The Da Vinci Code

Rating:
Summary: okay, but not great people
Review: First of all, the book is okay, not great, as some people assert(read some good books!). It seems to me that being suspenseful doesn't make a book great, or even really that good. The information presented is pretty interesting stuff, and I also had trouble putting it down, but the characters were pretty simple and generic (Teabing? Stereotypical eccentric old Brit? Can you say John Clees? Don't get me wrong, I like John Clees). Also, the story was pretty cheesy in places, not to mention very choppy, with big chunks of symbological information crammed into some awkward places. With the amount of information he presented(and interesting), it could have been incorporated into a better story. That said, the book is causing a stir, and it is encouraging people to question things that they may not have questioned before. Also, it seems that the only danger in including "questionable facts" in a fictional story is that, unfortunately, people might totally believe them. I'm just wondering...is that the reader's problem or the author's? And as a sidenote: Someone said that the orbit of Venus doesn't form an exact pentacle. If you connect the dots it does, but if you don't, then it just forms a rosette-like shape, with five points. Pretty close if you ask me.

Rating:
Summary: AN INSULT TO INTELLIGENCE
Review: Yeah I read "The DaVinci Code" Wanted to know what all the fuss was about. No question it IS a page turner. You will finish it quickly. I also read fairy tales quickly when I was a kid. The story is a fantasy. In fact the entire "wild goose chase" in the book takes place in France and England, through the Louvre, hyper secure Swiss banks, french countrysides, English airports, the Westminster Abbey, you name it -- all -- in less than 24 hours. Go figure. Paleese! Look I'm not shocked or insulted over the religious "revelations" but give me a break...make the darn story feasible! A total waste of time. Save your money.

Rating:
Summary: Great novel, but the 'factual' parts ... ?
Review: This book starts with a claim that all references in the novel to art, architecture, secret societies and symbols are all factual. Well, I'm not convinced of THAT, but as a NOVEL this is a great book, along the lines of Tom Clancy or John Grisham. The entire story takes place in a single 24 hour period, and reads fast. A murder is uncovered in the Louvre and the victim left clues ... but to what? Not the identity of the murderer, as it turns out, but to something much more significant. The main character, Richard Langdon, solves the victim's riddles that point to clues hidden in ancient artwork by Da Vinci and others - symbols and clues which the author claims are all REALLY there. Along the way the characters teach you a lot about history of art, the Church, pagan practices, and more. I got the impression that this extremely good suspense novel was really just an excuse to present the main contents of another book I'd read several years ago, called "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", and my suspicions were confirmed when that specific book is actually referenced by the characters in THIS book.

The good news about "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", and this book, is that they both raise some really fascinating questions about history that have great merit, and explain the origins of commonly used words, and practices of holidays and the origin of playing cards and more in ways that are riveting and challenging. But the bad news is that they ultimately claim that Jesus fathered a lineage of descendants that live to this day, a claim for which no serious evidence is offered. So the ultimate point is a real quantum leap with no evidence to support it. But the ride to GET to that point is well worth the effort in spite of itself. Great book.

Rating:
Summary: I'm not Catholic and I still didn't like it.
Review: Contrary to one reviewer's assessment, you don't have to be Catholic to find this book less than entertaining, enlightening, or both.

What started out as a promising suspence thriller quickly degenerated into a strange theological lecture. If I had been in the market for strange theological lectures, this might have worked for me--though even then I might be tempted to say "so what". I'm not naive enough to say I don't know what the fuss is about, but though a devout believer in Christ, it doesn't affect me much--married, not married, childless, or not. I believe in his divinity and the arguments offered were not particularly bothersome or convincing.

But back to the fiction. The technique of leaving the reader hanging throughout the novel over and over again, strikes me as a cheap sort of trick for a writer who can't maintain suspense in an honest sort of way.

I must agree with those who critiqued the puzzles as sort of purile. Someone gave me this advice once which I would like to pass on to Dan Brown. Never try to write characters who are smarter than you are.

All in all, though, I have gained one bit of unexpected entertainment from this novel. I have enjoyed reading the reviews which are full of a passion and honesty entirely missing from the novel. So I add my voice to throng.

Rating:
Summary: An exciting page turner
Review: I read this book in a week, it's pretty thick but after the first chapter you're hooked. The writing isn't excellent but Dan Brown sure knows how to set you up for suspense and excitement. At points I couldn't believe the amount of research that must have gone into writing this book. All of the theories were obviously fiction but the weird part was that they actually made sense. I loved this book! I have already read "Angels & Demons" another of Dan Brown's books and Da Vinci Code is by far the better of the two. Buy it you'll love it!

Rating:
Summary: does truth matter?
Review: first point--conspiracy theories can never be trusted fully. second point, there's merit in disturbing what seems true--the fact that authority cannot be trusted wholeheartedly is a progressive attempt and is thus 'good.' ultimately it's a question of faith as to what you believe and what you not. contrary to common perception, faith is irrelevant to truth. in fact most liberals will argue that truth does not matter, b/c they can easily be manipulated. that said, the review clearly is inconclusive. the fact that phi (1.618:1) exists in nature is a general phenomenon not a sample path by sample path specificity. and if it so happens that that reader did not have the desired measurement of the golden ratio, it only suggests that his/her body is not what we will call 'pretty.' =) and as far as the suggested reading list goes, that list only contains one side of the story--the authentic history--whose validity was the central point of dispute in the novel and thus shall not be counted as conclusive evidence against that which is presented in the da vinci code.

