Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code

*INCLUDES AN EXTRACT FROM ORIGIN,THE NEW THRILLER BY DAN BROWN: OUT NOW* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 trail that leads to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci - and suggests the answer to a mystery that stretches deep into the vault of history. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine code and quickly assemble the pieces of the puzzle, a stunning historical truth will be lost forever...

(Robert Langdon Book 2)

Caroline 

“Not only does the face of Mona Lisa look androgynous, but her name is an anagram of the divine union of male and female.”

Macy HB

canteli 

Briar's Reviews

I read this book (which is the second in the Robert Langdon series) first, and it was truly amazing! While I usually don't read books out of order, I picked this book up before Angels and Demons and I wanted to start into it right away. Reading them out of order doesn't ruin the novels and contains no spoilers other than a few personal relationships that Robert Langdon has.

This book was an amazing, epic, truly inspiring novel. It changes your view on everything around you, including artwork and television and building designs. It gives a wonderful insight to many topics that aren't openly discussed or noticed.

I could not put this book down, and I wish Dan Brown had more books floating around the book stores for me to pick up! This book is a unique gem and I love it! I need more books like these around that have short chapters, constant action, unpredictable twists and turns and characters that are intriguing.

I must admit I did pick the novel up just so I could go watch the movie when it came on television, but I should have picked the book up just because the book is so epic and astonishing!

Five out of five stars! There isn't much I can say against this book other than that it's a long read (but a quick one!).

Een Amerikaanse kunsthistoricus wordt verdacht van moord in het Louvre, wat hem dwingt via cryptische aanwijzingen de ware schuldige te vinden.

De Da Vinci Code

Gosse

nienke

Langzaam werf ik door de boeken van Dan Brown, maar dit boek was een redelijke tegenvaller. Het boek voelde langdradig aan en er leek geen einde aan te komen. Alsof het Bernini Mysterie een goede start was en er toch nog meer boeken moesten komen.

Ik had er eerlijk gezegd meer verwacht na al die verhalen over het boek.

Mythos

1/5 stars

I am able to read classic books or books that can be considered classic for certain genres, but this isn't one of them. I can understand why people can enjoy this book, but I personally was falling asleep trying to read it.

Also, all the information the author mentioned on art doesn't make a lot of sense. If you actually want accurate information on art history, I recommend that you actually pick up a book that focuses on that topic instead of reading this book.

I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone.

Michael Springer

Okay, I'm writing this review as a person who isn't really a big fan of thriller-type books. And, after watching one out of every three movies, I tend to make the comment, "I didn't see enough character development." This book was fun, and strange, and I don't regret reading it. However, the characters were all as thin as the pages they were written on. I finished the book still not caring about any of the characters from it. 

However, I really enjoyed the theological conspiracy theories that ran through the book, and these kept me turning the pages. I would recommend this if you are looking for a book that's exciting and you aren't searching for substance.

Bri Billaney

I've read pretty much the entire Dan Brown catalogue so I'll review them all here. Dan Brown creates amazing stories with amazing details, plot points, and visuals that all come together to create an amazing little world. The Robert Langdon universe is complex, intelligent, and complex and full or mystery and drama. They're really amazing stores.

Colleen

3.5 Stars but I'll round up to 4 Stars

Dan Brown gets a lot of flack for his simplistic writing style. Granted, best seller status does NOT correlates with writing capability (unless it is a negative correlation) as is evident by certain best sellers - cough, cough Fifty Shades of Grey. But I don't think Brown's work is any worse than the standard action/thriller. So I am not sure why he has been so singled out as this genre's whipping boy. No, his books are by no means literary giants. They are meant to be easy-read page turners, and in that regard they certainly succeed. 

The Da Vinci Code follows the same format and formula as Angels & Demons. Overall, there were a lot of similarities. While The Da Vinci Code felt more polished than its predecessor and cut down its length, the two books still had enough in common to feel more they should exist concurrently rather than an original book and its sequel. While I enjoyed both books, I wonder if book number three is going to be too repetitive. 

I liked the female lead in The Da Vinci Code better than the one from the first book. I also enjoyed finally being able to use some of the random information I retained from my Art History class. It made it fun to understand connections before the story explained them. I have no idea if all of the information in the story holds up, but what I was familiar with was accurate. So he at least researched enough to get a good framework for the story (no pun intended). 

The main critique I had while reading was that the foreshadowing and withholding of information was overdone. It's a thriller; I don't need teasers like "Little did he know what was to come." When there are still 300 pages left, I certainly hope there is a twist! Of course something will go wrong along the way. Of course the good guy and the bad guy are going to cross paths. What else would it be? A 300 page nap? But what bugged me more than that was that he kept bringing partially revealed information as a hook but waited much too long explain the full event. The main example of this was the shocking thing that Sophie witnessed in the basement. By the fifth time Brown mentioned the shocking thing that Sophie witnessed in the basement without saying what the the shocking thing in the basement was, I got a little fed up with it. So by the time it was revealed, I was tired of it being alluded to, and it was anticlimactic.

Like Angels & Demons, the chapters are very short and there are a lot of them. Sometimes this disrupts the flow. Also like the first story, the entire story is crammed into a very short time period. Looking back, it seems odd that this big story all occurred in a 24 hour time period.

I realize this review sounds mostly negative and not in line with a four star rating. But despite the critiques mentioned above, I did enjoy this book. It is a fun thriller great for some leisurely reading.

RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars
Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars

Atharva Bedekar

Anthony

I really enjoyed the amount of detail in this book. It's very thought provoking and fun to read. I'm definitely into Dan Brown's use of facts mixed with outrageous ideas. Kept me wanting more to the very end.

Vilandra

Rips off Arturo Perez-Reverte's writing style and plot points.

Veronica 

I need to know if this is real RIGHT NOW !!!!!!!

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and French cryptologist Sophie Neveu work to solve the murder of an elderly curator of the Louvre, a case which leads to clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci and a centuries-old secret society.

Lacy W

Time to commence more incoherent fangirl screaming.

Why is this series so damn good? Ugh. 

Moving on to the actual review before it just becomes screeching. 

So. This is the second installment in the Da Vinci Code series. We have the same MC, Robert Langdon. He is still a professor of religious symbology at Harvard. After giving a lecture, he is woken up to the French police at his hotel door. He quickly becomes a suspect in the murder of a staff at the Louvre museum. It's up to Robert and Sophie Nevue, a cypher and granddaughter of the victim, to clear Robert's name and stop the killer. 

Of course, the book is so much more than that. This time there is involvement with the Knight Templar, the Priory of Sion and the Holy Grail. I do not know of Opus Dei is a real thing but I'll mention them in my list as well. I'm sure everybody knows what the Holy Grail is but I'm sure the Knights Templar, Opus Dei and Priory of Sion aren't as familiar. 

The Priory of Sion is a pagan goddess worship brotherhood. Before y'all freak out over the word pagan, let me tell what pagan is (according to the book. Again, I'm not an expert but I'm going by the book and the author, who I am sure has done extensive research on this topic). Pagan simply means nature worship. The Priory of Sion believe that in order for the world to function correctly, we need both men and women. They think women help the world achieve balance in many ways. 

The Opus Dei group is not like that. They are a conservative Catholic group that encouraged members to make sacrifices in their lives for the work of God. They also don't treat women well because of the origin of the Original Sin. Eve technically took a bit of the apple from the forbidden tree first so therefore, they basically think it's all women's fault that there is sin. 

The Knights Templar is to help guard the secret of what the Holy Grail actually is. They were originally in charge of it before they were cruelly slaughtered by a Pope many many years ago. 

(view spoiler)[ Back when this book was first released there was a whole big uproar about it. The reason? The Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene, the "whore". Her and Jesus got married and had a child and the bloodline was still going long after Mary died. I still remember everybody freaking out about it and calling for protests of this book. In all honesty, I could believe it. I mean, Jesus may have been considered the Son of God but he had a human body. A human body that I'm sure had needs and wants just like everyone else. So you know, why not? Why isn't Jesus allowed to have a wife? I would think he would get lonely and irritated hanging around guys all the time. But that's just my thoughts.  (hide spoiler)]

Overall, the book is incredible as you can probably guess from the beginnings of this review. I apologize if it is longer than normal. I feel that having a little bit of background before diving in is also helpful. All the information presented in the book is easy to follow again, even if you aren't a history buff like me. So go ahead. Read the book. You'll like it. 

 skip the movie, though. it's okay but not great.

Albert Dong

Haven't finished a book so quickly in a long time

Siya S

★★★ 3.5 Stars

I think the whole series is kinda ruined with they decided to cast Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. 



