Book Review — Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code”
Last week I finished reading The Da Vinci Code, the second story in the Robert Langdon series of novels by author Dan Brown. I finished reading it right before Easter.
Taking place about a year after the events in Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code begins with the sudden murder of a museum curator in Paris, France. Specifically, the man murdered was Jacques Sauniere, the curator of the Louvre. He was shot in the abdomen by Silas, an albino Catholic monk. Before succumbing to death, Jacques positioned himself in a unique position designed to get the right kind of attention. He also left behind a note that included the line, “P.S. find Robert Langdon.”
Dan Brown — The Da Vinci Code
Thankfully, art historian and religious expert Robert Langdon is in Paris on a speaking tour, and that very evening he was scheduled to meet with Jacques, although Langdon didn’t know the specific reason why Jacques wanted to meet with him. He presumed it had to do with a new book that he was getting ready to publish.
Anyway, the French police quickly locate Langdon in a nearby hotel, and he’s taken to the Louvre to help examine the uniquely positioned body of the late museum curator. The police show him that Jacques also left behind other notes as well as a sequence of numbers. What it all means though is rather puzzling.
Police cryptographer Sophie Neveu arrives and she secretly tells Langdon that his life is in danger. She helps him ditch the police and sends them on a wild goose chase, allowing Sophie and Langdon privacy to examine the crime scene. It turns out that not only is Jacques Sophie’s estranged grandfather, but he was also the leader of a secret society. On top of that, he was known for his puzzles and riddles, and he frequently used words and phrases with double meanings. Read more…
Categories: book reviews Tags: book review, Dan Brown
Book Review – Dan Brown’s “Angels & Demons”
Last week I finished reading Angels & Demons, the first book in the Robert Langdon series of books written by Dan Brown.
Over ten years ago I got caught up in the craze and read The Da Vinci Code right before Hollywood made it into a movie. While I don’t remember the details of the book, I do remember that it was an interesting story and that I enjoyed it. After waiting for too long, I finally decided to go back and read this series of books, starting with the first one, Angels & Demons.
Dan Brown — Angels & Demons
Angels & Demons begins with the murder of one of the top scientists at the CERN research facility in Europe. Physicist Leonardo Vetra was brutally murdered and his chest was branded by a symbol once used by the Illuminati, a secret organization that waged war against the Catholic Church hundreds of years ago. To help him investigate the murder, CERN director Maximilian Kohler flies in Robert Langdon, an expert on artwork as well as religion and secret societies such as the Illuminati.
Langdon quickly discovers that the symbol is authentic, and that it appears that the Illuminati are back. Leonardo’s daughter Vittoria was called back to CERN after the discovery of her father’s murder. She arrives just as Langdon and Kohler are analyzing the Illuminati symbol. When the three of them examine Leonardo’s office, nothing seems out of place. Vittoria informs them that her father had a second laboratory at CERN, a place where she was helping him research antimatter. They access the second lab and discover that a canister containing antimatter is missing. Read more…
Categories: book reviews Tags: book review, Dan Brown