Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Post 2
(Post discussion question for chapters 39-69) Do you think the book is getting more interesting, or is it starting to get boring? What do you think will happen with the rest of the cardinals' murders? Do you think that any of them will be saved? Anything else that you found particularly interesting in this section?
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The book is starting to get more and more interesting. Hearing a little about the archives in the Vatican was pretty cool and it's just insane how it houses documents that are thought to be extinct. Anyway, at this point the first murder is done and now they need to find the next church.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to wonder if they are going to save any of the cardinals from death. I have a feeling that they won't save all of them - maybee one (the Italian one because apparently he's the most important one of them all and therefore probably going to be the last to be "murdered"). I'm also wondering what Kohler is doing. He seemed to be like a man on a mission in that short chapter when he got dressed and rolled out of the infirmary. I'm interested to see what he is going to do.
Overall this book is really good so far and I can't wait to keep reading.
Now that Langdon is trying to follow the Path of Illumination, I think the book is getting much more interesting. It's turning into more of a mystery in my opinion, and I think that makes the story even more suspenseful. I am still wondering, is the legend of the Illuminati actually around today,or was this entirely made up by Dan Brown? If he made this all up, I don't understand how he could possibly think of all these details! Every little detail adds to the story so I'm trying to pick up on little hints that might help me figure out hte ending. Also, the way that the first cardinal was murdered is so weird. I couldn't believe that someone could think of shoving dirt into a person's mouth to suffocate him. However, I think that Langdon is starting to understand the way that the Illuminati will act so he will eventualy be able to caatch up to the killer.
ReplyDeleteOh yea I almost forgot all about Kohler! Now that I think about it Kersten, I'm actually really curious as to what he's up to now. You'e right, that chapter was so short, but I feel like Dan Brown didn't just put that in the book for no reason, so there must be a purpose...
This is the part where the book really started to pick up speed and unfortunately since I already finished it I have to be careful not to give up any spoilers or anything because the plot from this point forward really starts to thicken. And another thing has come up on a side note: if you have seen the movie do not despair for I have discovered many differences betweent the two after accidentally revealing parts to those of you who've already seen the movie and thought you knew what was coming!
ReplyDeleteThere are several important section that really stunned me in this part. The first of which is the fact that the Hassassin revealed his plot in great detail to the people at the BBC and the reaction that followed. It brings up an interesting sub-theme which involves the role of the media in today's world. Journalism is a dying art and they truly are very desperate for a good story to the extent that they decided to keep these very important details from the Vatican. With such information is the next big story so important that peoples lives should be at risk? I think not!
Oh yea pat thanks a lot for ruining the book!! Please don't tell anyone else the differences between the book and the movie because I actually would have been very surprised by the book later if you didn't tell me some of that stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I actually agree with yo about the Hassassin. I was pretty surprised that he would reveal so much to the news reporters because I know that he wants publicity, but it seemed like a pretty risky move to me. For example, how did he know that the reporter wouldn't warn the people at the Vatican and then Langdon might have made it to the scene in time to stop him from killing the first cardinal? I guess the Illuminati are smarter than anyone would have expected because they seem to know exactly how each specific person will react to their threat. They know that Langdon will try to stop them, they know Olivetti will try to pretend like nothing happened, and apparently they also knew that the reporter would keep the tip to himself so that he could get all the glory when he got to the site of the first murder. This whole thing is getting really complex!
Yeah the Hassassin never did anything like this in the movie. Then again the movie cut alot of things out. Anyway, the reporter is an egocentric idiot that seems to value a good story and reviews over the lives of individuals. He definetly had time to warn peopel, yet he didn't. Why? Because he simply doesn't care. The whole media is like this today in my opinion. They do whatever they can to get a good story. It's a shame that reporters have so little values these days.
