Pendulum, Dashiell Hammett is my hero, Alan Moore is My Absolute Favorite, I listen to Coil on a fairly regular basis, and cloak n' dagger secret society/Priory of Sion/Knights of Templar-tinged num nums make me a very happy girl... but if you truly believe that Brow...more PLEASE do NOT recommend The Da Vinci Code to me because you think it's brilliant. Please do not try to explain to me that it is a "really interesting and eye-opening book." Just don't. Please.

I've read Iain Pear, I heart Foucault's Pendulum, Dashiell Hammett is my hero, Alan Moore is My Absolute Favorite, I listen to Coil on a fairly regular basis, and cloak n' dagger secret society/Priory of Sion/Knights of Templar-tinged num nums make me a very happy girl... but if you truly believe that Brown's stupid airport thriller has ANY right whatsoever to be placed in the same category with Michael "Wooden Dildo Dialogue" Crichton, let alone Umberto Eco, kindly keep this opinion very far away from me, or the ensuing conversation we have will not be constructive or polite in any way.

I loathe Dan Brown. I resent him for spoon-feeding the masses pseudo-intellectual "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" D-grade thriller shite under a pretense of real sophistication, and getting orally serviced by The New York Times for his effort.

I'd heard that the novel was meticulously researched and contained some really interesting and controversial assessments of religious zealotry. Um, not really? Well, not by my Merovingian standards, anyway. :D

Let's put it this way. If Dan Brown was teaching an Insurgent Christian Symbolism in Art and Literature 101 class at my local community college, I'd definitely have a different opinion about him.

But NO. Dan Brown is not a professor of anything but pap. He is a barely competent thriller writer who wrote an AWFUL book that I could not bear to finish because I felt my IQ plummeting a little further with every "Let's Go to Paris! Guidebook" description and blowhard authorial essay. Oh, don't even get me started about those cute soliloquies the main characters are so fond of delivering, ever so calmly, often while cops n' bovvers are chasing them.

The characters are weakly drawn. The dialogue is excruciating. The research is shoddy and self-serving at best. The plot, no matter how open-minded you are, is beyond ludicrous. It's laughable enough to be incorporated into the next Indiana Jones movie. That'd be sweet, dude.

What really irks me are Dan Brown's sanctimonious interviews, wherein he shows off all of his priceless antiques while expressing his abiding convictions that the American public needs a "deeper appreciation" of art and history and culture. What a shallow, self-aggrandizing hypocrite. I'm all for fictional subversion of the dominant Catholic paradigm, but only if the subverter knows what the hell they're talking about. Brown DOESN'T. He's all "la la la, connect the dots" but the picture he comes up with is awkward and unconvincing.

The DaVinci Choad is a dead easy, nay, downright lazy read, and yet droves of people are patting themselves on the back for having read and *gasp* actually understood it. Like this is some spectacular achievement? WHY? What, because the slipcover describes it as "erudite"? Are you fucking kidding me?

Don't believe the hype, kids. You are profoundly more intelligent than this holiday page-turner gives you credit for.

If you really, honestly, just plain liked the book, that's cool I guess. Maybe you also prefer Anne Geddes to Alfred Stieglitz, Kenny G to Sidney Bechet, John Tesh to Igor Stravinsky. Your prerogative. Just.... please don't try to tell me that this is "fascinating" or "meaningful literature". Frickin' read The Club Dumas or something. Then we'll talk, and I won't want to shoot myself in the face.

Alright, glad I purged that poison from my system. Carry on.(less)

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Jul 17, 2007 Jim rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a pretty formulaic page turner, a fun quick read. Written at about the level of the average Nancy Drew mystery, it is best appreciated at that level. As far as the content, there are howlers on virtually every page (starting with the hero who looks like "Harrison Ford in Harris tweed" and is a "Professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard" -- good work if you can find it). You have to ignore very pulpy, cheesy writing to enjoy this romantic thriller.

Intended as a book that a dedicated rea...more This is a pretty formulaic page turner, a fun quick read. Written at about the level of the average Nancy Drew mystery, it is best appreciated at that level. As far as the content, there are howlers on virtually every page (starting with the hero who looks like "Harrison Ford in Harris tweed" and is a "Professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard" -- good work if you can find it). You have to ignore very pulpy, cheesy writing to enjoy this romantic thriller.

