Dan Brown Books

[kden604]

Anyone been reading Dan Brown books?

After I started hearing some things in the paper about the book, I picked up Angels and Demons which I really enjoyed, I look forward to reading The Da Vinci Code... I also read another one of his called Deception point...

I like his writing style... it's very easy to read, and is just relaxing to read, nothing too heavy, though his books about the church spawn some critisism and some official statements from the church.

I actually learned a bunch of things about the church, about conclaves and a bunch about vatican city and it's structure i hadn't a clue about. I'm not religious, and i didn't take all the information to heart, but after the pope's passing it turned out to be quite accurate in terms of the workings and procedures of the church.

I heard they are making the da vinci code in to a movie, but i'm certainly going to read it before i see the movie.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

I actually learned a bunch of things about the church...

Yes, I've read two of the books you mention, and I'd agree, they're decent light entertainment. Careful though. Not that I mean to insult your intelligence or anything, but a lot of folks don't seem to have grasped an essential feature of Brown's work. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Archbishop of Genoa, has been appointed by the Vatican to debunk The Da Vinci Code, so the Catholic Church doesn't seem to get it either: Dan Brown writes fiction.

 

[kden604]

I understand it's fiction, but the background stuff in the story, about the conclave, and the burning and smoke, things like that seem acurate. I heard on the news about how the church was putting statements out about his books, it's good for him, the more they make a fuss, the more books he will sell. I know that many people read the da vinci code and then went to look at the mona lisa, and to start to see if it was real etc (i've not read the da vinci code, but i did see some articles about the subject)...

 

[ol' dawg]

...

Yes, I've read two of the books you mention, and I'd agree, they're decent light entertainment. Careful though. Not that I mean to insult your intelligence or anything, but a lot of folks don't seem to have grasped an essential feature of Brown's work. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Archbishop of Genoa, has been appointed by the Vatican to debunk The Da Vinci Code, so the Catholic Church doesn't seem to get it either: Dan Brown writes fiction.

I am amazed at the number of people that have made the Da Vinci Code their Bible. It reminds me of a friend who considered herself quite enlightened, but was convinced there really were documents behind "The Celestine Prophecy". The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons were quick and easy reads, and Brown uses a technique that pulls the reader from chapter to chapter.

A friend recommended "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco if I was interested in the stuff of The Da Vinci Code. After reading that book, the movie (with Sean Connery and Christian Slater - I think) made a lot more sense.

 

[missile]

The Eco book was excellent,a far better read than the Dan Brown potboilers. Although I did enjoy the first book by Brown,the second was a big letdown for me..too formulaic.

 

[roots]

his "angels and demons" sound similar to the DVC... is it worth reading?

 

[Vanni Fucci]

It's the prequel, and while I have yet to read DVC, I would definitely recommend A&D... 8)

 

[Diamond Sun]

The Eco book was excellent,a far better read than the Dan Brown potboilers. Although I did enjoy the first book by Brown,the second was a big letdown for me..too formulaic.

El noma de la rosa right? I started reading that once years ago, but I didn't have the attention span for it. I'll try again because I've heard great things about it from many people who's opinions I respect.

I loved The DaVinci Code, and it's true, it's easy to forget that it's fiction because he writes so well, and really draws the reader in. Angels and Demons is on my list of books to read as I've heard it's better than The DaVinci Code.

 

[Laika]

I thought Da Vinci Code was rather clumsy and not very well written. But I have to give credit to Brown for the interesting ideas in the storyline. I can understand why it has such wide appeal and I think it's very cool that this book has caught the interest for so many readers!

I've heard that Foucault's Pendulum by Eco is also highly recommended; but, while his writing is much better, is also a bit tedious in places. I admit I'm a little intimidated by that. I love great literature and beautiful prose, but I'm not sure I could muddle through pages and pages of detail...

Perhaps I will try Name of the Rose first, since I have it, and see if I enjoy it.

 

[missile]

If the books are translated by the same person who did The Name of the Rose,by all means,pick up some of Eco's other writings. If not,be wary! Beaudelairo is one of his that i couldn't finish

 

[Jay]

I've heard that Foucault's Pendulum by Eco is also highly recommended; but, while his writing is much better, is also a bit tedious in places. I admit I'm a little intimidated by that. I love great literature and beautiful prose, but I'm not sure I could muddle through pages and pages of detail...

I started to read that book but I put it down a few years ago...good read, however long book.

 

[TenPenny]

Interesting that you like his style. I read The DaVinci Code, and I thought he was in desperate need of an editor. It seemed to me like the two main characters spent a lot of time telling each other facts that, if they had the qualifications they supposedly had, they would already know.

At one point, an American tells a girl from France that France used to be called Gaul. That was stretching it a bit, wasn't it?

Anyway, that said, I'm going to try some others of his, based on the recommendation of a friend.

However, if you like daVinci Code, but want something with more of a literary bent, try "The Rule of Four". Interesting, good read. I tore through it in three days.

