On The Da Vinci Code

[Hypes]

An argument over The Da Vinci Code on another forum.

http://vnboards.ign.com/Guinevere_(RP)/b20664/74013064/p1

(the real debate begins on page 2 - http://vnboards.ign.com/Guinevere_(RP)/b20664/74013064/p2)

 

[Brian G Turner]

So, let's see - you like Eco but not Brown?

 

[Lacedaemonian]

I though that Brown's detailed use of art, architecture and locations was what brought value to what was very much just a plain suspense - thriller.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

The books are OK. Odd the way he recycles the exact same sort of plot though, and some of his historical detailing seems very superficial. Characters are especially vivid when they reach two-dimensional status. Shame is, something like one in six people include this in the tiny list of books they've read in the past year, and they could have spent their time on something better. But then isn't that always the case.

 

[Lacedaemonian]

I read it a couple of years ago, and then read Angels and Demons as a stop gap between two fantasy series. I found the whole thing to be recycled, all but names and artwork. Sometimes twists are so crap that can ruin a book, it is a real shame that you have to read a full novel to find out at the end that the twist is crap. A real shame.

 

[littlemissattitude]

Strange thing about "DaVinci"...I knew it wasn't exactly great literature while I was reading it, and that a lot of it was lifted wholesale from places like "Holy Blood, Holy Grail". But still, it kept me turning the pages late into the night, because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. As far as I'm concerned, it's acceptable popcorn reading but that's about it.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Yes, that's about the strength of it. I don't really see anything more to be said. Now to wait for the next Eco...


BTW, has anyone heard of Ross King? He has two books, Ex Libris and Domino which seem to be interesting historical novels with a touch of mystery. He also writes historical non-fic so I'm assuming the level of scholarship will be high if nothing else.

 

[Lacedaemonian]

I have heard of neither writer but will be sure to look them up today on my monthly shopping spree.

 

[Hypes]

Yes, Brian, I do.

 

[LadyFel]

Strange thing about "DaVinci"...I knew it wasn't exactly great literature while I was reading it, and that a lot of it was lifted wholesale from places like "Holy Blood, Holy Grail". But still, it kept me turning the pages late into the night, because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. As far as I'm concerned, it's acceptable popcorn reading but that's about it.

I agree with you there...For me the book was good fun, it kept me hooked for the two days it took me to read it, and it probably would have made the bestseller lists on its own, though not in the measure it has...I found it funny, though, that the Catholic Church went out on a limb to counter the book, commisioned a heap of answers (I saw one yesterday which is about double the length of the novel itself... ), and ended up turning a good thriller into the most controversial book of the last 20 years, up there with Rushdie's Satanic Verse...

I get the feeling that most people went and bought the book just to see why the Church was making such a fuss over it...Sort of 'Well, if they're worried enough to deny it, there must be something there'...I know they reacted to 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' the same way, but I don't think that had such an impact - the book sold well, but at the end of the day, it was more of a documentary of the research and a history of the Templars...A novel would be more likely to appeal to the masses I guess...

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I enjoyed the book while I was reading it (it is nothing if not suspenseful), but I can't think of one scene that stuck with me afterwards and the characters are a bit on the cardboard side.

 

[Alexa]

I get the feeling that most people went and bought the book just to see why the Church was making such a fuss over it...Sort of 'Well, if they're worried enough to deny it, there must be something there'...I know they reacted to 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' the same way, but I don't think that had such an impact - the book sold well, but at the end of the day, it was more of a documentary of the research and a history of the Templars...A novel would be more likely to appeal to the masses I guess...

I am one of them. When I saw everybody around me with that book and on the forums taliking about it, I almost felt guilty not to read it. So I read it. Easy stuff to read, but not something for the church to worry about. Then I read Angels and Demons, too. As Lacedaemonian said before me, the story was recycled. Like Brown wished to keep the attention of the public with the same famous professor.

In exchange, I loved Digital Fortresse.

 

[LadyFel]

Easy stuff to read, but not something for the church to worry about.

My point exactly...too bad they didn't see it that way...

 

[Lacedaemonian]

The Holy Blood, The Holy Grail was an excellent book once you understood that there was to be no great revelations.

 

[Leto]

So, let's see - you like Eco but not Brown?

Yes.
I do care for Eco's characters and want to know what will happen next to them.
I don't give a damn thing about Brown's ones.

 

[Hypes]

Eco's characters serve a purpose beyond simply narrating the story, they are a vital part in its point, and the journey is as much within them as it is in the world they go through in search of the plot's elusive thread.

Brown... well, Brown doesn't know diddly **** about anything.

 

[Alexa]

Brown... well, Brown doesn't know diddly **** about anything.

I suspect he knows a lot about marketing. Da Vinci Code sells are crazy.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Yep. The latest stunt is to sell almost any other book in existece by claiming a connection to the Da Vinci Bore. That's the fun bit about marketeers - they get so carried away over-exploiting any reasonably effective idea they're bound to overdo it and roger themselves in due course.

 

[Alexa]

You mean, the sharks. Yeap, I saw at least two books to explain the secrets of Da Vinci Code. Crazy people !

 

[McMurphy]

Code Come Lately

I picked and finally read this book last week, and I have a few thoughts on it that reflect the general opinion expressed in this thread.

Brown, as a professional author, writes The Da Vinci Code in the same fashion as some other writers accused (and probably rightly so) of supermarket paperback writing: cardboard characters and little frills when it comes the actual narrarition of the book. When reading The Da Vinci Code, I couldn't help recalling Clancy, Grisham, or Crichton. Pieces by these authors seem to hinge incredibly on whether or not the idea or information put forth is interesting and their mastery over plugging in storytelling formulas.

That said, I really liked Da Vinci Code because I found myself interested in the subject matter, and I have always been a sucker for a good conspiracy theory. The characters and even the story itself felt like they were there merely to play out the theory that Dan Brown was presenting, which could be why the final act of the book felt the weakest. At that point, it was more about resolving the conflict that Brown tied all the characters together with.

Aside from the golden nuggets of trivia facts, how much historical accuracy does this piece of fiction actually have? I must admit that, while, like all good conspiracies, the author takes the thesis a bit too far. Not everything around us can be read as an ancient symbol for the pagan knowledge of the balance of male and female deity worship.