Free: DaVinci Code by Dan Brown (US Kindle/Sony/Kobo/iTunes )

[Odins_child]

Thanks a bunch!

[crich70]

Currently set at free.

[DiapDealer]

I've always thought Angels & Demons was a "better" Brown book. And since there's no real point in reading any more than one Dan Brown book (the formula never changes), that's the one I always recommend. I love conspiracy thrillers. Their ridiculous implausibilty is all part of the attraction for me. The fact that an author may claim his/her research was intense and impeccable has no bearing on whether I enjoy their improbable fictional romp. Just like I can still enjoy a magic show knowing full well that I was lied to about audience members being planted and "no mirrors were used." It's over-the-top, ridiculous fiction... and I've given authors of the subgenre permission to lie to me about its authenticity. It's part of the show.

Enjoy the book if you can; put it it down if you can't. But there's certainly no real reason not to simply ignore the hype, and at least start a book and decide for yourself whether you should continue reading it. Especially if you got it for free. Unless as someone already mentioned, you don't like conspiracy thrillers in general, how much trauma could a couple of chapters of a free book cause you?

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I've always thought Angels & Demons was a "better" Brown book. And since there's no real point in reading any more than [i]one[/] Dan Brown book (the formula never changes), that's the one I always recommend. I love conspiracy thrillers. Their ridiculous implausibilty is all part of the attraction for me. The fact that an author may claim his/her research was intense and impeccable has no bearing on whether I enjoy their improbable fictional romp. Just like I can still enjoy a magic show knowing full well that I was lied to about audience members being planted and "no mirrors were used." It's over-the-top, ridiculous fiction... and I've given authors of the subgenre permission to lie to me about its authenticity. It's part of the show.

That's a nice and fun attitude.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by hwlester

"This is Unix. I know Unix." At the time, I had a Silicon Graphics machine as my workstation and the interface was nothing like what they showed.

Except that WAS a real available 3D file explorer, you not using it (OK, virtually no one using except for demos) notwithstanding.
My problem with her character was that she was utterly useless and incompetent in everything else she did. She was like a kid training to be a '40s-serial-style damsel in distress. In the book her character was far less helpless.

Dan Brown lost me with Digital Fortress ( it seems he apparently did no further cryptography research....) but I did enjoy the Davinci Code movie.

[JoeD]

Originally Posted by ApK

Except that WAS a real available 3D file explorer, you not using it (OK, virtually no one using except for demos) notwithstanding.

There's a good reason it never made it out of demo usage, using it meant you were slow which leads to risk of been eaten by raptors. Had they gone with a classical unix shell she could have instead spent 10 minutes editing config files, likely also getting eaten by said raptors

My problem with her character was that she was utterly useless and incompetent in everything else she did. She was like a kid training to be a '40s-serial-style damsel in distress. In the book her character was far less helpless.

Agreed. I enjoyed the film, but thought the book version was a lot better. That's even more so for the lost world.

Dan Brown lost me with Digital Fortress ( it seems he apparently did no further cryptography research....) but I did enjoy the Davinci Code movie.

I enjoyed the movie more than the book for the Davinci code

[John F]

"Free E-'Da Vinci Code' offered until March 24"

http://news.yahoo.com/free-e-da-vinc...133853813.html

[HarryT]

Not free at Amazon UK.

BTW, I know it's hardly great literature, but I thoroughly enjoyed TDVC. A cracking good "page turner", regardless of its historical inaccuracies.

[ucfgrad93]

Thanks for sharing! I got it for free at Amazon.

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I've always thought Angels & Demons was a "better" Brown book. And since there's no real point in reading any more than one Dan Brown book (the formula never changes), that's the one I always recommend. I love conspiracy thrillers. Their ridiculous implausibilty is all part of the attraction for me. The fact that an author may claim his/her research was intense and impeccable has no bearing on whether I enjoy their improbable fictional romp. Just like I can still enjoy a magic show knowing full well that I was lied to about audience members being planted and "no mirrors were used." It's over-the-top, ridiculous fiction... and I've given authors of the subgenre permission to lie to me about its authenticity. It's part of the show.

Enjoy the book if you can; put it it down if you can't. But there's certainly no real reason not to simply ignore the hype, and at least start a book and decide for yourself whether you should continue reading it. Especially if you got it for free. Unless as someone already mentioned, you don't like conspiracy thrillers in general, how much trauma could a couple of chapters of a free book cause you?

I don't claim that the book traumatized me. Of course, I can't definitively rule it out either. I snagged the book even though I'll probably never read it again. Free is free. It's also another hardcover that I can dispose of. (I hate to lose access to a book once I've gotten it.)

It was clear early on that I would make a better assassin than the one in the book. That killed the book for me from the beginning. I, even in my deteriorated state, would still make a better assassin. Maybe he should've turned it into a comedy with a crippled assassin who uses a Wiffle bat. Hey! Dan. Call me. We'll do a book. I'll bring the Wiffle. You bring the conspiracy. It'll be a monster.

I can thank the book for leading me to read a few of the books that debunked it. I already knew a lot of the history but more is always good.

I had already read Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln. $7.99 for Kindle. Much more fun.

[DiapDealer]

What the hell is the point of "debunking" fiction?

I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail long before TDVC was published, too. I found it quite interesting, but not in the least bit "thrilling."

[BelleZora]

Originally Posted by Fluribus

I can thank the book for leading me to read a few of the books that debunked it. I already knew a lot of the history but more is always good.

Although I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, I enjoyed just as much the books I read debunking it - and it was history I never would have read otherwise. Knowledge did not besmirch the memory of my enjoyment of the book nor will it deter me from eventually reading it again.

BTW, very funny post, Fluribus.

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I've always thought Angels & Demons was a "better" Brown book. And since there's no real point in reading any more than one Dan Brown book (the formula never changes), that's the one I always recommend. I love conspiracy thrillers. Their ridiculous implausibilty is all part of the attraction for me. The fact that an author may claim his/her research was intense and impeccable has no bearing on whether I enjoy their improbable fictional romp. Just like I can still enjoy a magic show knowing full well that I was lied to about audience members being planted and "no mirrors were used." It's over-the-top, ridiculous fiction... and I've given authors of the subgenre permission to lie to me about its authenticity. It's part of the show.

Enjoy the book if you can; put it it down if you can't. But there's certainly no real reason not to simply ignore the hype, and at least start a book and decide for yourself whether you should continue reading it. Especially if you got it for free. Unless as someone already mentioned, you don't like conspiracy thrillers in general, how much trauma could a couple of chapters of a free book cause you?

I, too, found Angels and Demons a better read than TDVC although I enjoyed it as well. Both were pure entertainment and a break from the (mostly) nonfiction I read.

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

What the hell is the point of "debunking" fiction?

A bunch of readers believed the "history" that Dan Brown researched so thoroughly. Maybe some people will be drawn to learn the real history.

I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail long before TDVC was published, too. I found it quite interesting, but not in the least bit "thrilling."

Unfortunately, I didn't find The Da Vinci Code to be either.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by hwlester

That's about how I felt when watching Jurassic Park for the first time when Ariana Richards' character sat in front of a Silicon Graphics workstation and said "This is Unix. I know Unix." At the time, I had a Silicon Graphics machine as my workstation and the interface was nothing like what they showed.

As you say, entertaining for the masses, but not for the people who have more in depth knowledge about the subject matter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fsn