Brown Dan 01

Reviews & Overviews by Rod Cameron

The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code seems to have been on the bestseller lists for ages. It combines the murder mystery genre with the mythic content of books such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln which was itself a best seller back in the ‘80s (or possibly the late ‘70s). An apparently irresistible blend of a relentless thriller chase and conspiracy theory. A murder in the Louvre leaves a series of baffling clues that send Robert Langdon, American symbologist and Sophie Neveu a French cryptologist on a trail to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci, and the answers to a mystery from the dawn of Christianity.

One of the reasons for this book’s popularity is that it is an ‘easy read’. This not necessarily a bad thing – it may encourage those people to have a go at a book who would not normally do so. Unfortunately, there is another reason for the book’s popularity, and that is interest in the mythic information about the Holy Grail, etc. I say unfortunately, because there appear to be a lot of people in the world who believe stuff verbatim when they see it written in a book. I retain an open mind about this ‘information’ although I am inclined to believe in the early Catholic church’s character assassination of Mary Magdalene. It would appear from the plethora of books that have been written since The Da Vinci Code that a lot of people are a lot more trusting. For goodness’ sake, don’t let me put you off reading the thing. Try it and make up your own mind.

At the back of my copy of The Da Vinci Code is the first chapter of Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons. I recently was stuck for something to read on holiday, and ended up reading the whole thing. The reason for this brief additional paragraph is to provide a one word review of that book – Formulaic!
I would never have believed that I would or could review a book with a single word, but heh all things must pass. My definition of formulaic would be: take an existing book such as The Da Vinci Code, change the names of the hero and heroine, strip out the Holy Grail stuff and put in some other mythic international conspiracy such as within the Catholic church, keep the quest, and light the blue touch paper … if you don’t believe me, read it. As always, feedback would be most welcome to rod@rodcameron.co.uk

Publisher: Corgi
Date: 2003
Pages: 593 Pages
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 0-552-14951-9
Format: Paperback
Reviewed by: Rod Cameron
Date Reviewed: September 2005

The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code seems to have been on the bestseller lists for ages. It combines the murder mystery genre with the mythic content of books such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln which was itself a best seller back in the ‘80s (or possibly the late ‘70s). An apparently irresistible blend of a relentless thriller chase and conspiracy theory. A murder in the Louvre leaves a series of baffling clues that send Robert Langdon, American symbologist and Sophie Neveu a French cryptologist on a trail to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci, and the answers to a mystery from the dawn of Christianity. One of the reasons for this book’s popularity is that it is an ‘easy read’. This not necessarily a bad thing – it may encourage those people to have a go at a book who would not normally do so. Unfortunately, there is another reason for the book’s popularity, and that is interest in the mythic information about the Holy Grail, etc. I say unfortunately, because there appear to be a lot of people in the world who believe stuff verbatim when they see it written in a book. I retain an open mind about this ‘information’ although I am inclined to believe in the early Catholic church’s character assassination of Mary Magdalene. It would appear from the plethora of books that have been written since The Da Vinci Code that a lot of people are a lot more trusting. For goodness’ sake, don’t let me put you off reading the thing. Try it and make up your own mind. At the back of my copy of The Da Vinci Code is the first chapter of Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons. I recently was stuck for something to read on holiday, and ended up reading the whole thing. The reason for this brief additional paragraph is to provide a one word review of that book – Formulaic! I would never have believed that I would or could review a book with a single word, but heh all things must pass. My definition of formulaic would be: take an existing book such as The Da Vinci Code, change the names of the hero and heroine, strip out the Holy Grail stuff and put in some other mythic international conspiracy such as within the Catholic church, keep the quest, and light the blue touch paper … if you don’t believe me, read it. As always, feedback would be most welcome to rod@rodcameron.co.uk
Publisher: Corgi Date: 2003 Pages: 593 Pages Price: £6.99 ISBN: 0-552-14951-9 Format: Paperback Reviewed by: Rod Cameron Date Reviewed: September 2005