Book Review: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Robert Langdon #2)

I usually really don’t read this type of book, but I’ve been interested in The Da Vinci Code for a while now. Mom recommended it to me countless times, and I think I recall watching parts of the movie as a kid. Either way, I managed to score a cheap English copy of it on a book market, and I’m going to take a look at it today! So join me as we talk about The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Slight spoilers ahead.

After a mysterious murder in the Louvre Museum in Paris, symboolgist Robert Langdon and his new cryptologist friend Sophie Neveu get caught up in a quest for the truth. Riddled with conspiracies and cults, they now seek the so-called Holy Grail in a journey that takes them from France to England.

I really could say more about it, but I just want to leave as much as I can a mystery for this novel. That’s what makes one like this so much fun, after all, to not know where everything’s going.

The Da Vinci Code has a plethora of mysteries, conspiracies and twists that the reader won’t see coming and often go in the most interesting directions. I just love it when a book can surprise me each time. Just when you think you’re close to finding out the mystery, there turns out to be another step to get to the Grail. It never got to the point that it’s frustrating for me. It’s just a fun treasure hunt, but it doesn't have much else going for it.

I do have some serious doubts if everything featured in this novel is based on fact, as it was presented. I’ve heard of criticism of the novel for having historical inconsistencies and such, so I wouldn’t take it too seriously or base see this fictional piece as anything truthful. I am in no way qualified to judge whether or not the stuff depicted in this book is inaccurate, but I’ve heard plenty of words on it being so.

As for the characters, I thought they were rather dull. I couldn’t really care for any of them. They felt mostly flat and boring. The Teacher twist felt forced. I don’t think I actually enjoyed one character in all of this.

The pacing wasn’t very interesting, either. It was a rather slow read, which didn’t make it look particularly interesting to keep reading.

The way this was written just also wasn’t for me. I didn’t care much for the dialogue. The constant rambling about symbols and conspiracies was somewhat interesting at first, but after your twentieth lecture on deciphering and the sacred feminine it gets old really fast.

I don’t really recommend this book unless you don’t mind any of the problems I mentioned above. It felt mostly dull, with only the mystery really making me want to keep going. 

Rating: 2/5