Rating:
Summary: What the Critics Had to Say
Review: What I found fascinating about the extremely critical reviews of the book was not so much what they criticized, but what they avoided criticizing. They tended to pick apart history and things about which historians continually wrangle anyway. One of Brown's key points had to do with Da Vinci's "Last Supper." He claimed there were a variety of things in the painting. For instance, sitting on Christ's right hand was a woman, not a disciple. He also pointed out that there is an unknown hand in the painting, holding a dagger. Go find a good net shot of the restored painting. Don't take my word...or Brown's...for it. We've always been told Jesus and 12 disciples. It's not true. I did not get that all Catholics were bad, nor that the Catholic Church is. But can anyone say that the Catholic Church has not committed incredible atrocities and tortures in it's history? And has amassed one of the greatest "hidden" fortunes anywhere in the world? These things are a matter of record. And can anyone seriously say the Catholic religion has not made sex - except in their strict interpretation - a huge sin? And has not the power of the feminine been suppressed for 2000 years? If not, where are the women bishops? Popes? Women in high positions in the church? This is reality, kids. On these points, alone, the book is worth a long read.

Rating:
Summary: Great Mystery Novel - All the bad reviews are from Catholics
Review: I have read some of the reviews and felt compelled to write my own. First, if you notice, all of the bad reviews are from readers who are obviously Mid-Western Catholics or Bible-belt people who are taking the book too personally. First of all, the book is FICTION! Of course it's not going to be wholly accurate!! These religious zealots that are so in an uproar about this need to loosen up. Better yet, instead of burying Dan Brown's literature, why don't you go pray instead? Literature is meant for enjoyment and to be thought provoking - Dan Brown had done an exceptional job of this. I recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: What I mainly got from this book
Review: Since there are many reviews on this book, I will not get into the plot. Of course, it is an intense one with lots of rapid page turning. The main thing I got from this book is how our world has lost touch with the feminine side. Not to say that it is completely gone yet it is definately not balanced with the masculine. Look at the world and see how the masculine energy is expressing itself. The book seems to stress a need for balance in ourselves and the world in general. This was what I think the main issue was, at least for me. The arts are they really that or a commercial venture that is about money? I don't think its all like that, yet it is definately not balanced. Is technology being balanced with the art in schools, in general. Well the book didn't get into this conflict yet I could see how the feminine energy is out of sink with the masculine in these areas as well as other areas. I am grateful to have a deeper awareness of this after reading Dan Brown's book. I truly believe that the reason it is such a hit is because it is really triggering us on not just a conscious level.

Lisa Nary

Rating:
Summary: A zero star book if there ever was one
Review: Having spent more than 25 years engaging in a serious and extensive study of theology, comparative religions, Jewish, Christian and Islamic scriptures and a host of other related subjects, I can say that without a doubt this book is the biggest piece of garbage I have ever read.
The author's total disregard and disdain for the truth is apparent on every page of this badly written work of pop fiction (it continually reminded me of one the lesser "Hardy Boys" books)and the sad thing is that very few of the millions of people who read it will be familiar enough with the historical facts to know that they have been pitched a bill of goods by an author with an agenda that is painfully obvious.
This book is, in effect, an anti-Christian and anti-Catholic diatribe along the lines of the infamous "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" a 19th century work of Russian fiction that spewed out so many sickening mistruths and lies about the Jewish people that the architects of the Holocaust felt justified in their actions.
I struggled in vain to find one true thing in this book, but again and again the author played fast and loose with the truth in such a way that the uninformed would have a hard time knowing that behind the thin veil of "fiction" lay a work designed to confuse and mislead them in every way possible.
The DaVinci Code is highly derivative of the now debunked and discredited book "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", which also foolishly and without any historical basis embraced the notion of a supposedly ancient secret society called the "Priory of Sion" which, rather than having ancient roots, was in fact a hoax and a fiction created by a sect of right wing extremists in 19th century France.
Those who, in their ignorance, happily embrace these heretical notions for the very reason that they fly in the face of the clear teachings of the New Testament and the Church, should be aware that they are not only on thin ice, they are in fact standing on historical quicksand.
I am far from the only person to have made these points. This book has been roundly and effectively criticized by historians, biblical scholars, theologians, Da Vinci experts and just about anyone with a grasp of the truth of the biblical and historical records.
Dan Brown somehow succeeds in getting just about everything related to the life of Jesus Christ wrong. He is wrong about the New Testament scriptures, wrong about the Dead Sea Scrolls, wrong about the Nag Hammmadi texts, wrong about the Apostles and Mary Magdalene and wrong about Constantine's influence on the teachings of the early church and the scriptures that were accepted into the New Testament canon.
How strange that he makes so many egregious errors in a book that he claims was so well researched. How strange indeed.
I would recommend to all thinking persons that they dust off that copy of the Holy Bible that may have lain on their bookshelf unread for so long, open it to the Gospel of Matthew and begin to read.
After reading The DaVinci Code they are going to need to get a big dose of the truth, if only to get the taste of this tripe out of their mouths.
Shame on you, Dan Brown. Under the guise of fiction you have indulged in historical revisionism of the lowest kind.
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