Intended as a book that a dedicated reader could finish in a day, or something you take to the beach and casually finish in a weekend, The Da Vinci Code makes for a reasonable airline novel, so much so that it is often a bit clunky in its desire to ensure that no intellectual effort on the reader's part will be required. Here's a recurring example in this novel: a bit of unfamiliar terminology, say "crux gemmata" (jeweled cross) will will be explained on page N, then on page N+1, a character will finger his jeweled cross and explain, "Oh, yes -- this is a crux gemmata." I've read dinner menus that were more demanding on the reader. My wife and I both read about a third of it in a day, sharing the same copy, and that's a full work day plus taking care of kids, bedtime, etc. That's also a kind of virtue, I guess -- it's fast and peppy.

As far as history goes, Dan Brown apparently thinks that "most historians" give credence to the hoary forgeries and frauds promoted in sensationalist best-sellers like Holy Blood, Holy Grail. This author gets the best of both worlds: simultaneously claiming that "it's just fiction," while introducing the novel with claims that the historical record contained within is "fact." That claim is ridiculous. To pluck a random example, he spends some time talking about the Council of Nicaea, and incorrectly summarizes it as the origin of the doctrine of Christ's divinity by Constantine. He ignores the Arian controversy out of which it arose, which is like trying to explain the Treaty of Versailles without mentioning World War I. He ignores the documented fact, agreed upon even by the cheerleaders of the gnostics that he is sympathetic to, that the earliest gnostic doctrines held that Christ was *purely* God, and not really man -- the very reverse of the doctrine that serves as the linchpin of his novel's intellectual base (such as it is). This is a bad novel for weak or misinformed Christians, but anyone familiar with history should spot the train wreck of Brown's ideas a mile off.

Oh yes, and in Brown's world, Opus Dei has shadowy assassin "monks" (in real life, Opus Dei is not a monastic order -- there are no Opus Dei monks, let alone trained assassins), and the Catholic Church has been promulgating known lies as its central dogmas, promotes violence throughout the world, and has been retarding the progress of science and knowledge for 2 millennia. Brown leaves the reader with the impression that this, too, is a matter of settled historical record. Oh, but then again, it's just fiction. Except when it's not.

In general, if you're looking for a heady thriller wrapped around Christian arcana, I'd recommend Umberto Eco's excellent The Name of the Rose, not this dumbed down, by-the-numbers novel.(less)

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May 08, 2013 Richard rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book Circle Reads 11

Rating: 3 stars of five

The Publisher Says: An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe. An astonishing truth concealed for centuries . . . unveiled at last.

While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cr...more

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May 26, 2007 Keely rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, novel, reviewed, american

A thriller devoid of pacing or exciting language. A mystery devoid of clues, foreshadowing, or facts. A tell-all of half-truths based upon a forged document written by a schizophrenic conman. A character-driven modern novel devoid of character. The second draft of Angels and Demons. Page-turning action thanks to the literary equivalent of pulling out at the moment of orgasm. A spiritual awakening built on new-age conspiracy theory. This book is many things, and none of them good, new, or interes...more A thriller devoid of pacing or exciting language. A mystery devoid of clues, foreshadowing, or facts. A tell-all of half-truths based upon a forged document written by a schizophrenic conman. A character-driven modern novel devoid of character. The second draft of Angels and Demons. Page-turning action thanks to the literary equivalent of pulling out at the moment of orgasm. A spiritual awakening built on new-age conspiracy theory. This book is many things, and none of them good, new, or interesting. However, it is an excellent litmus test for idealistic delusion.

Upon the first reading, I must admit I found it a bit interesting, but then I turned the final page, and there was no bibliography. No explanation of how the author became familiar with all the concepts he claimed to 'faithfully portray'. He wrote this book and pretended it was a history book, and then refused to support it in any way. And any history you can't check up on is a bad one.

He's no better than James Frey. In fact, he may be worse, since I know people who base their religious beliefs on this book, whereas Frey's only crime was wishing he was Scarface. And really, what macho thirtysomething male doesn't?

Brown had good reasons for hiding his sources: they were forged by con-man Pierre Plantard and snuck into the Bibliotheque National in Paris back in the seventies. And it's not like Plantard got away with it, either--the whole 'Priory of Sion' thing was debunked thirty years before this book was even written.

