Rating: 
Summary: Well written, but utterly ridiculous!
Review: Alright how to review a book that uses know intelligence at all. Hmmm... well it seems as though the public believes anything they are told. Even if the "facts" told to them are from a fictional "expert." This is the sad state of the world today. The book opens with the death of the curator of the Lourve, The Da Vinci Code is a mystery story and is reframing the way people think about Christianity, the church, and Jesus himself. First off the premise of this book really isn't original. It was done before in the 1970s, but recieved little to no support. Anyway the novel finds Harvard "symbologist" Robert Langdon thrown together with a french cryptologist and the daughter of the slain man, Sophie, as they try to unravel a series of clues hidden in the works of da vinci and they attempt to deny the diety of Christ. Using many made up facts and imaginable 80 gospels which have been disproven as propaganda devised by the atheist, alot of the actual historical facts are inaccurate such as the exact date of the discovery of the dead sea scrolls. The book says they were discovered in the 1950s, which is untrue, they were actually discovered in 1947. It is one thing to offer a novel that posits all sorts of conspiracies and theories that intrigue the imagination and provide fodder for coffee-break discussion, but it is entirely different when a writer puts things into the mouths of his fictional characters and present it as true, proven facts when they hae obviously been disproven. Face it people, everyone that has tried to disprove the diety of Jesus Christ has failed miserably. Christ is the Son of God, okay so get over it. No amount of theories or false religions (i.e. atheism, muslim, agnostic) will change that. Besides the Bible already predicted these things, so we are never surprised with things like this. I'm shocked that many of you people buy into this. I mean art critics have examined da vinci's drawing of the "Last Supper" and every sunday school student knows good and well that their were 12 disciples, and that has been proven, and considering that this was the last supper all the disciples would be their. Because John doesn't have a beard, this guy gets it in his head that this must be Jesus's wife? WHAT RUBISH! Every historical document, ancient diary, and even all art critics say that the figure in the painting is of a young man without a beard. You see that pretty much takes the wind out of this persons argument. Brown's expert is wrong on even simple, basic facts. As I mentioned before, The Dead Sea Scrolls were not discovered in the 1950s but in 1947. They were documents from a Jewish community that thrived during the time just prior to Jesus' life. They not only do not contain any "gospels" of any kind, but make no reference to Jesus at all. There are a few "gospels" among the Nag Hammadi documents, but based on the dating of the documents themselves, the allusions to the Canonical Gospels found in them, and the references found in the Early Church Fathers to the teaching that permeates the Nag Hammadi material, it is reasonable to conclude that these so-called gospels all are much later creations than the Canonical Gospels. The discriptions of Jesus is inconsistence not only with the Gospels, but what is known about Jesus from sources outside of the New Testament. It is true that Jesus is the most inspirational leader the world has ever seen, but He did not personally topple kings. Ultimately, His followers did influence millions for Him, but His personal ministry touched far fewer. Although He is the Messiah and as such the rightful heir to David's throne, His life was not recorded by thousands of His followers. Not only is there no reliable historical evidence of such wide spread recording, but seeing as He lived in a time when writing materials and ability were scarce, it is unreasonable to make such an assertion. Also this moron, Brown, has his "expert" quoting from the Gospel of Philip. There are some Aramaic/Syrian nuances in the work, but it doesn't exist in Aramaic. Apparently Brown intends for us to accept the idea that the original Armaic word that was translated into Greek and then into Coptic always means "spouse." But neither the word in Aramaic, or Greek, or Coptic for "companion" has as its only meaning "spouse." Face it, Jesus wasn't married, and He is the Son of God. So honestly as I have just exposed the stupidity of this lame-brained author, I hope you'll be smart and not support false teachings, and definately do not, under any circumstances, support this wad of junk. PLEASE, next time you try to deny the diety of Christ, at least get the facts strait Brown.
Rating:
Summary: trick book with a trick ending
Review: Also filled with errors of fact. For example, the author has Charles & Diana getting married at Westminster Abbey, & passes it off as fact. They did not get married at Westminster Abbey. They got married at St. Paul's. There are many, many other errors that are passed off as fact. This infects the whole book.
It starts off as a good locked-room murder mystery & should have stayed there. Instead it branches off into some kind of quasi-religious chase for the Holy Grail.
The ending is such a trashy & cheap trick ending that it has spoiled me on this writer for keeps.
