Rating: 
Summary: An entertaining read, raises broader questions
Review: Having never read any of Dan Brown's work, I found this one a page-turner. Filled with historical, artistic, and mathematical allusions, especially to the expansive genius of Leonardo Da Vinci, it is also somewhat educational.When I say the book raises great questions, this is not to say I have checked out every "fact" purported in the novel. I haven't, because I'm not looking to this as a primary historical text! Also, as an amateur student of history, I know it takes a while (sometimes forever) for even historians to agree about what is an "undisputed" fact in recent history, much less in early centuries A.D.! After reading this, if you conclude that a egalitarian utopia perhaps existed before the Catholic Church, I think (as a self-described pro-equality Catholic woman) you would be mistaken. That would seem unlikely. However, on the other hand, it is ALSO highly unlikely that biblical editors in the early centuries somehow shed their political biases even when God appeared before them. It makes sense that oft-male biblical editors(imperfectly) processed the divine message through a human mind born of that particular time and place. So in a wonderful and unique sense, Brown is on point! And this is a very RELEVANT insight( and one I rarely expected from a fun novel!): Societies are never perfect. Religions, however, OFFER images of perfection to which whole societies sometimes aspire. Whoever controls these images (whoever edited the official Bible, for ex.), therefore, has more power than you might first think, because they assist us in forming ideals and imagining the possibilities of the way we could/should live. So, if religion is symbolically that powerful -- could it be that, perhaps, just PERHAPS, a religion that lacks a symbolically equal, powerful woman will make certain things -- such as a female priesthood -- difficult to attain? Also makes sense that something is missing from Christian symbolism. After all, do you really think a religion that is borne of the Divine being (or at least mystic being) of Jesus Christ could be really so impoverished of any talk of basic male-female egalitarianism, justice? Unlikely, so could it be that part of the message was just corrupted over centuries in the telling and re-telling of the message by the human, sometimes not-so-holy ones? Thank you Dan Brown for raising questions like these (not providing hard and fact answers) in an accessible format.
Rating:
Summary: A religious thriller anyone can be entertained by
Review: I was recommended "The Da Vinci Code" by a friend of mine who said that in spite of its religious subject, it was a great read and a great thriller/mystery. She was absolutely right. If you like thrillers but aren't into alternative religious studies, you will still like this book. "Da Vinci Code" is so strong as an adventure story, you don't have to be into any of the main characters' favorite subjects to enjoy it. It does help, however, to be interested by the mental twists and turns of the conspiracy theories, obscure history and anti-establishment viewpoints expressed here. It also helps to have a good vocabulary or a good dictionary -- the main characters are all academics, and they speak and think as such. In a nutshell, this book is a great ride for the nerdier crowd, but still plenty adventurous enough for the regular thriller reader to stay tuned in.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: The Da Vinci Code is the best book I have read in recent memory. From the first page Brown enthralls you in a mystery involving an ancient religious order, the Vatican, and a secret society which has been headed by famed people such as Da Vinci, Boticelli, and others. The book is, without giving too much away, about a quest for the Holy Grail and the age-old conflict between science and religion. As our heroes, a Harvard professor and a French cryptographer, search for the answers to a murder and the clues left behind, an extremist sect of the church seeks to destroy all evidence of that which our heroes seek, and the heroes themselves. The best part about the book is that Brown thoroughly researches every aspect of this story. All references and premises are based in fact!
Rating: 
Summary: The Da Vinci Code
Review: For all of Dan Brown's "remarkable research and detail" I was lost at Chapter 3 when he "skimmed south past the Opera House and entered the Place Vendome" on his way to the Louvre. The last time I looked, the Hotel Ritz was in the Place Vendome and the Opera House was several blocks north in the wrong direction from the Louvre. So, why did the gendarmerie drive Mr. Langdon north from the Ritz around the Opera House, then south through the Place Vendome past the Ritz to reach the Louvre? Applying the Magellanic Code of Circumnavigation, I have come up with three possibilities: a) Langdon was really staying at the Ritz Best Western which is located north of the Opera House near the airport; b)2+2 really does equal 5; or c) someone didn't consult a map of Paris as part of the research for this book. It sort of spoiled the rest of the story for me.
Rating:
Summary: The Feminine Returns
Review: Brilliant! A Priceless piece of art.
Restoring the much needed feminine balance in our world today would heal this planet. This book will creates waves of changing people's outlook and thought patterns...it will touch many.
Rating: 
Summary: An amazing.... piece of tripe...
