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The Da Vinci Code: A Novel
Dan Brown
Our Price : $9.99
Category : Suspense & Thrillers
Size : 872 KB
ISBN : 9780385504218
Print-ISBN : 9780385504201
Publisher : Anchor
Published date :
18 March 2003
Restricted to
:
United States
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Rating by our readers   - Read the reviews - Rate this eBook
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Description:
While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to see -- yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.
Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion -- an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others.
In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret -- and an explosive historical truth -- will be lost forever.
THE DA VINCI CODE heralds the arrival of a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thriller…utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion.
From the Hardcover edition.
Publisher's opinion:
"Dan Brown has to be one of the best, smartest, and most accomplished writers in the country. THE DA VINCI CODE is many notches above the intelligent thriller; this is pure genius."
-NELSON DeMILLE, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Intrigue and menace mingle in one of the finest mysteries I’ve ever read. An amazing tale with enigma piled on secrets stacked on riddles."
-CLIVE CUSSLER, #1 New York Times bestseller
"Dan Brown is my new must-read. THE DA VINCI CODE is fascinating and absorbing -- perfect for history buffs, conspiracy nuts, puzzle lovers or anyone who appreciates a great, riveting story. I loved this book."
-HARLAN COBEN, New York Times bestselling author of Tell No One
"The Da Vinci Code sets the hook-of-all-hooks, and takes off down a road that is as eye-opening as it is page-turning. You simply cannot put this book down. Thriller readers everywhere will soon realize Dan Brown is a master."
-VINCE FLYNN, New York Times bestselling author of Separation of Power
"I would never have believed that this is my kind of thriller, but I'm going to tell you something--the more I read, the more I had to read. In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown has built a world that is rich in fascinating detail, and I could not get enough of it. Mr. Brown, I am your fan."
ROBERT CRAIS, New York Times bestselling author of Hostage
From the Hardcover edition.
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Reviews:
very good book
This is a badly written book, the main characters get into impossible situations and abracadabra they get out without explanation.
I would never ever read anything else by Dan Brown
This book was great! Very well written and highly recommended
I found myself often wondering about the paintings described by the book, and later found out that there's an illustrated version of it in the bookstores. That would have made the book even more enjoyable, but the story is easy to follow even without those illustrations.
The book is very slow until about the halfway point, and when it gets into the controversial stuff it becomes a page-turner. Can't put it down. Definitely worth a read but it takes patience.
About half-way through the book, I kept feeling like I'd read it before. In fact I had, in the _Holy Blood, Holy Grail_.
The book is certainly fiction. No one should use it as a guide to the history of the West generally, or Christinaity in particular.
The writing is also pedestrian and somewhat amateurish at points. A fun story, but the original treatment (Holy Blood, Holy Grail) is better and gives you a bigger dose of conspiracy if that's your bag.
When I started to read this book I immediately thought - I have read this before. Then I realised where in the books by Michael Baigent (e.g.The Temple and The Lodge). All that has happened here is that someone has converted popular history into fiction.
As a work of fiction, this book is excellent. Just bear in mind it is a work of fiction. The french newspaper "Le nouvel Observateur" investigated the sources of the book and found that most of the story has been invented by a French wanabe royal heir in the fifties.
The full article is here: http://www.nouvelobs.com/articles/p2079/a248944.html
For those who do not speak French, I sum it up:
the priory of Sion, the Merovingian house being descendants of Jesus, and so on are inventions of a certain Pierre Plantard. The priory of Sion is actually a non profit organisation founded in 1956 by the same Pierre Plantard. Even the scrolls kept in the French National library admittedly mentionning the long list of masters of the Priory is a fake, forged by Plantard himself which he deposited at the National Library in the 60ies. Yes, I am talking about the document descibed in the "Da Vinci Code" in the section Dan Brown chose to title "Facts". Shame on him for the title.
Shame on Brown as well for making statements about reality which are grossly false. French president François Mitterand was either known to the French as "tonton" (uncle) or depicted as a frog in a famous satirical puppet show. Nobody ever called him the Sphinx.
On the other hand, I hail the Author for pointing out elements in Christian religion which stem from propaganda. Jesus was most certainly married (as 99% of men his age), he might even have had children we will never know. What we do know, is that forcing people to ask for permission from the church to have a sexual activity has been a pivotal point of christian propaganda and church power for two thousand years. The two pillars of that propaganda have been making people belive sexuality was shameful (it used to be "sacred" for the greeks) and that any kind of sexual activity indulged by women was suspect. We also know that the Bible as we know it is an edited compilation dating from the early ceturies of christianity. Hence the idea that it has been edited to futher the propaganda line does not seem too far off.
However, I award four start to Dan Brown for making me aware of the sexiest mathematical fact ever. Unlike others, this one is true, I checked the maths and it is OK: if you draw a pentacle (a five-pointed star), its sides intersect in the proportion of the "golden number", the fabled golden number of the greeks =(1+sqrt(5))/2 which they used to design the proportions of their temples among other things. This is KEEEWL!
For anyone already interested in Grail Lore then this is a must read........
