| Product: |
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown |
| Date: |
14.04.06 (206 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Great read, hard to put down
Disadvantages: None I can really think of
There has been much publicity lately over this book and supposed plagiarism by the author from another book (The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail). After reading all of this I decided that I would get this book and see what all the fuss was about. Written by Dan Brown, this is his fourth book (his others are Angels & Demons, Deception Point and Digital Fortress). This is the first book by Brown that I have read and I think I shall be looking out for his others. I bought this from my local supermarket for about £6.99 but I'm sure you can get it cheaper if you shop around.
Basic Info
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Author - Dan Brown
ISBN - 0-385-51322-4
Price - £6.99 or $7.99
Publisher - Doubleday
Website - www.doubleday.com, www.danbrown.com, www.davincicode.com
The Book
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The book begins in Paris, where the curator of the Louvre is murdered. He leaves a message for the police and suggests that they find Robert Langdon. Robert Langdon is an American author and lecturer on the subject of symbology (the use of symbols) and is called upon to try to decipher the message left by the deceased. Unbeknown to him, he is actually on suspicion of the murder! He is at first unable to decipher the message and gets help from Sophie Neveu, who is a cryptologist with the French equivalent of the FBI. She lets him know of the suspicion and they manage to get away from the police, but now both are under suspicion and must find a way to break the code and prove their innocence.
The plot thickens and we discover that the curator of the Louvre is actually Neveu's grandfather, who was the grand master of the Priory of Sion, a secret society devoted to protecting the Holy Grail. Langdon and Neveu find that their quest for innocence has suddenly become a quest to find the Holy Grail before other parties do. These other parties include Opus Dei, a catholic society. As I had never read any of Brown's work before I was surprised and comforted to find that at the beginning of the book he includes some information to make the book easier to read. He makes the point at the start of the book that all descriptions are accurate. He has gone to great lengths to make sure that as much of this book is as accurate as possible. The starting information is relating to the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei, both actual societies with differing views on the subject of the Holy Grail.
After recovering a very important clue to the whereabouts of the Holy Grail, the pair turn to Sir Leigh Teabing, a British Knight who has made it his life's work to find the Grail. He helps them to escape France and get to London to continue the search. Neveu's grandfather has left clues to the whereabouts of the Grail, but they are cryptic messages and symbols which only Neveu and Langdon are able to make sense of.
But is he really helping them or does he have an ulterior motive? Do they find the Grail and prove their innocence? Well, I'm not giving the plot away completely, just giving you a little taste to whet your appetite!
Throughout the book are references to Leonardo Da Vinci (hence the name), and the various tales of the Grail. Here, Brown has delved deep into the mysteries surrounding what the Grail is and how it came to be so sought after. It's a book that I have found difficult to describe without delving too deep into the actual storyline as I don't want to give the whole plot away. It is definitely one that has to be read to be understood.
My Opinion
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Well, I managed to read this book in 2 days! I just could not put it down! As someone who loves to read, I found the storyline compelling to read, if somewhat heavy reading at times. There are parts where Brown goes into fantastic detail on the use of symbols and cryptology and these parts for me were a little harder to digest than the rest of the book. But thats because I have never studies symbology or cryptology. I found this book really interesting and a thoroughly good read. I will most certainly be going back to it again. References are made in the book to other publications on the subject of the Holy Grail and as I own one of them, I shall be reading this one and reviewing it later on!
Because of the publicity surrounding this book and the rumours of plagiarism, I am giving this book the 4 star recommendation.
Thanks for reading this and happy reading. XX
Summary: Fascinating read, great storyline
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