The artistic 'iconography' that figures heavily into the mystery is also completely made-up, and was declared ludicrous by an art history professor of my acquaintance. There are a lot of well-known symbols and allusions in classic art, but none of them resemble Brown's claims. The whole hinge on which the plot turns--the notion that an inverted triangle is automatically symbolic of women--makes about as much sense as declaring that the use of the swastika by 3rd century, BC Buddhists was proof that they were fascists.

The rest of Brown's book is filled with the sort of cliched religious conspiracies you get from your first year as a theology student. Not only that, but these conspiracies were already explored by better writers in 'Foucault's Pendulum' and the 'Illuminatus! Trilogy'.

Well, I've already done more legitimate historical research on this review than Brown did in his whole book, so I guess I'll call it a day.(less)

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Jul 30, 2007 Maura rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: someone interested in a completely mindless beach read

I've finally started reading that ever so controversial best-seller by Dan Brown. Actually, not reading it, listening to it while driving around Lansing, MI. This book seems to have changed the minds of many Catholics (my grandfather included) and Protestants alike. Granted, there have long been rumors of secret societies and organizations within the Roman Catholic Church, and historical cover-ups are rampant throughout civilization.

HOWEVER,

The book is crap. It's not at all well written. Brown...more I've finally started reading that ever so controversial best-seller by Dan Brown. Actually, not reading it, listening to it while driving around Lansing, MI. This book seems to have changed the minds of many Catholics (my grandfather included) and Protestants alike. Granted, there have long been rumors of secret societies and organizations within the Roman Catholic Church, and historical cover-ups are rampant throughout civilization.

HOWEVER,

The book is crap. It's not at all well written. Brown seems to feel that in order to impress the mystery of the supposed Holy Grail conspiracy upon his readers, he must be repetitive and condescending. It almost seems that the whole purpose of the book is to tell the world how much Brown knows about obscure art history and symbology, and that he is willing to explain it to the teeming masses of uniformed Christendom. His constant use of cliff-hanger chapter endings (almost every chapter) makes the novel read like it was originally intended as a serial publication. Much of Brown's story hinges upon the loss of the Sacred Feminine, and yet his main female character (a cryptologist for the French police) is constantly having to be led clue by clue to obvious conclusions by her quicker, more worldly, male counterparts.

I might have put some stock into Brown's "history," he writes with conviction, if not much style. I may even have looked into some of his sources on my own. Today, though, Brown completely lost any stock I would have put into his actual knowledge. He referred, multiple times, to Jesus Christ as the Immaculate Conception. As every half-informed Catholic knows, Mary was the Immaculate Conception (conceived without sin), Jesus was the Miraculous Conception (conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit).

How this novel came to be as popular as it is, I can understand. Everyone today is dying to get to the big TRUTH, something which can never be done in religion. Faith is by definition something that is unsubstantiated, we must just believe. What I can't understand is how people can believe this absolute drivel.
(less)

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Apr 18, 2007 ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: open minded folk

most of us have heard of this controverisal book. it takes an open minded person to read this and to remember it is just fiction. but it brings up a lot of important questions about the Christian church, and the loss of paganism and the respect of the Goddess or the Woman.

I don't care if I am the only one who likes this book. it is my own truth, and i will think what i want to think. Dan Brown didn't LEAD me or anyone else. he OPENED our minds. simply and importantly...he was just a catalyst fo...more most of us have heard of this controverisal book. it takes an open minded person to read this and to remember it is just fiction. but it brings up a lot of important questions about the Christian church, and the loss of paganism and the respect of the Goddess or the Woman.

I don't care if I am the only one who likes this book. it is my own truth, and i will think what i want to think. Dan Brown didn't LEAD me or anyone else. he OPENED our minds. simply and importantly...he was just a catalyst for different thinking. that is a good thing...poorly written or not.

if you finish the book you will notice that Dan Brown even makes it clear to readers through his characters words, that he doesn't want to destroy christianity because it has done so much good for so many people, and if it works for them, let's let them continue to do what works for them. but find your own path.

if you were or are a Christian ask yourself about the topics in this book. They are so eye opening. Jesus having a baby? totally possible...never thought of it before. never thought of it. is it true? who knows. Things like this are happening all the time today...Weapons of Mass destruction in Iraq? sound familiar? Maybe the church repressed information LIKE this because it was a threat to the church. totally possible. The catholic church creating the biblical canon with a political agenda to wipe out paganism? actually this seems to be a fact. women being oppressed due to the fear of religous zealot men in power losing their power...never looked at it that way. but this seems to be a fact too. is it helpful in broadening my perspective of the fact that christianity is just a religion made by fallible people. it sure is. does it open my mind to other faiths like paganism, judiasm, islam, bhuddism, and want to take the truths from all of them, and then THINK FOR MYSELF and figure out my own truth. it sure does...and that is what this book has probably done for many other people. why do you think Dan Brown's book was on the bestseller list for so long...and became a movie...obviously it was doing some good.(less)

