Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS AN AMAZING BOOK
Review: I've only read a couple of chapters in this book but I can't seems to put it down. You've got to buy this book. Dan Brown is the new #1 author on my list.
Rating: 
Summary: Conjecture or Truth, Cause to Wonder...
Review: My usual book shopping route is a large looping, nose pinched shut, around any book that is being swallowed whole by the masses. Not out of arrogance, but simply because on those rare occasions when I have bent this rule, it has usually resulted in reading time wasted on literary fast food--quickly digested but of little nutritional value. I made an exception with Brown's "Da Vinci Code" because the premise fascinated me. Ever on the spiritual quest for enlightenment, the idea of a deeper relationship between Christ and Mary Magdalene was interesting, and appeared to have some merit, too, among respected theologians. I give. The first page of the first chapter nearly convinced me to dump the book after all. Mistake, I thought, should have kept to my usual rule. The opening was, well, ghastly. I was being manipulated into a formula page turner, dead bodies falling, mystery unravelling, clues spattering the pages. The book was a gift, however, and I had wanted it, so I wincingly read on. The manipulations worked. I began turning pages, and I turned them fast, even as I was aware every super short cliffhanger chapter of the book was holding me by the usual ploys of mystery writers of the day. The writing improved. But it was the premise that nailed me to the page. Brown had done his research, and he had enough truth in his fiction that my curiosity was peaked. A museum curator is murdered, leaving elaborate clues, leading down trail after trail, through twist after twist, speeding along the plot. A cryptographer, granddaughter of the murdered curator, chases down the clues with her partner (later, predictably, her love interest) who is a historian-symbologist summoned by the curator himself, literally in blood. Authorities on their heels, they race from clue to clue, putting together the puzzle pieces that eventually lead to a secret society working to preserve the idea of a Holy Grail that is not a chalice, but indeed the sacred feminine, a church built on Mary Magdalene as the rock of the church rather than Peter. Christ's partner and wife? Intriguing. The established Church is furious and bristly at the idea, and that is easy enough to imagine. Brown creates a plausible mystery. Whether based on conjecture or elements of truth, that is what has drawn so many readers to so breathlessly turn these pages, and to question traditional beliefs and reexamine them, whatever the conclusion, is never a bad thing. If for this reason alone, I recommend the book.
Rating:
Summary: The DaVinci Code
Review: This is the best book that I've read in 20 years or more. Dan Brown is amazing, intelligent, and a superb writer. I read several books a week and none come close to this man's overall skills. I stayed up all night to finish it. Rarely do I find something that captures my attention so completly. The book is a historical novel intertwined with a murder mystery - a combination that works well. If you can read just one book this year, this is it. I'm looking forward to reading his other books and have just ordered them. Dan Brown, you are my hero!
Rating: 
Summary: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...
Review: I opened this book with great expectations, but it didn't take long for those to fade. Brown writes as though he's entering the annual "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night Contest" held by San Jose State University, although I must in fairness say to those entering the contest that they all write better than Brown. The book does have one thing going for it, however: it's funny. Not intentionally, I'm sure, but funny all the same for the absurdity of the dialogue. Much better books on similar subjects have been written by authors with a thorough knowledge of history and the ability to develop characters and write decent prose. Go read "The Confessor," by Daniel Silva, rather than wasting your time on Brown's bad book. Incidentally, the artist in the title should have been called Leonardo, not Da Vinci.
Rating:
Summary: rip-off
Review: there is not much to say about this book except that it is a total rip-off of "the book of light" by Michelle Simons. The davinci code uses the exact same premise of the book of light, exept it is written in the style of a 3 year old, it makes sense why it appeals to so many. If you read other low star reviews it explains my reasoning. I do not hae the time to tell you why.
Rating:
Summary: Atrocious writing style.
Review: Even if this were it's only shortcoming, readers should snub this book. The writing style is so poor that it is distracting, and the characters so uninspired and shallow, that I was not able to read more than a couple of chapters, before putting the book down in exasperation. The character development is dispensed with in the following manner: "He was tall and powerfully built, with his hair slicked back, and he wore a finely tailored Armani". The author also seems to have forgotten that punctuation exists in English language, resulting in choppy, short sentences reminiscent of a High School English writing assignment. But I suppose this must be a device to keep the thriller thrilling... I'll let the other reviewers, who were obviously more patient that me, tear the story to pieces, and will just content myself with saying that this book falls into the "cheap supermarket novel" category, no matter how lofty the subject matter may hope to be, and has no claim to literature status. For that, you are better off reading "The Name Of The Rose" or "Foucault's Pendulum", where style and substance co-exist.
Rating:
Summary: This is one of my favorite books!
Review: My realtor suggested this book and now I owe him! It starts off with the chief curator of the Louvre being murdered for a secret. He lies to his killer; who leaves him to die. The the curator does something strange. He strips, draws wierd symbols on the floor, and sets off the alarm which seals him in the museum, and then he positions himself in a strage way! Enter: Robert Langdon a professor of symbology who was trying to get a decent nights sleep. He is dragged to the scene and then becomes the main suspect for the murder! His case is not helped by the fact he was supposed to meet the curator. He evades capture with the help of a beautiful brilliant cryptologist with a past. You enter a world of intrigue that covers history, pagonism, Christianity, the Knights Tempelor, and a secret socity that is holding a closely guarded secret that may cause the downfall of Christianity! The characters are great! Langdon is not Indiana Jones! He is a professor and lecturer who would probably shoot himself if he needed to handle a gun! Now as the the claims of Relgion bashing. There is a HUGE clue on the cover of the book! "A NOVEL by Dan Brown" A person told me she saw Dan Brown speak and he said "It is a novel and that he stretched facts to fit the story!" It is a great read that draws you in. A good indicator of telling a good story is that people belive it to be true even when you tell them it is a novel! I will look at his other books and I kind of think this would make a great movie!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I expected the book to live up to its hype -- but sadly, it did not. The plot was too predictable and the "puzzles" were too easily solved. The action often gave way to lecture and seemed more of a term paper than a novel. The ping-pong way that the short chapters bounced between good guys and bad guys hinted that the author thinks our attention span can't handle several pages at a time. If you REALLY want to understand what Brown was trying to say, you should read "Bloodline of the Holy Grail" by Laurence Gardner. It's challenging and at times rather dry, but the first half of the book is a real eye-opener.
Rating:
Summary: Nicaea votes Jesus the Son of God
Review: From the book, on the Council of Nicaea:
- At this gathering, Teabing said, many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon - the date of Easter, the role of the bishops, the administration of sacraments, and, of course, the divinity of Jesus.
- I don't follow. His divinity?
- My dear, Teabing declared, until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet . . . a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal.
- Not the Son of God?
- Right, Teabing said. - Jesus' establishment as 'the Son of God' was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea.
***
Well, I happen to be something like an atheist, so I wasn't sure, but something in the above felt fishy. Following my annoyingly rationalistic habits I decided to take nothing on faith and check the sources: According to John 11:27, Jesus asked some Martha woman who she thought he was. Martha goes, "I believe that you are the Son of God" John 1:49. One Nathaniel, a disciple of John the Baptist, to Jesus: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God" According to John 6:69, when a larger group of followers burned out and decided to defect, Jesus asked his disciples if they were going to split as well. Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? ... We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God". According to Matthew 16:16, Jesus once asked Simon (Peter), "Who do you say I am?" Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" Also see: John 20:28, John 4:29-42, Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 7:26, 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5
Rating:
Summary: A Very Great Thriller!!!!
Review: The DaVinci Code....Everybody and their mother has read this book, or have heard about it. The DaVinci Code starts out with a murder! The murder is done by a albano man named Silas who is looking for what Jaques knows; about a sacared item that has been looked for thousands of years! Now comes in Robert Langdon, a Harvard teacher who is in Paris for a lecture about Leonard DaVinci, and now he is led to the muder scene in a famous art museum, and there is a message left by Jaques: 13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5
O, Draconian devil!
Oh, lame saint! Now, the Paris Police call in Sophie, a cryptologist who is called in to break the code, but to no luck, she cant. So Sophie wants Robert to call the American Embassy, and warning him that he is in grave danger. So Robert heads to the bathroom, and Sophie tells him that the Paris Police has him as the MURDER SUSPECT! Also they are keeping him tracked by a GPS device, so Sophie takes the device, puts it on a bar of soap, and throws it into a truck outside the window. So now the chase is on, also there was another message that the Paris Police cleaned up: P.S. Find Robert Landon. It also turns out that Jaques is Sophie's grandfather, and also a member of a secret society with members of Leonard DaVinci, Sir Issac Newton, Galieo, and the list goes on. Also they discover that this secret society knows where the Holy Grail is! Now the chase is on to find a hidden code in Leonardo DaVinci's work, and in his work is the destination of the Holy Grail, also they are not the only people looking for the Grail; Silas and a preacher he calls The Teacher. Now not only are they surrounded by this mystery, but they are also against time to find one of History's greatest treasurers!
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