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This is an absolutely fantastic book and the 1st I read by Dan Brown. It was so good in fact, that I went out the day after I finished it and bought Angels and Demons and have since read all his other books. Both Angels and Demons and the Da Vinci Code chronicle the adventures of Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist. Dan Brown is a stellar writer and includes real history in the books which makes for an educational read. This book has produced quite a stir with its content and has actually spurned books dedicated to revealing the myths behind the fiction. This is an absolutely fantastic book and the 1st I read by Dan Brown. It was so good in fact, that I went out the day after I finished it and bought Angels and Demons and have since read all his other books. Both Angels and Demons and the Da Vinci Code chronicle the adventures of Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist. Dan Brown is a stellar writer and includes real history in the books which makes for an educational read. This book has produced quite a stir with its content and has actually spurned books dedicated to revealing the myths behind the fiction. As an example here are some of the more "sensitive" topics the book raises: Early Christianity entailed "the cult of the Great Mother" Mary Magdalene represented the feminine cult and the Holy Grail of traditional lore she was also Jesus' wife and the mother of his children. Magdalene's womb, carrying Jesus offspring, was the legendary Holy Grail (as seen in Da Vinci's encoded paining, The Last Supper). Jesus was not seen as divine (God) by His followers until Emperor Constantine declared him so for his own purposes. The Nicean Council of the 3rd Century was the context for Constantine's power grab and the relationship of Magdalene as paramour of Christ was quashed there. "Mary Magdalene's remains and the secret documents that tell the real story were found on the Temple Mount when Jerusalem was conquered in the First Crusade.” Brown sees a connection between the Nag Hammadi documents (a.k.a., Gnostic Gospels) discovered in 1945 and this storyline. The "truth" about Christ and Mary Magdalene has been kept alive by a secret society named the Priory of Sion that was lead by great minds like Da Vinci. Perhaps one of the trademarks of a good book is its ability to create this sort of dialog. Already TV shows have been dedicated to exploring these issues. I can only expect this hype will continue to grow with the announcement of a movie! Overall ... a MUST read!Read full review
Very interesting to hear where so many things originated from though keeping facts straight from the fictional portions was a little confusing. Not as well written as I had expected it to be for the huge sucess it is. I enjoyed it even though actions the charachters took seemed inconsistant w/ the boundries already laid by the authur. I found my self saying...They wouldn't have done THAT...a lot. A little simple research on guns used in the story would be better. Glocks are not chrome, they do not have "cylinders" to fall empty on and they do not have a safety to release. Has Dan Brown even SEEN a Glock??? The book was entertaining which is all it was suppose to be I guess.
It seems that everyone is facinated these days with the theory that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, had children, and their blood line continues. I've never had any real interest in these theories but needed to read the book to fullfill my own curiousity over the hype. I have to say it was well written but during the 2nd reading, descrepancies popped up that I hadn't noticed the first time through. But this is fiction! And honestly, a lot worse has been written about the church and it's survived. I believe the church will also survive Dan Brown.
My husband and I listened to this on audiobook on a long trip. We were both very intrigued by the mystery and enjoyed it just as we would any other interesting story. The religious aspects in the book were cause for much interesting discussion between us (some concepts were so deep and different, we would rewind and listen again just to let it sink in), but when the cd ended, we left it as being just another good work of fiction...and nothing more. My husband acutally went on (or back if you will) to read Angels and Demons, and he enjoyed it a lot as well. So, I definitely do recommend this book as a very interesting mystery adventure novel, but watch out for the controversial hype surrounding it which you will surely run into!
When I choose a book, I have a rule...if I am not 'in it' by the end of the second chapter, I return it to the library. And if I can't put it down, I buy it. With this book, I was sucked in by probably the second page. I read it in a day the first time I read it and have read it again since. Da Vinci Code was the first book I had read by Dan Brown. I've read all his others since reading Da Vinci Code. Few authors can take you on such a wild ride where you are on the edge of your seat and can't wait to find out what happens next. I would recommend Da Vinci Code (and all of Dan Brown's books) to anyone.
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