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Aug 22, 2011 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: conspiracies-and-weird-science, 2000-2005, mystery, thriller, religion-spirituality, audiobook

OKAY PEOPLE…someone let me in on the gag because between the cries of "Greatest Book of Greaty Greatness EVER" and the screams of "Lamest Load of Lamey Lameness EVER", my itty bitty brain is left very…

So post Hype-a-ganza, I finally got around to reading this popular, polarizing, pop culture icon and thought it was….drum roll……………………FINE(sigh). It was a solid read with a slight lean towards the “eh” side of MEH and few moments of genuine “that’s neat.” I don’t see all the love and I don’t see...more

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Apr 21, 2008 Ruth rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: total-crap

Impossibly complicated plot. Really, really, really bad writing. This book was forced upon me. I should have known better.

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Jun 26, 2007 Michael rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read the Baigent book a decade before I read this novel.

Somehow, Brown managed to "dumbify" everything.

Afterwards I read Eco to wash the taste out of my brain.

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Nov 17, 2007 Jeremy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book, and everything written by Dan Brown (to varying degrees), represent much of what I most dislike about pop literature. First of all, Mr. Brown, despite teaching English at Amherst College, is a bad writer. This is not to say that I am a good writer. But I recognize a person who can't "show" you vivid scenes, he has to "tell you". Various characters wear expensive clothes. How do we know? The text says they're expensive. How do we know Mr. Langdon is brilliant? The text makes no bones a...more This book, and everything written by Dan Brown (to varying degrees), represent much of what I most dislike about pop literature. First of all, Mr. Brown, despite teaching English at Amherst College, is a bad writer. This is not to say that I am a good writer. But I recognize a person who can't "show" you vivid scenes, he has to "tell you". Various characters wear expensive clothes. How do we know? The text says they're expensive. How do we know Mr. Langdon is brilliant? The text makes no bones about telling us. Langdon is also famous. Blah.

Furthermore, Mr. Brown's books are ridiculously formulaic. Every single "thriller" that he has written to date begins with the murder of a key character at the hands of a shadowy and "terrifying" assassin individual/group. This group is controlled by a larger group with dubious intentions that generally have to do with world domination. The protagonist is introduced as an "expert" whose credentials relate to the matter at hand, and who takes the job of hunting down the bad guys. He enlists the aid of an extremely avuncular, wise, benevolent helper. This person provides assistance as the protagonist (with a love interest) finds clues to the murder, attempts to find the bad guys, is pursued by the assassin(s), all while TIME IS RUNNING OUT. The avuncular father figure turns out to be pulling the strings of the assassins, is behind the original killing, and provides a forgettable monologue at the end where he pleas for understanding. But our hero takes him down. The end. I'm sorry if I just ruined all Dan Brown's books for you.

Finally, Mr. Brown likes to write about what he sees as religious conflicts. These conflicts take place between believers and non-. Unfortunately, he proves unable to adequately and convincingly describe these conflicts, because he reveals a striking inability to understand why people believe, in the first place. His highly religious characters therefore invariably turn out to be crazed nutjobs. I don't like stories that exploit religion for entertainment, and then use the attention that they draw to this entertainment to subtly undermine the reasons for faith.

But by all means, read the Da Vinci Code. People say it's smart. Others describe it as a fast-paced thriller with historical and theological implications. It could've been in the hands of another author. (less)

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May 07, 2007 Joey rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This book is non-stop action.This bo...more

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Jul 15, 2008 Ethan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Four stars for pure entertainment value.

However, Dave Barry's review gets five stars:

`The Da Vinci Code,' cracked
by Dave Barry

I have written a blockbuster novel. My inspiration was The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, which has sold 253 trillion copies in hardcover because it's such a compelling page-turner. NOBODY can put this book down:

MOTHER ON BEACH: Help! My child is being attacked by a shark!

LIFEGUARD (looking up from The DaVinci Code: Not now! I just got to page 243, where it turns out that one...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Tracey rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't realize I never bothered with a review for this; I'm cranky today, so now seems like a good time.

