Krishna
The Harvard Professor Robert Landgon this time teams up with Sophie Neveu. Dan has given him a Casanova image in terms of changing girlfriends, James Bond style. (One got the impression that Vittoria was ‘the one’ when one read Angels and Demons, but apparently, one was wrong!). As I said, it is a bit more fun if you read this after you have read the other book, because you do understand the references in the initial chapters.
I do understand why this book became a blockbuster of such magnificent proportions, as it questions the fundamental theory on which the Catholic system is based. The story is told in the inimitable Dan Brown style and the twists and turns are there. The plot explosions that would gladden any conspiracy theory buffs are there too. It is fast paced and gripping. And yet….
For one thing, the exhilarating symmetry (of the symbols) of Angels and Demons is missing. The whodunit part is easier to guess here than in the other book. After the denouement in about the last fifty pages in the book , I was waiting for another bombshell that would turn the plot on its head yet again, like Angels and Demons, but it never came, not really.
It is still a wonderfully crafted book, with amazing revelations about works of art that you have almost seen everywhere in print but details that you never noticed. The explanations related to the Holy Grail are amazing. Religion will never be the same after reading this, even if you attribute all this as repetitions of unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.
Yet, I would rate it as only the second best compared to Angels and Demons. That book somewhat spoilt this one for me (and so, don’t ask if you should read THIS ONE FIRST! In this respect, maybe it is better to!)
The Dan Brown elements are there in abundance and I would definitely give this one a 7/10
— Krishna