The Da Vinci Code

Rating:
Summary: Great Novel, Factually Flawed
Review: A page truning novel which catches you from the first moment. A murder in the Louvre, a chase across Paris, a mystery which goes back centuries. It's all a great read for a cold winter's night. But part of the fun is the pretense that there is a fact based story inderlying the mystery. Jesus had a wife, Mary Magdelaine, who is the Holy Grail and secret societies, persecuted by the Church, have been protecting these truths through the many centuries, including Leonardo da Vinci in his time. Unfortunatley the underlying research is flawed in many respects. The 'facts' are largely based on "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", which is a collection of amusing speculation tieing disparate bits of story, information and coincidences together and, in some cases, ignoring established facts.

Enjoy it as a novel. Ignore it as history.

Rating:
Summary: Based On Occult / Satanism
Review: This book is based on occult / satanic ideas but I didn't realize it when I first read it.

For example it tells the origin of the horrible pentagram symbol. It says the pentagram traces the route of the planet Venus in outer space and has sexual implications. That makes sense.

In another part old 'grand pere' (the heroine's grandfather) is down in the secret dungeon making out with someone during some type of ritual.

The plot is heavily based on ideas taken from the Gnostic gospels which weren't included in the bible. It's a mystery novel which implies that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and this has been covered up by the Churh all this time to preserve the Church's control over everyone. But heros like old grand pere have been struggling to keep the blood line intact.

Mainly the book drags Christ's name through the mud in favor of other sexual gods (godesses actually).

After you read this book you may find at night that you feel uneasy and afraid for some reason but you don't know why.

Part of the book's popularity is undoubtedy related to Leonardo da Vinci who was an enigmatic and mysterious person. Da Vinci represents somewhat of a mystery that people are still trying to figure out.

Perhaps people realize that in a way there really is a secret da Vinci code. There is but it's not anything close to what this book says.

Jeff Marzano

Rating:
Summary: Must read
Review: Although, some people say that this book is for eight grader. But I think it is not bad for people like me, who english is not so good. My sister's boss recommended to my sister and my sister recommended to me. They all love this book.

I went to the author website, and I found out something very interest. The painting "The last supper" that Peter was grapped the wrist of an extral hand which held a knife. And others whom were sitting next to peter, they were all facing the audience and their hand held up. The palm faced audience, Which seems like Leonardo wasn't painted an extral hand accidently.

There are many different religions out there, each include their own culture and myth. Each claimed, they have their own creator for the world. Which one we suppose to believe? If there are really god out there. He supposed to stop the tragic of 9/11 or the earthquake.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of tasty spices, but shaky substance
Review: Be careful reading this book. One may fancy it as a modern-day exciting mystery-thriller, but it really is a front to what is Roman Catholic bashing at its best. It really traps the uninformed reader pulling the wool over its starving eyes and rivets him/her using a lot of high-powered Enquirer type treatise. Lots of information on the book presented as "facts" are simply preposterous misrepresentations such as the patriarchy-based hierarchy which dates back to thousands of years before the Christian Church came into being. Magdalene, too, which the book says the Church has thrashed, is actually regarded as one of the its greatest Saints; in the Bible, she is mentioned as the sole benefactor of being the first ever witness of the risen Christ. It also mentions that the Bible itself (specifically the new testament) is touted as a bunch of literary fiction fabricated by Constantine when it was the Church that compiled the now known books of the Bible; funny thing is that the book bases most of its fact-finding premises on the Bible! The notion of sex being demonized by the Church is another great myth perpetuated by the book, when Marriage is one of the Sacraments in the Church instituted by Christ. A lot of modern day new age type ideas being thrown at the uninformed reader, masked as truth by leveraging a lot of age-old misrepresentations and lies about the Church. The book crumbles as it produces its anti-climactic epilogue - a problem when you base your plots and themes on misrepresentations and lies it catches up with you. I think we've just been ushered into the "Fast Food era of Mystery Books" where there's a lot of taste and spices, but no real substance.

Rating:
Summary: Drivel!
Review: Badly written, cardboard characters, completely unbelievable plot, nonsense. What more do you want?

Rating:
Summary: Murder Mystery and Art History
Review: I review this book with caution as it appears readers seem to either love or hate the book. Personally, I found the book fascinating. It has me looking up the true origin of any old term of phrase or symbol that I come across nowadays. It makes me think more deeply about all those symbols which we use so matter of factly that they are no longer truly symbolic. Sure, everyone has a sense of what the Nike swoosh stands for, but what about Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper"? Nobody really studies those things any more, and they have become a lost history among our society.