The only good thing about having read this (probably ten years ago) was that I did not pay for it. The woman I was working for at the time forced me to read it; she had read it and thought it was wonderful, and since I had some kind of reputation as a reader she wanted (demanded, actually) my opinion.

I gave it to her.

I don't really think that has anything to do with the fact that I didn't...more I didn't realize I never bothered with a review for this; I'm cranky today, so now seems like a good time.

The only good thing about having read this (probably ten years ago) was that I did not pay for it. The woman I was working for at the time forced me to read it; she had read it and thought it was wonderful, and since I had some kind of reputation as a reader she wanted (demanded, actually) my opinion.

I gave it to her.

I don't really think that has anything to do with the fact that I didn't work for her much longer.

I really did hate this book. I hated this book before I knew it was cool to hate it.

The writing was mediocre – that's not why I hated it, though it made (makes) me sick that something that led the best-seller list for approximately a hundred and sixty-three years was so bad.

I don't generally go for international suspense thriller type things – that's not why I hated it either.

I was raised Catholic, and this was an absurd view of a conspiracy-laden church that was so dumb as to be offensive – but that – the Vatican's opinion aside – is still not why I hated it.

The reason I got that blue-laser-beam duck-and-cover light in my eyes when I read this was that it completely and totally screwed with art history. I kick myself once in a while that I deleted the web page I put up at the time outlining and illustrating the things Dan Brown simply got wrong about the paintings and artists he pretended to know so much about. There was a lot of stuff up there. I'm no expert; I went to art school, though, and the best teacher I ever had in any subject happened to be the one who taught History of Western Art. It offended me on her behalf that there was so much garbage spewed out in this book.

Someone defensively said to me once that at least it was bringing attention to Da Vinci and art and the Louvre and … stuff. To me that's like saying an A-list celebrity benefits from the attention of paparazzi. There's a strong similarity: if all a person goes by is the sordid and erroneous crap spoon-fed to them by such authorities as Dan Brown or the National Inquirer (Enquirer? Can't be bothered to check), they would be better off remaining completely ignorant.

I'm still cranky. Hm … Did I ever review Twilight …? (less)

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Oct 19, 2007 Lauren rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book, this book, this hopelessly stupid book. It's okay. It's something to read. It's not the worst book I've ever read. I did get through the whole thing. But, simply, it is not THAT good.
I will now proceed to quote from another reviewer, Mer, who has said exactly what I have been saying for years -albeit she does it far more eloquently than I:

"The characters are weakly drawn. The dialog is excruciating. The research is shoddy and self-serving at best. The plot, no matter how open-minded y...more This book, this book, this hopelessly stupid book. It's okay. It's something to read. It's not the worst book I've ever read. I did get through the whole thing. But, simply, it is not THAT good.
I will now proceed to quote from another reviewer, Mer, who has said exactly what I have been saying for years -albeit she does it far more eloquently than I:

"The characters are weakly drawn. The dialog is excruciating. The research is shoddy and self-serving at best. The plot, no matter how open-minded you are, is beyond ludicrous.(...)
"I'm all for fictional subversion of the dominant Catholic paradigm, but only if the subverter knows what the hell they're talking about. Brown DOESN'T. He's all "la la la, connect the dots" but the picture he comes up with is awkward and unconvincing.
"The DaVinci Code is a dead easy, nay, downright lazy read, and yet droves of people are patting themselves on the back for having read and *gasp* actually understood it. Like this is some spectacular achievement? WHY? What, because the slipcover describes it as "erudite"? Are you fucking kidding me?
"Don't believe the hype, kids. You are profoundly more intelligent than this holiday page-turner gives you credit for."

So, so, so true. And if you've read "Angels and Demons" you'll see that it starts out precisely the way "Code" does, nearly word-for-word, even using the dreaded looks-at-himself-in-the-mirror character description cop-out.

This, and the man (the author, that is) looks like a troll. A self-aggrandizing oh-so-clever stuffed pompous troll. All he did was capitalize on a theme that's been out there for years, insist that it was all 100% factual, and put a pretty red cover on it. He's created a sensation and got himself a movie, I'll give him that. I bet he swims around in vaults of money every night cackling at his deluded readership.

