Rating: Not rated
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Suspense, Thrillers, Paris (France), Secret societies, Langdon; Robert (Ficticious character), Leonardo - Appreciation, Crimes against, Cryptographers, Grail, Art museum curators, Mystery fiction, Art museum curators - Crimes against, Lang:en
Summary
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 (__) 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
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.Amazon.com Review
From Publishers Weekly