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Antievolution.org Discussion Board > From the Panda's Thumb > After the Bar Closes... > da vinci code

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stevestory Posts: 13407 Joined: Oct. 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,08:08    Anybody here read the book? Is it worth the $8 I'm considering spending on it this afternoon?

tacitus Posts: 118 Joined: May 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,08:15    Never read it, but every single member of my family who has, has thought it to be poorly written drivel (and they weren't objecting to the religious content either).  As a wannabe author struggling through the second draft or his first novel, maybe there's hope for me to make millions yet! Maybe the movie will make a silk purse out of it, but wait for the reviews first.

bourgeois_rage Posts: 117 Joined: Mar. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,08:19    I've read it, and I have to say that it is a "page turner"; Every chapter ends on a cliffhanger. I wouldn't say that it is bad, but it's not anything really profound like some people would have you believe. The whole book is one big chase scene. Get it from the library, or borrow it from a friend. -------------- Overwhelming Evidence: Apply directly to the forehead.

thurdl01 Posts: 99 Joined: Mar. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,08:43    I kinda enjoyed it while reading it, but thought it would make a much better movie, so am looking forward to the Ron Howard version of it.  It wasn't great, but it kept you turning the pages, and I'll tell you how right---OH MY GOD! ::chapter ends::

Chris Hyland Posts: 705 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,09:00    I didn't think it was that good, but then again I had already read the book that most of the mythology in TDC was lifted from so it ruined a lot of the surprises for me. I will go and see the film but I swear if it has a disclaimer at the start saying any of the stuff is true Im leaving.

stevestory Posts: 13407 Joined: Oct. 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,09:07    I read an earlier Dan Brown book, Deception Point, and while yes literarily it was a pile of crap, each sentence like a reject from a high school creative writing class, the plot was good, and that's what I'm looking for with DaVinci. Given the comments here I think I'll buy it.

tacitus Posts: 118 Joined: May 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,09:15    Quote (Chris Hyland @ May 01 2006,14:00) I didn't think it was that good, but then again I had already read the book that most of the mythology in TDC was lifted from so it ruined a lot of the surprises for me. I will go and see the film but I swear if it has a disclaimer at the start saying any of the stuff is true Im leaving. That's funny.  There are a number of Christian organizations lobbying hard for a disclaimer at the start to say that none of the stuff in the movie is true!

Stephen Elliott Posts: 1776 Joined: Oct. 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,09:19    Quote (stevestory @ May 01 2006,13:08) Anybody here read the book? Is it worth the $8 I'm considering spending on it this afternoon? I think his books are worth a read. So long as you want to read a fast paced novel. They are not science. If you want a factual book then avoid them. If you want a fantasy type, quick read, they are good.

Arden Chatfield Posts: 6657 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,09:29    From everything I've read the book is supposed to be about 98% bullshit, a fact the author hasn't been totally honest about. Don't drop $8 on it -- there are billions of used copies around. You could probably get it for half that. -------------- "Rich is just mad because he thought all titties had fur on them until last week when a shorn transvestite ruined his childhood dreams by jumping out of a spider man cake and man boobing him in the face lips." - Erasmus

thurdl01 Posts: 99 Joined: Mar. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,09:51    Quote (tacitus @ May 01 2006,15:15) 0--> Quote (Chris Hyland @ May 01 2006,140) I didn't think it was that good, but then again I had already read the book that most of the mythology in TDC was lifted from so it ruined a lot of the surprises for me. I will go and see the film but I swear if it has a disclaimer at the start saying any of the stuff is true Im leaving. That's funny.  There are a number of Christian organizations lobbying hard for a disclaimer at the start to say that none of the stuff in the movie is true! Just for the sake of pure surrealism, I'm hoping for both disclaimers.

Occam's Aftershave Posts: 5287 Joined: Feb. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,09:53    Atrociously bad writing style that would embarrass a Jr. High school author.  The only reason the book sold was its "religious controversy", and even that was contrived. Find a copy for $0.50 at a yard sale if you must. -------------- "CO2 can't re-emit any trapped heat unless all the molecules point the right way" "All the evidence supports Creation baraminology" "If it required a mind, planning and design, it isn't materialistic." "Jews and Christians are Muslims." - Joke "Sharon" Gallien, world's dumbest YEC.

stevestory Posts: 13407 Joined: Oct. 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,10:02    Quote Don't drop $8 on it -- there are billions of used copies around. You could probably get it for half that. Yeah, I mean, I can get it on ebay for $2 and add $5 S&H. :-) It turns out there are no used book stores very close by, just new ones.

Arden Chatfield Posts: 6657 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,10:04    Quote (stevestory @ May 01 2006,15:02) Quote Don't drop $8 on it -- there are billions of used copies around. You could probably get it for half that. Yeah, I mean, I can get it on ebay for $2 and add $5 S&H. :-) It turns out there are no used book stores very close by, just new ones. Go with OA's yard sale idea -- I predict that you'll need to stop at no more than two of them to get a copy for a quarter. Plus that way, you don't give the author royalties.   -------------- "Rich is just mad because he thought all titties had fur on them until last week when a shorn transvestite ruined his childhood dreams by jumping out of a spider man cake and man boobing him in the face lips." - Erasmus

Flint Posts: 478 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,10:13    At the nearest new book store, you're likely to find at least several thousand books for $8 or less that would be a more rewarding waste of your time. Unless there's some kewl chick who wants to discuss it with you. And even so, you'd probably get more mileage just nodding and smiling...

stevestory Posts: 13407 Joined: Oct. 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,10:14    hmmm, yard sales, that's not a bad idea.