But the book is just NOT THAT GOOD. Get over it. Want something historical? Read Anya Seton. Something thrilling? Read Thomas Tryon. Richard North Patterson. Jon Krakauer. Croikey, even Clive Cussler! Anything but that damn Dan Brown.(less)

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Dec 14, 2007 Tortla rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: nobody, ever

Shelves: suckysuckybooks

I accidentally deleted this from my books. So that sucks. I don't remember when I read it anymore. It was horrible.

EDIT:
...But not quite as horrible as the idiotic discussion which this review spawned. I hate this book. That is my opinion. Many people share that opinion. I do not claim to be capable of writing a better book (although I suspect I already have written better pieces of literature, for some school assignment or something). You can like this book if you want. But if you do, please do...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Jane rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, fiction

Where I got the book: I downloaded the audiobook on my Audible subscription back when The Da Vinci Code was a Big Thing, so I suppose I have to admit I technically bought it. A Bad Book Buddy Read with Crystal Starr Light.

Plot: The Divine Feminine, mystical messages, the Knights Templar, Opus Dei, secret societies, coded paintings, you name it - Dan Brown packs a Discovery Channel-load of what he gets one of his characters to call "pop schlock" around a puzzle to be solved by granite-jawed Harva...more

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Jun 01, 2009 CJ rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who are gullible

Shelves: mystery

Caveat Academics!!!
I won't belabor the obvious, as it's been done quite well by other reviewers, but I just couldn't stand not to add my own "hear hear!" to the fray. If you're going to create a character who is an expert, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure you check your facts! Whoever edited this drivel ought to be sewn in a sack with a rabid raccoon and flung into Lake Michigan.

And just as a matter of good taste - your expert should not be an expert in everything under the sun. That's one of the...more Caveat Academics!!!
I won't belabor the obvious, as it's been done quite well by other reviewers, but I just couldn't stand not to add my own "hear hear!" to the fray. If you're going to create a character who is an expert, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure you check your facts! Whoever edited this drivel ought to be sewn in a sack with a rabid raccoon and flung into Lake Michigan.

And just as a matter of good taste - your expert should not be an expert in everything under the sun. That's one of the hallmarks of poor writing.

Even if I were not a practicing pagan, I would find it stretching credibility that every single item the characters run across is a symbol of goddess worship. Five pointed star? Goddess worship. Chalice? Goddess worship. Porcelain toilet bowl? Goddess worship. Pilot ball point pen? Goddess worship. You get the general idea. Not only is every item part of the mythology of the divine feminine, but every number is also part of the divine feminine. Hello? Is a cigar NEVER just a cigar?

And some of the claims of symbolism are just plain wrong, as the editor would have found out if he'd bothered to do some fact checking. Remember those military chevrons that, because of the way they were pointed, represented the female divine and those poor slobs of soldiers had been running around all these countless centuries with goddess symbols flaunted on their uniforms without knowing it? The only problem with that premise is that the chevrons facing in their current direction is relatively recent - according to my military historian husband, they faced the OPPOSITE direction for quite some time before being reversed (for what reason, I have no idea...unless the generals all got together and decided they didn't have quite enough goddess symbols on their uniforms and needed it fixed post haste).

My theology professor ended up traveling around the country giving talks about this book to thousands of interested people. He loves the book if only because he's now giving pretty much the same information that he used to give to dozing freshman and sophomores to packed theaters of interested listeners. He tells a story about being somewhere in southern Ohio and making a joking remark about the celice being something that all Catholics wore and how now the secret was out, and there was a lady in the back row who elbowed her husband and said "See? I told you so!" The increased interest in history is about the only positive thing that's come out of this book. Honestly, you don't need to make anything up about the Catholic church to point out that it's been the source of some horrible things.

I could go on about the poor research and editing in this book, but others have done a pretty thorough job of finding the problems with it.

If you want a decent page turner, go for it. If you want something well researched and accurate, give this one a big ol' pass.

(less)

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Jul 03, 2007 AJ Griffin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: trying to think of a clever joke here....the pope? ron howard? i don't know. no new ground here

First of all, let's try to rid our mind of all the hype and hoopla surrounding the whole thing. Let's pretend the whole thing is just some spiral bound notebook that you found on the train and read because you were lonely.

Ok, having accomplished that, let's dole out some compliments. Good plot, Danny boy! You managed to write an interesting crime/mystery/whatever thing WHILE managing to blaspheme one of the most worshiped dudes of all time. That takes some creativity, and some balls. Kudos.

