review: the da vinci code

[rone]

It's easy to dismiss this book as "Foucault's Pendulum" for dummies, but despite what i consider a boilerplate thriller plot and predictable turns and twists, it's still entertaining because of all the wacky facts about Templars, da Vinci, and the Louvre. On a scale of:

1 - Buy the hardcover
2 - Wait for the paperback
3 - Find the paperback used
4 - Borrow it from the library
5 - Don't bother
6 - Burn the book

... i give it a 4.

Comments

[whipartist.livejournal.com]

I thought it was badly written and yet difficult to put down, a surprising combination. In fact, I think I'd give it a 3 on your scale.

[nilasae.livejournal.com]

Good to know - I just started "Digital Fortress" today which looked more interesting than "Da Vinci Code".

[whipartist.livejournal.com]

In fact, the one adjective that I could apply to it with great reliability was "melodramatic".

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Sam's trying to read this, on recommendation from somebody else, and relayed to me many of the amazing "facts" within about the golden ratio, phi, which, as far as I can tell, may be as much as 10% true.

[anavolena.livejournal.com]

i'm desperately curious to know what you'd rate a 6.

i read angels and demons, which i'd rate "perfect airplane book." i hear da vinci code is fairly close, plotwise, with a good dose of "holy blood, holy grail" tossed in for good measure.

[palecur.livejournal.com]

I'd say Vonnegut's 'Galapagos' and 'Bluebeard' hover on the 5/6 borderline for me, though it's hard to rate any book as kindling outright. Something about the way Vonnegut's contempt for the concept of humanity gets less and less veiled as he gets older creeps me the hell out.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Sheri Tepper's "The Fresco". That book really pissed me off (http://ronebofh.livejournal.com/94508.html).

[mrbalihai.livejournal.com]

I considered it "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" for Dummies, since it lifted most of the plot highlights directly from Baigent and Lee's book. And I'm continually amazed at how many people take the thoroughly debunked Rennes Le Chateau hoax as the [ahem] gospel truth.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Can you give me a quick summary on that hoax thing?

[mrbalihai.livejournal.com]

Here (http://www.alpheus.org/html/articles/esoteric_history/richardson1.html) ya go.

[purple-terror.livejournal.com]

I've seen it advertised and mentioned just about everywhere and had just started to consider getting a copy. Instead, I shall wait for the local library to reopen and snag one of their copies. Well timed!

[waider.livejournal.com]

Donal (the brother) pointed me at the online paper trail associated with the book, which makes for an engaging 10 minutes of intarweb abuse.

[erikred.livejournal.com]

Agreed. A light read, sure to wow those who have forgotten either their Classical Art 101 or their better math classes. A better course of study would include a lot of Stephen Jay Gould, Robert Anton Wilson, and Douglas Hofstaeder, followed by Foucault's Pendulum.

But perhaps I'm jaded because I'm part of the conspiracy....

SO CRANKY TODAY

[palecur.livejournal.com]

Kicking yourself in the nuts would be better than exposing yourself to Robert Anton Wilson deliberately. If you want entertaining random angry nonsense, a racemic mix of PKD and HST does the trick better. Hofstadter and Gould are honest hacks who hit the mark more often than not, so with high-quality bullshit filters, I guess I can back thos. recommendations.

Foucault's Pendulum was no Name of the Rose, but a fine read nonetheless.

Re: SO CRANKY TODAY

[erikred.livejournal.com]

Having not kicked myself in the nuts recently, I defer to your judgement in this matter. I also recommend that you stop this self-abuse.

Foucault's Pendulum was no Name of the Rose

Precisely: Foucault's Pendulum was accessible and entertaining.

Now, either get a longer skirt on that icon, or just post some hentai Hokusai like I know you want to.

Re: SO CRANKY TODAY

[palecur.livejournal.com]

I seriously want to know what kinds of drugs make a man believe Name of the Rose was less accessible than Foucault's Pendulum. You've already amply demonstrated the brokenness of your Entertainment Evaluation brain lobe, so we needn't discuss that aspect. But, seriously, how is Name of the Rose less accessible than the admittedly entertaining ziggurat of Kabalistic Konspirakii that is Pendulum?

ps: Dream of the Fisherman's Wife 4 eva yo.

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

I don't get your scale, exactly. It seems to me that that's a scale of how much you want to own the book, or maybe how much you want to credit the author, but basically a cost/benefit breakdown.

If it was more a matter of how long should you wait before reading it, borrowing it from the library could go between 1 and 2. Although now that it's out in paperback, it's better to get the paperback (new or used) than to borrow from the library, because at least you won't have to haul a hardcover around with you. (It's a fast enough read that the library's 3-week loan and huge hold list won't be issues by themselves.)

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

I don't get your scale, exactly. It seems to me that that's a scale of how much you want to own the book, or maybe how much you want to credit the author, but basically a cost/benefit breakdown.

It seems to me that you get my scale just fine.

[mdyesowitch.livejournal.com]

Hoppie read it this weekend. He borrowed it from my mother who borrowed it from her best friend who got it 40% off.
-m
that's like 4, right?