Brown keeps you rivited to the book from the first page to the last. Brilliantly suspensful, and the knowledge and detail is amazing. I just could not sleep for wanting to read this! Now onto Angels and Demons :D
I had never heard of the book and all of a sudden everyone around me was talking about it. When I picked it up, I was unable to put it down. I thought it was presented very well. Made ya think, didn't it?
this was a very well composed novel, very well done. My personal opinion was that the first was the better of the two.
Couldn't put the book down. I was depressed for 2 days after I finished this read, I wanted more.
This book was awesome! Right from the first paragraph I was holding my breath waiting to find out what was next in store for Robert. Dan Brown is (in my humble opinion) a truly gifted author who has an impressive ability to research something so indepth and then present it to us in a way that is believable (not that it is not true) in the story and yet does not get in the way of telling the story. I have been spellbound and am now looking for more by Dan Brown.
As a french reader :
I have nerver eard of the french president Miterrand called as the Sphynx....
And I have never eard also is "obsession" with egypt (but peharps I'm wrong here).
There is a problem with the train stations on the book, the hero take a train to Lyon (french town in the middle and east of france, near the alpes mountain) in the wrong station. In the book it's St Lazarre (or Montparnasse) but in real life it's "Gare de Lyon".
When I read it, I had a lot of overs thing that disturb me as a french reader, but just for now I can't remember them (peharps they are not the most important things on this book).
A part this thing, the book is pretty good. I have taken pleasure to read it in my summer holydays. The story is peharps a little too drawn by the hair (I don't know if you can say that in english for grooved?), but it's well driven.
I don't think it deserve all the publicity it's been given (it's not the best book I read this year), but it's a good book.
Philippe
Spoiler ahead!!!!!!
Every time I go to the Louvres museum (I try to go often as I have my annual entrance card from the 'Les amis du Louvres' society), I look at the small pyramid
I don't remember well the book, but I think that the map of the museum (with all the art pieces locations) are not exactly the same as in reality. I'll to check with the ebook in my palm the next time I'll go there.
Philippe
Simply as a page-turner, this book is fairly effective. Most readers agree that it is engrossing and will keep your attention to the end. However, I am completely amazed that so many are taking this author's premises seriously. To those who are so inclined, I challenge you to do the research for yourself and see just how accurate, or inaccurate, this book really is.
Brown quotes the old saying that the victor gets to write the history; apparently, the novelist is supposed to have the same prerogative. This book sounds as if it's been exhaustively researched, but it is entirely without historical basis. In fact, in many places Brown's claims are in direct opposition to historical fact.
Symbology: Brown writes elaborate meanings for many symbols. Where did he get this information? I can't find any support for his explanation of the pentacle, for example, even from pagan sources! The rest of his symbology is just as problematic.
Leonardo da Vinci: Brown's "facts" about Leonardo are based on rumor and speculation. Where he does use history, he usually gets it wrong. I suggest you check out Bruce Boucher's article in the NY Times (8/3/03), "Does 'The Da Vinci Code' Crack Leonardo?" He asks the question, "How much does this murder mystery have to do with the real Leonardo? The short answer is not much, and the author's grasp of the historical Leonardo is shaky." He says there is "more sangria than sangreal" here.
Secret societies: Here again, his "research" consists of speculation and myth. For another view, take a look at "The Priory of Sion Hoax" by Robert Richardson.
History of Christianity: Here his work is absolutely appalling. Brown seeks to entirely rewrite history to fit his plot. Christianity existed for almost 300 years before Constantine came to power. The beliefs of the early church are very well-documented. To claim that Constantine was responsible for the church worshipping Christ as God is historically laughable. Whether you believe Jesus Christ is God or not, it is historically incontrovertible that the early church believed just that.
Here again, the author often reverses known historical facts. The NT gospels, which Brown depicts as later revisions, were actually written in the 1st century---three of them fairly soon after the death of Christ. The Nag Hammadi gospels, which Brown refers to as the "earlier gospels," were written hundreds of years later and obviously lack the historical integrity of the NT gospels. Check them out for yourself.
Brown claims that the Nicene Council voted on the deity of Christ. They actually voted to determine whether Arius was a heretic. Arius was teaching that Christ was God, but not in the same way that the Father was God. Out of over 300 bishops, only 2 supported Arius. Brown refers to this as a "relatively close vote."
As I read this book, I began to compile a list of the author's blatant inaccuracies. It quickly became dizzying. Practically every historical claim either contains inaccuracies or is outright false. Dan Brown is either completely ignorant regarding the history of which he writes, or he is counting on the ignorance of his readers. I find it difficult to believe that his research was really this shoddy. To produce even a work of fiction that uses such blatantly inaccurate claims of historical fact is arrogant and dishonest. That this book is being hailed the way it is should be a concern to all who love and seek truth.
Absolutely amazing! I've been talking about it for days.
A fantastic and intelligent read: especially for those interested in aspects of art history, religion and iconography.
This book can be enjoyed on the basic level as a very good crime thriller with a variety of interesting twists and puzzles which the reader can enjoy solving along with the main characters as the story progresses.
On a deeper level however it offers some excellent perspectives on religion (and the history of the development of Christianity) with some intriguing and controversial suggestions which will make the keen want to rush off and start studying Da Vinci's 'Last Supper' and the Forgotten Gospels!
Enjoy.
The story is very good but it is an absolute plagiarism of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" of Michael Baigent and Cie.
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