 

[ol' dawg]

I thought Da Vinci Code was rather clumsy and not very well written. But I have to give credit to Brown for the interesting ideas in the storyline. I can understand why it has such wide appeal and I think it's very cool that this book has caught the interest for so many readers!

I've heard that Foucault's Pendulum by Eco is also highly recommended; but, while his writing is much better, is also a bit tedious in places. I admit I'm a little intimidated by that. I love great literature and beautiful prose, but I'm not sure I could muddle through pages and pages of detail...

Perhaps I will try Name of the Rose first, since I have it, and see if I enjoy it.

I found the Name of the Rose somewhat ponderous, but Eco said that the book is designed to weed out those that really don't want to read it if they can't get by the first 100 pages. The first 100 pages does set a lot of background, and I found the background was necessary for the rest of the story. The first time I watched the movie I didn't really 'get it', but after reading the book I really enjoyed the movie.

In A&D Brown set up a formula and a hero that carried forth to DVC. You can read DVC without A&D and get the full benefit, but since I read A&D first I would say I enjoyed it more.

I'll have to check out The Rule of Four.

I have just finished Rex Deus. In some ways it's an update of Holy Blood Holy Grail, but I found the authors to be a bit like Knight and Lomis who wrote The Hiram Key and The Second Messiah. In all three books the authors make some claims that seem to be assumptions without real facts to back up the assumptions.

Has anyone read The Jesus Mysteries by Freke and Gandy ? It looks at Sumerian, Greek and Egyption mythologies that seem very similar to some stories in The Bible - such as the virgin birth, the resurrection, and so on.

 

[Hard-Luck Henry]

Has anyone read The Jesus Mysteries by Freke and Gandy ? It looks at Sumerian, Greek and Egyption mythologies that seem very similar to some stories in The Bible - such as the virgin birth, the resurrection, and so on.

I've not read that particular book, ol' dawg, but I do know of plenty of examples where the origins of Bible stories can be found in older texts - the Sumerian epic poem Gilgamesh, for example, contains the story of a Great Flood and an ark.

Another, even earlier, story I like is that of the city which later Sumerian written records name as the earliest place in Sumer, and site of the it's most ancient shrine: Eridu. Nowadays, Eridu is little more than a few abandoned mounds in the Southern Iraqi desert, but the Sumerians believed it was the site of the mound of creation, the first land to rise from the primal sea, and the place where kinship - ie political society - first came to the earth. Archeological excavations at the site discovered nineteen levels, dating back to the founding of the shrine in 5000BC and, at the bottom, a little sand mound with a tiny chapel, marking the site of the mound of creation. This, if anywhere, is the origin of the Biblical story of the garden of Eden; for what the Bible calls paradise - Eden - was simply the Sumerian word Edin, the wild, uncultivated grassland which lay outside the artificial landscape of the city. 8)

 

[ol' dawg]

I've not read that particular book, ol' dawg, but I do know of plenty of examples where the origins of Bible stories can be found in older texts - the Sumerian epic poem Gilgamesh, for example, contains the story of a Great Flood and an ark.

Another, even earlier, story I like is that of the city which later Sumerian written records name as the earliest place in Sumer, and site of the it's most ancient shrine: Eridu. Nowadays, Eridu is little more than a few abandoned mounds in the Southern Iraqi desert, but the Sumerians believed it was the site of the mound of creation, the first land to rise from the primal sea, and the place where kinship - ie political society - first came to the earth. Archeological excavations at the site discovered nineteen levels, dating back to the founding of the shrine in 5000BC and, at the bottom, a little sand mound with a tiny chapel, marking the site of the mound of creation. This, if anywhere, is the origin of the Biblical story of the garden of Eden; for what the Bible calls paradise - Eden - was simply the Sumerian word Edin, the wild, uncultivated grassland which lay outside the artificial landscape of the city. 8)

Good info ... thanks Hard-Luck Henry ... okay, if I'm gonna stick around this site ... what's the short form of your 'name' ... henry?, HLH? ???

I breezed thru Stephen Mitchells interpretation of Gilgamesh, but I had other things going on at the time so I didn't get the full value. Guess I'll have to get it from the library again.

I also liked Stephen Mitchells interpretation of Tao Te Ching, the Story of Job and others.

 

[Vanni Fucci]

If you wish, dawg, I've put forth some of the more common theories here.

There will be a certain amount of slogging through the posts, as it was meant to be a debate, but turned out to be more of a blog...there is a lot of information posted there though...

 

[Laika]

That sounds like a good book, ol' dawg, I'll have to look around for that. I would also be interested in reading the Gilgamesh interpretation.

I've recently started reading A History of God by Karen Armstrong about the origin of monotheism. She makes mention of an ancient Babylonian(?) text, Enuma Elish, which contains a creation myth similar to the one found in the bible. Interesting stuff!