Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre
Review: Starts out good and fizzles out way too soon. Ends up being an explanation of the rise, deception etc. of the Catholic Church. Tell me something I don't know!
Rating: 
Summary: Loving "The Da Vinci Code"
Review: I recently finished "The Da Vinci Code", after three feverish days in which I could barely put it down. Since then, I went cruising the Internet to check out what other people thought of it, and what do I find? Seems like every single Christian website is full of condemnation for this wonderful novel! Here's what I have to say about that: the book was wonderful, very exciting, and if it employed cliches, it did so with such flair that I didn't care or notice. The author employed some amazing theories, some of which may appear far-fetched, some that have a ring of accuracy. If some people are offended by the ideas brought up in the book, it is their loss. Those who choose to step outside their comfort zones, consider that - just perhaps! - some of the ideas brought to light in "The Da Vinci Code" may have their own kind of truth will find it a richly stimulating read. Whether or not you believe it is irrelevant; people who open their minds will discover their boundries are tested, maybe even discover a few points that hit home with them. For the easily deterred, I say give this book a try. You may be surprised at what you find within its fast-paced pages. I certainly was, and I may never see a piece of Da Vinci's art the same way again.
Rating: 
Summary: interesting plot, mediocre writer
Review: This is really a potboiler: the plot is intriguing and has lots of twists, but I kept getting annoyed with his writing. It felt like a movie script with lots of action but little else. This is a fine novel if you want to pass some time, but it is not well-written from a prose point of view.
Rating: 
Summary: Indiana Jones the Cartoon
Review: This book used every myth/legend/superstition in history, to the point of being nauseating. I laughed out laughed when he brought up the little mermaid as supporting material for his book. I thought for sure that I was going to find some religious backing behind Superman, Batman, and Scooby Doo. Even though the plot was easily discovered the agenda that Dan Brown has was even more evident. He writes a highly controversial book about an author(sorry I meant symbologist) that publishes a highly controversial book about religious data (inaccurate at best) and hopes no one realizes that the main character is actually named Dan Brown, not Robert Langdon. The pansy smelling, panty wearing, smart car driving, sexual deviant that is Dan Brown (I mean Robert Langdon) makes for a poor Indiana Jones. P.S. Why would Da Vinci, the homosexual, be the Grand Master of a society that celebrated and ritualized the sexual union of a man and woman? Come on Dan - think before you write. I will never read another Dan Brown book again.
Rating:
Summary: Very Intriguing!!!
Review: I learned more than I would ever thought to have learn from this book. I know that a great deal of this book is fiction but the historical references to various paintings and the possible meaning behind those paintings intrigued me. So much so that I looked up the paintings (which I have seen before) to see the what is there that I had never noticed. This book is definitely a thrilling page turner that will teach the reader alot about various works of art and people. I do agree that the reader should realize the work as fiction and not look too much into the secret societies as nonfiction (which do exist and can be found all over the internet, not much of a secret!). I do not know the truths behind their organizations and do not want to label them and crticize them based on a work of fiction. Keep that in mind as you read.
Rating: 
Summary: Great fun, and lots of HISTORICALLY ACCURATE FACT as well
Review: After reading some of the other reviews for this book, I just had to chime in too. First, the book. I found it engrossing and highly addictive, and had a hard time putting it down, even to tend to my own family. It is a fast read, and grabs the reader's attention from the very first page.
The facts of the book are NOT at all imagined. I find it hilarious and ignorant that review writers such as Ms. Low would foist their own, deluded notions of the "truth" of Christianity onto the rest of us when they're supposed to be writing a book review.
Through my own research, I have found that while the "seasoning" or the loose story line that the plot falls around, is Dan Brown's own fiction, the "meat" of the story, the legend of the Holy Grail, and symbolism involving the Rose and the Chalice, and the accounts of the true purpose and organization of the Knights Templars, is quite accurate and astonishing.
It is also ironic that in writing a book review about a book that talks about the Bible's "truths" as being only as "true" as the collaborators of the bible wanted them to be, that other reviewers would wretchedly refer to the Bible as the "real truth."
By the way, Ms. Low, how are you certain that the Gospel of Phillip is make-believe? I thought you said your degree was in Art. Not only that, but did you know that Messiah and Saviour are nearly interchangeable in the Aramaic texts? Although, since they both refer to a wonderous prophet of the Hebrew God, I don't know how you can assert that the use of the word Saviour inherently implies that Christ WAS indeed a deity.
The fact is, for anyone who will not be blinded by their own faith, the novel is excellent, and can be used as a springboard for one's own research. For those that are too blinded by the 1700 year old veil of Christian "truth" read it for fun, then put it aside.
Rating:
Summary: Neal Stephenson For Dummies
Review: A great premise and fascinating historical religious esoterica are married to a pedestrian mystery and monochromatic and predictable characters. Brown is what Harlan Ellison would call an "author", as opposed to a "writer". He is capable of producing easily digestible, and therefore popular material, but his work has no literary merit. A typical MTV attention span is ideal for optimum enjoyment. This would actually be a good beach/airplane read. The reading experience would be enhanced by crying babies, people noisily noshing cheap peanuts and occasional turbulence induced nausea.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Believe the Hype!
Review: And I thought it was just me. The book is poorly written and contains woefully inadequate plot and character developments. From what I understand it is also full of historical inacurracies. It's almost as if it's written for people with short attention spans. It's only a matter of time before Hollywood makes it into a movie. I wonder which big name star will play Langdon?
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: if you arent a closed minded christain, and there are so many out there.......than give this book a try. its a great suspense/mystery novel. I usually read dean Koontz novels, but this one pulled me in right away. give it a try.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but...
Review: I enjoyed reading this book BUT if your main interest in this book is learning things about early Christianity that the average Christian doesn't want you to know, you are better off reading something else because Brown gets too many facts wrong to be trusted. It is simply wrong, for example, to say that no one thought of Jesus as divine until the Council of Nicea. (What about the docetists?) There were in fact a variety of early views that clashed. Try reading instead The Secret Gospel by Morton Smith. There are no car chases in Smith's book, but it is an interesting account of finding what seems to be a passage from a secret gospel of Mark. Moreover, it shows how a real scholar thinks, which includes considering alternative explanations. And Smith's conclusions are quite unorthodox, if that's what you're looking for.
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