The Da Vinci Code

Rating:
Summary: The DaVinci Code, a disappointment
Review: Although fast-moving and often exciting, this novel ultimately becomes another formulaic disappointment. It is overall a reasonably good murder mystery with multiple synchronous plots and is set mostly in Paris, providing a nice European flavor. The excessive number of twists and "surprise" turns, however, is exceeded only by an overworked deus ex machina.

I found Brown's subplot involving the church's response to the recent challenges to the New Testament canon a bit tiresome and overdone. The actual very interesting history of the Nag Hammadi and Gnostic Gospels is much better presented in Elaine Pagel's recent work "Beyond Belief". The author is also inaccurate in indicting the "Roman" Catholic church as the body which supressed the "heretical" gospels, when if fact, this occurred centuries before the great schism -- a minor point, of course.

The complete absence of steamy and graphic sex (or any sex at all, save a chaste kiss at the end) must be unique in the modern novel. (Brown does vaguely describe one unusual sex scene which happened in the remote past.)

My summary: Some good fun if you don't think about it too much while you are reading it. If you found Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum" too challenging, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: A meeting in Paris
Review: i never read anything by Brown before. the book was loaned to me by a co-worker. it was difficult to put down. i kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. it was exciting and captured me right away. i enjoyed the book so much that i'm buying another book of Dan Brown's. i like his style. i liked the way he developed the characters and gave you just a little along the way. just as the two main characters were discovering why the murder happened we discover more about them. i hope to see those two cahracters again in a story.

Rating:
Summary: What we've got here's a case of irresponsible writing. Sigh.
Review: To start with, "The Da Vinci Code" is a thriller through and through. The writing is as formulaic and hackneyed as your average thriller, though clearly no one cares about this. Characters are one-dimensional, the plot is too convenient, the chapter set-up is annoying at best - what I'm getting at is simple. The book should not be read if you are looking for a literary novel about the early Catholic Church and the Holy Grail. Nor should it be read if you are looking for an intelligent read. I say go in looking for ideas to research later.

The meat of the book is the controversy surrounding Brown's view of the Holy Grail. His theory, one certainly not new, concerns the possibly marriage between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, their offspring, the early Catholic Church's persecution of Mary and the centuries' long fight to preserve the bloodline of Jesus and Mary. Valid ideas? Eh. They are supported by a variety of sources (not given) and symbols

Supposedly the Gnostic Gospels and Dead Sea Scrolls support this claim, with some loose interprations and evidence contrary to the printed Gospels. Also, the (somewhat) recently discovered history of the Priory of Sion (an old French secret society), its ties to the Knights Templar (and Masons) and the hidden imagery in select Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings are supposed to shed more light on an otherwise murky subject. Brown uses a bevy of symbology to link everything together, and while for the layman this is dangerous, he has no regard for the layman.

Your average person doesn't know much about ancient symbology and if you read this book and fall into that category, you'll probably be swayed to believe all he says is true. That's where the danger lies in symbology, especially ancient symbology. One of the central keys to said field is the iconic image, like the cross, the smiley face, even Superman's 'S'. Brown uses old icons - these images that are meant to have broad meanings; the smiley face is the best example of an icon anyone relate to because of its simplicity - to bolster his new claim. An upward wedge (^) is masculine, and is historically so (check a book of symbology) and a downward wedge (v) is feminine, again something we know as fact. Ancient societies used these two symbols for male and female and Brown would have us believe they are the only ancient male and female symbols, but that is beside the point (obelisks and lone pillars, people!). Combined they make the Star of David, and you probably wonder why I am mentioning all of this but there is a point - the Star of David is the combination of two triangles, one reaching to God, one to Earth. That is its historical significance. Brown's modern interpretation (a supposed revelation) based on the aforementioned ancient symbols (^ and v) is bad history; when you know why an icon or symbol was created, you don't then force other history onto them.

Unfortunately, he doesn't give this interpretation of the Star of David, only his own, supported by no texts, which leads me to what for the sake of length, I'll make my last criticism. I feel Brown should've written a critical analysis of the Holy Grail, Jesus, the Priory of Sion and Mary Magdalene, not a muder myster/thriller. Even still, he should've inculded a bibliography (annoted would help also) so we can leave the book and check his sources. As it stands, he gives us supposed facts and expects us to swallow them whole, which the layman reader will. To me, his book rests on the shoulders of the work of dozens of others, and while there is an acknowledgement, there is no list of sources.

All right I lied. One more thing - I found the book engaging and it forced me to remember old things learned in history classes and read. I'd previously paroused the Gnostic Gospels, and from what I found they enhance the published Christian writings, perhaps amend or alter a few things, but past that are merely the extended teachings of Jesus. I didn't see them as he did - damning to Christianity (or our perception of it). Anyway, what I mean to say is the Dan Brown is not a reliable author (I apologize for my tangents). The man has a passion for what he is writing about, but he also has a deep seated hatred for the Catholic Church and while I don't agree with them all the time, it's my opinion that they are generally trying to do good. Even in the beginning; but Brown cannot accept that and (together with Angels and Demons) villifies the church and the greater Christian religion with little evidence. That's not good writing. One of the basic questions a writer has to ask himself at the end of a book is, "Is this responsible?" (or perhaps, am I responsible for it/in writing it?) I do not believe he even stopped to consider, instead barreling ahead because, like he says about the Catholic Church, he has an agenda.

I do not see why this is a bestseller, from a logical standpoint. Poor writing + religious controversy shouldn't equal a best selling novel, but.... People can look past the writing to the ideas, and that is what this book is about. But should you pay attention to and then accept them when the author writes in such an irresponsible manner? That is for you to decide. But please, for me, if you are engaged as I was and don't know anything about what you've read, go to your library or bookstore or here and find other books on the topic from authors on both sides of the idea. Don't let this mediocre fiction sell you ill-conceived fact.

Rating:
Summary: Religious thriller (?!) cleverly interlaces fact and fiction
Review: If someone commissioned James Patterson to write (invent) a religious thriller, we just might get a book like this. The furious pace of the short chapters and murderous action galore were entertaining until the last few chapters when everybody including the author just seemed to run out of steam. Actually, the principal characters were just a little unbelievable on several occasions, and some of their riddle solving was really not all that impressive.

Obviously what created all the buzz about this book is its alleged revelation of facts about Christ and the Catholic religion (infamous for its dogma). The claim that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, the latter who supposedly makes a surprise appearance at the right of Christ in the Last Supper by Da Vinci, along with other stuff which generated the book's title, did hook us for a while. We even surfed the net to read the "Gospel of Philip" and other writings from the Nag Hammadi Library, some 13 texts from the early Christian era (~300-400 AD) discovered in Egypt in 1945. We see other reviewers similarly researched the secret societies and other "facts" proposed within the novel. Indeed, the author's clever interlacing of fiction and non-fiction does add to the book's appeal.

In the end though, it is equally clear that much of what is passed along as fact is little better than supposition. We are personally constantly amazed and confounded that while thousands of relics and possessions of famous Egyptians from 5000 years ago are extant and well preserved, that not one shard of the personal property of Jesus survives to this day. One would think that anything remotely connected to him would have been considered so sacred and so valuable that hundreds of artifacts would have been salvaged and serve as "proof" of the many facts circulated about his life and deeds. Alas, such is not the case.

We think most readers will enjoy this novel. Its subject matter is just unusual enough to give us more than a few pauses about what we "believe" or thought we knew about Christianity. The mystery storyline and race/chase after the Holy Grail were probably not that well crafted, and left us feeling a little less satisfied with the book when we had finished than when we were reading. Maybe the inconclusive ending is what shortchanged our senses. In sum, "Code" is a good book, worth our while, even if one not destined for ultimate greatness.

Rating:
Summary: "Bestseller" does not equal "great"
Review: This book proves why the term "bestseller" should not be equated with the term "greatness." Bestseller just means that many people have heard about a book and decided to go take the chance and buy it.

If you take this book at pure fictional value, then it is a decent suspense. But, it hardly deserves the accolades and the attention it is getting. Controversial? Yes.
A masterfully crafted work of art? No. There are many "movie" type action sequences and convenient escapes by our protagonists; it becomes a bit cliched to the reader after a certain point.

This, for the most part, was a slow read that was tough to get through because of its lack of depth. The only deep part of the book is the seemingly endless "facts" that are discussed about Da Vinci, the church, the Holy Grail and this amazing code that has seemingly no end to it. The characters are constantly trying to solve the code, but the process of bringing these facts to play is absurd. And these "facts" are really not real facts (only facts for the sake of the book).

Much of the dialogue, combined with stereotyped good guy/ bad guy situations, make for a mediocre story. The protagonists manage to just get by the bumbling police, who manage to blow several key opportunities to get them. It would not have been surprising to hear the police captain scream "Don't blow this case" to a lowly, but eager rookie officer who wanted in on the chance to nab our heroes. The characters are either evil and corrupt, or good and benevolent; it is as simple as black and white.

