Rating: 
Summary: The DaVinci Code
Review: This is THE must read book. I fell in love with it right from the start, and it is now my favorite. If you are only going to buy one book, this is the one to get. It perfectly combines just the right amount of intellect, danger, and history in one fantastic novel. I have not a single bad thing to say about it, other than the fact that it doesnt continue for eternity. I absolutely loved this book, and would recommend it for anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: This is THE mystery/historical and overall best book of the season. If anyone has a better book to offer I'd like to see it. The book revealed many unknown facts to me, and made me reevaluate my opinion of the Catholic Church.
Rating: 
Summary: WELL WRITTEN, BUT.....
Review: This is the second book in which Brown decides to make the Catholic Church look like a bunch of deceitful, fanatical, and desperate bunch of wackos. Brown knows how to write a book, but I frankly am tired of all this speculation. In this one, we find out what Brown thinks the Holy Grail is, and other assorted "facts" drawn through the ages. Give it a rest, Dan. You're a good writer, as shown in "Deception Point," but leave the church alone.
NOT RECOMMENDED.
Rating: 
Summary: entertaining, but the facts are not so clearcut
Review: This is the second fiction book in a row I've read in which Opus Dei and their practice of mortification of the flesh through a cilice has played a role (Tom Flynn's Galactic Rapture is the other). Dan Brown has taken the claims of Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln's Holy Blood, Holy Grail and made them into a murder mystery novel, full of codes, enigmatic verse, and tales of the Priory of Sion, Knights Templar, and the bloodline of Jesus. It's an entertaining quick read which may also stimulate further research into some of these claims. (For the record, I think the notion that Jesus was married is somewhat plausible, but not substantiated; the stories of the Priory of Sion being carriers of Jesus' bloodline almost certainly false; the stories of an ancient time of peaceful pagan goddess worship are probably bogus--Brown seems to be relying on Riane Eisler's The Chalice and the Blade, a work of pseudohistory.)
Rating: 
Summary: Baloney
Review: This is the worst kind of illiterate writing extant. I am not referring to its religious point of view. The grammatical errors are enough to make me throw the book into the trash, along with Danielle Steele and John Grisham. For a page-turner, I recommend instead the Williams-Sonoma kitchen equipment catalog.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun but flawed
Review: This is truly a page-turner: I finished it in one day. The action hurtles along relentlessly, with fascinating detail as well as (largely) erudite commentary. It's so much fun that it seems churlish to complain, but there were enough errors, inaccuracies, improbabilities, and contrivances large and small to create a nagging feeling of sloppiness and manipulation. Call me a nitpicker, but I'm sick and tired of having people state a word as Latin when it is Greek (the opposite is rarer): a scholar such as Brown should know better. Referring to a sports car as an Astin Martin (at least twice) when it should be Aston Martin reveals sloppy research and editing. No Briton would ever say "downtown London": this is one of many similar slip-ups in tone. The Seine's waters should be "turbid", not "turgid". And the author falls into the usual trap of Western-centered blindness when he totally ignores the 1000-year history of Byzantium, the real mediaeval Roman Empire, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is in good company there: there was even a successful book called "How the Irish Saved Civilization"--as if Byzantium (not to mention the Arabs) never existed. Enough of the sloppiness. Let's move on to improbability and contrivance. Would a real conspirator use a hulking albino monk as the assassin? Why not have him carry a 10-foot sign "I am a killer", or have it tatooed on his forehead? And how does the hulking albino monk end up from a French port, where he kills someone, to a prison in Andorra, a tiny landlocked principality in the Pyrenees? The way the conspiracy works is ingenious but contrived and unsatisfying. The Louvre curator and his granddaughter use English in their elaborate riddles for the convenience of the English-speaking readers, and the reasons given are contrived. This is just a small sampling of many things that strain credibility. Character development is not a strong suit of the author by any means. All characters are one-dimensional, simply means to the end of carrying the plot forward, or sounding boards for the outpourings of symbology, dubious history, etc. Some, such as the Capitaine of the Judicial Police or Sir Leigh are out-and-out caricatures. Finally, there is enough mystical and secret society claptrap here to choke a horse. Maybe I expected too much. Even Umberto Eco ("The Name of the Rose", "Foucault's Pendulum"), who ploughed very similar ground wonderfully well, does not succeed on every level. And Dan Brown is no Umberto Eco. So, why did I give this book three stars? Because it is a cracking good yarn, entertaining, a real page-turner; and because it contains lots of provocative explanations about the use of symbols, the presumed suppression of the "sacred fiminine" by the early Christian church, the origins of Christian misogyny, the nature of the Bible, and the uneasy but interesting relationship between Christianity and paganism. A nicely written adventure story that makes one think is worth the price. If it could also be meticulously researched and edited, with effortless erudition, flawless prose and excellent character development, it would be a truly fine thing. That's why I like Patrick O'Brian. But that's another story.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't want it to end
Review: This is what reading a book should be. Too good to put down. And when it is finished, you want to further explore so many of the issues raised. The best combination of suspense and fun, mixed with historical and scientific realities.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This is without a doubt one of the best ten books I have ever read. An instant classic. It is compelling, thrilling, suspenseful, intriguing, and there is a surprise at every turn. You will come to love the characters instantly. You will be hooked by the time are to page 50 to the point where you are late going places because you couldn't put the book down. A definite must read.
Rating:
Summary: Ewww....
Review: This is without a doubt the worst novel i have ever read. The chracters never develop, the plot runs thin and it just isn't belivable enough to me. It was just Brown's excuse to try and get some money. I would rather take a hammer to my temple than read this trash again.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!!
Review: This is, hands-down, the best book I have read in a long while. I was quickly drawn in, and the ever-unfolding story held my attention wll the way through. I was torn between not wanting to put the book down and not wanting it to end. Contrary to another reviewer, I found the short chapters an effective means of keeping the pace of the novel brisk and exciting. This wasn't the first time I had heard some of the theories that the book offers, but it is the first time that I have felt compelled to research them for myself. Enjoy!
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