The Da Vinci Code

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Summary: The Da Vinci Code, a master piece of words
Review: The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is a well-written suspense novel that keeps the reader guessing with what is going to happen next. The Da Vinci Code is a masterpiece of words put together so carefully as not to leave out any details. The story starts out in Paris, France with a murder of Jacque Saunière, the head curator at Le Louvre. This crime scene is so different from the rest; Jacques Saunière positioned himself like a pentacle, a five-sided star. Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu become involved because their are both well-known cryptologists. Throughout the whole story Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu discover more and more why this unusual crime scene happened and why they are involved. Connections with the Holy Grail, Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, Leonardo Da Vinci, and so many other people and places that bring this novel to life.
I suggest this novel to people who enjoy suspense, to any religious person seeking to test their faith, and to anybody who enjoys art. There are many aspects of this novel that will make anybody go hmmm and it is always interesting to see masterpieces done by the artist mentioned in the book in a whole different way. Any readers who read this book will start to look at the world around them and wonder what is true or what are just simple "white lies." This novel analyzes each masterpiece mentioned so that no artwork is ever the same; it is so interesting to look up the piece and actually see what has been discovered on each particular piece. I suggest that anybody who reads this book take the time to look up all that is brought up; it makes the novel even more real. I give this book two thumbs up and a must read!

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Summary: It may change every thing you thought you knew!
Review: I am sure most of the reviews have given this book great accolades and it is not by accident because the book is that good!

Having recently read Deception Point (a totally excellent thriller from start to finish), by Brown it took me a little while to get into this book. It starts off a little bit slow compared to the other book, but it takes off in a new direction. It involves a treasure hunt of sorts as Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu follow ingenious clues in search one of the most famous hidden religious secrets of all time. Meanwhile, they are being pursued by the French Police (for a murder they did not commit) and a zealous religious sect that will stop at nothing to ensure that the secret is destroyed before it is revealed to the world.

Brown has put a lifetime of research into this well written and thought provocative story. He explains the symbolism in many of Leonardo Da Vinci's works and other famous artists throughout history including Walt Disney!

I am surprised that this book is not talked about like the film, "Last Temptation of Christ," since a lot of what it talks about is totally different than what is being taught by the various churches.

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Summary: Typical Ivy League feminist-marxist theory
Review: So much has been said about this book... I will just poing out some serious flaws I noted.

1) In the typical marxist fashion, too many ideas and concepts are presented as dichotomies. Endlessly, Christianity and Christian Europe is presented as "masculine" and has directly suppressed previous "feminine" religious concepts that existed in Pre-Christian Europe. While this is a tiresome theme within the halls of academia, the ignorance portrayed here is startling. Did this author ever read Nietzsche? Pagan Europe was one of a tremendous variety of gods and religions. The chief criticisms of monotheistic religions (or dualistic religions as the author seems to favor) is that they present a limited number of ideals to the people. Rather than the tremendous variety of ideals (and human characteristics) that existed in the classical world, the author seems to believe there was only a masculine and feminine ideal. This is false.

2) The second major critique of Christianity is that it supplants normal masculine behavior with feminine behavior. Feminism, despite its endless ramblings, still has an extremely limited understand of what masculinity truly is. A truly masculine religion would not condemn violence, demand monogamy, and trivialize creativity.

3) If the reproductive aspect of femininity was truly repressed in the world, the human population would not be increasing at such precipitous rate. The god of war has always been a part of more natural religions due to the understanding that death and destruction is a part of life. Too much life is what throws the world out of balance, and only through death can that balance be restored. Despite the authors anti-christian ramblings, his lack of appreciation of war, violence, and killing is ultimately a very christian moralism.

4) The discussion of symbols is so trite I was laughing hysterically. Also in a typical feminist fashion, sexuality is portrayed as dominant aspect of life, including symbols and language. When will they learn it is females who are obsessed with sexuality, not the other way around?

I would have much preferred the authors discussiong of the Swastika than the Lambda symbol which he could not even identify as such. That symbol is used on military uniforms because it was the symbol of Sparta(...). Further, such simplistic symbols are hardly as meaningful as the author wishes us to believe.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: This is a great book that is worth reading. The whole concept regarding DaVinci is very intriguing and you do not run cross many dull moments in the story. The whole ordeal makes you wonder and think about what may have happened. Some people have a problem regarding some of the facts presented but readers must keep in mind that this book is fiction, not meant to be taken as fact.

Its a great novel full of action and suspense. I have not read any other works by Dan Brown, but may start now.

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Summary: Ripping off Umberto Eco
Review: This book was way over-rated. And anyone who reads books knows that this series is a rip off of an Umberto Eco novel, Foucault's Pendulum! Needless to say, it sadly does not come close to the real thing!

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Summary: Inspiring! The Da Vinci Code can make you rich!
Review: This book proves that anyone with low-level writing skills can write a best-seller. Just make sure that you name-drop as much as possible, and that your main character is on the edge of disaster the entire novel.

The book does have some interesting trivia, but the author could easily have listed the trivia in 2-3 pages, and spared me the other 250.

Rating:
Summary: Great thriller
Review: This is a great fiction book, for those who see it as just that, fiction. It takes you on a quest for the Holy Grail, which , in the book, turns out to be the quest for the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, though symbology in DaVinci's work, among others. If you follow it as a work of fiction, you will be amazed by the possibilities. If you take it as "truth" then you might feel betrayed by what you thought you knew. I recommend you do not try to change history through this book. I'm sure a lot of historians will agree. This book will keep you going until the last minute; couldn't put it down! I definitely recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Good start, mediocre finish
Review: I really liked the start of the book with a lot of historical detail and intrigue about real organizations. As the book goes on, however, it gets more and more trite and predictable. The characters are not very well developed and you don't really care about them. It turns out more like a soap opera than a really good book. It is very readable, however.

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Summary: ignoring an issue
Review: everybody keeps talking about this dumb book

but what about this charge of racism?

why are y'all ignoring this Q?

Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: I never would have picked this book to read, but after seeing the clear split of those who hated the book and those that loved it and why, I bought it. That it has stirred such controversy is interesting, particularly since the ideas the author presents have been around for a very long time. Some readers appear to be deeply offended by the storyline. All the better I say, makes you think doesn't it? Whether you choose to believe or even consider the validity of the storyline, if you enjoy a thought provoking book the DaVinci Code is a must read!