Rating: 
Summary: Well told story, wacky theology
Review: This book is written in an engaging style and the story draws you in quickly. The writer's knowledge of France and Art is impressive. The mystery aspect is pretty well done also, but there are HUGE problems. The bizarre theology and deep and ongoing conspiracy theories are hard to tolerate. The wacky theological presentations are especially offensive to devout Christians, accurate historians, and others who respect the Bible.
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Summary: Historical Fiction?
Review: I have to admit that I really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code. It was a page turner. I was impressed by Mr. Brown's interweaving of facts and fiction... but it got to a point that I am concerned many people are forgetting that it is a fictional novel! Many people are using it a historical research, which it is not. Although it does bring to public attention some issues of Church history that will be new to many. A good read, if you keep your eye on the main point... this is intended to be an enjoyable novel (not a research paper). Enjoy!
P.S. I enjoyed this much more than Angels & Demons, which was much more violent and had way too much blantant foreshadowing.
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Summary: Big Hype - Little Follow Through
Review: The Davinci Code starts out with a bang and disappointingly leaves you hanging at the end. Though it is a work of fiction, it includes some inaccurate references to real events. Things as simple as the date the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered are inaccurate. It's an average thriller, but I am concerned that Christians may take some of his other presentations at face value and feel they need to rationalize their faith in light of some disturbing "facts."I don't think the book is worth the time one spends reading it, and Dan Brown should certainly refrain from attempting to incorporate fact - especially important ones - into his works of fiction.
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Summary: The DaVinci DeCoded
Review: The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown is a good read for those who like their protagonists wearing panties. Robert Langdon, the protagonist, is a Harvard professor of symbols who is uncomfortable around guns. He teaches art to prison convicts on the weekends. And when he makes his get away, he makes it in a SmartCar that gets "[a] hundred kilometers to the liter." (However, he has to pull over to let his female counterpart drive because he can't operate a standard transmission vehicle). Mr. Langdon inhabits a strange world. In his world, everyone seems to be a member of a mysterious secret society that is battling for the supremacy of their group's secret symbols. The book's characters carry, protect and chase symbols across the globe because the power to control symbols is the power to control people like software controls a computer. Our world isn't the world of Mr. Langdon. Symbols of power hold little currency in today's world. Science has educated the world that the forces of nature are not controlled by symbols and magic, which has made science the enemy of people like the environmentalist Unabomber, who tried to stop 'technology' by mailing bombs to universities. In addition, free and open societies undermine the need for secret societies. If there can be an organization that publicly advocates the molestation of children (NAMBLA), why would any organization need to be a secret society? The Da Vinci Code contains a grand conspiracy. What kind of conspiracy might a panty-wearing professor from Harvard believe in? Something along these lines: Mother Earth has been destroyed by masculinity and this attack against femininity has been led by the Catholic Church. According to Langdon, the Catholic Church is the enemy of humanity because it is the official representative of the masculine. Langdon doesn't mention of the Virgin Mary and how she is part of this conspiracy of men. Is the Catholic Church this powerful? Are they that opposed to women? Are they that impotent against a few flamboyant artists? This conspiracy began with the Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantine pulled the lever from feminine to masculine and it has all been downhill since the fifth century, even though the book contradicts itself and says on the next page that the lever was pulled two thousand years ago. The conspiracy actually suggests that when Constantine yanked the lever (so to speak) all the orthodox rabbis became men. Does Langdon's assertion that Jews are controlled by the Vatican make this an anti-Semitic as well as an anti-Catholic novel? This conspiracy seems as Christo-centric as it is anti-Christian. The conspiracy suggest that in geographical areas not controlled by the Church and before Christianity began the world was inhabited by a single people with a single mind and culture that worshipped femininity. What about brutal non-Christian societies like the Samurais, Rome, Egypt and the Aztec's with their human sacrifices. The Church isn't the cause of all of the problems in the world. As my anthropologist professor once said, the theory of ancient humans has gone from assuming cavemen were brutes to assuming they sat around sipping white wine. Langdon adds that they were politically correct liberals as well. How does DaVinci fit in? He's a homosexual who was opposed to the Church, according to Langdon. DaVinci's famous Mona Lisa painting is a philosophical statement that makes the argument that the masculine and feminine forces in the world must be balanced, but in today's world the masculine force is in control. Langdon, however doesn't seem interested in balancing feminine and masculine forces. Langdon wants a world where feminine forces are in control. If feminine forces were put in control everyone would worship something called the sacred feminine and participate in public fornication ceremonies. Langdon is not looking for balance. He's just looking to get laid. This is a book in the code genre, which seems to be popular now, i.e. The Bible Code. The prose is indistinguishable and the action doesn't pick up until the middle of the book. This book tells a lot more than it shows. Every action in the novel is stopped for a lecture on subjects ranging from pentagrams to cryptography and art. The flashbacks may have a higher word count than the present day narrative, which takes place in Paris and London. If this were a movie, the constant flashbacking would produce a film that looked like an editor splicing a documentary movie into an action film. These little flashback lectures are the best part of the book and the little puzzles are clever, even if their power to suspend disbelief is weak. If you read the novel as a brief educational course on symbols or are a member of the Priory of Sion, KKK or other anti-catholic organization you may enjoy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Quelle horreur...
Review: I bought this book out of curiosity since so many Americans have or are reading the book. Who wants to be left out? When I opened the book, I was unaware of the hubbub it has created in the U.S. However, from the start, I had to force myself to read on. I was too aware of the many italics thrown on every page, and the storyboard format. In addition, rather than developing his characters, the setting, the narrative suspense, I was constantly being lectured by someone so much more "knowledgeable". Very condescending! And I was constantly asking myself, are his facts accurate? Suspicion came already in his descriptions of Paris: Gare Saint Lazare to go to Lille (it is the Gare du Nord) and the Bois de Boulogne is not a forest but woods and not entirely sinister, filled with prostitutes. He does give interesting facts, PHI, the blade and chalice but all have the flavor of hocus-pocus. His historical sidetracks only tried my patience, it seemed like padding on to a contrived story. A couple of positive points, the book does encourage discussion and perhaps even motivate Americans to rediscover Paris and France.
Rating: 
Summary: Something you should know first!
Review: As every other reviewer will tell you, the Da Vinci code was an amazing story. As other reviewers will attest, if you like a good detective story where anybody can be the villian, this is a great book. But there was an issue I had with the book which, while not ruining the book for me, it could catch you by surprise and should be pointed out before reading this. The thing is, the story strongly goes against Christianity and in order to follow the investigation of the book, you have to make some assumptions that what you learned in sunday school was wrong. I'm not saying don't buy the book (I did give it four stars) but at least be aware that you may have to deal with it as you read it. That aside, enjoy!
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Summary: Historian's Nightmare
Review: I'm very disappointed by this novel's flaunting of itself as being correct in its details, though essentially fiction. For instance, the finding of the dead sea scrolls is misdated, and that's only the beginning of all the errors. It's sheer fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Great novel
Review: The book is great, it's the most entertaining thriller I've read in a decade or more. The characters were likeable and while the action was sometimes implausible, it was nonetheless entertaining. It was like an adult Harry Potter novel in the sense of sheer fun. You do not have to agree with the conjectures the characters make about the Bible and Jesus in order to enjoy this book. The book is like a guided tour through a whole interesting area of historical and theological thought, whether you agree with the ideas or not, they are at least interesting to be exposed to. I have to disagree with those who say this book reads like a movie treatment. The novel is mostly dialogue, in fact you could say it is a 450 page conversation. That would not make for a very successful movie at all. If the author had intended to make it just to sell a movie he would have made it mostly action, that is what sells tickets. This is a "pure" novel, in the sense that it is best experienced in the novel form, as it is mostly dialogue, ideas, puzzles and historical exposition. It would be pretty bad as a movie, but it is entertaining and interesting as a book.
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Summary: Decoding ¿The Da Vinci Code¿
Review: from Newsweek. (Dec. 8 issue)... Decoding 'The Da Vinci Code'
Antonio Calanni / AP For millions, the phenomenal best seller is their introduction to the arcane and mysterious 'shadow history' of the early church. Herewith, an attempt to separate truth from fiction. Did Leonardo include Mary Magdalene in his "Last Supper"? Most art scholars say no. The figure reputed to be Mary Magdalene is actually the beloved disciple John, who is usually depicted young and clean-shaven. Were Jesus and Mary M. married? Although there is no way to prove or disprove this, most experts consider it highly unlikely. Their main argument: there is no mention of it in canonical writings. Was Mary M. a prostitute? This misperception probably began with a sermon by Pope Gregory the Great in A.D. 591 in which he conflated several figures into one. In 1969 the Vatican officially overruled Gregory. Are Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion real organizations? Yes, but there is no indication that either is involved in any plot to conceal or reveal secrets of the Holy Grail. What is the Holy Grail? The most widely accepted idea is that it was the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. Others have hypothesized that it was a secret book. In the 12th century a French abbot claimed to possess it; his silver chalice now resides in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Did male leaders cover up the true role of women in the early church? Yes, in the sense that history is written by the winners, and in a patriarchal society, men had a big edge. What happened to Mary M. after the Resurrection? Nobody knows. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, she went to Turkey. A Western legend says she went to Provence. Did Leonardo hide clues about church secrets in his paintings? Art historians doubt it. © 2004 Newsweek, Inc.
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Summary: Breath Taking Ride Through History
Review: This is one book that will amaze you in every chapter and keep those pages turning. Dan Brown's immense imagination burrows its way starting from a murder in Louvre Museum back through the 2,000 years of European history. Did Jesus have any descendants? Who was really Mary Magdalene? Did the most spectacular brains of Western Civilization all belong to a secret society? What could be their purpose? And how are all these fascinating questions related to the murder case with which the book begins so "innocently"? Dan Brown will lead you through the labyrinths of possibilities and juicy conjectures that you've never dreamt of before. Great non-stop entertainment. Highly recommended.
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