Like, don't get me wrong Tom Hanks is probably one of the greatest actors of our time. Your favorite uncle? Yes. A cast-away hobo, a freight ship captain? Absolutely. But does he resemble Robert Langdon in any way? No. Does he look like a ladies man? A chick magnet in every-fucking- where the adventure takes him? No. 

No. 


It's as bad as Tom Cruise's Jack Reachers (what's up with the Toms, though). So, naturally, I just can't look at this series the same way anymore. 

But this book was one of my favorites when I was younger. The young S dreamed of being an art historian, or a curator, so of course, I was drawn to it. The mysteries! The secrets and the adventures to the Louvre! The secret codes and Illuminati gave me all the heebie-jeebies! Oh my, I never thought such a book existed. I'm not gonna say it's a must, but I liked it and stayed with me after all these years..so,

McKlayne Marshall

Kim Klein Hesselink

Elena 

** spoiler alert **
           Amazing book amd really good plot twists!!

A Bertrand edita O codigo Da Vinci, um impressionante exito mundial em que dan Dan Brown se revela um génio criativo nao so a nivel de suspense mas tambem da proprio complexidade do enredo. O codigo Da Vinci uma sobra sumultaneamente vertiginosa, inteligente e intricadamente recheada de elementos cientificos e de pormenores inesperados. Das primeiras paginas à imprevisivel e surpreendente conclusao, Dan Brown, autor de outros best-sellers, prova ser um eximio contador de historias. Robert Langdon, conceituado simbologista de Harvard, esta em Paris para fazer ima palestra quando recebe uma noticia inesperada : o velho curador do Louvre foi encontrado morto no museu, e um codigo indecifravel encontrado junto do cadaver . Na tentativa de decifrar o estranho codigo, Langdon e uma dotada criptologista francesca, Sophie Neveu, descobrem, estupefactos, uma série de pistas onscritas nas obras de Leonardo Da Vinci, que o pintor engenhosamente disfarçou. Tudo se complica quando Lnagdon descrobe uma surpreendente ligaçao : o falecido curador estava envolvido com o Priorado de Siao, uma sociedade secreta a que tinham pertencido Sir Isaac Newton, Boticelli, Victor Hugo e Da Vinci, entre outros.

Edition en langue portugaise

Codigo da Vinci

Nelson Zagalo

Um livro polémico, capaz de gerar tanto interesse como ódio. Por um lado os amantes de aventura, do thriller e do mistério por outro os defensores da literatura como arte. Uma discussão que estamos mais habituados a ver no mundo do cinema, como Hollywood e os seus blockbusters versus o cinema alternativo ou europeu.
Deste modo tal como no cinema, precisamos de analisar cada obra no seu ambiente e nos seus objectivos. Como tal "O Código Da Vinci" se devidamente colocado no seu meio, é uma obra com imensas qualidades, nomeadamente Dan Brown demonstra um imenso savoir-faire no domínio da arte do storytelling. Não existe profundidade dramática, nem personagens tridimensionais, mas existe um desfiar de enredo imparável capaz de arrastar consigo hordas de mentes curiosas. A força do desvelamento operado por Brown funciona como um maremoto que leva na frente tudo e todos, mesmo aqueles que se esforçam por encontrar no livro lacunas, erros, ou passes básicos da literatura.

It was fantastic, a perfect mix of thriller and mystery to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire novel.

Adam

The 2nd book in the series, but the first movie to be made, The DaVinci code follows a similar line of religion vs science vs conspiracy theory as the first. In many ways I liked how many different parties there were in the conspiracy for this one, each with their own motives. The slow draw out in what could have been ended faster left me waiting a long time for the next shoe would drop.

Mounir Bashour

H. Kamran

When Robert Langdon is awokened past midnight, he finds himself with a DCPJ agent. The DCPJ agent shows him of a curator who was murdered that night. Jacques Sauniere was murdered that night, and Beau Fache, the DCPJ captain, believes that Langdon is the suspect. Langdon meets Sophie Neveu, who has something very interesting up her sleeve. Who is Sophie Neveu? Who killed Jacques Sauniere? Find out in The Da Vinci Code!

Sydney Tipton

I read this before I visited the Louvre and pissed off my family because I spent thirty minutes looking for the Virgin on the Rocks in the Denon wing

juliette

maybe if your religious you’ll enjoy this book. but i’m not, nor do i really know anything about religion. the reveals were supposed to be crazy revelations, hence why this book is supposedly controversial, but they were all based around jesus, and again, i don’t know much about jesus so it didn’t really click.

The Da Vinci Code

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