Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but I expected more.
Review: I'm not normally a novel reader. I got into this as I was discussing the foibles of Opus Dei with a friend who I guess I'd describe as a feminist activist. The author started with the fact that the Priory of Sion really does exist, and a little about Opus Dei (exactly that of which my friend and I were talking). From there it became a kind of quasi-feminist fantasy. As a mystery it's okay, I guess. The author led the reader on with questions that wouldn't be answered for a chapter or two. That was typical of a good mystery, I guess. But the "sacred feminine" that was being covered up by everyone, that the church had been an evil bunch of conspirators from the beginning and kept the "sacred feminine" under wraps, no. That's just stretching the feminist agenda to the point of bad fiction. In fact that may be a leading reason I don't read novels much. Apparently people have been approching my friend with questions on the Davinci code as if such a code is real. If those same people use the sacred feminine and other fictitious concepts in the book in the same way, it at least makes me uncomfortable. For those wondering, I'm a stauch feminist supporter. But when they rely on fictional concepts and just concocted nonsense, they do themselves more harm than good. So, if you spend your time reading mystery novels, you might want to get into this. If you're looking to be educated, this isn't the route to take.
Rating: 
Summary: Read "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" instead
Review: I'm not normally into paperback thrillers, but thought I'd give this particular book a go since I'm a bit of a (make that "lot of a") conspiracy/Fortean/Knights-Templars-are-the-Masons nut. As an introduction to said conspiracy theories surrounding Da Vinci, Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Templars, it's a quick read, though the author takes liberties with the original theories themselves (although if you don't believe any of the theories in the first place, this is hardly criticism). As a thriller, it's just dull. The lead characters spend their time running/driving from one place to another, with their enemies in hot pursuit (think Penelope Pitstop and the Hooded Claw). The characters are immemorable, and just mouthpieces for expositionary lumps of the above theories. The enemies come across as comical rather than forbidding, which they should be; it seems strange that a conspiracy that has some of the leading scientists and thinkers in world history at its heart only has a bunch of losers to oppose it (actually, there's not even enough of them to quantify as a "bunch"). (...)
Rating: 
Summary: Next to John Grisham, Dan Brown is the Best!
Review: I'm not one for reading many different authors. I usually only read books by John Grisham, but I received The Da Vinci Code for Christmas. The book captures your attention right from the start. The story line is great and it really makes you think. Unlike what others say, the book kept my attention the whole time, I literally couldn't put the book down. I spent an 11 hour marathon reading the book to it's end just to find out what happens. After the book I found myself researching the topic and joining online groups about the subjects listed in the story line.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Your Average Thriller
Review: I'm not someone who usually reads thrillers, but this one came recommended to me by another someone who isn't a real fan of the genre. I couldn't put it down. The plot's a lot of fun - it really keeps you guessing until the very end - but I enjoyed the historical aspects in particular as well as its lengthy discussions about art, architecture, and the intricacies of the Roman Catholic Church. It makes you want to hop on the next plane to Paris, which is no small commendation. Definitely worth the hype.
Rating:
Summary: Relax, it's fiction!
Review: I'm not sure what's got everyone so riled up about this book: perhaps it's the multitude of conspiracy theories that come together to make this story work? Maybe it's the potentially offensive character who kills in the name of the Catholic Church? I think it's a combination of the two. The book is based in truth - Brown did his research on the subjects of art, cryptography, and secret societies. But from there, he takes off in an imaginative and exciting direction, weaving a first-class story about art, history, murder, conspiracy theories, and secret societies. His protagonist, a symbologist named Robert Langdon, is trying to find out why a great art historian and curator at the Louvre has been murdered, and why he has been thrown together with the man's granddaughter by chance. Or has it been planned all along? Computer scientists, historians, and anyone with an open mind (remember, this is fiction, despite the strong factual base the story is built upon) will enjoy the twists, turns, puzzles, and intelligence involved in The DaVinci Code. It's a fast read, the characters are interesting, and the plot is absolutely stunning in its originality. Some earlier reviews mentioned awkward prose throughout the book, but it seems to me that that's just how certain characters speak. Internal thoughts and the author's vivid descriptions flow more gracefully than the sometimes stilted speech of some characters, but it wasn't a major issue. I certainly wasn't stumbling over it as I read. The pace of this book speeds up more and more until you get to the end and just can't put it down. This was the first e-book I bought for my pocketPC, and I'm glad I got it. I was reading it at every possible moment: in the car, on the bus, while cooking dinner. Though the beginning is very low-key, giving background on characters, history, and facts, you get sucked in quickly, and by the end, you find yourself staying up until the wee hours of the morning trying to read as much as you can. The online web quest that accompanies the book is highly recommended, too. Visit Dan Brown's web site to check it out - I'm glad this author has thought of his readers to such an extent that he's willing to create something like that for us to have fun with.
Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: I'm not sure why this book is number one on the bestseller list right now. It was a good, fun read, but not 'beats 'em all' caliber. If you're expecting something written in brilliant prose to knock you socks off, don't. But if you're looking for a good book to read, pick it up. It's entertaining, thought provoking and fun. If you don't read it with your expectations sky high because it's number one, then you'll probably enjoy it for the story it is.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating mystery
Review: i'm not typically one who gets engrossed by books, because frankly, most of those daunting, thick, best-sellers bore me. But this was great. i really couldn't put it down. before i knew it, i was 70 pages into it in my first sitting. It appeals to so many people. If you like reading about religion, art, mysteries, suspense, history, or even crime chases, you'll really like this. My only complaint was that i didn't really like the last chapter..i thought it was a bit of a cop-out into a cliche novel. the epilogue was good though. also, i think maybe it was a tiny bit too quickly paced. I was nice to see things move swiftly, and have the plot grab you and jump into full swing almost right away, but the pace got a little too frantic for my taste in some parts. but still, i'm 99% satisfied, and being quite a cynical person, i'm a tough critic to please.
Rating:
Summary: Klunky
Review: I'm only about 50 chapters into the novel. but that's enough to say that the style is very klunky, and dotted with questionable assertons. Brown is not a smooth stylist. Minor point: Bishops here are always addressed as "Bishop," rather than "Your Excellency." Brown refers to "the Bishop of Philadelphia." For quite a few years, Philly has had a Cardinal Archbishop. On the positive side, the story is fair, and maintains some suspense. But the underlying thesis cannot be taken seriously.
The evidence is too thin. Brown sacrifices some credibility when he has his Brit expert say that Constantine codified the canon of the Bible. Nope. In general, Brown makes some ludicrous simplistic statements for dramatic effect. I would recommend the book as a imaginative, sensationistic thriller, but with qualifications.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly baffling
Review: I'm referring, of course, not to the plot but to this book's huge success. It has made very little impact here in the UK but is now being marketed very aggressively so no doubt will be a best-seller here, too. I found it poorly written and pretty boring, full of implausabilities. The story keeps stopping while the author shoehorns in huge chunks of information and clunky descriptions of Paris. So why are you all buying this book?
Rating:
Summary: Good book, good narration, poor CD quality control
Review: I'm reviewing the unabridged CD set narrated by Paul Michael. I won't review the book here except to say I enjoyed it. I'll focus on the CD version. The book is narrated on 13 CDs in standard CDA format. Each CD contains about 25 tracks, each containing 3 to 4 minutes of narrative. This is more time than most CDs contain and it causes problems. I have four CD players in my house and not one of them could read the last five or six tracks from each CD without pausing, skipping, or crackling. I even returned the first set but had exactly the same problems with the second set. I downloaded some software specifically designed to recover bad CDs but even when I turned all the error correction options on, it still couldn't read some of the tracks. I have to conclude the CDs are not correctly burned. Who ever produced these CDs did a very poor job and really let Dan Brown, Paul Michael, and Random House down. Although it wouldn't bother most people, I noticed that the track information between CDs is inconsistent with track and album names being different formats between CDs. As I was trying to rip the CDs so I could listen to them on my iPod, I found myself taking a lot of time to re-enter the information in a consistent manner so the tracks would play in the correct order. I would have given this four stars if the CDs had been burned correctly. Perhaps Costco had a bad batch.
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