Rating: 
Summary: An Intriguing Attempt To Change The Fundamentals Of History
Review: Although an interesting read, I do NOT encourage anyone to read The DaVinci Code. This book is a blatant continuation of a centuries-old attack on the deity of Jesus Christ and a call for the return of paganism. The "proof" that Jesus Christ is not God, nor claimed to be God, is none other than the works of Leonardo DaVinci...of course, the fact that DaVinci lived 1500 years after Christ does not deter Dan Brown from concluding that DaVinci's work is more credible than the contemporaries of Jesus Christ who recorded Jesus Christ's own words, such as, "I and the Father are one," which is the reason why the religious leaders of the day sought to kill him (see John 10:30 & 31).To refute the Gospels that were written by eye-witnesses, Brown alludes to the gnostic gospels which were not written during the first generation of the Church and were written as the first attacks against the deity of Jesus Christ. Surprisingly, although Brown considers Jesus Christ a pivotal person in history, he never brings up the most significant reason that Jesus Christ changed time as we know it (B.C. and A.D.): over 500 people, including the Roman soldiers guarding his tomb, witnessed his resurrection from the dead and his ascension into heaven a month and a half later! What makes this an intriguing read is that in trying to build a case for worship of the goddess, Brown uses imagery from the Garden of Eden-a biblical theme. The innocent Eve, Sophie Neveu, is being tempted by both the knowledgeable but naive Adam, Robert Langdon, and by the devil himself: the deceptive and terribly capable, Sir Leigh Teabing. In Brown's story, Adam prevails over the devil because of Eve and Eve is exalted as the pinnacle of creation. That's a noble story but Brown creates it by debasing the deity of Jesus Christ and the history of Christianity. In Brown's tale, Mary Magdalene, not the Apostle Peter, is the rightful "head" of the Church (which is not an accurate statement of St. Peter's role as defined by Jesus Christ anyway). Mary Magdalene, the supposed wife of Jesus Christ, is the beloved disciple, not the Apostle John. It was the male disciples who, in Brown's tale, are anti-women and who in order to build an empire, suppressed the truth about Jesus and Mary and about Mary's rightful role. However, Brown fails to re-state that for this empire, all of Jesus Christ's disciples (except for John) suffered excrutiating deaths for their belief that Jesus Christ was God come in the flesh (St. Peter was crucified on a cross up-side down; others were boiled alive, cut in half, fed to lions...and so it continued for three centuries under various Roman rulers!). Apparently, Brown hopes his tale will convince nominal Catholics, Mormons who accept "extra-scripture" texts, and other religiously-minded people who are vaguely aware of who Jesus Christ is and who recognize DaVinci, Mozart and Newton, among others, as historical and therefore credible figures. My advice: Don't spend the money.
Rating: 
Summary: More Mystery!!
Review: Although Dan Brown's book falls far short as accurate history, I nevertheless found the novel to be an exciting portrayal of the tension and conflict between orthodox religious dogma and individual spirituality. Many others have provided detailed analysis of Mr. Brown's work. I'd like to simply suggest a couple sources for further reading on the subject. One is a short, simple, experiential book, and the other is more detailed and rigorously researched. The first is a picture book (but not just for children!) by Mark Shannon, illustrated by David Shannon. THE ACROBAT AND THE ANGEL is a beautiful story of individual spiritual mystery (and the divine feminine) under the nose of Catholic orthodoxy. Like THE LITTLE PRINCE, THE ACROBAT AND THE ANGEL can be enjoyed over and over again. Also recommended is Karen Armstrong's A HISTORY OF GOD. This remarkable, unbiased reference book has a wonderful chapter on the individual spirituality we call "mysticism." This is where the word "mystery" got its start. She shows how healthy reason and authentic faith are compatible and strengthen each other. So, hope this is a help to everyone who has been interested in Dan Brown's THE DA VINCI CODE. Enjoy!!!
Rating:
Summary: a book for the masses
Review: Although every once in a while THE DA VINCI CODE proves to be intriguing and presents some interesting religious and political issues, the misinformation and juvenile style of writing is taxing, to say the least. I have not studied the Priory of Sion or Opus Dei extensively, but the obnoxious 'FACT' page at the beginning of the book poses the question of just how and why Dan Brown is privy to all of these secrets of the Catholic church, and the alleged sexual rituals of Sion, among other things. If he would cite his sources when he occasionally stumbled upon a fact or two and used some other form of notation when he let his imagination get the best of him, the book would be slightly more credible.
