Product Description

The Da Vinci Code

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2600 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-28
• Released on: 2006-03-28
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Amazon.com
With The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown masterfully concocts an intelligent and lucid thriller that marries the gusto of an international murder mystery with a collection of fascinating esoteria culled from 2,000 years of Western history.

A murder in the silent after-hour halls of the Louvre museum reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has been protected by a clandestine society since the days of Christ. The victim is a high-ranking agent of this ancient society who, in the moments before his death, manages to leave gruesome clues at the scene that only his granddaughter, noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can untangle. The duo become both suspects and detectives searching for not only Neveu's grandfather's murderer but also the stunning secret of the ages he was charged to protect. Mere steps ahead of the authorities and the deadly competition, the mystery leads Neveu and Langdon on a breathless flight through France, England, and history itself. Brown (Angels and Demons) has created a page-turning thriller that also provides an amazing interpretation of Western history. Brown's hero and heroine embark on a lofty and intriguing exploration of some of Western culture's greatest mysteries--from the nature of the Mona Lisa's smile to the secret of the Holy Grail. Though some will quibble with the veracity of Brown's conjectures, therein lies the fun. The Da Vinci Code is an enthralling read that provides rich food for thought. --Jeremy Pugh

From Publishers Weekly
Brown's latest thriller (after Angels and Demons)is an exhaustively researched page-turner about secret religious societies, ancient coverups and savage vengeance. The action kicks off in modern-day Paris with the murder of the Louvre's chief curator, whose body is found laid out in symbolic repose at the foot of the Mona Lisa. Seizing control of the case are Sophie Neveu, a lovely French police cryptologist, and Harvard symbol expert Robert Langdon, reprising his role from Brown's last book. The two find several puzzling codes at the murder scene, all of which form a treasure map to the fabled Holy Grail. As their search moves from France to England, Neveu and Langdon are confounded by two mysterious groups-the legendary Priory of Sion, a nearly 1,000-year-old secret society whose members have included Botticelli and Isaac Newton, and the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. Both have their own reasons for wanting to ensure that the Grail isn't found. Brown sometimes ladles out too much religious history at the expense of pacing, and Langdon is a hero in desperate need of more chutzpah. Still, Brown has assembled a whopper of a plot that will please both conspiracy buffs and thriller addicts.

From Library Journal
When Brown regular Robert Langdon is called in to investigate the murder of a curator at the Louvre, he discovers that the body is surrounded by strange ciphers evidently linked to the paintings of Da Vinci-and a powerful relic protected by the Priory, a secret society to which the artist belonged.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A book of hatred; the one against the Christians
Dan Brown is an illusionist. It attracted, like all good writers successful thrillers American audiences. The ingredients are familiar: Action brutal murder in the singular and plural (serial killing), incomprehension, investigation, doubt, lack of knowledge, tenacity (alone against all), happy ending. Passion thrillers (see my listmania), I know the ropes most used to give the maximum chances of a successful sale. On the "thriller", "Da Vinci" is lourdaud.

Dan Brown is a forger doubled a liar. How can one argue that the Bible (and therefore the Old and New Testament) was a work commissioned by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the fourth century? How can you write that the "Priory of Sion is a secret society founded at the end of XI century by Godfrey de Bouillon" who knows the truth about marriage with Mary Magdalene and the descendants of Christ and therefore lies founder the Church? ... then it is a supposed French association under the 1901 law declared in 1956. And how many other pearls ... like the androgyny of Mona Lisa (Mona Lisa) ... I still laugh.

Dan Brown is a man who has faith hatred of the Christianity in general and the Catholic Church in particular. He is a descendant - representing heresies fought with accuracy since its inception by the Church. These are called heresies the arianism, Catharism and Jansenism. They say that God is a pure spiritual being therefore could not have had a Son of a similar nature to him. But Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God. That is what the Church professes, in full transparency, everyone. The profession of faith of the Church is radically opposed to any elitist philosophy - elected on the one hand and esoteric on the other.

Dan Brown has mixed genres: the thriller, the invention sometimes committed to history, sometimes lies, and hatred skillfully distilled the Church.

I invite the reader critical read the excellent book by Jesuit Father Bernard Sesboüé which dismantles this horror: "The Da Vinci Code explained to its readers." (in French)

Beautifully written and without flaws
Dan Brown's second novel The Da Vinci Code has become a literary phenomena, spawning countless books related to the topic, a movie, a myriad of discussions, and so much more. But let's take a look inside this book shall we? The book starts with the murder of the head curator of the museum. Ah but that is just the beginning! The curator was able to leave clues for his daughter, who is a cryptographer herself, follows these clues to France and England, through the past and the present, Through cultured religion and the unorthodox searching for the Knight's Templar and the code the world's masterpieces hold. Dan Brown is a master of suspense and The Da Vinci Codes is just one more notch in this fabled author's cap. Beautifully written and without flaws this is one book I highly recommend!!

And for those who enjoy books on ancient cultures, I'd recommend: Fates

Good read for entertainment
This is the second Dan Brown novel I've heard, the other being "Digital Fortress". The story line is a history teaser. It makes you want to go look at DaVinci's paintings, read up on Sir Isaac Newton, and find out about the Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar. I was disappointed in one area...these so-called experts couldn't figure out the codes to open the cryptex. When they said it needed 5 letters to open it, I knew right away that it would be some name for Sophie. After all, her Grandfather made the thing. The same thing happened in Digital Fortress...the smart people took too long to figure out an obvious password and an obvious secret identity of a character.

Overall, I would recommend this book, but go in with an open mind. It is work of fiction based loosely on historical fact.