Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down...
Review: While this book was a complete thriller and everything you would want in a book (you really won't be able to put it down), I would have to agree with many of the reviews on here that most of the ideas in here are repeats. It seems like Brown was poring over books like "Holy Grail, Holy Blood" and even Merlin Stone's "When God was a Woman." Still, this is completely forgiveable because 1) he is introducing religious conspiracy theories (for lack of a better term) to the general public who may not have been familiar with such ideas beforehand and 2)the book is unable to be put down, so kudos to Brown. One of the best things about this book is that you can take an active part in the novel by working through the codes on your own, some of which aren't that difficult. Also, after reading this book, there were so many other books I wanted to read because of the many genres Brown touches on -- the life of Da Vinci, art analyzation, scientific revolutionaries (Newton, for example), religions (pagan and Christianity), secret societies and so on.
Rating: 
Summary: Facile and Pat
Review: WHile this story had some interesting information (or factoids), it was too pat and shallow to be worth all the hype. I recommend the art history mysteries by Iain Pears for better potboilers, and Pears's An Instance of the Fingerpost for a better novel with some depth.
Rating:
Summary: Less Suspense than Anticipated
Review: While this was a decent book, I found it lacking after Angels and Demons. A&D gripped me in a page-turning suspense with unseen twists. DVC seemed like it was trying too hard to make a point, and followed a rather well-known and over-used suspense plot. I was annoyed to be able to figure out most of the story well before the ending. Also lacking in this book was the relationship between the Langdon and his lead woman. It seems forced at the end and has very little throughout the story to imply anything should happen. This is a huge disappointment after the portrayal of the perfect "Indiana Jones-style" lusting in A&D. While I would still (hesitantly) recommend this book, I would suggest being prepared for a disappointment after the first Robert Langdon journey, which I would highly recommend to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Written in a language I think he believes to be English...
Review: Why did I read "The Da Vinci Code?" First, a couple of friends suggested that I do so. One had begun reading it, and recommended it; the other had had it recommended to her, and wanted me to do the dirty work. Second, I noticed that it was incredibly popular. There were 91 hold requests on it at the local public library. I found a copy on the shelf at the university library, which was recalled the day after I checked it out, but that left me time to read it. Third, what I heard about it made it sound suspiciously familiar, but I couldn't be sure unless I read it myself. So I did. I wasn't expecting "literature", contrary to what one of the other two thousand-plus reviewers said. It was marketed as a thriller, and high literature rarely makes it onto the middlebrow New York Times best-seller lists unless Oprah recommends it. But even with my lowered expectations, I was startled at how bad the writing was. Dan Brown is no John LeCarre, but he isn't even grand-master hack Lawrence Block. Brown's somewhere down there with, say, David Baldacci, whose "Absolute Power" I once read with similar incredulity. (Those who think "The Da Vinci Code" is the worst book ever written should try "Absolute Power." Or something by Rita Mae Brown.) I know little about art history, or the geography of Paris. But I'm pleased to see that Brown's factual inaccuracy wasn't limited to matters Biblical. The notion that Jesus wasn't considered "the son of God" by Christians until after 300, for instance, is absurd. How "the son of God" was interpreted changed, but the terminology is at least as early as the apostle Paul. Brown clearly thinks that the Dead Sea Scrolls were Christian writings (nope, they were pre-Christian Jewish.) The Nag Hammadi "Gnostic" writings, far from challenging Jesus' divinity, exalt it even more. They certainly don't show him as a human prophet. I'm no fan of Christianity in any of its forms, but Brown's fantasies are an embarrassment to any well-informed infidel. That so many reviewers here claim that they've never run into these ideas before just shows how ill-informed most Christians are. Brown's theories are derivative from start to finish. (Except maybe for his tribute to Walt Disney as a modern Da Vinci, an artistic genius of the same rank, a devout Goddess-worshipper secretly trying to keep the Divine Feminine Principle alive in his masterworks like "The Little Mermaid.") ...
Rating:
Summary: I'm sorry but has the world gone mad?!
Review: Why oh why is this book so popular? It's writing is okay, not stellar and not awful, but it's based entirely on a theory that has been around since the 1970s, based on the works of a French conman from the 1950s, which has been derided and laughed at and proved utterly false ever since, but now that it's wrapped in the clothes of a thriller it's being hailed a 'new' and 'exciting' concept? Are these people insane?
