Da Vinci Code Or Angels n Demons -- Which one's better???

To HELL with Goofy start ups. Guess I am quite allergic to that. Ok let me start, so that I cut down on the Crap. I must admit I am not a voracious book reader. I was one, actually. Or so says my mom. When I was in my primary school, I used to read books that my mom bought for me... All at one go. That's what I often get to hear. And then I got my nasty sight defect and then all of a sudden I was discouraged from reading too many books. My parents were pretty sure my huge eye sight defect was due to my reading too many books and they were damn frightened that I would only worsen the defect reading too many books. Well, I cut down on books a lot.... Story books and novels became a strict no-no and Academic material was too boring to figure out. For me, listening in class was sufficient to top my class. Do I sound a bit arrogant??? Atleast this is what my classmates always wondered about. By the time I was in class 3, I had a penchant for quizzing and the ilk. I always dreamt of being on the TV in a quiz show. (Well, that never materialized). Or It would be apt if I said I was bitten by the quizzing bug. Now in order to become a good quizzer, one had to have a good knowledge of, say, everything. And this 'love' led me to magazines and newspapers. Well, you can pretty much call me a 'magazine lover', I guess. Loads of mags and lots of food stuff... You leave me on a deserted island.... Maybe I'll never call you back again.

I still remember, those days in 'Hostel'. Rush through my breakfast and run to the brother's quarters to read 'THE HINDU', 'Indian Express', 'Eenadu' and the rest, not to forget 'The Frontline' and 'The Sportstar'. And it became my unofficial duty... I was to deliver 'The Hindu' from The quarters to the Hostel every single day. When I was in class 8, the students favoured Deccan Chronicle over The Hindu. We were allowed just one newspaper to the hostel premises and almost all the students preferred the spicy, raunchy Deccan Chronicle over the "bulky, dry" Hindu. I just could not stand the yellow journalism offered by The Deccan and I had that heated argument with my warden... "Why the hell on earth would you replace the HINDU??? And do you think anyone is interested in the news they publish in the Chronicle??? Don't you understand that everyone is only interested in having a peep at those brash, flashy stuff from the fashion shows that the Chronicle publishes to woo the youth???" I guess he understood and we were allowed 2 papers everyday. Guess I won!!!
At home, the first thing I do as I wake up (Whatever time on earth it is) is get hold of 'THE Hindu' and 'Eenadu' as well..... Munch through each and every page till there's nothing left. All the while I am reading, one can find me ignoring my mom calling out "First Brush your teeth and then go through the paper" and my grandma pleading "Have ya breakfast... It's already too late". Well, I guess I cannot do without that.
I somehow make it a point to have a peek at "The Outlook", "India Today", "The Week", "The Sportstar" and the rest every week. Any train journey home, tag along these a car mag, mostly AutoCar or BSM and a "Filmfare" or some cheap movie masala talk. And I must admit I buy a few comics though I am not very much comfortable with them.

It had been quite some while until last autumn, that I had laid my hands on a novel. My last novel was something during my +2 days in Chennai. I guess it had been 2 years since I atleast glanced at a novel. Just magazines and newspapers for me for 2 years. It was while I was in Kgp that I heard of a novel going by the name "Five Point someone" -- by Chetan Bhagat, and that it was a rage all over the country and being an IITian ( a fresh one at that) I guess I was supposed to read that to get a feel of the place. I spent about a hundred bucks on that, finished it quite quickly in maybe 2 days. After that, Someone took that away from my room and I never got to see it once again. I really enjoyed that one because it had friendship, academics, naughty pranks and most of all, it had that "IIT LINGO" and "IIT Culture" written all over it. But then not everyone will enjoy it. There isn't a good plot, it's shoddily written and contains glaring errors . Sorry Chetan, but I will have to admit that it was plain mediocre stuff. Your book wouldn't have got off the shelves hadn't u been an IITian!!! I guess you know that pretty well too. I am sure that a non-iitian will loath reading the book except for maybe the spicy romp you deliberately forced into the story. And here I must warn everybody. "Don't ever lay your hands on Chetan's second book "One night @ The Call Centre"."
Gosh!!! I don't want to speak about that at all. If someone's really bugging you up and you are too timid to take your frustrations out on him/her, presenting this book to him/her would do you a world of good, I bet.

