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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
purplehulk713's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
The Catholic Church’s circus tent is about to come crashing down. Dan Brown is incredible at creating a fast-paced while still multi-layered thriller that at the same has the spectacle and religious esotericism as an Indiana Jones film. (Robert Langdon is effectively Indiana Jones without the aesthetic) The religious and artistic history entranced me like hypnosis—Christians stole the practice of “god-eating” from the Aztecs after conquering their empire. Some of the plot points seemed a little unnecessary though—why does Robert go into the helicopter? I did the love the fast pace but slow burn of the reveals, like the dead Pope actually being the camerlengo’s father and not just his foster father, and the camerlengo’s reveal as Janus. Vittoria and Robert are a cute couple, and they are definitely a good match—she’s determined and flexible (literally and figuratively) and he’s quiet and compassionate. The scientific theory, though advanced, is clearly and concisely explained to the non-scientific mind. The backstories (for Langdon and Vittoria especially) are incredibly compelling, like how Vittoria came to meet and grow up with the man that would adopt her. The Hassassin’s deadly inspiration and glorious delight in his cruelty weave a spell-binding villain. But the one of the most significant elements of the story is the fact that you can truly walk this Path of Illumination—from “Habakkuk and the Angel” in the Chigi Chapel in the cathedral of Santa Maria del Popolo (Earth—Terra) to the “West Ponente” relief in St. Peter’s Square (Air—Aria) to “The Ecstasy of St. Teresa” in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria (Fire—Fuòco) to the Fountain of the Four Rivers in front of the church of Saint Agnes in Agony in the Piazza Navona (Water—Acqua) and finally to the Church of Illumination within Castel Sant’Angelo. The path is real though the story may not be. Let angels guide thee on thy lofty quest…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Islamophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
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
gundegaaa's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death of parent
gurkanwal27's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Hate crime, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Emotional abuse
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
a pulse-racing, unstoppable page-turner filled w/ twists and turns, interesting historical facts, info, speculation, and thought-provoking debate on science and religion and their roles in modern society, though its writing abt women does turn me off quite a bit. 620 pages of this felt like a short novella tbh; thats how engrossing the book was. i havent read a lot of thrillers to make an adequate compariaon, and idk how historically and factually accurate this book is, but as a casual reader it was pretty damn good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
caro221's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Im Not Sure, I really Like it the First half but Then Well what
The only poc were a camera Woman who got talked down to by a Rookie News Guy and a murderer/almost-rapist.....
Victoria lost her dad, got almost Killed, knocked Out almost raped and then she Just jumps Landon....
Landon got almost crushed, Shot, drowned, knocked Out, Fell from the Sky and then drowned almost again....
The plottwists Well I think at 2/3 that I suspect the CERN Guy, and the bretrayl from the guard came Out of nowhere
And Then Just everybody dies...nice
The only poc were a camera Woman who got talked down to by a Rookie News Guy and a murderer/almost-rapist.....
Victoria lost her dad, got almost Killed, knocked Out almost raped and then she Just jumps Landon....
Landon got almost crushed, Shot, drowned, knocked Out, Fell from the Sky and then drowned almost again....
The plottwists Well I think at 2/3 that I suspect the CERN Guy, and the bretrayl from the guard came Out of nowhere
And Then Just everybody dies...nice
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
librariangeorgia's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.0
According to my old goodreads profile, i've already read this series but I don't remember it so I wanted to have a 'reread' of them.
It's a very detailed book - too detailed for me to be honest. As expected, it is science and religion heavy which I didn't care for as I was more interested in the 'cracking the code' side of the story.
I did enjoy it though - i'm interested to see how it'll compare to the rest of the series.
It's a very detailed book - too detailed for me to be honest. As expected, it is science and religion heavy which I didn't care for as I was more interested in the 'cracking the code' side of the story.
I did enjoy it though - i'm interested to see how it'll compare to the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
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
loch_nesa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
It is an entertaining re-read. It is not my favorite Dan Brown, but it is a compelling story of adventure. There were portions that I just skimmed. I love googling the sculptures mentioned and seeing the detail and hard work put into the book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury