Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3872 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 605 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
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 esoterica culled from 2,000 years of Western history. A murder in the silent after-hours 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 not only for 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, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Robert Langdon, Harvard Professor of symbology, receives an urgent late-night call while in Paris: the curator of the Louvre has been murdered. Alongside the body is a series of baffling ciphers. Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, are stunned to find a trail that leads to the works of Da Vinci - and further. The curator, part of a secret society named the Priory of Sion, may have sacrificed his life to keep secret the location of a vastly important religious relic hidden for centuries. It appears that the clandestine Vatican-sanctioned Catholic sect Opus Dei has now made its move. Unless Landon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine code and quickly assemble the pieces of the puzzle, the Priory's secret - and a stunning historical truth - will be lost forever.

Customer Reviews

" book of the Millennium "
This is the worst book of the Millennium. OK, admittedly I have not read them all. But this is the worst book I have read this Millenium so far. It is worse than anything I read in the last Millennium as well come to that.

I was halfway through reading it several years ago when I turned to my wife and said "This is the worst book I've ever read". I hate not finishing a book so I read on to the end to see if the author could maintain the ludicrous plot and appalling writing style for the rest of the book. The answer was " Yes he could !"

I have since read quite a few other books, in various genres, and my opinion is that this is still comfortably the worst book I have ever read.
However I recommend everyone to read it. You will be amazed and entertained by its awfulness.

One of a Kind
I thought that Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code was a very good book because of the way he writes, puzzles in puzzles. The book has a bit of a slow start, but picks up about 100 pages in. Then picks up speed really quickly. There is a nice finish to the book, but the story never really comes to a conclusion. There are more Dan Brown books to read in the series such as Deception Point, which looks like another good book by Dan Brown

Oh Dear
I was given this book as a present, I hope they didn't pay full price for it.
It perports to be factual, when in fact it's a flight of sensationalised fantasy, Chariots of the Gods was more factual (and that didn't have any).
But, as a work of fiction I suppose it's worth one star.
And for the excellent hype, another.