If there is an aspect that should be applauded it is Brown's ability to take many aspects of history (as factious as they are) and attempt to intertwine them into the plot of a story. But, these attempts fail because they beg too many convenient coincidences, and the authenticity of the characters is seriously lacking as a result.

This book will probably end up being some major motion picture in a few years, with big stars and a big budget.

As far as being a unique work of fiction, this fails.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely hard to put down once you start!
Review: This is a great suspense book that really keeps you on your toes! The basic outline is that a museum curator gets murdered and a cryptic message left via the Mona Lisa. His cryptologist granddaughter, Sophie, must then try and decipher the code and figure out who killed her grandfather.

I don't want to give anything more away, you really have to read it for yourself! The book is gripping and really makes you think. It gives you the codes to try and crack yourself along with Sophie. It also is chock full of information about history and art, this book ended up being quite educational!

I highly recommend this book.. the plot twists and turns will keep you on the edge of your seat! Believe me, once you start reading it you won't be able to put it down!

Rating:
Summary: Totally Agree w/For The Ignorant...
Review: Mary's Review on The Da Vince Code

Very well said, reader from the Bronx! I read this book because I was excited to hear that someone had finally written a fantastic novel combined w/Christian history.

I must say that I did find the book to be a page-turner but was disappointed with the ending. But, I am at least glad to know that it may spark an interest in people to get off of their butts and search for the TRUTH! It's out there for anyone who wants to sort through the many, many layers of muck...

If you are hungry for knowledge and are confused about Christianity, read "The New Dance of Christ" by Anthony T Massimini. It's a good place to begin your quest for understanding your Christian culture and the Christian psyche. It's wonderful read and although Massimini is promoting Christianity and trying to save it from extinction, you can draw your own conclusions with the "FACTS" that he demonstrates in the very well written book...

I wonder how many people realize that much of the mindset of Christianity stems directly from Plato's philosophy? Or that much of what is taught to Christians about its origins is Only A Shadow (pun intended! ;-)) of the truth?

If you are really serious about understanding your Christian heritage, read The New Dance Of Christ. It's a wonderful read-a real page-turner AND, you can be sure that what you are reading is REAL HISTORICITY...

Rating:
Summary: For the ignorant...
Review: If you study any religious history or art history you would know
this book is aimed at convincing only the ignorant they are reading great religious insights.

If you want to read a critisism on Christianity then read Neitzsche, so even if you beleive in Christianity you
have read an inteligent critisism not a totally rediculous
account of Christianity and art.

Rating:
Summary: decent, but dragging
Review: I had told my friend how much I had wanted to read this book. I must've been crazy or something. And she just came to school the next day with a huge box in her hands and gave it to me. Yes, this book is not cheap. Borrow it before you buy it. Please, it's a waste of your money.

First off, I am Christian, and I knew I'd be insulted by the book, but nevertheless I started reading it. If you're Christian, I suggest you count to a 100 a couple times, bang your head against the wall and realize this book is going to contradict everything you've ever believed.

The book is entirely biased, which isn't suprising since it is a piece of fiction. But it annoyed me to a certain point.

The middle and towards the end of the book was so boring and dragging, I fell asleep, more than twice. Descriptive, that's great, elaborating, that's fine, dragging, I hate.

It's sort of like the latest Harry Potter book, dragging and boring, but you read it because everyone said it was good.

One part disturbed me a whole lot. People say that I'm pretty immature to say this, but it was a whole lot disturbing. I don't really know why I thought of it as disturbing, since many other books have similar situations, but the fact that it was some book that was dealing with a serious situation it sort of ticked me off.

It's well written, if not, I would've given it a 1 or less than that. I usually read books over and over again. I don't plan on touching this book again any time soon.

Rating:
Summary: Badly written book
Review: This book started out with some promise, but before long I decided it was poorly plotted, poorly researched and poorly written. Some have compared it's pacing to that of a Saturday matinee serial, but I've seen much more compelling Flash Gordon serials. Langdon and Sophie were absolutely flat on the page, without even enough life to be called caricatures. The "revelations" were without any emotional component and were dryly retold through narrative. The codes were so simplistic that I figured out most of them before Langdon or Sophie. This is like a "paint by numbers" suspense novel, but without the numbers. I think the book panders to its audience by giving readers who aren't educated in religious history or art history the illusion that they're reading something intellectual. Although certainly one of those rare publishing "phenomenas", I'm not even sure this one deserves a space on the bookshelf next to BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY or JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL. Harry Potter, where are you???