The Da Vinci Code Book Review

Back in 2003 when I was still in high school a new book was released to great publicity and popularity. That book was The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Now I love to read but I often don't read books that are subject to a lot of hype because I find I often don't like them. If I do read them, then it usually happens much later once all the hype has died down.

So, last weekend, just over 10 years since the book was first released, I borrowed it from the local library. I was hoping that it was going to be a good book- the premise isn't a bad one, and I like thrillers with a religious and/or historical twist to them. Unfortunately, I was greatly disappointed by the book.

Dan Brown is definitely not the best writer. Even before I got too far into the book I was finding that I was getting bored and forcing myself to read more hoping it would get better. It didn't really. There are many pages where I found myself wanting to skip the page, but also the rest of the chapter.

Another issue I had, was that I often felt like I was reading the same things over and over again and that added to the boredom factor. I think the main issue with the writing beyond the style itself was the flow of the story. I found myself guessing the plot twists(who is the mysterious 'Teacher'?) or answers to the little riddles(the answer to the second cryptex) throughout the book, well before they occurred. I felt many scenes just dragged out and that it could have been a much better book if the pace was picked up. The events of the book itself take place within a very short period of time, but there isn't a massive amount.

All in all I wouldn't recommend this book to someone looking for a novel with a bit of vatican/religious or historical conspiracy thrown in. I would recommend books by authors such as Charles Brokaw, Andy McDermott, Raymond Khoury and James Rollins. All of these authors have novels that are well written, thrilling and most importantly not boring to read.


~~ Random Logic ~~