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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No one can read just once, October 4, 2005
Well, well... the book deserves all the accolades that have been lavished upon it!
For rarely does one come across a book where the author skillfully is able to take the reader along with him on a journey through space and time, in search of the Holy Grail! Another book on the Holy Grail (groan......!!!) Before u say that, let me confirm that this is not just another book on the topic. At least, for most of the uninitiated (me included) about the Holy Grail, this book is quite interesting. For, how many of us would have read that super-duper (?) bestseller of the 1970s on the subject, "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln? Not many, let me assure you.
In which case, this book is just the right spark to ignite your imagination, so much so that whenever in your life you happen to visit the Louvre, you will no doubt look for the "Inverted Pyramid", and also look for the 13th "man" in "The Last Supper"! All that notwithstanding, DVC is at its heart a murder mystery, but with the murder inter-twined into such far-reaching implications that the reader cannot but be amazed by the width of the canvas portrayed by Brown. He excels himself at this genre of story-writing. Those of you who have read "Angels & Demons" would no doubt concur with me here :) As far as the length of the book is concerned, did you know that the complete book, most of the 450+ pages of it are crammed into a time period of less than two days?!? Amazing how much action can pass without time passing by :) It is almost impossible to read this story and not come out of it feeling as if it all happened right in front of you, and was happening for the past so long a time period, when you sadly realize that, like every dream, even this story must come to an end.
Ah, that brings me to the climax of the story... just to mention here that the identity of the chief antagonist of the story is a letdown, one realizes that this is perhaps the weakest link of the story. But the climax... yes, now that is one satisfying portion of the story. For, after all that running around, and everything falling into place (almost too!!) perfectly, the truth (as depicted in this book only, mind you) is quite satisfying... and rewarding in itself, if you follow the philosophy of the Holy Grail given by Brown. Err........., did I hear you say that I missed out on those brilliantly crafted puzzles? But of course, no review of DVC is complete without a commendation of the puzzles given in the book, which all fall into place like a jigsaw-puzzle pieces. But for them to fit into place, the research that must've gone behind it all is immensely impressive :)
A must read - and unlike many other ppl, I would add here, not just on long flights, lazy weekends, or holidays... but when, you want to re-live the excitement of joie-de-vivre, for it is a wonderful tale, told by a wonderful author, on a wonderful subject... Let me end this piece by quoting the legend of the Holy Grail... if u end up reading this book and are fascinated by the story, remember... "...you do not find the Grail, the Grail finds you..."
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
NOTE: Simplified Chinese, not Traditional Chinese!, June 24, 2006
I bought this for my father for father's day and he was delighted except for the fact that it is written with simplified chinese characters, and since he was educated under traditional the chinese system, it is painstaking for him to read it.
In terms of the read itself, everyone knows this is the book to read with the skyrocketing sales numbers to warrant it and those numbers are for a real reason. Awesome book, Dan Brown definitely hits paydirt. All the controversy i.e. people criticizing Dan Brown for rocking the religious boat are just either jealous or insecure. In fact, the church itself is totally insecure--if the book is indeed just fiction, why do you need to go sooo far to defend yourself against the ideas proposed by the book? Just shows that the church really does have something to hide! But I digress...
Final comment, there is not enough information on the product description such as the distinction of chinese type being simplified or traditional, and there should. Calling out to Amazon!!
P.S. DO NOT WATCH THE MOVIE UNTIL YOU FIRST READ THE BOOK!!!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliantly Disturbing, October 25, 2005
Not knowing the contents of this book, I picked it up and read it ahead of any knowledge of its contents. From beginning to end, I was attached to my laptop discovering the internal details of all the global arenas Dan Brown takes one to visit. Inside the Louve, I felt as if I was present in the sorid details of the mystery's that envelope the world of Da Vinci's works and Dan Brown's presentation of possible facts being hidden from the world. I, absolutely, got lost in this book and couldn't put it down until the very last written word. Being a christian this book both intrigued me and disturbed me. For me, I walked away, not knowing if I was glad or very upset that I read its contents. It certainly identifies very real "secret societies" and the possibilities of brilliant minds that are housed in those societies. So I am left feeling either very betrayed and deceived or left feeling that those brilliant minds of those secret societies have set up the best distructive device known to faith....doubt. Either way, to me, as a believer, the book is a good disturbance to a very solid faith.
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