WARNING : SPOILER AHEAD... DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS OF READING ANY OF THE BOOKS BY DAN BROWN

And then came along the frequent headlines about the controversies stirred up by this International Best Seller by "Dan Brown" -- "The Da Vinci Code". How much ever I tried ignoring this work, this always fell within my purview with it being in the news, in the best selling lists.. etc. And one day I happened to read the basic platform around which the entire novel was based on. No wonder the whole world was talking about this book. The very fact that Jesus had a wife named Mary Magdalene and not only did Jesus marry her but that she bore his offspring shook my booty.... It just shivered my timbers. The book further goes on to state that Jesus' daughter was named Sarah and the holy bloodline still lives to this day. Which means Descendants of the Lord Jesus Christ are amongst us. It also states that there is a secret society named "Priory of Sion" which safeguards this secret to this day!!!! Or maybe it wants the world to know the truth!!! You can look at it whichever way you like. I am not a Christian and yet this revelation had me shell-shocked. Wonder how the reaction a staunch Catholic would be like???
The story starts off with the murder of the Grand Master (The Head) of the Priory of Sion and Dan Brown unravels the plot at breakneck pace.

Click here for the Basic Plot of The Da Vinci Code

Having heard so much of the book and also the lengthy discussions with friends about the validity of the theory propounded by the book, it was high time I laid hands on the book. I bought the book on one of my trips to Vizag and I was almost restless on the way back home. It was too tempting to keep the book safely wrapped in my bag. I reached home and was off to my room in a jiffy... with ofcourse this one along with me. 2 sittings was all it took. Just the usual supper call in between. I was so much into the book I almost forgot the whole world. It was quite a fascinating exhilarating ride reading the book. The plot thickened with each and every page, the event unfolded in a very grand manner, minute details were covered immaculately... God!!! Dan Brown had got everything right. I must say he did his homework perfectly. This novel just blew me off my feet. It was my best ever read. Initially I thought the reviews printed on the book were just a result of the controversial subject that it dealt with it. Even as I started the book, I felt that it was quite over-rated. But then as things started falling into place, I began to like and enjoy the story. I had also bought a copy of "Angels & Demons" along with "The Code" but then I wouldn't have in my wildest dreams imagined that I would complete 'Angels' too the very next day.