It is with skill, then, that Dan Brown manages to interest his readers into a topic that is almost a millenium old. He appears to have done a bunch of research for this book. Not only that, but he also put a lot of effort into making that research come to life without seeming overwhelmingly heavy or detailed in the prose. That's not an easy thing to do, and it's what I most admire about the book. You only need to pick up a bunch of academic papers to realise that "english" is not a first language when it comes to scientific debate. We rely on journalists, movie directors and authors like Dan Brown to make such laden themes with their secretive and prohibitive language digestible for the general public's enjoyment.

Rather than taking the easy route by writing a simple, straight lined story about some art historian's discovery of the symbology of the Holy Grail, Brown created a mixture of interesting characters that each play a definitive role in his murder mystery. It's a combination of an Agatha Christie novel and a fictional history book. The skill of combining those diverse elements cannot have been easy, yet Brown manages to bring it off with a simplistic flair.

In truth, his story is captivating. It starts off with a bang - a murder of a curator. The audience is carried along with the main characters, and for a good part of the book we are shrouded by the truth. If you love solving puzzles, you will be able to "beat" the character to identifying the next clue or uncovering critical bits of information by looking closely at the text (mirrors recommended).

Of course, no one is expecting a work of fiction to be entirely based on truth, but Brown has a different treatment of the age old topic of the Holy Grail and his take on it I found to be interesting.

Moreover, it has all the things a good book should have: it's engaging, easy to read in bite size chunks that should appeal to the general public, it's full of action and mystery, and it's well researched, thus has a ring of truth to it. I feel I must "defend" this book because I enjoyed every minute of reading it even though that opinion is probably not in vogue with "serious" readers.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of Fun
Review: With "The Da Vinci Code," Dan Brown reprises his last novel, "Angels and Demons," by bringing back both his Robert Langdon character, and the fast and furious tone that make both books such thrilling reads. Let's be frank about this book. "The Da Vinci Code" is not a great literary work. What it is is a LOT of fun to read.

While less complex and demanding than "Angels and Demons," this effort is no less enjoyable. The action starts with an early murder in Paris, and picks up speed after a brief and amusing scene involving Landon and a stereotypical French Chief Investigator. However, the reader soon learns the identity and motivation of the true murderer, after which the story transposes quickly into a rather cliche search for the Holy Grail, which is interesting, if not original. Brown didn't originate the ideas on which this story is based, and he doesn't claim credit for them. While they don't form the basis for a particularly believable story, Brown does successfully use them to generate a palpable sense of urgency around the story line, and that drives the reader from page to page in a flurry.

The book reads quickly, and with immense satisfaction. I felt like Brown was leading me around with a carrot on a stick, just letting me get a little nibble here and there, while he unfolded chapter after chapter of this thriller. My only complaint is that I thought the ending wasn't particularly dramatic or satisfying enough for the plot: the climax just kind of fades away, instead of delivering the whole ending in a nice, wrapped-up package.

In the end, the grail story is an apt subject for this book. In fact, "The Da Vinci Code" is quite an apt metaphor itself for the search for the Grail. Not so much as a murderer, Langdon and his co-protagonist, Sophie Neveu, are playing out a great scavenger hunt in search of the answers to some of life's greatest mysteries. And while Brown's themes of the Grail are far from mainstream, there's just enough of a hint of believability to draw the reader into the story and keep him there.

The bottom line is that this book is fantastically fun to read. Don't look for anything else, here; this book doesn't need it. Don't critique it or analyze it. Buy it and read it just for fun. On that level, it scored five stars from me. I'll buy the next one from Brown, too. If you read this book, I'm guessing you may, as well.

