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enbylievable's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
DNF. idk, I was pretty excited to read it and other people told me they really remembered liking this book but I got so turned off by the constant racist portrayal of the sexually deviant stereotypic Arab antagonist, and then the entire climax is just the threat of sexual assault against the female supporting character acting as a motivator for the male protagonist. The plan was to read The DaVinci Code after this but I think I'll just look up a synopsis on youtube, really not enticed to read Dan Brown again. I was really interested by the theorization of religion as a social institution and I loved all the info about the Roman architecture and the rituals of the Vatican but it wasn't enough to keep me going with this one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction
crazytealady's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
A great comfort read!
I just love Dan Brown’s writing style. He is so descriptive - you really dive into his world and it feels like you’re there. I’d also have the urge to write down every place in the book so I can visit/revisit them - like the Vatican Necropolis!
I’m probably biased since I love stories about a) Italy b) the Vatican c) mysteries or who-dunnits d) symbolism - this was my cup of tea.
I just love Dan Brown’s writing style. He is so descriptive - you really dive into his world and it feels like you’re there. I’d also have the urge to write down every place in the book so I can visit/revisit them - like the Vatican Necropolis!
I’m probably biased since I love stories about a) Italy b) the Vatican c) mysteries or who-dunnits d) symbolism - this was my cup of tea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Blood and Kidnapping
Minor: Ableism, Racism, Sexism, Islamophobia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
cocacolor's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The breadth and depth of architectural and physical detail is good but the science is iffy, which normally wouldn't be much of a downside except that the author clearly went to a lot of effort to make it as accurate as possible--I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume it might've seemed more accurate twenty years ago. I'd say the twists were pretty predictable, except that somehow, even though I suspected the camerlengo ever since Chartrand mentioned the walk they'd taken together, Janus's true identity still caught me off guard because the author had spent the last hundreds or so pages advancing the Kohler-is-Janus theory , so kudos for that. Vittoria is, unexpectedly, a better developed and more capable character than Langdon, so ally points for that--and then a whole slew of them taken off because the Hassassin and Kohler are, respectively, absolutely skin-crawling racist, Islamaphobic, and ableist stereotypes. On a pure narrative level, it's mediocre; in its representation, worse than mediocre. Also, more malapropisms than a Bush speech. There have to be better "solve-conspiracy-puzzle" thrillers out there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Racial slurs
m4rtt4's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I admire Dan Brown for his ability to create these kinds of page-turners full of interesting facts. I'm not a huge fan of action books or movies where everything is centered around villains and violence, but all the nerdy stuff in this book surely made up for it :)
On the other hand, I really dislike Brown's way of writing characters, everything from creating backstories interesting enough to describing them in present day and action. I mean, of course Robert Langdon is as perfect as Brown's wanted him to be (bet he created him as a perfect version of his own self), but oh god, ARE THERE MORE TO FEMALE CHARACTERS THAN THEIR BODIES? Obviously there should be, but I wouldn't recommend using Brown's books as a guide to writing women. Or, tbh, any other characters either, so very one-dimensional, stereotypical, (and even racist) he made them all (apart from Langdon ofc). Especially the assassin — his actions and overall villain-ness didn't frustrate me nowhere near as his personality was written to be.
So, overall the story was adventurous and entertaining if you just treat most of the chacters as "necessary implementers to the required actions" and ignore their personal traits. Wouldn't recommend if you dislike science and/or history.
On the other hand, I really dislike Brown's way of writing characters, everything from creating backstories interesting enough to describing them in present day and action. I mean, of course Robert Langdon is as perfect as Brown's wanted him to be (bet he created him as a perfect version of his own self), but oh god, ARE THERE MORE TO FEMALE CHARACTERS THAN THEIR BODIES? Obviously there should be, but I wouldn't recommend using Brown's books as a guide to writing women. Or, tbh, any other characters either, so very one-dimensional, stereotypical, (and even racist) he made them all (apart from Langdon ofc). Especially the assassin — his actions and overall villain-ness didn't frustrate me nowhere near as his personality was written to be.
So, overall the story was adventurous and entertaining if you just treat most of the chacters as "necessary implementers to the required actions" and ignore their personal traits. Wouldn't recommend if you dislike science and/or history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Sexism, and Suicide
kadesdoorway's review against another edition
first of all fuck this shit. there's only so much Racism and islamophobia a girl can take before snapping. from the moment the assassin was introduced in the book i was like Nahhhhhhh it's the twenty first century no way an author is getting away with blatant Racism but boy was i about to be proved wrong.
bold of a man who himself and his work can't be differentiated from a white sheet of paper to talk about the use of Hashish while drugs are legal for them and calling a whole race blood thirsty animals that think of women as co** sleeves WHILE their race was the one that started world wars, tried to wipe out religions AND occupied lands that weren't theirs. how about you mind your own damn business while we're at it, huh?
i am so sick and tired of the world portraying my people as terrorist. as mindless animals. for once why don't you try not to put an entire race in a fucking box and just accept that we're not all the same? you can't judge and describe a whole nation by the action of one person. i don't see you all walking around calling Germans names even though Hit**r had human-burning kilns and that was a whole thing.
most disappointing of all is the lack of criticism in that matter. i looked at the content warning here and racisms and use of racial slurs was in the MINOR section. how does that make me feel? TERRIBLE. this is not the only place i looked. i searched the internet for answers, maybe an apology, but i was naïve. i saw exactly one review that even contained my concerns and whether there was a solution to this crap. just find it hilarious how everyone's mostly concerned about scientific accuracy in the book. it's a work of fiction GET OVER IT. and before anyone tries to tell me that Dan Brown is "anti-religion" i would tell you to go read his interviews. he has very clearly stated that he thinks science and religion go hand in hand so no that is not a point you can make in his defense.
i read 100 pages and i can't take it anymore.
bold of a man who himself and his work can't be differentiated from a white sheet of paper to talk about the use of Hashish while drugs are legal for them and calling a whole race blood thirsty animals that think of women as co** sleeves WHILE their race was the one that started world wars, tried to wipe out religions AND occupied lands that weren't theirs. how about you mind your own damn business while we're at it, huh?
i am so sick and tired of the world portraying my people as terrorist. as mindless animals. for once why don't you try not to put an entire race in a fucking box and just accept that we're not all the same? you can't judge and describe a whole nation by the action of one person. i don't see you all walking around calling Germans names even though Hit**r had human-burning kilns and that was a whole thing.
most disappointing of all is the lack of criticism in that matter. i looked at the content warning here and racisms and use of racial slurs was in the MINOR section. how does that make me feel? TERRIBLE. this is not the only place i looked. i searched the internet for answers, maybe an apology, but i was naïve. i saw exactly one review that even contained my concerns and whether there was a solution to this crap. just find it hilarious how everyone's mostly concerned about scientific accuracy in the book. it's a work of fiction GET OVER IT. and before anyone tries to tell me that Dan Brown is "anti-religion" i would tell you to go read his interviews. he has very clearly stated that he thinks science and religion go hand in hand so no that is not a point you can make in his defense.
i read 100 pages and i can't take it anymore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexism and Death of parent
theredheded_bibliomaniac's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
As usual brilliant Symbiology, mind blowing treasure hunt ..and great plot..of course must read but I will say if we compare this and Da Vinci Code ..Da Vinci code is better ..
Cemendable Job by Author his research and the Guts to publish are praiseworthy..
Cemendable Job by Author his research and the Guts to publish are praiseworthy..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
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