I’ve heard that the book is better than the movie :shrug: I saw neither the movie nor the book but I’m kind of curious to read it. 
So could any of you who read the book(or maybe watched the movie) tell me your thoughts and comments about it? (style of writing, intersting/boring, etc. etc.)
Thanks :notworthy:
I found it to be poorly written and far too predictable to be enjoyable.
I read a few of his books before. They are all interesting reads. I always love the books more so I tend not to watch the movies of books I enjoyed.
I think you should go ahead and read it, but I recommend reading Angels and Demons first since it was the first in the series starring the main character (Da Vinci Code picks up with the same character 1 year later) It was my favorite of those 2 books. They are both good reads though and I enjoyed them both!
Check them out for yourself though.
I’m in Mason’s camp…found it very lazily written and tired. Not to mention the insultingly stupid and helpless “heroine” character romping through a book that’s supposedly tackling all sorts of “feminine power” within religious mythology. Blargh. Waste of a weekend for me (I have a compulsion about finishing books even if I hate them :teehee: ).
Yeah, I also saw Angels and Demons in the local library, too. It’s huuuge! lol, just like the Harry Potter series! :thud:
I think I’ll go check that.
I’m afraid that it’s gonna be confusing for me though :shrug: I’m not really smart sometimes when I read mystries :wall: And I’ve also heard, as Mason and HamaLee have said, that they are not that enjoyable :shrug:
I read this before I started my college classes (now I could care less about reading for pleasure). I used to be a voracious reader. I love crime novels, historical fiction, etc…
I tried really, really hard to keep an open mind about this book. And I really liked the beginning and premise of it.
However, as a Christian, I found it very offensive. I know that Jesus doesn’t need my protection, but I felt the need to defend Him after reading this book.
I did finish the book, but I closed the back cover with great sadness. Not my favorite. I’m so glad that the book was on loan from the library. I probably would have trashed it otherwise.
Forgot to say that I did not see the movie. Just couldn’t after reading the book…
[color=indigo]I listened to the book and found it totally fascinating. :cheering: Being raised in the RC Church, I loved all of the intrique. I thought the movie was as good as could be done from what I considered to be a book full of stuff. I mean, it’s the HP books. You can’t put everything into the movie. :wall: [/color]
I liked the book, and the movie. The book isn’t the best written piece of lit out there, but it was entertaining none the less. Very religious people will easily be offended by the story, which I understand, but I read it with a grain of salt and as a fiction novel. :shrug:
I liked the book better then the movie, which is often the case.
I really like his other books better, Deception point was a good read. For some reason the other book escapes me on the title.
My favourite book of all time is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Its a true story from Savanha GA, and the movie is as good as the book.
Just my 2 cents worth.
I read the book and went to see the movie. My husband, who did not read the book, had a hard time following the movie. He said that he felt like pieces were missing. I found myself leaning over and whispering things to him during the movie just to catch him up! I didn’t enjoy the movie all that much, and I read the book just to see what all the hype was about. If you’re going to choose one, I would read the book.
Personally, I would say don’t waste your time.
I wasn’t really interested in the book, but had to see what all the hype was about. Now, I am a voracious reader and read a wide range of different genres so that should clarify that it wasn’t just the “type” of book it was.
I am a Christian, and not really offended, just bemused by all the preposterous ramblings about the “sacred feminine”, etc. Ridiculous. Anyone who has read the Bible knows that women played a large role in Christianity.
But, more than that, the book was just…nothing. Nora Roberts, Mary Higgins Clark, and Karen Robards (to name a few) have put out romance/mystery books that are more entertaining and have better plot twists than this one, IMHO.
So, my advice would be, if you really want to satisfy your curiosity about all the fuss, pick a day when you are TOTALLY bored and have nothing better at all to do, and then start it and see what you think.
Again, JMHO.
I liked it but didn’t love it - there was so much that could have been done and said that wasn’t.
I read Angels and Demons first, and I found the Da Vinci Code relied heavily on themes and twists from A&D. It was like I was reading the same story about slightly different people in a different city.
