Rating: 
Summary: AWESOME!
Review: The best book that I have read in over 15 years. Do not hesitate to pick up this book it is worth the buck. Warning: don't start reading this book if you have stuff to do, it will consume you. The first night reading I was up past 2AM. The only thing I wish the book had was photo's of the works of art described in the book. After reading the book go to Dan Browns website he has a great collection of photos.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay yarn, badly told and too impressed with itself
Review: The best I can say for Dan Brown here is at that at least he cops to all the sources for his story (including not only the 1980's best seller "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," but Brown's own prequel!). The real problem with this book is that it's just badly written.The plot itself is moderately entertaining, but Brown engages in the annoying habit of dancing around a topic for chapters and chapters to avoid telling the reader what the characters already know. Brown repeatedly refers to what Sophie saw her grandfather doing that kept her from speaking to him for twenty years, but doesn't reveal it until near the end, so while it remains a mystery to us, it's hard for us to have any sympathy with Sophie's trauma and, after a while, we just don't care what she saw. And having a "cliffhanger" every four pages just gets tiresome, as do the intellectual and artistic references that don't drive the plot, but seem to be there simply so that we can be impressed with the wealth of Dan Brown's knowledge. Is it really descriptive to say that the evening made Langdon feel like he was in a Salvador Dali painting? There are enough artistic and scientific references that fit in with the plot to make this uneccessary. Finally, some of the plot points (which I won't spoil), are just too convenient, stuck in to make for a tidy wrap up of certain loose threads. I was looking forward to a good yarn involving art, science and religion, but considering the lack of anything novel in the plot, it would have to be a lot better written to have held my attention. The underlying concepts, e.g., the notion of the perfect number, the symbolism in ancient and renaissance art and architecture, etc., are really interesting and I wanted to read more about them. The hokey plot and mediocre writing just kept interrupting all the good stuff. A decent read on the topic if you don't want too much of a challenge, but if you're willing to work a little, Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum" is a much more rewarding Knights Templar conspiracy romp.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read if you lower your expectations
Review: The book and its topic are fascinating cocktail party talk - but I don't think the book lives up to the hype. I read this in one afternoon - it was engaging and enjoyable, but not great literature or (yes, a bad pun) the bible truth. I know it is fiction, but I thought the author took some liberties with the geography of Paris, as well as the actual history of the Priory and Templar Knights, which I found distracting. I enjoy reading books set in places I am familiar with and inaccurancies take away from that. It's just not that hard to get from the Louvre to the American Embassy. I'd recommend it, but with a few caveats.
Rating:
Summary: Da Vinci Code Fraud
Review: The book as a whole is well written but on the first page of the book, Mr. Brown implies that all material research is truthful and highly accurate. After researching several of the organizations and researching the Gospel of Mary Magdelene and researching the Da Vinci picture of the Last Supper, I found that Mr. Brown had taken an immense amount of Artistic License with little fact about the actual organizations. Especially if the organizations were related to the Catholic Faith. I also have found after reading several of Mr. Browns books that he seems to have a personal vendetta against the Catholic Church that comes through all of his books that I have read to date. If Mr. Brown had not implied that the research done on this book was truthful and accurate, I would have recommended that anybody read the book as an enjoyable read of fiction. I just can't recommend the book knowing that people will believe what He says about the organizations in the book. I won't get into a debate about the implication that Jesus had descendants or that the Holy Grail are his descendents. If you could stomach the movie "The last temptation of christ", you will probably stomach this book. Just keep in mind that as inaccurate as "The last temptation of Christ" is, so is this book.
