Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: a good read! Review: this is already one of my all time fave books! i'm really looking fwd to the next langdon adventure!
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: very interesting Review: I heard about this Book&thought i'd peep it out.I didn't have any Books from before&also I enjoyed Da Vinci's work this book will keep your interest&has alot of interesting takes on the Man&whatnot.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Oh YES! Review: A perfect gem. The only people who will respond negatively to this book are narrow-minded religious types who are terrified to discover that everything they believe in is a hideous attempt to cover up truth and beauty and light. Dan Brown is a genius to take knowledge that has belonged to the inner circle of academics/art historians/religious scholars and brought it to the wider populace through a popular genre-- the mystery thriller. He deserves major kudos. Bring on the Age of Aquarius!! Age of Enlightenment!!
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Absolutely brilliant! Review: I finished this book yesterday, but I was ready to write a review about half-way through. I loved this book and could not put it down. I have always enjoyed a good murder-mystery, but this book far exceeded my expectations. I had no idea what I was walking into when I started reading Dan Brown. I learned so much. I kept looking back toward the first page that says FACT: and goes on to list the organizations, artwork, architecture, documents and secreat rituals in this novel are real and described accurately. I am recommending this book to everyone that I know. Not only was I learning a new and factual way to look at our history throughout the entire story, the suspense of the murder-mystery wouldn't allow me to put this novel down. You will not be disappointed.
Rating: ![2 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-2-0.gif) Summary: Bleh Review: This is an OK book for light reading on a flight or long bus trip, but i wouldn't recommend it for any reason other than those two (or variants on them, with the exception of some train trips, which require something far more romantic than this dreck). Although i feel that sums up what this book is more than anything else i could possibly say, i should probably include my biggest criticisms. Some of the stuff about secret societies, their famous members, and artwork is pretty promising, but the book quickly turns those premises into routine mechanisms for advancing the plot - instead of going deeper into artwork, it is extremely tenacious in its refusal to obtain an depth that would enchance the routine turns of plot and make it into something beyond just a trashy supermarket thriller (something like The Dumas Club, or some Umberto Eco books). At the same time it doesn't really contain the elements that can make typical thrillers enjoyable; there's never a real sense of danger; it exposes too much of the mysterious/cult-ish aspects of the book, spoiling their effects and making what is revealed uninteresting; the potential romance might have made it some points, but it doesnt' even deliver on this, perhaps the easiest level; and the plot can be seen from a mile away - when a character or item is introduced, you can almost determine its fate before you even learn the name - even work out the plot of the book 50 pages ahead of where you are. Overall; this book makes a half-decent quick read, but there are any number of other books that are more fun, entertaining, and just as easy to read.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: great summer reading Review: Dan Brown proves himself to be one of the most creative authors at our times. The storyline is breathtaking by the author's filling his imagination into the holes of historical relic.
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Interesting perspective. Review: I really enjoyed this book, which is not a casual comment from a person who hasn't read a work of fiction in 10 years! The author's skill draws the reader in almost immediately, and bit by bit, ever so slowly, he peels away the layers of mystery surrounding the murder of the curator of the Louvre, who as it turns out was the leader of an ancient order with a most fascinating purpose. No doubt, True Believers may find this work blasphemous, but certainly the blending of fact and fantasy here makes for a wonderful mystery and raises lots of interesting questions. I fully plan on reading another book by Dan Brown before another decade of nonfiction passes.
Rating: ![1 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-1-0.gif) Summary: Shame on Doubleday Review: I just read in The New York Times Magazine for July 20 that this book has been successful "both commercially and critically" and was giving Doubleday "a terrific spring"; also, that Dan Brown "could become another brand name novelist". I must have read a different book. The "Code" I read was filled with interesting facts and allegations re the Catholic Church but the plotting was so weak it was embarrassing. In fact the plot was so poorly done, I couldn't help comparing it to the The Celestine Prophecy which is a truly awful book (much worse than "Code") that was a great commercial success. It is a sad commentary on the publishing industry that Doubleday decided that "Code" was the book they would make into a bestseller. Forget "Code" and buy anything by Alan Furst, a wonderful writer (see the July issue of Harpers).
Rating: ![1 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-1-0.gif) Summary: Almost as bad as The Celestine Prophecy Review: This is one of the worst books I've ever read. It's not that I'm offended by the anti-Christian sentiments--I agree with that for the most part. The problem for me is the lazy, lazy writing. Basically Brown has found out about this Holy Grail/Feminine Mystery conspiracy theory, and has decided to write what can barely be called a "novel" to tell everyone about it. The characters are hardly even people, just convenient names and bodies that alternately spew exposition and are baffled by laughably obvious puzzles. Not to mention the tacked-on romance at the end. He also uses the classic technique of the author who can't be bothered to conceal information through plot, e.g. "Then the bishop told the albino something that was so shocking he nearly fell over" or "Langdon wanted to tell Sophie what the Holy Grail really was, but he thought he would wait for a few more chapters to heighten the suspense." On top of this, the so-called evidence for the theory is ridiculous in the extreme, relying on coincidences such as the appearance of a V-shape in Da Vinci's Last Supper. I'm sure that all the thousands and thousands of paintings containing a V-shape somewhere in them are just further proof that the supressed Goddess Myth is just lurking there under the surface...
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: A Great Read, but the Eight is Better Review: The DaVinci Code is a great page turner, with plenty of action and intellectual puzzles. It's great for an airplane ride or a day at the beach. The puzzle draws you in immediately and keeps you spellbound. If you like fast paced suspense novels with historical ties, you'll love this book. With that being said, I still think the Eight by Katherine Neville is the best book of this kind ever written.
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