I recently read another book along a similar line that was brilliant, much more involved and had more of a point and better defined characters.
It was so good I’ve forgotten the title. (I’ve read so many books lately being off work, that they all begin to merge). I’ll dig it out later and let you know.
The book was a quick read. I wasn’t impressed with it.
For one thing, the foreword gives this elaborate statement that while the story is fictional, the architecture, artwork and religious societies in the book are all completely accurate.
But the truth is, the author did some very lazy research. I found very little information in the book to be factual. I realize that it was a work of fiction, but when you claim that the details in the story are accurate, they should be. He didn’t get the size of paintings right, he didn’t get the year they were painted right…one painting he claimed to be on canvas, when it was painted on wood. Even some of the descriptions of those paintings were wrong. He described buildings inaccurately (making a big deal out of the Louvre’s 666 glass panes in the pyramid…when that number isn’t even right!). I had a minor in art in college…I took several art history classes. I was annoyed by the inaccuracies.
He gave wrong centuries for religions (Mithraism, specifically)…this was just sloppy. Even his secret societies, which he claimed to be 100% real were proven to be a fraud in 1996 (it was all over the news!). I love reading fiction with non-fiction details, and he completely botched this up.
I wouldn’t read the book again or watch the movie.
Misty
I enjoyed both books alot, although DeVinci was alittle predictable. I loved Angels and Demons more. They are both a good read in my opinion.
I read a lot. When everyone was going on and on about the Da Vinci code I couldn’t believe it was that good. But I finally read it. Ugh. As Mason said way too predictable. Thrillers can’t be thrillers if they are predictable.
Possible spoiler here:
As far as the Magdalene/Sacred Feminine content there are many other books both fiction and not-fiction that address that issue and idea so much better; with greater depth and better research.
Have not seen the movie. Am slightly curious and enjoy Tom Hanks, but wasn’t jumping up and down about it.
I wouldn’t go see the movie, because I didn’t like the book and think Tom Hanks was miscast in the role.
The book was sloppily written…one critic called it “Dan Brown’s Guide On How Not To Write An English Sentence.” It was a little entertaining, but predictable.
Also, I worked in a bookstore from Jan 2005-March 2006. “What do you mean, it’s not in paperback?” (It didn’t come out in paperback until late March, when the movie came out.) “Where are you books ABOUT the Da Vinci Code?” “I can’t believe you sell this, it’s SO OFFENSIVE.”
Okay. It’s a work of fiction. Stupid people who think it’s true? Get a dictionary and look up “fiction.” People who think it’s all untrue AND that Dan Brown thinks it’s true? It’s a work of fiction. :wall:
Digital Fortress.
I’ve never read anything but Da Vinci Code, and that was just a “What’s all this hype about?” thing, plus it was free because I borrowed it from work.
I both read the book and saw the movie and I thought the book was interesting. People get too into the fact that it may not be historically accurate or it offends Christians, but it is a fictional book. I am a Catholic, and I wasn’t presonally offended mostly because we don’t know what could be possibly true in the book or what’s not. I didn’t really think it was a big deal that there were some things that people said were not accurate because I wasn’t reading the book for a history lesson. I wouldn’t waste your time with the movie though, especially if you haven’t the read the book because I felt that there were a lot of important pieces missing from it that made it hard to follow if you didn’t already know what was going on. I haven’t read Angels and Demons, but I didn’t feel like I was missing parts when reading DC although I would like to read it.
My biggest problem with the book was not that it offended me, religiously, I felt it offended my intelligence. Dan Brown made a big deal in his foreword that while it was a fictional story-line, it was historically accurate. In several interviews, he touted how much research had gone into this book and kept talking about how he is a fictional writer who takes the time to do enough research to make his books “credible”.
The man is either lazy or an idiot.
Misty
I’ve read all of his books and liked Deception Point and Digital Fortress more than the others. I’m also Catholic and didn’t find the Da Vinci Code offensive - just took it with a grain of salt. I haven’t seen the movie and don’t plan to.