If i...more

like 26 likes · see review

Apr 23, 2007 mary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

it's an action movie! it's a book! it's an action movie!

it surprises me that the movie version was so dull, having such a simple adapted screenplay to write. this book reads like a blockbuster looks. and i will admit that i totally loved it while i was reading and forgot it promptly after, but i did the same when i watched vin diesel in XXX.

it's a very fun read. it's horrendously written, the characters are rather shallow, there are enough chase scenes and things popping out of dark corners to...more

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Aug 17, 2007 Brian rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No one

I read this because someone recommended to me. To this day I would like tell them off. This book is complete crap. Stereotypical one-dimensional characters (c'mon! an albino monk assassin?? Gimme a break people!). There are really only 4-5 actual characters so it is no mystery of "whodunnit?"

Yeah it's a page-turner. So what? So is any Dr. Seuss book. But at least Dr. Seuss was a genius. Dan Brown is a hack. A rich hack, now. But totally talentless. He is the Brittney Spears of authors. All titi...more

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Aug 24, 2007 Crystal rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: men, conspiracy buffs, religious skeptics

Shelves: books-i-didn-t-enjoy, novels

Believe it or not, my BOSS lent me this book. He said it was so great that I HAD to read it, and he pressed it into my hands. I said thanks in surprise, because that was about as personal as my boss ever got. well, imagine the awkwardness when I didn't really like the book. what do you say to the man who signs your paychecks when you think his book is nothing more than a creative version of what I call the man's romance novel--boring, average man (okay, in this book very smart--but not special l...more

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Apr 10, 2007 rachel rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was genuinely confused by the stupidity of the DaVinci code. The two protagonists were touted as supergeniuses, yet kept making the most amazing dumbfuck moves. Sometimes this could be written off as making the book accessible to its intended public (e.g., to insure that his readers understand the concept of a keystone, Brown has one of his supergenius characters exclaim, "but wait, vaulted ceilings don't *have* keys!" as an intro to a suitable-for-third-graders explanation). Other times, it w...more

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Jun 10, 2008 Jen3n rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, mystery, awful, books-made-into-movies, history

I found this book condescending, unexciting, and ill thought-out. I wanted it to be better. I had been TOLD it was fun. I was lied to. This is an awful book.

like 17 likes · see review

Aug 08, 2008 Robert rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: female-divinity

For the most part, it seems that people either passionately love this book or they passionately hate it. I happen to be one of the former. For my part, I don't see the book so much as an indictment of the Catholic Church in particular but of religious extremism and religion interfering in political process in general. The unwarranted political control granted to extreme religious organizations like the CBN is an issue that we will be forced to address one way or the other. To my eye, our politic...more

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Jul 12, 2007 Codereloadpulsa marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Berita SPEKTAKULER...!!!!!!!

Terima kasih kepada netter di mana saja berada...... Code Hasil hack saya ini mungkin bisa bermanfaatkan untuk Anda ...!!!!

Jika kita berfikir logis...tentunya CODE ini pasti sangat merugikan para operator2 sellular di Indonesia.....Bener ngga..??? Tapi syukurlah bahwa kenyataannya mereka tidak merasa ada kelainan di data mereka bahwa kita yg memakai CODE ini bisa mendoublekan pulsa kita..... ini sangat menolong kita2 pemakai pulsa....dan otomatis kita tidak perlu taku...more

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Jun 29, 2007 Seth Hahne rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For cheap supermarket fiction, this sure was cheap supermarket fiction. It would have helped if this was the first book I had ever read. Unfortunately, having read Curious George as a child (a towering work of literary genius by comparison), The DaVinci Code suffered perhaps unjustly.

like 33 likes · see review

Nov 08, 2007 Purple rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: The countless sheep that blindly read anything recommended to them. They deserve it.

Shelves: 1-star, crime-fiction

Like the bible itself, it's a great story ruined by horrific storytelling.

