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Summary: IS RELIGION THE BIGGEST SCAM EVER?
Review: Yes, there is a plot and the characters, and the heroes but it all takes a secondary place to the history of civilization and religions. Frankly, I was not thrilled by the plot but I did not care. Plot was just the background for the real story. I knew bits and pieces of what Dan Brown presented in the book but I have never saw this information so well put together. How did he do it? He made no mistakes in his information and the assesments of it and the real history supports it.Yes, all religions are full of questionable wholes. You read the "Holy" books and you have problems to digest them. But when you ask a question, the answer would take you back to the mystery of God. Why is the mystery? Was there an explanation? If it could be explained, why was not it? If it could not be explained, did it really happen as we were told? Yes, all religions, over the years, were "cleaned up" and "adjusted" in accordance with the specific situation, culture, historical events, the local customs and the desires of the rulling class. God always helped to rule. God always help the rullers to keep the rulled under control. No, God had nothing to do with any of the "Holly" books. People wrote them, people compiled them and people enforced them. How many people died a violent death because of these books and because of these intrapretations of what God said and what God meant and how we should serve him. Or, is it her? Dan Brown collected the wealth of information and he presented it extremely well. Read it and think of what it said or did not say. Thank you Mr. Brown.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: A great book. A very pleasant surprise. I finished it very fast and kept awake to finish it. I liked its use of puzzles, a great historical perspective and its gripping pace. The twists and turns are truly amazing. Very well crafted. I also liked its perspective on the current state of the world and how by incorporating elements of compassion we can improve. A 'must read'.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasure
Review: A pleasure to read. It's a fictional book meant to entertain, that's all. And that it does. Another book that gives me pleasure, that I also re-read this week is, The Little Guide To Happiness. Funny book.
Rating: 
Summary: Brain dead thriller
Review: This is perhaps one of the most embarrassingly stupid books ever conceived. Not only is information concerning da Vinci's art inaccurate from an art historical standpoint, as confirmed by the Times, but the book's vicious attacks on Opus Dei are so far removed from reality as to make the book libelous. The author can't get simple unrelated facts straight either-- Robert Hanson never had a "much publicized trial," there was in fact no trial at all, he simply plead guilty. There is no space here for the countless egregious errors in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Madman
Review: What a piece of anti-Catholic psycho-babble junk. The author attempts to fuse feminism and mysticism with a conspiracy run by the Vatican. My wife gave it to me for Father's Day and I worked my way through it hoping something interesting would happen. My sister then gave it to me for my birthday and I refused it. The writing is terrible. If this is what the popular novel has come to it is another sign that the apocalypse is upon us.
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Summary: I must break my silence.
Review: I wanted to like it. No, I really did -- it was recommended in such glowing terms, so many whispers and knowing looks passed between those who had ventured before... when I sat down to read it, I was ready to devour it. And I did. However, rather than the fine feast, the rarified treat, that I'd been promised, I found instead a food court that offered m.s.g. laden Lo Mein, soggy buns wilting beneath ketchupy barbeque: a grotesque, sloppy affair that left me feeling bloated, tricked and saddened by the low standards employed by the reading public when they plunk down $30 for a new hardcover. Having spent a number of years selling books, I came to embrace the idea that just because a book is popular, it isn't necessarily bad (of course, a book's obscurity in no way implies high quality). It is so frustrating, however, when a bad book makes good. Maybe it was popular because it was summertime, and because it was a VERY quick read, and because everyone was talking about it, maybe it was a strain of Emperor's New Clothes Syndrome. But how does that explain the book's continuing popularity? How did it cross the equinoctial border that divides summer reading from autumnal brooding? More than anything, "The Da Vinci Code" reminded me of a paint-by-numbers -- the grass is # 5, the sky is #2. All the tires "screech," all the heights are "dizzying." It was written as though Mr. Brown had consulted (studied) a manual on thriller writing, and had then written 17 blocks of boilerplate text that were swapped around for the next 200 pages. In my Libran way, however, I must balance everything I've said by mentioning that the characters (innocuous as a pile of mashed potatoes) all seemed like pretty decent people, which was nice. Even the bad guys were not without a certain (transparent) nobility. The twists and turns were mostly excruciatingly obvious, but the larger story caught me by surprise, which was fun, and I even said aloud, "oh, it's one of these stories," and read on with much less impatience. The inconsistencies in historical accuracy seemed no worse than those committed by television anchor people on an almost daily basis. I'm hoping that the ideas presented in the book help change voting patterns or throw a little slack into the stiff pedagogy of policy makers. That would be great and I would feel really bad about this tirade. Maybe I should change my rating. Maybe it is what it is and I'm overreacting. I'm sure that the book's popularity in no way reflects a declining national intelligence and a general lack of interest in accuracy. After all, ours is a country teeming with the obese; perhaps what we really crave is m.s.g., perhaps all we want is a sagging paper plate overflowing with cheap barbeque and fast food. That kind of deliciousness certainly has its place. BUT it needn't be awful to look at.
Rating:
Summary: Christians Should be Horrified
Review: Never having read any of his books, the synopsis sounded interesting. However, as a Christian, I found this one of the most disturbing books in print. More credible scholars than Dan Brown, even those in the 1st century, agree that the formation of the Bible was accurate. Jesus was not married and did not sire offspring. None of the 456 Old Testament prophecies about Jesus mention a spouse or offspring, but the ones predicted came true. DaVinci talented/genius? Yes. We humans do not want to read that something we are doing is against His will, so we make up stories to fit our lifesytle. The Word of God was given to 23 men to share in 66 books. Woman are vital to the church, but not as Dan Brown would have you believe. Read the Bible, know the truth!
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book
Review: This was my first time reading a book by Dan Brown. I finished the book very quickly because I couldn't put it down once I started it. I had never heard of all the intricate histories of the Holy Grail and the Church conspiracy theories that went along with it until reading this book. Not only does the plot really keep you hooked, but you learn a ton about Christianity and Leonardo Da Vinci in the process. Definitely the best book I have read in over a year. I would recommend this book to everyone I know.
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Summary: Loved it for its strengths
Review: Wonderful art and religious history. Long overdue take on Christianity. Wonderful main characters. Two-dimensional secondary characters. Great plot twists.
Rating:
Summary: Provocative , disturbing, insightful....and a great read!
Review: DaVinci Code is a remarkable thriller weaving the common and the mystical. Dan Brown icludes enough familiar references to history, religion, art, and murder to share common ground with the reader. Then he soars into spectaular realms of intrigue, mystery, and science. For example, DaVinci's famous painting of the Last Supper is known to everyone. But on closer inspection, the reader learns, a deep hidden secret is laid bare; to the astonishment of the characters and the reader. Sorting out fact from fiction will keep Christian historians and apologists busy for a while...but in the meantime, the thousands of readers of this book will be curled up, rapidly turning pages, in enthralling suspense.
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