Rating:  Summary: Exciting Review: A solid page-turner that rivets the reader's attention. Tends toward cliches at times, but, overall, reading this book is a good investment of one's time.
Rating:  Summary: The Da Vinci Code Review: A spell binding novel packed with historical facts, tempered by intense intrigue. In this regard, Dan Brown weaves an exceptionally captivating, riveting tale, especially for those possessing a greater than passing interest in the evolution of Christianity and the legends surrounding it.
Rating:  Summary: Fiction, Not Fact Review: A story fascinatingly told. However, the author would like the reader to think there is some factual basis for his story -- and that's pure fallacy. Good imagination, but dreadful distortion of history.
Rating:  Summary: what life is all about by MO Review: a tale of anamolous convention that molests the notion of unequivical sanctimonious congruity, but does so with a passion that nearly eclipses that wondrous and loving book titled "what life is all about" by MO. both, though entirely different, reach and strike at the heart of the human condition. if you don't own both correct your err now.
Rating:  Summary: Engrossing...couldn't put it down Review: A terrific and suspensful "novel" which takes the reader through the twists and turns of a 2,000 year old mystery playing out in todays high tech environment. This is a great "story"...foget the hype about what it says or doesn't say about Christianity and the hypersensitive who can't handle any criticism fictional or otherwise. Dan Brown has not said anything in this book that others have not said for centuries, he just does in a great, readable, and enjoyable format. It's a great book and a great read.
Rating:  Summary: THE DA VINCI CODE Review: A thriller beautifully entwined with murder, religion, love, politics, mystery, and history. In Dan Brown's¡§The Da Vinci Code,¡¨there are endless surprises and exciting twists with the turn of each page. The storyline keeps the readers glued to this unpredictable bestseller. The adventure begins with the brutal murder of Monsieur Sauniere, the curator of the Louvre. With his last breath, he had positioned himself in a pose that imitate da Vinci¡¦s sketch of the ¡§Vitruvian Man" and was found in front of the renowned painting of the ¡§Mona Lisa.¡¨ Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is entangled in the mess with Sophie Neveu, a talented French cryptologist. Together, the pair find several baffling codes and hidden messages at the murder scene which direct Robert and Sophie into the search for the Holy Grail, where the proof of Jesus Christ¡¦s bloodline can be found. The couple then delves into the veiled mysteries of two millennium-old secret societies - the Priory of Sion, whose members included Botticelli, Newton and even Leonardo da Vinci - and Opus Dei, a religious Catholic society. Both societies have their special reasons for not wanting the breathtaking historical secrets of the Holy Grail of Jesus to be discovered. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the codes in the art of da Vinci, the powerful truth might be lost forever. What made the book more exhilarating is its¡§fact¡¨page. It states that the Priory of Sion is a real organization founded in 1099 and the Opus Dei was a controversial society that practices¡§brainwashing, coercion, and a dangerous practice known as¡¥corporal mortification'¡¨and they had just constructed a $43 million national headquarter in New York City. In conclusion, the story is layered with suspense and careful planning by the author. Every chapter seems like a piece of a puzzle and through Dan Brown's cleverness, all pieces fit perfectly.
Rating:  Summary: a tornado of a novel Review: A tornado may be formidable and awe-inspiring, but mostly they are brash, messy affairs.
This novel is a lot like a tornado. It certainly gets your attention, but then it's mostly sound and fury. Lots of interesting bits of history flying around, gone before you can get a good look at them, and then disappearing into the general chaos. The premise is good, but it plays out in a most disappointing way at the end. Wise old woman scolds men for running after the wrong things, and the reader is left feeling scolded too. Good trick if you can pull it off: set the reader up for something big and them make them feel guilty for wanting it. Except not every reader will fall for it. Finally, the author is (and I've thought about this for a while before decided on this word) stylistically ham handed. There's no rhythm in the prose, and every other sentence is built on the same diagram. Putting her pen down, the reviewer contemplated what to say next. Scanning the dictionary, she found no better way to put it. Contemplating why this novel frustrated her, she finally went to bed.
Rating:  Summary: Great books, page turner Review: A very good book, with a lot of interesting ideas in it. However, I think some reviews spoiled the fun by telling most of the story. Reviews should help people to decide if the book is good or not, not to show off that you have read it. A good book definitely worth readin.
Rating:  Summary: Save your money for a better book Review: About half-way through this book I began to regret the purchase. Dan Brown is overcome by his 'research' and the story never really gels. When an untrained person like me can decipher the anagrams faster than the characters who are experts, there is something very wrong. Brown doesn't sell the romance angle at all. Finally, he tries to un-do his shots at The Vatican and The Priory with a few apologetic sentences toward the end. With all the hokey rose symbolism rampant throughout the book, I felt surely the culprit would turn out to be Pete Rose.
Rating:  Summary: Brown Tries to Debunk Christ's Divinity Review: About halfway through the book, I realized it was only the short chapters obviously tailored for the Adult Attention Deficit readers among us that were keeping me turning the pages. I know it's fiction, but I find it disturbing that those who are unfamiliar with either Biblical or Art history might embrace Brown's attempt to discredit the divinity of Jesus Christ. There are many flaws in his theory. Christ never demeaned women. If you look at every episode where Christ encountered a woman in the New Testament, his tenderness and respect is evident. Also, Mary Magdalene was probably old enough to be Christ's mother. In Greek, the oldest woman was always listed first and in every instance where Mary Magdalene was listed in the New Testament, she is listed first, even before Jesus's mother. Which probably made her a woman comfortably into middle age. I don't know if Brown just has a bone to pick with the Catholic church, but he treats it as if it's the ONLY Christian church in existence. There are plenty of us Bible-believing non-Catholics out there who believe the Bible is God's holy word and are trying to worship and live our lies in accordance with the guidelines Christ left for us in the New Testament. Christ was both divine and human and that's the major point that Brown seems determined to discredit. If you can suspend disbelief and not mistake the combination of legend and conspiracy theories for fact, then you can probably enjoy this book. A similar, but much better written, book is the cult classic THE EIGHT by Katherine Neville.
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