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BOOK REVIEW The Da Vinci Code blends art, history and intrigue “THE DA VINCI CODE” By Dan Brown ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ GABRIELLE SINCLAIR THE GAMECOCK “The Da Vinci Code,” by Dan Brown, reads like a secret focus ing around a conspiracy so great it involves the likes of Leonardo DaVinci, Walt Disney and Jesus Christ. Opening in Paris with the as sassination of the Louvre Museum’s curator, the novel hints at an ancient truth that will die along with him if he does not fmd a way to pass it on, somehow, in the 15 minutes or so he has left to live. “The Da Vinci Code” leaves the reader feeling wise about the world around him. Brown offers a theo ry one might otherwise discount as junk if it wasn’t so well-written, turning traditional wisdom and re ligious dogma on its head. Don’t be surprised to catch yourself nod ding along to the absurdity. “Code” also includes other tid bits of history that not only give credibility to Brown’s theory but offer insight into religion, art and modem life in general. If this book was taught in art history classes and comparative religion, a lot more people would show up for class. Chock full of three-page-long chapters, reading “Code” also gives one an instant sense of ac complishment. Though set in France, this is definitely an American thriller. The main characters are one-di mensional and exist solely to fur ther the plot. And while it is a ■ tight, engaging story, the element of fear crucial for a chase is miss ing. It’s hard to care about those on the run for their lives. Brown does an impressive job blurring the lines between hero and villain, and manages to con vey all angles of the dilemma. The most intriguing character is Silas, an albino and member of Opus Dei, a controversial sect of the Catholic Church that infuses its dogma with “corporal mortifica tion,” a gruesome practice to re member the suffering of Christ. Brown uses traditional thriller formula, while adding his own fla vor to the mix. Magnificently well researched, this is a definite read for history buffs, conspiracy freaks and the rest of us in need of a dis traction on the beach this summer. The ancient secret is initially ridiculous, but Brown has done so much research and writes with such conviction that you’re left wondering why no one ever thought of this before. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Cubs CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 cubs if they were allowed beyond a glass partition. “But Koshka’s a calm animal,” Bergeron said. “She sees her cubs 18 hours a day, which is a lot more than some mothers would toler ate.” “Has one ever jumped across?” asked Donna Wilbur, who had come here with her children. She tactfully stepped away from the railing. “Not since 1974,” Wing said. “Oh?” “We opened in 1974,” he said, smiling. “Don’t worry. No tiger has ever j umped across. ” “Well, that’s good.” “But a panther could,” Wing ■ MUM.■■■■ »■■■■ said. “Panthers are lighter, more agile.” He studied the canyon that separated man from tiger and then gave everyone a bad boy smile. “Yeah, a panther could make it.” Koshka started slapping the water of her pool with her paws, making everyone jump back in surprise. We turned and saw her smiling. Here I am, she seemed to say, a proud mother of two. She al most looked human. So human, in fact, that I wondered if in all the nights Koshka and Globus spent together they’d ever had tiger pil low talk. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Did you know? While gathering food in the Sunderbans swamp in Bangladesh, hunters deter surprise tiger attacks by wearing masks on the back of their heads. Since the turn of the century, the tiger population has dwindled from almost 100,000 to 8,000 because of habitat loss, fragmentation and poaching. SOURCE: THE TIGER INFORMATION CENTER, BASED AT THE MINNESOTA ZOO ■ Band CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 “It’s not money in my pocket,” he said. “It’s money that she’s go ing to put forward to record my next album.” The company will hire him a band once he’s pro duced the tunes. So his current band is breaking up. But it’s no sweat, Douglas said, because it was an informal group from the outset, and the members have their own independent tal ents. Guitarist Nic Thompson, one of the coffee guys at Courtyard Coffeehouse on State Street, has been playing bass guitar for nine years. He picked up a six-string guitar three years ago and has nluvpH QPS«innQ with spvpral lnral bands. “It kind of got stuck in my heart,” Thompson said. “I play six hours a day.” He only gets one day off a week. He said he was thinking about following Douglas to Nashville to play in his band. He said he would be flattered to play in his record ing sessions because it would get his foot in the door to the busi ness. But he also dreams about _ New Orleans. “It’s just a really weird city,” Thompson said. “As soon as you get there you just want to play the whole time you’re there. That’s all everyone else is doing.” He plans on getting a career working in the bands that solo artists hire. Though Thompson has no formal education in music, his years of experience might get him the job. On the other hand, he said, a lot of musicians go to music school but have nothing real to fall back on. Violinist Jesse Gross has al ready trailblazed two career paths. “He’s the principal violinist here at USC,” Douglas said. “He got his graduate degree here in conducting and got offered a job at Arizona University to become assistant director.” But a string quartet touring in Taiwan this summer picked Gross up instead. This was after he played in Encaustic, a Columbia band that broke up in the middle VI no X V1XV *V XX. Drummer Billy Sehkon gets the most exposure of the four right now. He writes music for high school band directors and keeps busy as the assistant band direc tor at Irmo. As for Douglas, he’s going to Nashville in a couple of months. "What I want to happen, of course, is the great American rock and roll dream," Douglas said. "It's going to be a learning experi ence.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Take Kaplan. Score higher. «3S> Classes are starting soon! 1717 Gervais Street World Loader in Test Prep 1-800-KAP-TEST kaptest.com •Test r«»mes are registered trodemerks o* their respective owners.