Review: OK. Lots of people have appropriately eviscerated portions of this book for being (often eggregriously) inaccurate. However, it's marked as fiction, and not non-fiction, so I don't see why that would prove surprising. At it's best, in terms of analogies, I would think this is fictionally equivalent to the movie "JFK". In other words, potentially intriguing, mostly enjoyable, but horrifically flawed in terms of the interconnection of key 'facts.' With that being said, the I actually found this book to be patently absurd for reasons specific to its fictional elements within the Thriller genre. Essentially, the *entire* book comes down to this sequence (in broad generalizations so as not to spoil it anymore than other reviews have): * <<initial setup>> * Arrive at Location
* Pontificate in a manner and breadth that no human ever would
* <<repeat steps 2-3 incessantly>> * <<conclusion>> Oh yes, and all of this is done in one day, with no appreciable, discernible, inferrential loss of stamina or lucidity among the primary protagonists. It's stultifyingly amazing! Perhaps instead of a 'thriller' for his next book, Dan Brown could write a fitness manual that prescribes the appropriate mix of exercise and gensing to achieve and maintain these levels. NOW that would be a book worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Remember it's FICTION
Review: I thought that this was a very well written book. It's full of interesting riddles, puzzles and intrigue; it's a real page turner. Dan Brown obviously knew that he'd sell a lot of books when he wrote about such a controversial topic.
The danger in this book lies in the fact that some people might read this book and be tempted to think that some of it is true.
The author has put in just enought "facts" that people might somehow think there could be truth in this.
I spent more time researching the subject matter in this book than I did reading it; far more. I suggest that anyone who is tempted to believe the premise of this book should do the same.
I don't want to wreck any part of this book for someone who hasn't read it yet; but I think it's important to put out there one of the many pieces of research I found.
The main person this book revolves around is Mary Magdalene. The author states that she is portrayed in the Bible as a prostitute and how this is a cruel thing that man has done to degrade her and women etc. etc. If Dan Brown would have bothered to even pick up a Bible when he was doing all of his so called research he would have found out this major point of his book was totally false.
Within two minutes of picking up a Bible that has a concordance and looking up Mary Magdalene, you will find out the Mary who was the prostitute, (who washed Jesus' feet with her hair) is NOT even Mary Magdalene. They are two different people. This is only one of the many incorrect suppositions in this book. I couldn't possibly list them all the the 1,000 words I'm allowed for this review.
I don't want to make more of this book than what it's supposed to be, but I guess I'm disturbed by the number of people on here and the internet who have said 'this book makes them think that there could be some truth to this.'
The only thing people should be thinking is true about this book is that it's an entertaining piece of fiction.
And for the record, I have bought literally hundreds of books from Amazon and have never written a review. I usually have no trouble separating fact from fiction. I am not having trouble separating it in this book. I'm troubled by people who may. This book is receiving a tremendous amount of press and apparently some people have found enough small truths in this book to get them thinking the rest of it might be true also. Please take this book for what it is, FICTION.
Rating: 
Summary: There's a formula to it
Review: I have read other books by Dan Brown and it seems he has a formula to his plots. Don't read the rest of this if you don't want to spoil the book. The formula goes like this: guy & a hot chick find something in the earth shattering category and have to tell the world about it. The guy and girl are being chased by a bad guy lackey for said item that could shatter the world. The bad guy lackey is actually being controlled by the person who they run to for help early on/mid way in the book. I do like his books but since I discovered this pattern, I read them for the details he puts in.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended Actors
Review: Robert Langdon = Kevin Spacey (looks a little like Dan Brown?)
Sophie: Juliette Binoche
Silas, the albino = bulked up Dennis Hurley
Teabring, The Teacher - Lee Evans I (Something About Mary fame)
Bishop = Alfred Molina
French Police Capt = David Suchet (previously mentioned Hercule Poirot actor)
Grandpa? = distinguished older French Actor... hmmm Jean-Pierre Léaud???
Rating:
Summary: Decent entertainment but historically inaccurate
Review: I read this book, believe it or not, for a history class at the University of California, Berkeley. The plot was fairly entertaining, and it was readable to a degree that I was able to finish most of it at the last minute (ahhh the college years). This is why it gets two stars. The problem is that it furthers an unfounded, oversimplistic, and extremely dangerous view of history. I've read that reviewers go on to brag that they have checked the information in the book via the internet. Well that's great, but SCHOLARS DON'T PUBLISH ON THE INTERNET. Half-baked conspiracy theorists do. Chances are you would find pages and pages filled with "evidence" supporting the goddess theory and the rest of Brown's claims, when the truth is that source material, combined with a little bit of common sense, propose a far more complex and realistic picture. Could a logical thinker truly assume that, before Christianity, everybody was enlightened and happy in a society in which there was equality between the sexes? Medieval Christianity had many abuses, but the truth is that the spread of Christianity through the Roman empire was actually associated with many advances in the condition of women. Bottom line: If you want an enteraining read, feel free to indulge (although I can think of a few books i'd rather read). But don't take any of Brown's claims seriously.
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