Rating: 
Summary: Not the Simple Cup of a Carpenter
Review: I'm a big fan of Spielberg's Indian Jones movies and when I think of the Holy Grail, I just naturally think of the Simple Cup of a Carpenter depicted in the third movie. The Carpenter's Cup however is not Dan Brown's vision of the Grail. He sees something that will change the course of Christianity, perhaps crush it. His Grail is something the Church wants to suppress, something one age old secret society desperately wants and another desperately wants to protect. And directing things in from the background is a man who calls himself the teacher, whose motives are personal.That said, the book opens with the murder of the last man who knows the Grail's hiding place. The secret has been passed down for hundreds of years and the dying man leaves clues for his granddaughter, Sophie Neveu, who is a cryptographer for the Judicial Police. Working with Harvard Professor, Robert Langdon, Sophie has to interpret the several clues her dying grandfather left even as they flee from the police, the agents of the Church, the Teacher's pet killer and assorted others who are after them, the Grail and it's secrets. Dan Brown has created one fine read that will have you going to Google checking his facts and looking for other DaVinci clues he could've used in this book that will have you reading the night away. Jack Priest, Writer from the Darkside
Rating:
Summary: Simply amazing..........
Review: This was my first encounter with Dan Brown's writing, and it certainly will not be my last. This is one of those rare novels that gets you to think about your own beliefs, and has you racing to the internet for background information. Being non-religious myself, I found myself looking for information on the Holy Grail, and the way that Dan Brown interprets the Bible. Prepare to be impressed with his character development, and the history involved in his writing.
Rating:
Summary: Nonstop Scavenger Hunt, Chase Scene
Review: Museum curator Jacques Saunière is running for his life. In the Grand Gallery of the Louvre he rips a painting from the wall, an alarm goes off, bars clang down, sealing him in and away from his attacker, an albino named Silas, but the attacker shoots him through the bars, wounding him. Silas is after a centuries old secret and he offers to spare Saunière if he talks, Saunière lies, but the lie is a good one and the Albino believes him, then leaves him to die with a belly wound. Jacques is desperate to pass his secret on, but only to his granddaughter, Sophie Neveu, a cryptographer with the DCPJ (Direction Centrale Police Judiciaire) the Judicial Police, the French equivalent of the FBI. So he uses his remaining few minutes to strip naked, then he draws a circle around himself with an ultraviolet pen and positions himself like DaVinci's most famous drawing, "The Vitruvian Man," knowing Sophie will see his body and figure out his first of many clues. The Judicial Police summon Robert Langdon, a Harvard Professor of Religious Symbology, who is lecturing in Paris, to interpret the crime scene, but unknown to Langdon, they suspect him as he was supposed to meet with Saunière later that evening. Sophie gets Langdon away from the cops and thus begins a book long scavenger hunt, chase scene that you'll be telling your friends about for months to come. I'm sitting here at my iBook trying to think of how best to describe Dan Brown's writing. It's fast, sure. Historically accurate, yes. Descriptive, without a doubt. But none of that really gets across what I'm trying to say. Maybe I can make a comparison, Dan Brown writes like a cross between a young Robert Ludlum on speed and a young Frederick Forsyth on steroids. There is a reason why this book is the worldwide, number one bestseller, and if you haven't read it yet, you should. Reviewed by Captain Katie Osborne
Rating: 
Summary: Good Story Poorly Handled
Review: The mix of reviews here is an accurate index of what this book offers. If all you want is a fun mystery and conspiracy story based on intriguing and alleged secrets in the history of Christianity, you'll get it. Discerning readers will be disappointed. The book reads like a Marvel Comic stirred up with soap opera and B movie scripts. Believable characters, action and dialogue - in short, good writing - would make it far more worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Great book club choice!
Review: Our book club read this book this past month. It sparked a lot of conversation and we all found it very interesting. You know a book is good when the majority of people reading it felt compelled to stay up really late every night reading until they finished it. In other words, we could not put it down. The codes were so interesting. Hight recommend this one.
Rating: 
Summary: A fine novelization of the book HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL
Review: Taking the research and ground work done in the non-fiction book
Holy Blood - Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh; Dan Brown weaves a wonderful murder mystery and fine novelization of the facts uncovered in this earlier work. Read The DaVinci Code, and then read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, to see where it all started.
