The Da Vinci Code

Rating:
Summary: Christians Beware
Review: The first half of the book is well-written and very interesting. Beyond that, I couldn't finish what I thought was a great thriller. In good conscience, I couldn't keep reading beyond the blasphemy of Christianity and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I sent my copy to the dump.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but I was expecting something more...
Review: I will not deny that this was an engrossing read--I, like many other readers, was unable to put this book down. Nevertheless, I was somehow expecting something more. I don't really know what, but as fascinating as this story was, something fell short. Maybe it was that the villain wasn't very villanous (and indeed his aims were arguably admirable). Or maybe it was that the book wasn't long enough. The Da Vinci Code is the type of thriller with a masterful exposition that quickly fizzles into 200 pages of less-inspired but still intriguing writing. I don't know. But it's a good read, even if it isn't perfect.

Rating:
Summary: A total knockout!
Review: I can't believe how great this novel is. I literally opened the book and fell into it. It the fastest, best told story I read all year. It will totally suck you in!

Also recommended: [e-mail] by tom grimes, the losers' club by richard perez

Rating:
Summary: The DaVinci Code
Review: This is THE must read book. I fell in love with it right from the start, and it is now my favorite. If you are only going to buy one book, this is the one to get. It perfectly combines just the right amount of intellect, danger, and history in one fantastic novel. I have not a single bad thing to say about it, other than the fact that it doesnt continue for eternity. I absolutely loved this book, and would recommend it for anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Simply dreadful
Review: I am amazed that no other reviewer has even commented on the shockingly incongruent battle scene involving Langdon, Sophie and the sinister Father Fabrizio Canteloppi, the nunchuk wielding Bishop of Barcelona.

Why did author Dan Brown include this highly unusual battle sequence in the first place? It serves no purpose, it is quite confusing and there is absolutely no resolution or further mention of it at the novel's completion. A loose end that was never tied up in this reviewer's highly qualified opinion.

During a break in the novel's action, Langdon and Sophie are hastily consuming common American food fare and American champagne (Coca-Cola) in one of their ubiquitous golden arched restaurants that spoils our otherwise pristine city of Paris. They are suddenly, savagely and quite inexplicably attacked by Canteloppi, nunchuks a-flying. How revolting.

Did Brown really need to write nearly six pages of mind-bogglingly detailed descriptions of the ensuing carnage? Pickles flying, people screaming, battered lettuce strewn everywhere, abused condiments staining patron's clothing and several innocent bystanders being horrifically pummeled by flying fried potato slivers? Was this all necessary? I think not.

Had this been a film, no doubt the sinister Father Fabrizio Cantelloppi would have had mismatched American dubbed dialogue over his sonorous Italian voice. The residents of the forty-eight contiguous states of North America will read anything apparently.

Two stars for featuring our gorgeous city of lights as the bastion of superior culture that it truly is.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I really enjoyed this book.
I was done in less than two days.
I liked the chapter being short as one has to cook and tend to the kids as well.
It is amazing what da Vinci left behind. It is amazing what this novel reveals.
One is tempted to stop the read and start doing research immediately .If there is only half of the facts described real facts, it is simply unbelievable.
I am debating to give up another weekend for another Dan Brown.

Rating:
Summary: Dan spins another fine novel
Review: Once again, Dan Brown has spun a great story with lots of twists and turns.
It was hard to believe that Langdon's friend Tebring was actually playing the other side of the line. I never would have guessed it.
I wasn't sure initially about Sophie at the beginning (and neither, I might add, was Robert), but she turned out to be a "very cool customer". She knows her job, does it well, and manages to stay personal and emotional throughout the book.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Decoding the Conspiracy of Culture
Review: As a member of a secret society similar in structure and intent to the Priory of Sion, an organization pivotal to the plot, I heartily recommend this book to all students of the Mysteries. Under the guise of writing a detective novel, Dan Brown explores the mysteries of the uncanny role played by Phi and the Fibonacci number series in organizing Western conceptions of art and nature, the dominance of authoritarian patriarchal religious systems such as Judaism, Chrisitianity, and Islam during the last millenia and a half, and the re-emergence of feminine conceptions of the divine in an age of transnational corporations and nuclear weapons. Guaranteed to shake up your world view. To shake it up even more, read The Christ Conspiracy by my friend, archaeologist, historian, mythologist, and linguist, Acharya S. Her book assembles an enormous amount of startling evidence to demonstrate that Christianity and the story of Jesus Christ were created by members of various secret societies, mystery schools and religions in order to unify the Roman Empire under one state religion.

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling and Scary
Review: Dan Brown is amazing!! His writing is very easy to follow and the story completely consumes you!! The reality of the story was so scary!! Makes you think twice about life in general!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining But Silly
Review: I have to give Brown credit as a mystery writer--he does keep the pages turning; however, the Da Vinci Code is one of the most overrated books of the year, and certainly not one of Brown's better efforts.

One of the most disappointing features of this book was his repeated representation of fiction as fact. Was he deliberately misleading or was this simply the result of sloppy research? The only reason I suspect the former was that, in his conclusion, he seemed to accept the veracity of the "sacred feminine" nonsense, along with all of the other attendant (and unoriginal) puerilities.