Rating: 
Summary: Too Much Fiction and Not Enough Truths
Review: As the US monetary system prints more and more money so the US economy is not buried alive, more and more people are finding their way into the non-productive sector of our economy. This is where the printed money is going. With this trend, being emtertained by "big money" entertainers has become more important than seeking big truths. Holy Blood Holy Grail,The da Vinci Code, etc. do not deserve the time and money of the people of the USA. These books do not seek those truth levels that are consistent with the continued development of the minds of our citizens. And, this development of our minds must continue if we want to keep our nation. We need more truth-seeking scientists and mathematicians, not more entertainers.Jesus Christ was a divine inventor. We are not sure how to interpret the teachings of a divine inventor because such teachings are completely new and infinitely turbulent. Interpreting Jesus literally is misleading. Jesus describes the new powers of His teachings with the metaphor "living water. (See John 4:14)" I believe that only a handful of truths about Jesus are known today. So, today's fictional books, such as this book on da Vinci, are troublesome for our nation. These secret societies are also troublesome. Leonardo was also an inventor. But he was not a divine inventor. This is why we can understand his notebooks. He was also a follower of Christ saying, "The man becomes happy who follows Christ." (See Vol. II, page 463 of "The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci" by Jean Paul Richter, Dove Publications). This book does not deal with truths at the level I want. Nor is the book at the level needed by our new generations.
Rating: 
Summary: Holy Grail - Holy Moses!
Review: As this product of "breaking the mold" new generation style of writing has stayed so long on the best seller list, it must have given pleasure to enough holiday makers and switch-offers. It is a good read as entertainment and is full of interesting stuff about the Vatican and Opus Dei that rings true, however further analysis leaves the intelligent reader frustrated by naivity of the details (the mirror writing is so obvious) and other points of fact are inexcusable and should have been checked on the web before publication. There are so many solicisms to list, starting with his idiotic ideas about customs regulations. Then, even before terrorism changed the rules, no car, not even a "Jaguar stretch limo with smoked windows and whitewall tires" would get near to parking on Horse Guards Parade for more that the time it takes to tow it away. If I remember my Westminster Abbey correctly, the Chapter House is entered from the East Cloister and has no possible view of College Garden. Because it comes under the Department of the Environment you have to pay to get in. It has a famous medieval tiled floor, not a stone one, and felt slippers are issued to the public. St Faith's Chapel is off the South Transept, not the Cloisters and his other topographical descriptions are rubbish. There is no brass rubbing permitted except in the Cloisters. These sort of factual mistakes are unforgiveable as they take the reader's mind of the main theme of the book and make one wonder how many similar mistakes are there in the Paris scenario. I made a list of several other minor factual errors before getting bored making it. The idea behind the book is a good one as is the plot. We all know how Church history has been massaged and like to read about it. Perhaps he can now do a sequel about Islam! If Don Brown has made enough money out of this, perhaps next time he can employ a couple of research assistants to keep him on the straight and narrow.
Rating:
Summary: fake history and grade b writing
Review: As with others, I found the lack of research appalling. From Brown's assertions about the council of Nicaea, to his dates for the gnostic gospels, to his factiods about Constantine--this novel is rife with both errors and willful replacement of fact with fantasy. Further, the writing style, grammer and syntax left me feeling like I was reading a high school newspaper. If Brown wants to join the ranks of Umberto Eco, he'll have to work a lot harder the next time around.
Rating: 
Summary: Eye-opening
Review: Astounding information relating the Church and today's modern day affairs. The story's pace is fast and gripping. Plot may be a bit too complicated for some people but just right for me. Must read blend of history, action, suspense, and humor.
Rating:
Summary: Promising start, stumbling finish
Review: At first I couldn't put this book down-the plot twists and clues were holding my interest pretty well. Then the situations got more preposterous, the chance encounters more convenient and the plot twists got predicable, which should be a cardinal sin for a book championing cryptology.