Rating:
Summary: Breaking the code...
Review: I carried a copy of this book with me to the seminary one day and was asked by one of my fellow students, 'How can you read that? It is so anti-catholic, isn't it?' Yes, there is an anti-catholic undercurrent here. It is part of the artistic license of an author to be able to get away with such things -- is it the author, or the stories and characters in the plot that are to blame? In fact, without the anti-catholic strand running through this novel, it loses some credibility; just as a show without the character you-love-to-hate would be diminished, so too would this novel. And that is how I have treated this (given that I generally have an anti-anti-catholic bias) -- it is a piece of the novel, and thus a piece of fiction. Often the pieces of history that would support this anti-catholic bias are historically inaccurate, and any good editor could catch them -- this is part of why I must view it as intended to be part of the fiction, rather than an essential element of the author's intention. As a diatribe against Catholicism specifically or religion generally, it would be a failure. As it is, The Da Vinci Code is an intriguing mystery novel with interesting characters and fascinating plot development. It reminds me in certain respects of Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose', with intricate plot developments that hinge on history, art, symbols, and mystery that might never be discerned. We have secret societies and great historical secrets here. The Priory of Sion (an actual ancient society) is featured, being the same society to which the murder victim (an art historian and museum director at the Louvre) and Da Vinci both belonged -- the secrets are handed down from age to age, and yet, appear in plain sight (through art work of Da Vinci, no less) for those clever enough, or with sufficient initiation into the gnostic knowledge, to understand. Age-old mysteries such as what exactly the Mona Lisa is smiling at, and what is the secret of the Holy Grail, get intertwined as the deepening mystery takes our hero Robert Langdon and heroine Sophie Neveu through Europe past and present. There is an element of Indiana Jones here, too, who had his own secret society trying to protect the secrets of the Grail. Also, the authorities are after the duo becomes the object of suspicion (due to Langdon's name being found in the final message of the murder victim, Sauniere) in addition to being the ones sorting out the mysteries. Again, reminiscent of Eco, there are multiple mysteries in multiple layers here. Symbols, language and linguistics, codes, and historical mysteries crop up on a regular basis as the chase commences in Paris and proceeds apace to London. There have been other murders! There are other issues involved! Is history about to be rewritten? Just what is history? In classic style, the real mystery is not who did the killing (although I'm not going to tell you that here, anyway), but rather why the murder (and the other murders) took place. This is the kind of book that draws one in and asks to be read again to make sure clues were not missed and dropped along the way. There is a relatively tight weave here, without too many loose ends. A good read, an intelligent mystery -- just remember, this is a work of fiction.
Four and a half stars.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: This book is one of the better books I have read in some time. A good book gives you a plot that makes you want to keep reading. A very good book makes you think about the book when you set it down and days after reading it. The DaVinci angle is very good. Only complaint of the book is the main characters never sleep or eat and solve some of the great mystery on the fly. The author could have allowed them a break somewhere between Europe and England for a bath and potty break. The main character is awoken at midnight after a long day and never stops. I enjoyed the book and hopefully you will also... Also noticed where the main stream media are starting to talk about if Jesus was married now, I bet this book has raised that question.
Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced and Action-packed
Review: Certainly The Da Vinci Code is a very easy read indeed. Each chapter is a cliff-hanger, so it's nearly impossible to put the book down in good conscience. It is a thriller on a higher level than most, it is intellectual to some extent. To many readers, it opens up a whole new way of perceiving history, and it is sure to augment your interest in art history. However, it is a book somewhat intended for the mass market. To intellectuals, it is a good read about an interesting subject; to the less informed it's an epiphone. I must admit that in places, Dan Brown goes a bit overboard with his message, but the main gist of the book is captivating. It isn't that his message is something new; movies like The Last Temptation of Christ deal with a similar subject, but Dan Brown puts his message in a form much more friendly to the masses by writing a hard-to-put-down thriller. Even if you don't agree with Brown, it's still a good read.
Rating:
Summary: A light in the darkness
Review: I loved this book. Not only are you getting an exciting suspense thriller you're getting information that can only light a darkened hallway of new choice in religion and history. This book will thrill you and educate you.
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