The Da Vinci Code

Rating:
Summary: An Accomplished Thriller with Intelligence
Review: The Da Vinci Code offers murder, intrigue, ancient conspiracies, and enough historical name-dropping to include most of the prominent figures of the past two millennia.

Harvard-trained symbologist Robert Langdon returns in Dan Brown's latest book, partnered with the beautiful French police cryptologist Sophie Neveu to solve an unlikely murder in the halls of the Louvre. The clues surrounding the crime lead to the secret of the Holy Grail, but this only touches the surface of a much deeper conspiracy involving the mysterious and ancient organizations Priory of Sion and Opus Dei, whose members read like a roll call of the most important figures of the Christian era. Both clandestine societies, as powerful as they are old, will go to any lengths to keep the secrets of the Holy Grail hidden, including the murder of Sophie's father, whose involvement with the mysteries of the Grail cost him his life.

Brown weaves religious mysticism, art criticism, and historical esoterica into a modern, fast-paced thriller with ease, sending the two sleuths not only geographically across France and England, but also across the centuries, from the Middle Ages to modern times. The clues point not only forward, but backward as well, illuminating the path toward the truth in such a way that the shadows of history become highlighted. While some may nit-pick over historical accuracy, Dan Brown presents enough true historical facts and figures to engage the casual reader in a realistic world with a history that could very well be our own.

This book has been richly praised for its intelligence, suspense, detail, and accomplishment. Such is the skill with which Dan Brown tells his tale that the many plot twists seem not the least bit contrived, but rather pre-ordained and natural, as if the events were unfolding as you read them. The book satisfies on many levels, but the cumulative effect of the many hints and clues with the momentum of the ever-deepening plot and the menace of dark, ancient secrets lead to a breathless and stunning conclusion.

Rating:
Summary: ONE WORD CAN'T EVEN EXPRESS IT BUT HERE GOES W-O-W.
Review: READ THIS BOOK! MY COPY IS NOT LEAVING MY SIDE! THE BEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ AND I'VE READ SOME FASTASTIC BOOKS! EAT YOUR HEART OUT HARRY POTTER!

THIS IS HARRY FOR ADULTS ONLY 10 TIMES A GOOD!

SUSPENSE, INTRIGUE, MYSTERY, POSSIBLE TRUTH. ANCENT QUEST REVEALED.

A MUST READ!

BUY IT TODAY.

If your waiting for your spouse, child, parent or someone to finish it don't wait get your own copy you'll want to keep it and read with a pen, trust me you'll use it.

Wow doesn't even begin to express how great this book is.

It keeps you surprised until the very end.

Rating:
Summary: Hegemony of Our Times
Review: If there is a theme in The Da Vinci Code, it is that history is written by the winners. The book explores this theme in its great search for a secret that will change the world, a secret that has been covered up by the most powerful people of the last 2000 years.

What wonderful irony then that the book is a blatant piece of propaganda for the most powerful intellectuals of our time, the gender feminists in American Academia.

Based mainly on the wacky, ridiculous theories presented by the authors of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", Dan Brown has constructed a suspense thriller that conveniently passes off blatant fiction as truth. He makes some devastatingly inaccurate assertions about some of the most thoroughly researched figures in Western History and wraps it all up in a nice plot in which the heroes are out to rescue the truth and anyone who doesn't already know the truth or believe it when they hear it are buffoons.

Oddly, the "truth" presented in this book would quickly be blown off as ridiculous if it didn't support the gender feminist views that currently dominate Western thinking.

Put plainly, The Da Vinci Code is pure fiction that will be read as truth by hundreds of thousands because it presents them with what they want to hear. It is history being re-written by the winners.

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: I did not want to put this book down! It was a fast paced, educational read. Dan Brown is a fantastic writer who has sparked my curiosity about the holy grail and early christianity. I can't wait to read his other books! In the meantime, I'm going to read toher books about the subject matter of The Da Vinci Code.

Rating:
Summary: The Movie Could Be A Blockbuster
Review: THE DA VINCI CODE is a suspense thriller which at first glance seems to have all of the necessary ingredients for success. The plot includes ancient secrets, shadowy organizations, powerful people, the Holy Grail and even Mary Magdalene. The trouble is that the book is too long and padded with boring details.The story, however, does have the potential to be made into a blockbuster movie.

Rating:
Summary: unexpected and intelligent
Review: With apologies to Seabiscuit, this may be the best read of the past year. Dan Brown exhibits a dramatic flair for the "intelligent mystery". The best thing about this book and it's author is that the dialogue or science is never "dumbed down" for the audience. The highly original premise of this book, when combined with factual groups and real locations, makes for a very compelling read. If you liked this book, you should check out the authors prior work Angel & Demons.

Rating:
Summary: More than Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Review: As the curator for Magdalene.org, I don't often read much good fiction that mentions Mary Magdalene. "The Da Vinci Code," however, was a smashing good read as far as the most recent Jesus/Mary Magdalene legend goes. I don't want to spoil it (any more than has already been done in other reviews here), but if you've read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," (HBHG) you know which legend I'm referring to.