Click here for The basic plot of Angels & Demons

Having had a great liking for the DaVinci Code, I sauntered into reading 'Angels'. As I started reading this, it had a similar feel to the Code... Both were of very similar architecture. It was kinda boring at first but again here the plot being Anti-Church, just drew me in after a couple of pages and I did not rest until I had completed it full. One helluva read and I must admit this was much better than the Code I had just finished the day before. Once I had completed these 2 books I was in a kind of spell... I desperately wanted to get my hands on all the other books Dan Brown had written. He seemed a Genius to me. I browsed the net and found out his 2 other novels.... 'Digital Fortress' and 'Deception Point'. I was just waiting to go to Vizag one more time and when I went I made sure I returned with 'The Digital Fortress' with me. I couldn't buy 'Deception point' as well due to money constraints. Actually I had to make a tightrope walk -- do a few savings on that trip -- in order to buy Fortress.
Well, back home I started reading Fortress and was it interesting?? Naah. It seemed just about ok. It sounded all too familiar and I could guess the ending so easily. So pretty much bland it seemed. And then the tempo to read Deception point diminished to a large extent. Back in Kgp, after the holidays, I managed to get 'Deception Point' from a friend but then the mood is never right to carry on with the book. Hardly did I read one tenths of the book.... It seemed too ordinary.
Well, What was it that made The Code as well as Angels my most loved books of all time??? First thing that strikes you is the controversial nature of the plot. Added to the controversial nature of the plot are the twists and turns associated with the story. One gets to see very few people in the entire story but these characters carry different sentiments and emotions. Dan Brown has done great research and has made use of every tiny detail he has got on hand. He immaculately uses all his knowledge to craft a masterpiece. The plot in all his 4 novels starts with a murder, and the hero, is sent to investigate or get a peek at the murder/murderer even though he is far flung to do that job. He has just about a day or two to do the work asked of him and the time constraint makes it all the more interesting. All along he is tagged on to a female partner whom he never knew properly earlier. While you are at one location during the course of a chapter you will invariably be somewhere else in the next chapter. Brown is very much successful in carrying on the narrative parallel without disturbing the flow of the narrative. And while narrating the story he discloses a lot of funda about various places like the Louvre, churches in Britain or about the Priory of Sion etc.. All that Dan Brown mentions look so convincing and real, that I wonder if anyone would ever again imagine them being fictional. One thing is for sure, Dan Brown look so convincing.
In the Code and Angels as well, Robert Langdon is the protagonist and you will surely end up loving this fellow. You can surely identify yourself with him -- not the quintessential hulkster -- but the average human being prone to errors and more importantly down to earth. In both these books you will love to break the codes that are embedded in the story. Sample this out.... The letters of the word "Oh! Lame Saint" can be rearranged to form "The Mona Lisa".(One clue for the Protagonists in the story). Just go ahead with this book and you will find many more such anagrams to rack your brain. Quite fascinating stuff. You get to know what a cryptograph is and also what a Caesar's Box is!!! And you also get to know a lot more about Christ than you ever did and the Holy Grail.
While The code deals more with code breaking, Angels is more about symbols..... Symbols form the crux of Angels. The way Brown showcases the Illuminati and discusses its works -- The ambigrams -- words that read the same when seen topside or bottomside -- FIRE, AIR, EARTH, WATER and the ILLUMINATI DIAMOND -- it's just a treat to the eye. One just can't believe such symmetry can exist. The path that Langdon charters is well etched out in Angels -- how he hops on from one church to the other breaking the clues he is provided with. Quite racy and superbly written stuff. I never felt like taking a break while reading this one. Once the hunt to find out the missing Cardinals starts the book is unputdownable. One also gets to know a lot about the papal elections -- the elections of the pope and the functioning of the papacy. And in both these novels, your suspect keeps changing with time and you will never have suspected the final culprit until you enter the last few pages of the novel.





Here I need to mention about 'John Langdon' - the creator of these ambigrams. These ambigrams create awe in the minds of the reader. You just cannot ignore them. Just check out his cool website and a few other ambigrams he has created.
And I also would like to say I am eagerly awaiting the release of the movie, "The DaVinci Code" -- starring my favourite actor 'Tom Hanks' as Langdon and the extremely sweet and lovable 'Audrey Tatou' (Remember her from 'Amelie') as Sophie Neveu. The first theatrical trailer has been out long back and seeing that has got me all pumped up for viewing this epic story on screen. Would love watching this on the IMAX screen at Prasad's, Hyderabad. Just waiting for 19.05.06 to arrive. Will never miss this one!!!

But then why did I not like Fortress or Deception Point? Well too much of anything gets quite annoying. Fortress went on very much similar lines to the Code and Angels. The same initial murder of the most revered in his field, the same shifting of places via chapters, the most knowledgeable person being the killer, everything was the same. Add to that a dash of hi-fi funda 'bout computer code breaking and this becomes incorrigible after a point of time. Once I could figure out N.Dakota was an anagram for Tankado, half the story was out and there was no chance I would enjoy the story. Everything looked plain and somber. I could painfully complete it anyways.
Later when I got hold of Deception point, I just could not brace myself upto read it. Well I think its time you changed your style Mr Brown. You have become monotonic and painful. I sincerely wish Brown changes his writing style. I am not going to buy "The Solomon key" (expected for a September 2006 release) until I can catch hold of some decent reviews wherein I can feel some distinctive change in his writing style.
I'd deliberately not blurted out the endings of any of the books even though I wanted to when I began writing this post but then I just do not want to spoil the fun you can have reading the book. Go ahead and Experience the thrill of The Da Vinci Code as well as Angels & Demons. And I will fall back into my magazines unless I can hear of novels with equally intriguing plots and deft writing. Adios until then.