ToSeek Posts: 33 Joined: April 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,10:16    As others have said, it's a not-terribly-well-written page-turner. I read it in three hours one slow Saturday afternoon and will most likely never pick it up again. Unless three hours of mildly entertaining reading is worth eight bucks to you, I'd suggest spending it on something else.

Wonderpants Posts: 115 Joined: Sep. 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,10:42    Eh, I liked it better when it was called The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. That had just as much bullshit in it, but at least it was better written. -------------- Fundamentalism in a nutshell: "There are a lot of things I have concluded to be wrong, without studying them in-depth. Evolution is one of them. The fact that I don't know that much about it does not bother me in the least."

Mr_Christopher Posts: 1238 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,10:53    I read it when it came out.  Very well written piece of "pop" fiction.  I had a hard time putting it down and I read very little fiction (other than uncommon descent). Get a used copy at half price books. -------------- Uncommon Descent is a moral cesspool, a festering intellectual ghetto that intoxicates and degrades its inhabitants - Stephen Matheson

Renier Posts: 276 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,11:54    I have not read the book, but I intend to. The reason is I have a fundie cousin who read the book, and all of a sudden he is more laid back about his beliefs. Might have been the book. Could we set up a collection and sponser a donation of books  for UD?

Faid Posts: 1143 Joined: Mar. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,11:58    Now, I'd like to think of myself as a mild-mannered guy, who tries not to provoke dispute and ignite fights. But there are a few things where my personal opinion is so charged, I cannot always keep my temper. The evolution/creation debate is one. The Da Vinci Code is another. Personally, I think that book sucked. It sucked more than a black hole on steroids; it sucked more than Coelhio's Alchemist, and that's saying a lot. No characters, no plot to speak of, predictable twists, unbelievable situations and dialogues... That book had everything. It's sole value is as a way to start interesting theological discussions. You know, to impress the chicks. or whatevs. Now fire away. (man I feel like afdave now) -------------- A look into DAVE HAWKINS' sense of honesty: "The truth is that ALL mutations REDUCE information" "...mutations can add information to a genome.  And remember, I have never said that this is not possible."

beervolcano Posts: 147 Joined: Dec. 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,12:07    My GF read it. and did so in about 3 sittings. She tore through that huge book like it was nothing. So, it's an easy read. She also said that it was very interesting and kept you guessing. It's a mystery novel more than anything. I haven't read it and I don't plan on it. I might go see the movie, but I hate Tom Hanks. Right after she also read Demons and Angels (or the other way around), which preceded Davinci Code but was about the same illuminati-secret society crap. -------------- ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into."--Jonathan Swift)

stevestory Posts: 13407 Joined: Oct. 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,12:14    Quote Right after she also read Demons and Angels (or the other way around), which preceded Davinci Code but was about the same illuminati-secret society crap. I'm a sucker for conspiracy fiction. By the way, The Rule of Four was excellent. It's like a Dan Brown book written by a competent writer.

Arden Chatfield Posts: 6657 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,12:50    Quote (stevestory @ May 01 2006,17:14) I'm a sucker for conspiracy fiction. Then may I wholeheartedly recommend Libra by Don DeLillo? -------------- "Rich is just mad because he thought all titties had fur on them until last week when a shorn transvestite ruined his childhood dreams by jumping out of a spider man cake and man boobing him in the face lips." - Erasmus

stevestory Posts: 13407 Joined: Oct. 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,12:58    Certainly. I'm adding it to the list. I love anything where there are dark and complicated secrets about society/government/religion.

Arden Chatfield Posts: 6657 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,13:03    Quote (stevestory @ May 01 2006,17:58) Certainly. I'm adding it to the list. I love anything where there are dark and complicated secrets about society/government/religion. Have you read any James Ellroy? 'Dark and complicated secrets about society/government/religion' are his his stock in trade. But not all of his books are equally good, and lately he's been slipping. I can still recommend LA Confidential and American Tabloid, in that order. But Libra is still better. And it was a big influence on Ellroy's recent books. -------------- "Rich is just mad because he thought all titties had fur on them until last week when a shorn transvestite ruined his childhood dreams by jumping out of a spider man cake and man boobing him in the face lips." - Erasmus

Chris Hyland Posts: 705 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,13:06    Quote I love anything where there are dark and complicated secrets about society/government/religion. Just after reading newspapers for the past few years I've had my fill.

stevestory Posts: 13407 Joined: Oct. 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,13:18    LA Confidential the movie was pretty good.

Arden Chatfield Posts: 6657 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,13:21    Quote (stevestory @ May 01 2006,18:18) LA Confidential the movie was pretty good. Agreed, but the book is even better. To keep the movie manageable, they had to cut out ~80% of the book. Otherwise the movie would have been 7 hours long. -------------- "Rich is just mad because he thought all titties had fur on them until last week when a shorn transvestite ruined his childhood dreams by jumping out of a spider man cake and man boobing him in the face lips." - Erasmus

BWE Posts: 1902 Joined: Jan. 2006 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,18:37    Book is a page turner with some neat ideas. I read it two years ago and I still remember a lot of the plot if that says anything. But most of the illuminati stuff is better in Focault's Pendulum by umberto eco. I'd recommend that one a little more. Also Eco writes a little better. Brown is at least as good as grisham. -------------- Who said that ev'ry wish would be heard and answered When wished on the morning star Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it Look what it's done so far The Daily Wingnut

tacitus Posts: 118 Joined: May 2005 (Permalink) Posted: May 01 2006,19:13    Tonight's The Daily Show's "This Week in God" was all about the Da Vinci Code, including a faux reading from the book itself (in the style of Dan Brown writing the screenplay of the book).  Hilarious.  It will be repeated a couple of times tomorrow or look for the segment to be posted on their web site in a few days if you miss it.

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