Apt, I suppose.

like 9 likes · see review

Sep 14, 2007 Irene rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: illiterate dumbasses

Worst. Book. Ever.

like 23 likes · see review

Jul 09, 2008 Jake rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, pulp

If for some reason you haven’t heard of the Da Vinci Code before now, I have no help for you. I live under a fairly substantive rock, and even I had heard of this book to death. I had even attempted to read it once or twice, during my stint at Waldenbooks, but couldn’t really get into it. So I gave up, and decided to relegate it to the same place as Titanic and Forrest Gump—works of popular culture that I have no interest in, and therefore, will not partake of. But in a testament to the power of...more If for some reason you haven’t heard of the Da Vinci Code before now, I have no help for you. I live under a fairly substantive rock, and even I had heard of this book to death. I had even attempted to read it once or twice, during my stint at Waldenbooks, but couldn’t really get into it. So I gave up, and decided to relegate it to the same place as Titanic and Forrest Gump—works of popular culture that I have no interest in, and therefore, will not partake of. But in a testament to the power of the feminine wile, SV convinced me to read it, and so, at the suggestion of Professor Mortis, borrowed a copy from my local library before setting out for the Thanksgiving holiday (Thanks to PG and Laurion for their lending offers, though I did not take them up on it.).

So what did I think of this incredibly popular, highly controversial work that sold literally millions of copies, spawned a movie, and produced comments from the Vatican itself? In a word, it’s bad. Other appropriate single words might be awful, atrocious, terrible, or abominable. Other similar synonyms can be found here.

The Da Vinci Code is a combination of bad writing, shoddy history, poor plotting, and unconvincing characters that blends together to form a barely readable work. The fact that anyone took this work seriously in any capacity is amazing to me. The characters are flat, boring, and none of them exceed two dimensions at best. The “history” is so riddled with holes as to be completely unbelievable to the semi-alert observer (my favorite part is the explanation of how the Church’s desire to destroy the “sacred feminine” is responsible for Orthodox Jews and devout Muslims barring women from certain rites.). And finally, the plot just makes no damn sense. Even the much vaunted puzzles are fairly trite, and usually explained so quickly that it’s barely worth thinking about. The final puzzle that the main character is faced with is so mind-bogglingly obvious that anyone who knows how to draw a Mogen David (Star of David) can figure it out instantly.

So the question for me became this: given how awful this book is, why the hell is it so popular? I can offer the following explanations/observations.

First off, Brown employs a clever (and I use the term loosely) narrative structure in which he ends every single chapter on a cliffhanger. This forces the reader to continue reading, hoping to reach a payoff or stopping point that is never quite realized. Thus the reader keeps going to the next chapter, hoping to finally hit a point where the story will relax, only to discover that the story never really relaxes. It just plods relentlessly forward, like the Terminator chasing Sarah Connor with a SuDoKu puzzle.

In a similar vein, Brown keeps his chapters short. In fact, I’ve read verse poetry that was longer than some of the chapters in this book (and considerably better written). This helps the reader feel as though they are making progress, because they’re suddenly on Chapter 44, and can reach Chapter 50 with only a few extra minutes of reading. Hooray for the short attention span.

Likewise, Brown taps into some popular political and historical fallacies that are guaranteed to make him well-liked. Namely that the Catholic Church is an evil conspiracy (Christianity is one of the few religions it’s still ok to hate in this day and age, after all) and the notion that ancient Europeans were all ecologically conscious, goddess-worshipping pacifists until the evil patriarchy destroyed their edenic culture. And hey, both of those are popular, if totally un-nuanced and historically questionable viewpoints, but shoddy history is always popular with the masses. The popularity of this book is proof enough.

Knowing that I’m one of the last people in the United States to have read this book, I can hardly imagine my recommendation can save anyone at this point, but on the off hand chance it can—don’t read this book. It’s a waste of time. At the very least, take it out of the library so you don’t put more money into the pocket of an author of questionable talent. There’s much better writers in this world.(less)

like 18 likes · see review

Nov 04, 2012 Marwa A. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Open-minded people

Shelves: wishlist, favorite, thriller, religion, my-favourite-authors

“Life is filled with secrets. You can't learn them all at once.”

This is one of the best and most amazing novels I've ever read!
When I finished it at almost 3 am, I couldn't sleep.
From the instant the book starts, Dan Brown immediately grabs the readers attention, grabbing them by the throat and making them read on right until the end!
I like conspiracy theories, so the whole basis of the book was interesting.
Obviously most of what is in the book is fiction, but Brown's story telling makes you th...more

like 21 likes · see review

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About Dan Brown

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown is interested in cryptography, codes, and keys. Currently his novels have been translated into many languages.

Although many see Dan Brown's books as anti-Christian, Brown is a Christian who sa...more

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Angels and Demons / The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #1-2)

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“Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire.” — 999 people liked it

“History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books-books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, 'What is history, but a fable agreed upon?” — 401 people liked it

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The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon #2)

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