Rating:
Summary: The novel of the year
Review: At my local library. There is a guy that reviews books and he knows I like his picks. He actually walked up to me and handed me this book. He said this book is great. When he says a book is incredible his batting avearge is 1000. So i am 10 pages into this book and I am like oh my god this is great. I love to read historical books and I love to find out how things were named. You actually learn from this book. You learn about how Friday the 13th got named. You learn about Fibonuci numbers. You learn about the great life of Leonardi Davinci. Once you get to the part where he talks about the picture of "The Last Supper" and you go look at the actual painting. You will be amazed. Don't read to many reviews of the actual story because it will ruin the fun of this book. And after your done you can go to Dan Brown.com and his website has pictures of all the great museums and paintings that are in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A fair entertainment, but a poor book
Review: At one level The Da Vinci Code is a good read. It moves quickly and engages the reader from the beginning. It's a piece of mind candy that can be digested in an afternoon. In the process, one can pick up a few interesting facts that can be shared over dinner or at a party - the Golden Ratio, the Fibonacci sequence, and a smattering of art history (though Mr. Brown's interpretation of "The Last Supper" shouldn't be considered definitive; don't tell people that Mary Magdalene sits beside Christ in that painting unless you want them to know that you learned all you know about Da Vinci from "The Da Vinci Code"). At another level, this novel is a disappointment. It doesn't really matter much in this type of book whether the author gets his historical and geographical facts right. The book doesn't pretend to be an academic treatise on theology and history. It's a thriller and a mystery, and what matters is that the characters be convincing and the clues be consistent. In that regard the book fails. When an internationally renowned historian and expert on Da Vinci fails to recognize that a message written by another Da Vinci expert and placed in a box designed by Da Vinci is written as Da Vinci would write it, backward, wondering instead whether it's written in some arcane Semitic script, you can only roll your eyes and call him a dunce. When two highly educated and supposedly brainy characters are stymied (even if only for a couple of pages) by their lack of a numerical bank code, you're left wondering why they've forgotten the sequence of numbers left in the dying message of the man to whose bank box they're trying to gain access, a message they saw only hours before. Is he so besotted by her glorious hair and she by his rugged good looks that they can't remember numbers that were so important to them that very night? Over and over these brilliant dunces miss or forget the obvious, or at least what should be obvious to them. Well before one of these dim-witted geniuses has the meaning of the Holy Grail spelled out for her, the reader has already put the whole thing together. All that's left is to figure out who the master-mind is behind the book's murders. There Mr. Brown cheats. If a murder mystery (and at one level, that's what this book is) provides the reader with clues, it should provide clues that allow the clever reader to solve it before all is revealed at the end. Rigorous logic should lead to only one possible answer. This novel provides clues that lead logically to the wrong answer, and at the very end suddenly provides new information that requires a re-interpretation of the clues that came before. That's rather shabby. The story's denouement also serves to reduce the novel's shaddow of menace and sense of great and important events to a bit of feel-good pop religiosity and a comically pitiful villain. By the time we find the Grail and catch the killer, we wonder what the fuss was all about. I didn't like this book. That isn't to say that I wouldn't recommend it as light reading and entertainment, but I'd feel disappointed if I expected anything more from it. After all the hoopla, I did expect more. Mr. Brown has done some interesting research and written an interesting story, but he hasn't written it very well, and the editorial enthusiasm for his research speaks volumes about the low standards of editorial writers.
Rating:
Summary: Death Doce Civin (ooh, an anagram!)
Review: At one point during the reading of The Da Vinci Code a distinct image comes to mind. Robert Langdon, Sophie Neveu and Sir Leigh Teabing are flying in a small plane over the English Channel, drooling deliriously over an object composed of five rotating pieces around something that gurgles inside, aka a "cryptex." But wait...Robert Langdon is actually (gasp) a woman...the long-flowing tresses and secretive, knowing smirk undeniable beneath the symbolic facade. And he (she) is looking not at the cryptex, but at Sophie, who is actually (gasp, gasp!) a giant, blooming rose! Hold on now, for between them sits Leigh (is that really a MAN's name?) Teabing (an ingenious anagram of 'Beating'!). The Briton is wearing an androgynous mask, half white, half black, so if he turns one way he appears black (man), and the other way white (woman).
Oh, the symbolism! The double entendres! The shocking yin and yang of it all!
The Da Vinci Code is "based" on one fact: there once was a man named Leonardo da Vinci, and he painted some paintings and he jotted down some nifty ideas. Beneath all of the hype, The Da Vinci Code is genuine fiction. If not recognized as such, a lot of bad information and misinformation gets propagated to the masses.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I expected
Review: At the beginning I was enthralled....then, being a -dyed- in- the- wool Christian, I found Langdon's( the main character) revelations disturbing. Am I lost here? or what? I know lots of people have trouble with the whole Christian doctrine...the virgin Mary, Jesus, Son of God, died, rose to everlasting life,and Savior from our sins, but either we have all been duped, making our faith an exercise in futility, or I just fell for a fictional story that seemed so real! I have to give Mr. Brown credit for creating such a story. He sure had me feeling confused- (I am still trying to find a picture of "The Last Supper" to see if there is a woman at Jesus'right!!) I read on to the end, but still felt unsettled, thinking many people in the world actually believe the explanation about Mary Magdelene being the wife/lover of Christ. Anyway, it's not the questions/details/facts that make the Christian message so powerful, but the fact that all that Christ did and said was meant to improve the quality of life for all people and a wonderful guideline for life, both for the doer of right and those to whom right should be done.
Rating:
Summary: Why all the Fuss?
Review: At the outset and in order to minimalise any suggestions of pre-conceived bias, I am not a Christian. Indeed, I am not a believer in any faith. I chose to read "The da Vinci Code" simply as a piece of escapist literature. The book largely fills this capacity. I am puzzled as to how people can be offended or shocked by Brown's work. It would seem that some people are easily upset and prone to self-righteousness. The book involves a series of murders that are all related with a clear Christian sub-text. In this sense, I think the book justifiably earns three stars from five. As to the sub-text, the book suggests that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and had at least one child. So what! A thirty two year old man 2,000 years ago would be very unusual if he had not married. Why on earth is this such a big deal? Surely, the Christian faith is strong enough without being seriously challenged by one book? Returning to the novel at a more general level, Brown has produced a stock standard thriller. The plot reveals itself with a religious theme but ends more with a whimper than a bang. Read the book to be informed as to all the fuss, but do not expect a work of literary greatness.
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