Rating:
Summary: Holy Grail Seekers,,,Read SB 1 or God
Review: What do authors do? They come up with an idea, then they have to build a,,,book,,, around that idea. This idea starts off quite well really. I will summarize my review before I finish, "This is a successful attempt to reach the mass market novel readers based on a single exploited Sacrament that had to be glued together with hundreds of pages filled with random ideas from many sources." One of those sources was definitely Holy Blood Holy Grail. Whether you like this book or not will depend on your taste and level of tolerence. For me the meat of the book is less than I would expect, the premise is fine, however the one great and not so obvious item to so many,,, is very disappointing to me,,,The meaning of the Holy Grail is lost in this and many other books and movies similar. When Christ spoke," He who drinks of this,,,cup". I am neither Christain or atheist, but I at least understand that he meant the Holy Grail was and is within you when you accept Christ. The entire scope of these books knowingly flaunts at the height of disrespect for the intended meaning of the Holy Grail. How do millions fall for basic fluantful entertainment out of something meant so sacramental? Nothing is sacred when it can be eploited for gain. Read SB 1 or God by Maddox, the Grail is inside, and obviously hidden.

Rating:
Summary: The Da Vinci Nonsense
Review: The Da Vinci Code is a BRAINWASHING BOOK, BEWARE!!!! This author has a large lack of christian history and knowledge, as well as not having a hint of how is the Louvre Museum and the city of Paris. The author at least should have taken a tourist map of Paris to help his writing but this is not the case since he has created his own imaginary Paris and a godless novell. But of course, there is nothing much to spect from a fictional book that talks about controversial themes which makes it a bestseller. The author could have done a great work, but he missed the opportunity.

Rating:
Summary: Report from Paris: Dan Brown's "facts" aren't
Review: I really loved "The Da Vinci Code" when I first read it a month ago. I devoured 20 pages every evening, and every evening I looked forward to my next fix. Dan Brown has created a really exciting thriller, and what makes it especially appealing is that it is based on a lot of historical information that I found very interesting.

Although "The Da Vinci Code" is fiction, Dan Brown writes in a prolog the following: "FACT: ... All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate." This added to my liking of the book, convincing me that Dan Brown really was providing a thriller built around a factual framework.

Last week I was in Paris, and decided to bring "The Da Vinci Code" with me and to relive some of the exciting Paris scenes "on site", so to speak.

My first stop was the church of Saint-Sulpice. Sure enough, the "rose line" described by Dan Brown was there, strange as it sounded from the description in the book. Sitting in the huge old church and listening to the beautiful organ music while rereading the relevant chapters of "The Da Vinci Code" was quite an experience!

On to the Louvre, with the expectation of an even greater feeling of being right there where the (fictitious) action had occurred. But there I encountered the sad truth: Dan Brown's descriptions of various aspects of the Louvre are simply false.

The most blatant and problematic discrepancy concerns "La Pyramide Inversée", which plays an important role in the book. According to "The Da Vinci Code" this inverted pyramid is situated within the Louvre, such that one passes it after entering the main pyramid and going from there to the Denon Wing of the Louvre. Also, the tip of this inverted pyramid is described as being six feet from the floor below it, and the tiny pyramid below the inverted pyramid is described as looking like it protrudes up from down below the floor.

Reality is quite different. "La Pyramide Inversée" is actually outside of the Louvre building proper. It is in the middle of an underground shopping mall between the two wings of the Louvre, between a Virgin Megastore (CD's, DVD's, etc.) and an Esprit shop (fashion clothes). Furthermore, it actually comes down to about three feet from the floor, and the tiny pyramid under it looks like it just sits on top of the floor.

The other major discrepancy concerns the way Dan Brown describes how Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu meet in a public lavatory in the Louvre. The book says, "Here at the westernmost tip of the Denon Wing, the north-south thoroughfare of Place du Carrousel ran almost flush with the building with only a narrow sidewalk separating it from the Louvre's outer wall."

Wrong again. There are no public lavatories at the western tip of the Denon Wing. The north-south street that goes around Place du Carrousel does not go past the western tip of the Louvre, it cuts through the Louvre in the middle of the two wings. But there aren't any public lavatories there either so the action that is described as taking place there is not possible.

Nit-picking? Perhaps. But if Dan Brown is cutting corners with "facts" that he proclaimed to be correct, what about the rest of the historical facts that made the book so interesting? Did he make up or modify these facts too? The assumption that this is probably the case has become unavoidable for me, and this reduces my liking of the book significantly.

There are a lot of other details in "The Da Vinci Code" that I found incorrect or very unlikely when I first read the book, but none of them fell into the category of something that Dan Brown had claimed to be authentic. However, the architecture of the Louvre is specified as being correct, and it isn't, and that's where credibility is damaged, and the appeal of the book as being a great thriller based on a framework of reality is also damaged.