The DaVinci Code...

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
GasX

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: Babbles
It was a fun entertaining book. I do not think it was mind blowing, but it kept me entertained for a little while.
Click to expand...

 
L

loic2003

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2003
3,844
0
0
Warning: Spoiler!

I liked it. I got the Decoding Da Vinci book for christmas but I'm yet to read it. Currently I'm reading Jeremy Clarkson's 'You Got Soul' which is pretty neat.

I agree that the story was a bit too packed with action and/or cliffhangers and many of the twists were predicatable. The throwing the vial in the air trick was pretty cheesy...
I can't help but think that Brown wanted to tell the world his thoughts on religion/holy grail etc and thought the only way to do so would be to put it all into a novel that would grab people's attention. If he had written a purley factual document it would have not been read by so many people. Also, the guy will probably be able to retire now since he's had books in the top 10 all year. I think it was two weeks ago in the Times on Sunday I saw that eh had three books in the top ten which had all been there for a few months. The DV code was #1.

Has anyone seen the pyramids the the louvre? there anything in the small one?
 
K

knyghtbyte

Senior member
Oct 20, 2004
918
1
0
Decided to buy them all from Amazon after a friend of mine recommended them as a bit of light entertainment reading.....(ie on a train or in the bath type book rather than a serious armchair with a glass of fine single malt scotch type book)

in order of preference, 1st listed being favourite i would say....

1) Angels & Demons
2) Deception Point
3) Digital Fortress
4) Da Vinci Code

Now i enjoy them all immensley, as i say from a simple read POV, Angels & Demons by far and away superior out of the 4, Deception Point was good because it had that isolated feel with a bit of X-Fileishness, Digital Fortress was very very close behind because i am into cipher type things and also had that isolated atsmosphere (as you can see, i like being isolated...lol). Then finally the Da Vinci code, enjoyable, but just a little something missing from making it a great book.

As an alternative to Dan Brown i would recommend Robert Harris, mainly because the books are not too long, can be read nonstop without fatigue, but contain in my opinion slightly more interesting storylines and just as well researched fact. The books are Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel and Pompeii in the written order, however for my own personal preference i would go

1) Enigma (no need to explain, theres a film based on it...lol)
2) Pompeii (very good story written around the volcanic event, prior, during and a little bit post)
3) Fatherland (the Nazis won......)
4) Archangel (Russian background concerning whassisname....sorry, havnt read it for a while, memory doesnt retain things as well as it did...lol)

there isnt much to choose between them, but if forced to that is the order i would go with.

 
N

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
1
0
Dan Brown is a hack. The books are a couple of common knowledge points, with a bunch of crap fiction wrapped around a weak story and cardboard thing characters. Fuck'im.
 
azazyel

azazyel

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2000
5,872
1
81
Originally posted by: whitecloak
the Name of the Rose deserves the adulation which this book got.
Click to expand...

I just picked up Foucault pendulum, I am really excited to start it.

The Harry Potter books were written for a more adult audience than any thing Brown has thrown out.
 
yllus

yllus

Elite Member & Lifer
Aug 20, 2000
20,577
432
126
'Hack' is the perfect word to describe Dan Brown. The book was terrible.
 
GagHalfrunt

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,998
126
Originally posted by: X-Man
I agree . . . unfortunately the whole "85 three page chapter with a climax at the end of each one" type of book is fast becoming regarded as high literature.
Click to expand...


Thanks to John Grisham. Grisham has proven that you don't need believable characters, intelligent dialog or a realistic plot. All you need to do is invent 50 mini-cliffhangers, use one at the end of every chapter and fill in the rest of the pages with fluff. The idiots will love it.
 
C

cw42

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2004
4,227
0
76
i just finished reading Digital Fortress, another book by Dan Brown. I started last night night around 2am, then I started reading again today around 5pm, and finished up around 2am. Can't believe I read a 430pg book this quick! This book is set around codebreaking and the NSA. If you enjoyed any other of Dan Brown's books you can be sure to like this one (yah i can tell there are alot of dan brown haters out there). Most of his books are pretty similar in the way the told, but hey... whatever floats your boat!
 
IAteYourMother

IAteYourMother

Lifer
Nov 3, 2004
10,491
22
81
Originally posted by: knyghtbyte
Decided to buy them all from Amazon after a friend of mine recommended them as a bit of light entertainment reading.....(ie on a train or in the bath type book rather than a serious armchair with a glass of fine single malt scotch type book)

in order of preference, 1st listed being favourite i would say....

1) Angels & Demons
2) Deception Point
3) Digital Fortress
4) Da Vinci Code

Now i enjoy them all immensley, as i say from a simple read POV, Angels & Demons by far and away superior out of the 4, Deception Point was good because it had that isolated feel with a bit of X-Fileishness, Digital Fortress was very very close behind because i am into cipher type things and also had that isolated atsmosphere (as you can see, i like being isolated...lol). Then finally the Da Vinci code, enjoyable, but just a little something missing from making it a great book.

As an alternative to Dan Brown i would recommend Robert Harris, mainly because the books are not too long, can be read nonstop without fatigue, but contain in my opinion slightly more interesting storylines and just as well researched fact. The books are Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel and Pompeii in the written order, however for my own personal preference i would go

1) Enigma (no need to explain, theres a film based on it...lol)
2) Pompeii (very good story written around the volcanic event, prior, during and a little bit post)
3) Fatherland (the Nazis won......)
4) Archangel (Russian background concerning whassisname....sorry, havnt read it for a while, memory doesnt retain things as well as it did...lol)

there isnt much to choose between them, but if forced to that is the order i would go with.
Click to expand...


Hmm...
I would say

1) Angels & Demons
2) Digital Fortress
3) The Da Vinci Code
4) Deception Point

I thought Deception Point was kind of... meh
 
quakefiend420

quakefiend420

Lifer
Aug 26, 2004
14,685
1
76
Originally posted by: HermDogg
Originally posted by: X-Man
Originally posted by: Kev
I agree. The actual historical stuff about the church and mary magdalene was somewhat interesting, but the story was basically a scooby-doo adventure. The "climax" every other paragraph was annoying too like Xman said.
Click to expand...

Hehe.

"The hairs at the back of his neck rose; somehow, he knew that there was someone behind him. Swallowing, he took hold of the book with both hands. It was just heavy enough to use in a pinch for a weapon if need be. Steeling himself, he spun around.

Chapter 76

"Here's your cappucino, Robert."
"Oh. Thanks."
Click to expand...

Haha, that reminded me of the "Worst Opening Line to a Book" contest, where one of the entries was:

"As Jenny stood, quietly ovulating in the corner..."
Click to expand...

those worst first line contests are great...really funny stuff...my gf didnt really appreciate it the way i did though...

 
J

jemcam

Diamond Member
Jan 3, 2001
3,676
0
0
Originally posted by: HermDogg
I thought the book was great.... til the end. Then I wanted to shoot the author.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I think it was stretched out a lot farther than it needed to be. He did a great job of setting up the story but failed on the ending IMHO.
 
mb

mb

Lifer
Jun 27, 2004
10,233
2
71
I loved the book! I hate reading, but I was able to read that book in one night and enjoyed all of it. After that, I got all of Brown's other books and read them too.
 
K

Kev

Lifer
Dec 17, 2001
16,367
4
81
Now that I think about it, I like the Harry Potter books better than Dan Brown. I've only read the Prisoner of Azkaban but it was still better than DaVinci and A&D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom