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Post by Vorchia on Nov 20, 2005 11:40:21 GMT -5
I've just read the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, more or less in one go. I started Fridaynight and finished early this afternoon. I couldn't put it down!! I can recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind controversial ideas about the holy grail and the bible. I should have been studying alas, I couldn't stop READING.... Its very well written and kept me hooked the whole time. I'm not drawn to art history much less any form of complottheories. Leonardo da Vinci was a genious and a very interesting character but the holy grail doesn't interest me much. The problem with complottheories is that anyone can make them out of nothing. In this case the complot, the 'holy grail' is associated with '^' and 'v' symbols which, surpise, surpise, can be found in many old artworks! Anyone can take any random geometrical shape, ascribe a meaning to it, histoprically just or not and then start finding it turn up anywhere as 'proof' of their complottheory. Geometrical shapes are a very natural phenomena which makes them useful for such a purpse. Even knowing that any complottheory is 50% myth and 50% imagination the book IS great to read. I'm not going into any Holy Grail, Bible or Christ discussion based on this book though, its fiction. I only use info from a SCIENTIFIC source.  However a NG documentary I once saw confirms some of the ideas mentioned in the book. But I can't say I considere NG a reliable source of anything. Especially not when recalling some of the NG magazine's articles, one featuring a 'big paleontological find' which turned out to be glued together by a creative Chinese and an article which gave an extremely one sided and biased view of Puerto Rico... So I don't know anything about Holy Grail, Da Vinci or bible history that would justify any comment from my side in this matter. |
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RedFeather
Junior Scholar
*flap, flap, flap!*
Posts: 423
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Post by RedFeather on Dec 6, 2005 13:07:03 GMT -5
Hmm, that sounds very interesting. Religions and symbols and things like that have always interested me, whether or not I follow them.
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Enit
Explorer
Life Goes On
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Post by Enit on Dec 6, 2005 15:06:26 GMT -5
When I first read this book a year or two ago I thought it was brilliant, and it definitely is, I love the book, but Dan Brown has a tendency to use the same plot devices over and over in his novels, so after reading, Angels & Demons, and Deception Point the Da Vinci magic kind of wore off...
As Vorchia said, the book is not all fact, though Mr. Brown has managed to tie in some very controversial theories with information considered to be fact to create a confusing masterpiece of a mystery. Confusing in that you have little or no idea what is true and what is not.
But that doesn’t mean this wasn’t a superb read… I (Like Vorch) read the book within 24 hours, and found that I could not put it down...
I highly recommend the prequel Angels & Demons to anyone who loved The Da Vinci Code...
BD SP
~Enit
P.S. Warning: Do not accept this book as historical fact, this is widely known to be a bad idea and can end up with you in a dumpster...
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Post by Vorchia on Dec 25, 2005 15:44:18 GMT -5
I'll put 'Angels and Demons' on the literature list then. Yes some authors will start to repeat themselves. Fiction should NEVER be taken as actual fact, its very dangerous to take anything from a novel then think its fact, heehee. Someone should go to the Louvre and ask how many people will come and ask stupid questions that can be directly traced back to Dan Brown's books....  |
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Enit
Explorer
Life Goes On
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Post by Enit on Dec 25, 2005 16:56:41 GMT -5
I was reading about how all these historical places mentioned in the books have been so frequently asked questions relted to them, that the quides hand out little packets with the answers...
BD SP
~Enit
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Post by Vorchia on Dec 26, 2005 3:56:03 GMT -5
Oh well, I'm sure they don't mind all the extra customers that books is bringing them... Heck I even know one person who want to go see alll these places, JUST to see the real locations from the book.
Trust me, going to the Louvre in order to see just the Grande Gallery is a mistake. The louvre is huge and its crammed with art... You always see these tourists running to the Mona Lisa then running off to the next famous piece but that kind of visit makes you miss SO much...
So if you ever go to the Louvre, drop the American hurry for a day and take your time to have a good look around, ok?
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aric
demi-admin 
I drink your milkshake!
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Post by aric on May 11, 2006 23:30:26 GMT -5
Leonardo da Vinci was a genious and a very interesting character but the holy grail doesn't interest me much. My respect for Leonardo went up many-fold after hearing about the artistic hijinks in the book. Assuming, of course, that they were true. In any case, I found the assessment of this book here in this thread to be on the mark. Brown is an excellent story-teller and I, like the others in this thread, breezed through the book in about a day. I'd like to see how well it's tranlated onto film. - Aric |
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Buttercup
Junior Scholar
Ain't life grand?
Posts: 316
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Post by Buttercup on Jun 8, 2006 21:55:17 GMT -5
Well, my reading time is a little more limited these days but I read a lot of it aloud to my son (so I could entertain him and read at the same time.
Anyway, it was still a fast paced read that I loved. While I loved all of the references to artwork by Leonardo Da Vinci, I must admit that I was most intrigued with the anagrams that were created from the names of the artwork. I know, call me crazy, I loved the book but I loved more the clues left behind to be followed than I did the actual story line. Probably because I knew that the piece was fiction and therefor, didn't read it as if studying it. Although, the characters, except the albino, were to my mind, entirely believable for the events in which they partook.
I have never read any of the other books by Dan Brown but based on this book, i think that I will keep my eyes peeled for any others. I highly recommend this book if it doesn't offend you but It is really interesting how so many seemingly unrelated things, event's places and people can be linked together so masterfully.
BTW, is there really a smaller pyramid underneath the inverted one at the Louvre? The one that is supposedly the top of an underground pyramid where the treasure and Mary Magdalene are hidden?
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Post by Vorchia on Jun 9, 2006 10:05:03 GMT -5
BTW, is there really a smaller pyramid underneath the inverted one at the Louvre? The one that is supposedly the top of an underground pyramid where the treasure and Mary Magdalene are hidden? The inverted pyramid and the smaller stone pyramid exist, there's just probably nothing under them except, cellars and plumbing. Still they have a dramatic shot of it at the end of the movie. Read the Wikipedia entry, this is what it it states about the stone pyramid: "...the stone pyramid merely rests on the floor on casters, and is regularly moved when the floor is polished"  You're reading literature to Liam now? lol |
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Buttercup
Junior Scholar
Ain't life grand?
Posts: 316
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Post by Buttercup on Jun 9, 2006 10:41:04 GMT -5
Yes, I am reading anything that I feel like reading to him....why not? I figure it is a great start. He really likes to look at pictures but he sits and listens quite attentively to anything. I love it and at least it is relaxing!
I find that funny about the pyramid...go figure!
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However a NG documentary I once saw confirms some of the ideas mentioned in the book. But I can't say I considere NG a reliable source of anything. Especially not when recalling some of the NG magazine's articles, one featuring a 'big paleontological find' which turned out to be glued together by a creative Chinese and an article which gave an extremely one sided and biased view of Puerto Rico... 