In addition to the questionable credibility of the CODE, it was embarrassing to read Brown's attempt at dialouge, particularly when he was discussing advanced symbolism with his college students as well as the college inmates. I cringed as Brown's writing was immediately reduced to that of a small child, as every revelation Langdon the symbologist came to was greeted by astonishment by his various "classes". The situation was similar as Langdon and Teabing, the wealthy protector of the seekers of the holy grail, informed Sophie, Langdon's accomplice, about the grail, and I found it difficult to maintain my composure during these particularly painful passages.
It is interesting that out of all the books on the market, the public has chosen to embrace this one.
Rating:
Summary: The DaVinci Code, a disappointment
Review: Although fast-moving and often exciting, this novel ultimately becomes another formulaic disappointment. It is overall a reasonably good murder mystery with multiple synchronous plots and is set mostly in Paris, providing a nice European flavor. The excessive number of twists and "surprise" turns, however, is exceeded only by an overworked deus ex machina. I found Brown's subplot involving the church's response to the recent challenges to the New Testament canon a bit tiresome and overdone. The actual very interesting history of the Nag Hammadi and Gnostic Gospels is much better presented in Elaine Pagel's recent work "Beyond Belief". The author is also inaccurate in indicting the "Roman" Catholic church as the body which supressed the "heretical" gospels, when if fact, this occurred centuries before the great schism -- a minor point, of course. The complete absence of steamy and graphic sex (or any sex at all, save a chaste kiss at the end) must be unique in the modern novel. (Brown does vaguely describe one unusual sex scene which happened in the remote past.) My summary: Some good fun if you don't think about it too much while you are reading it. If you found Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum" too challenging, this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Eco 101
Review: Although I couldn't put the book down till I'd finished it, I can't quite say that it was all that great. For starters, there's just so many ideas which have blatantly been ripped out of Foucault's Pendulum (and some Baudolino) - the paris museum, templar knights, hidden secret which everyone's searching for... Seems to be somewhat of a toned down Eco for the intellectual proletariat!
Rating:
Summary: Catches Your Attention.....BUT
Review: Although I did thoroughly enjoy reading The Da Vinci Code, with its twists and turns, I found Dan Brown's book "Angels and Demons" to be far superior. Having read it prior to reading The Da Vinci Code, it's interesting and intriguing to see some of the themes intertwine between the two novels. The Da Vinci Code is certainly worth reading, but do yourself a favor and read "Angels & Demons".
Rating:
Summary: Not a flawless book, but an important one
Review: Although I do consider the underlying "truths" in this book somewhat simplistic, I do appreciate the "reverse discrimination" effect it achieves on challenging what I do believe are patriarchal consipiracies, power plays, and "mistruths" disseminated by orthodox religions, particulary the Catholic Church. Why would the Priory of Sion "worship Mary Magdalane as the Divine Mother, and Goddess"?, when one of the "truths" that they believed is that Jesus was only mortal, and himself not "God", but only elevated to that state by Constantine. Why didn't Constantine simply eradicate ALL references to Magdalane in the Bible, as though she never existed, if she was such a threat? Why does the Priory adopt some truths in the Constantine version of the Bible, such as Jesus'royal lineage, for example, but selectively discount other information in the same book? Furthermore, the theories in this book have been exposed for decades, and are nothing new, and yet the Church has not been "devastated." Yes, I do believe that Mary Magdalane was a noble pure woman of royal blood, that she was herself the actual "rock" the Jesus wanted his "church", for lack of a better word, to be built on, and that she did have the progeny as suggested in this book, and hidden gospels. I would love to see an Alpha female as the pope, and alpha female priests, and the "Goddess" find her rightful place within the vatican, and perhaps in the renaissance of the divine feminine someday, she will, in some form or another. If this book facilitates the swing of the pendulum, and clears Mary's name and honor, as it does, then even though it is by no means a flawless book, it is worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A "Gotta" Read
Review: Although I have previously read most of the information in this book, I was fascinated at the way the author put it together to create a page turner you couldn't put down, and that could haunt your dreams as well as give you marvelous ideas to discuss with your friends. The chapters are just "bite-sized", and each seems to end with a little mystery you just know will be solved in the next. You have to keep reading "just one more chapter" Some of it is facts, some speculation, some fiction. Its hard to know which is which, and the implications and possibilities are going to really make people think about what they really know about Jesus and Magdalene, the Templars, Masons, the Gnostics, pre-christian religions, secret societies, and the symbology of ancient religions.
Scotty Zilinsky
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