The Da Vinci Code

DISCLAIMER: I'm not Catholic and have little interest in the proclamations of organized religion. That said, it greatly saddens me that The Da Vinci Code (TDVC) is the "hit" it is. One of the central arguments made by the book is post-modern feminist and runs something along the lines of "the Catholic church ruined civilization by denying the female influence of our culture which they found threatening to spreading the gospel by men."This is ludicrous and I'm conflicted that Brown's book has put me in a position to defend the Church!Brown's thesis assumes several things: the last 2000 years of civilization is primarily a result of Western influences, and these influences started at the time of Jesus. No mention is made of pre-Christian patriarchal western societies (Hebrew) or Asian patriarchal societies. It's not like Christianity has been the only influence in the entire world affecting all cultures. And sorry, no matter what nasty things that the Church has done (and the list is long, very long), I'm not going to blame it for a complete and total attack on women. The fact is that in many present cultures (such as the Catholic societies of Central and South America) the genders do not clash nearly as much. That the feminist movement of the 70's in the United States hasn't brought about domestic bliss for either gender is hardly the fault of the Church. (Now if only the Church would come to grips with things like birth control, the world would be a happier place.)Brown further "astounds" the reader that secular leaders (such as the Roman Emperors) use religion as a means of cementing earthly powers. I'm shocked! Why, imagine if the United States had a President who very late in life becomes "born again" and then claims to be evangelical to justify a series of controversial decisions, doing "God's work" as it were. Or is it cynical of me to bring that up? The point is that religion has always been mixed up in secular politics and it is unfortunate that readers apparently see this as a new idea. If people were less ignorant of the history of their religion, then secular leaders would less be able to manipulate religion for political ends (sort of like the situation we presently have in the United States).Lastly, the "deep" mathematics Brown discusses can all be found (and in a much better form) in a delightful movie "Donald Duck in Mathemagic Land". No doubt that followers of TDVC will point out that this is Disney's attempt at spreading the gospel among the young.The structure of the story give false suspense by simply leaving out key bits of information at the author's whim. The writing, as mentioned by previous reviews, has something to be desired. The only interesting puzzles are solved tens of pages before the solution is revealed if one has even a passing knowledge of math, art, and Da Vinci.Compare this book to another wild best seller of 30 years ago: The Godfather. Despite the operatic feel, that book is one that is worthy of multiple readings (albeit at the beach). It's hard to imagine one wanted to read The Da Vinci Code a second time. Unlike, a mystery like, say, The Sting, where once the secrets are revealed, it is still enjoyable, TDVC evaporates when you know the plot line.If you want to use this book to spur your curiosity about a host of subjects (especially Da Vinci) by all means, indulge. But you would be better off getting the above Disney movie, "The Power of Myth" by Joe Campbell (so you can see how all religions tend to borrow from what is around them), and a decent art book. The only good message that this book contains is that adults should not go around believing in fairy tales and myths as literal truth. Of course, most religious people won't want to hear that believing as they do that their relationship with "God" is more important than their relationships with other humans.

I read this some time ago. I loved the movie! Tom Hanks brings Robert Langdon to life. Great book! Great movie. Re-reading to prep for Dan Brown’s newest book The Secret of Secrets.

I have waited years to be able to read this and I was not disappointed. Although I have been reading the series out of order the books are wonderful and I can’t wait to read the next one!

Just after his time in Rome, Robert Langdon is now called to Paris when a curator of the Louvre Museum is murdered and found in a strange position. It’s only the beginning as he finds a secret message written by the dead man that involves the search of the Holy Grail. Robert will soon be accused of being the murderer and with the curator’s granddaughter by his side, they will solve the mystery of who’s behind this through symbols, the history of Christianity, a cloaked assassin and a valuable cryptex.While nearly having the same storytelling formula as “A&D” did, “TDVC” is surprisingly a more engaging read with its lore centered on codes, art and the life of Leonardo da Vinci. The chemistry between Langdon and Sophie is also the main meat of it while the suspenseful turns and twists are awfully entertaining, even when it gets too serious on the mind-boggling conspiracy feels. A- (91%/Excellent)

Love his books. Action, adventure, puzzle solving, intrigue.