The vital difference I'd like to point out, however, is that Dan Brown has incorporated the most recent additions to this legend since HBHG was published. Most notably, the work of Margaret Starbird, author of "The Woman With The Alabaster Jar," "The Goddess In The Gospels," and recently, "Magdalene's Lost Legacy." Two of these books are even referenced by Brown in the text. So if you finish "The Da Vinci Code" and are hungry for more reading on this legend, you will probably want to start with Starbird.

As far as the novel itself goes, it isn't terribly challenging, but it IS entertaining. As someone who doesn't often read novels, I was happy I read this one.

Rating:
Summary: Imaginative and Entertaining
Review: Jacques Saunierre is a curator at the Louvre Museum in Paris. He is murdered by a giant albino assassin who is seeking knowledge of an ancient secret which has been entrusted to Jacques and just three other men. The albino tells Jacques that the other three are already dead. Before Jacques dies he tries to leave enough clues near his body so that the secret can be passed on to the two people he trusts the most to guard it. One is agent Sophie Neveu who is a cryptographer and also his granddaughter. The other is Robert Langdon, a professor of religious symbology at Harvard, who is presently staying at the Paris Ritz.

Langdon is called to the murder scene because his name is written on a message left by the murder victim. Sophie arrives soon after because the case requires a cryptographer. Sophie figures out that the message left by Jacques is meant for both her and Langford. She also knows that Langford is the chief suspect and he will shortly be put in jail. Since she needs his help in unraveling the clues left by Jacques, Sophie leads Langford out of the Louvre through an emergency exit. Together they set off to follow the clues and it soon becomes clear to them that their real quest is the Holy Grail.

There are others in pursuit of the same prize such as the famous British historian Sir Leigh Teabring as well as Bishop Manuel Aringarosa of the Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei.

THE DA VINCI CODE is in the best tradition of detective and thriller fiction. The mystery is complicated but the author explains the intricate solution in detail as the plot unfolds. The story may seem a little too imaginative at times but that is exactly what makes the book so entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Three words: Intelligent, fascinating, astounding
Review: This novel hinges on a fascinating alternative history of Christianity. Whether it has any merit in reality is another issue altogether, but the story-line is truly engaging. Hidden within the works of Da Vinci are clues to another story of Christ; one banned by the Church in its early days to solidify its power base and to make its message consistent to followers. Documents (e.g., the Gnostic Gospels) and artifacts relating to this "other history" were destroyed, its leaders killed and any records of its existence purged.

Playing large roles in the story are obscure but interesting (and real) societies such as Opus Dei - the orthodox Vatican prelature - and the secret society called the Priory of Sion, founded in 1099. Weaving in generous portions of real events, artwork, historical biography, Brown does a wonderful job depicting the power struggle over control of Christianity.

Playing lesser roles to the historical background are the protagonists, including symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu. These two - and the "action side" of the plot - require that the reader suspend belief occasionally... since when does a French police detective have authority to do enforce laws within the borders of England, for instance? But these players are all subjugated by the astounding historical backdrop. Truly fascinating and well-written - the Da Vinci Code is certainly worth reading. It is unlikely you will put it down until you've exhausted every page.

Rating:
Summary: Familiar Ground, Arguable 'Facts', but still a fine read!
Review: Sure there are some things to be annoyed about - Brown follows an age old thriller story arc where the hero (and sometimes a heroine as well) go on the run and hook up with the wise mentor. Hey wasn't this story arc used in that Keanu Reeves flick? It's a myth arc all by itself (maybe on purpose?) And it sure does owe a debt to 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail'. But this remains a fine, page turner of a thriller. I would hope, though, that readers are encouraged to not accept everything here on face value - this is a 'fantasy' of a thriller. Is Brown running the Sion, bloodline story as an established, inarguable fact? Many sites and works have been written that explain, in exhaustive detail, that the Priory of Sion was a hoax and that Plantard - the 'head' of the organisation, was a scheming, anti-semitic former crim who was, like many right-wingers of his time, anti-Masonic and interested in Celtic traditions and Grail legends. The Priory of Sion apparently created a number of dubious fictions - such as claiming that the familial home of a Templar Grand Master was at Blanchefort, near Rennes-le-Chateau when in fact Blanchefort was the home of a Cathar noble by that name, not a Templar Grand Master. Worst still many researchers believe that the 'bloodline' story Brown uses is a well known forgery (planted in libraries) and fiction (and I quote from one site): "The survival of the Merovingian bloodline as promulgated in the "Priory" documents is based on the alleged marriage of Giselle de Razes to the seventh-century Merovingian King Dagobert Il. Giselle de Razes never existed. Plantard and his associates fabricated her." Umberto Eco poked fun at this whole thing in "Foucault's Pendulum' showing that anyone can create a conspiracy/mystery utilising esoteric documents - there are millions of them - and by liberal interpretaions of the often mystical language of ancient texts. Of course Brown's research in other areas - symbology in art and architecture and language primarily - is fascinating. Be nice if he listed some sources! Can't wait for the next one, Mr Brown.