Rating:
Summary: A cerebral thriller
Review: The book begins with Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon being roused from his sleep by the French Judiciare. The curator of the Louvre was found murdered in the museum's Grand Gallery, his body positioned in the manner of Leonardo da Vinci's famous Vitruvian Man and a pentragram drawn on his torso with a cipher patterned after Fibonacci's sequence. With Paris detective Sophie Neveu, Langdon seeks the truth about the murder. In the process, he gets entangled with the Priory of Sion (a secret society that counts Sir Isaac Newton, Boticelli and da Vinci as members), Opus Dei (a powerful religious organization sanctioned by the Pope) and the Vatican itself in pursuit of a secret that could alter the fate of mankind. I have mixed opinions of this book. The New York Times calls it "erudite fiction" and I agree, definitely not your standard-issue suspense thriller. Author Dan Brown sprinkles the novel with ample historical information about art, religion and history, against the backdrop of cryptology and symbology. He intertwines conspiracy theories with historical facts to peel the skin off long-held beliefs that we always accepted as gospel truth. On the other hand, this is still pop fiction; one gets the feeling that Mr. Brown has his eye on a movie deal. His prose is serviceable, but hardly memorable. His pacing also left me exhausted; with every short chapter a cliffhanger, the novel is like a neverending obstacle course on overdrive. This book sufficiently entertains, if you don't mind myriad information that at times stretch credulity. If nothing else, it would make you want to Google away and check its veracity for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: The Da Vanci Code is not even good fiction.
Review: The book centers around this secret society of Sion which is supposedly tasked with keeping a secret of great power, a secret which has given power, wealth, and success to those who possess it. The story falls apart once the secret is revealed.
The author makes no attempt to show how the secret actually resulted in power, wealth, or success, nor can one reasonably postulate how it could, if your goal is to keep the information secret. What would anyone in such a secret society have to gain by keeping such information secret, if it did not really lead to wealth or power? The story would have at least made sense and would have been far more interesting if the secret were how to greatly prolong life, or how to generate wealth, or something that would reasonably explain the connection of wealth and power with possessing the secret, and why someone would want to maintain the secret. The reason for the society possessing so much power is totally absent. The author also fails to support why someone would be motivated to murder to possess the secret.
Rating:
Summary: Each Page Left Me Hungry For The Next
Review: The book had me hooked after only a few pages. Dan Brown has a way of giving you just enought information to keep you wildly interested without giving away the plot. Most books are very perdictable, but not this one. The revelations kept coming up to the last page.
Rating:
Summary: Clever, but
Review: The book has a clever premise, but it is predictable (I figured out almost every "surprise" before it was revealed, and if I can do it, it must not be very surprising)and not that well written. How many times in one book can you interrupt the revelation of an important piece of information for the sake of "suspense"? It got routine and boring after a while. Also, the characters were flat - you never really got to know who they were, but then again, I never really cared, either.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Story!!!
Review: The book has so many twists and turns, I just couldn't put it down once I began reading it. Dan Brown gets you involved in the story right from the beginning. Admittedly, the author draws on theories and concepts that have been written about previously by other people, but purely as a thriller, this book is very good. It is also evident that a fair amount of research went into this book. If you remember that this is after all, a work of fiction, you can really enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Reader Beware _ There are no FACTS in the book
Review: The book is a fast paced thriller that would probably make a great movie. The core problem is that is presents "facts" throughout the book regarding the origins of Christianity. If you review any published commentary on the book, you will find that it is poorly researched and most "facts" in the books are just warmed over theories, most of which are not based on any historical facts. Reader beware - DO NOT READ anything in the book as a true fact! With that in mind, where is the outrage regarding The Da Vinci Code? Where are the pundits on Fox, CNN and MSNBC decrying the No.1 bestseller that mixes "fact" and fiction in such irresponsible manner, leaving the reader with the impression that Christianity is just hoax? Where are those people who vehemently objected to Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion" but who apparently have no problem with a book (and a movie) that questions whether there is any legitimate basis to Christian beliefs? This is not just an attack on the Christian religion, it is attack on all organized religions including Judaism and Islam. The book is both anti-Catholic and anti-religion, and in wierd way - pro-pagan. The mainstream media has used the book as opportunity to explore the role of woman in early Christianity. That is just a sideshow, the book is a frontal assault on most Americans' core beliefs. The misinformation contained in the book will only spread further once the movie is released which is sure to be a blockbuster.
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