ReplyDeleteI wish I read the book before I saw the movie because now I'm starting to see how much themovie left out. The book definitely focuses on more issues in today's society such as reporters' lack of morals and the idea that the media can escalate the magnitude of an event in a matter of a few hours. It's crazy to read about how the news of the killing of 2 cardinals can spread across the entire world so quickly.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I dislike the news. They never talk about anything that helps our society. It's all scandals and tragidies but never anything that will actually help the citizens. Then again it is mostly our fault. No one wants to read an article about how to improve a school. They would rather know about which celebrity said what about each other or about what happened on last weeks soaps or which baseball team is in the lead. Like how the Mets are doing this year is really going to solve our societal problems
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, journalism is a media in which many social problems can be unveiled and expressed. Don't forget that many muckrakers in the early 20th century were journalists, and most of their articles were rather beneficial.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I feel like the Hassassin is written just like every other villian: one who wants fame, and usually ends up regretting it because it brings him down in the end. I just wish that there's a huge plot twist, like the camerlango is actually the inside link for the Illuminati, or Olivetti is behind it, or something. I'm not saying it's not interesting, but I just wish it wasn't so...predictable.
Kohler...I keep getting the feeling he's going to come at the end like Gandalf in "The Two Towers": at the most opportune moment.
The Hassassin is definielty like the stereotypical villian. We can tell that his love for attention will lead to the Illumjinati being revealed and maybe they will be completely stopped. I think that this builds off of what Alex is saying about the media being a means of revealing corruption. While towards the beginning of this catastrophe, the media reveals corruption in the church, I think towards the end of the book they will have to show some of the destruction of the Illuminati. The media does its fair share of revealing secrets to the public, some beneficial and some severely detrimental.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to what Kersten said, I totally agree that the stockpiles of artifacts that the Vatican has seem really cool, and the fact that so much history is preserved in so little a space.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that is killing me in this book is that I keep picturing the guy from National Treasure as Langdon. I would enjoy this book much better if I never saw National Treasure. National Treasure seems like a cheap version of the Davinci Code and Angels and Demons.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I feel that the Hassassin only has a few other colleagues. It seems that the Illuminati at this time are smaller in number and that the Hassasin is only trying to glorify what was once a huge organization. However, there is some mention of an inside job. Some of the Swiss Guards might be apart of the whole thing.
Kohler is the man. No pain, no game. He probably took his jet to find Vittoria and Langdon. Or possibly he will try to prevent the media from ever deveoping a connection between the anti-matter and CERN.
As for forshadowing, Langdon and Vittoria will probably end up being in a relationship, possibly even being married. Although, Langdon does love being a bachelor.
Finally, we're comparing this to a movie that I've seen! You're so right Mike, National Treasure is like a cheap version fo Angels and Demons. However, I don't necessarily wish that I've never seen National Treasure because if you compare it to Angels and Demons, it makes this book look even better.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually not a big fan of Kohler. He just seems kind of dry and too oblivious to people's feelings. But we haven't heard a lot from him after Langdon started following the Path of Ilumination, so I'm still hoping that Kohler will surprise me by totall changing his personality.
How can you not like Kohler! He is one of the cooler characters in my opinion. He's like one of those cranky old guys that is always yelling at the kids to get off his lawn. I also feel like he's hidding something. Like he's angry for a reason, or he's acting angry in order to hide something...important.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Frank on this one - I really like Kohler. He seemed very reserved and intelligent in the beginning and I think that he is up to something big. As for Alex's comparison to Gandolph - that was just awesome (and incredicly true).
ReplyDeleteThis book is way better than national treasure. As for the reporter, I agree that journalism is very corrupt. This poor guy though couldn't catch a break. First of all, he never gets to report the good stories, no matter how bad he wants it or how bad he works. He probably thought that this was his break rather than handing off the story to somebody else. Also, the Hassassin guy didn't tell the reporter the location of the death until just a few minutes before it happened. It sounded as if it were the same time Langdon and Vittoria were headed to the church because the BBC van wasn't even there yet. Also, by this time the Cardinal was already dead. I don't think the Illuminati were that dumb. They wanted the Cardinals dead - they weren't going to give the location of the Cardinal away while he was still alive.
I don't like Kohler very much. I mean he has so much information and knowledge with the world of science, yet he doesn't feel the need to join them in Italy? He could be an invaluable ally to stay back at the vatican. No doubt that the head of such a big corportation could be influential and helpful to them. I know he's hiding some secret, he's acting so weird. I have this feeling that he'll come more into play soon.
ReplyDeleteyea pat is on my side! kohler seems like he's up to no good but he's definitely hiding something. I think he knows more about the Illuminati than he's letting people believe.
ReplyDeletewe shall see..
ReplyDelete