Rating:
Summary: Great characters
Review: With "DaVinci Code," Brown does a magnificent job of creating driving the story with a riveting plot. Character development is of secondary importance here, but it doesn't matter. The twists and turns of the story will draw you in...to a point where you don't care who's riding along with you. If you're into writers like Brown, Yann Martel, Mitch Albom, etc., then there's a new writer you should check out: GREG IPPOLITO. His most recent novel, "Zero Station," is a politically charged page-turner that pits its main Gen X character (John Saylor) against his Baby Boomer parents, teachers, etc., during the winter of 1991 -- in the heart of the Persian Gulf War. Right now, Ippolito is still a relative unknown (a friend turned me onto his work)...but this is a must-read. You can check him out and read an excerpt at: http://www.zero-station.net Don't miss it.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of Fun
Review: With "The Da Vinci Code," Dan Brown reprises his last novel, "Angels and Demons," by bringing back both his Robert Langdon character, and the fast and furious tone that make both books such thrilling reads. Let's be frank about this book. "The Da Vinci Code" is not a great literary work. What it is is a LOT of fun to read. While less complex and demanding than "Angels and Demons," this effort is no less enjoyable. The action starts with an early murder in Paris, and picks up speed after a brief and amusing scene involving Landon and a stereotypical French Chief Investigator. However, the reader soon learns the identity and motivation of the true murderer, after which the story transposes quickly into a rather cliche search for the Holy Grail, which is interesting, if not original. Brown didn't originate the ideas on which this story is based, and he doesn't claim credit for them. While they don't form the basis for a particularly believable story, Brown does successfully use them to generate a palpable sense of urgency around the story line, and that drives the reader from page to page in a flurry. The book reads quickly, and with immense satisfaction. I felt like Brown was leading me around with a carrot on a stick, just letting me get a little nibble here and there, while he unfolded chapter after chapter of this thriller. My only complaint is that I thought the ending wasn't particularly dramatic or satisfying enough for the plot: the climax just kind of fades away, instead of delivering the whole ending in a nice, wrapped-up package. In the end, the grail story is an apt subject for this book. In fact, "The Da Vinci Code" is quite an apt metaphor itself for the search for the Grail. Not so much as a murderer, Langdon and his co-protagonist, Sophie Neveu, are playing out a great scavenger hunt in search of the answers to some of life's greatest mysteries. And while Brown's themes of the Grail are far from mainstream, there's just enough of a hint of believability to draw the reader into the story and keep him there. The bottom line is that this book is fantastically fun to read. Don't look for anything else, here; this book doesn't need it. Don't critique it or analyze it. Buy it and read it just for fun. On that level, it scored five stars from me. I'll buy the next one from Brown, too. If you read this book, I'm guessing you may, as well.
Rating:
Summary: I barely ever read but this one got me
Review: With a thrilling and enticing plot, Brown gives a very real topic an exciting scenerio. Does the Catholic Church really take lives in this Grail Quest? Maybe. They have in the past. But that's not even the important part. Not only will this book keep your imagination running but you will also discover the etymology of words like "horny". If you think about it, what do "horn's" and sex have in common anyway? Well here ya go. This book lets you know that it is very possible that the grail isn't anything like what Indiana found as well as other useful information you can pretend to be smart and tell your friends about. However I did find myself suddenly questioning my own religion, being christian, wondering why I wear a crucifix around my neck and not an equal armed cross...so when reading, keep an open mind.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as I expected
Review: With all of the hype I expected this to be plausable, gripping and exciting. It was none of the above. I am in the religion business and to believe this you have to suspend a lot of "belief" and accept things that are really outlandish. Despite the Catholic Church's checkered past, this is so beyond belief that no matter how much I tried I just could not accept its premise. Not only that but the ending is a real letdown. I found myself saying "So......." There are better things out there to read.... far more interesting and believable.
Rating:
Summary: I'm amazed at all the hoopla .
Review: With all the buzz about this book, I was looking forward to a good read. The book starts quickly and definitely grabs the reader, but it's a quick spiral downward to a truly bad novel. The writing is amateurish, the characters and their dialogue absurd and the coincidences simply beyond any credibility. This is a truly bad book.
|
