Rating: 
Summary: Dan Brown's fourth and best
Review: Dan Brown's fourth and best book
This mystery thriller doesn't disappoint as it examines how history might have been rewritten if certain historical events had played out differently. Multi-layered, the book takes readers on a trip through a puzzle that requires a different set of operating instructions for each of the levels. And here's the fun part: when you've finished the book, you can go further in the quest via a website!
Superb.
Rating: 
Summary: Lousy Mystery, Great Read
Review: Dan Brown's managed to do the near impossible. He's created an intensely readable and interesting book that ultimately misses the mark. On his webpage Brown states that Robert Ludlum is one of his idols and a mystery writer he tries to imitate. Well, I've read everthing Ludlum ever wrote and to paraphrase that famous presidential debate: "Mr. Brown, you're no Robert Ludlum." This is not to say that this book is not deeply engaging and extremely well researched. It is. However, while Brown is very much at home in the world of Church history, crytology and numerology, he fails as a mystery writer.People who read mystery novels are very picky. They don't want even a hint of "Deus ex machina" surprises. The idea is to fool them up to the end and then slam-dunk them with a totally unexpected ending. That's what mystery readers crave and why they read the genre. The cardinal sin for these readers, however, is for an author to pull plot surprises on them that are fundamentally unbelievable. The Da Vinci Code is chock full of these unsavory plot twists. Mystery readers know they are in trouble from the very beginning. For instance, the police crytologist who shows up at the murder scene turns out to be the dead man's granddaughter. This kind of uncanny coincidence happens over and over again in the book. And, most discourageing of all to the mystery fan, without these unlikely circumstances the story line falls apart. No mystery reader with any experience has much use for this kind of writing. Other readers, like those interested in the inner workings of the Catholic Church, Opus Dei, the Knights Templars, etc, will have a field day with the book. Even those schooled in Catholic theology will find rich food for thought. And Church history buffs will finally find something interesting to read. Generally, anyone interested in the dark side of Christianity will find the book fascinating. There is one caveat that needs to be clearly stated: Mr. Brown's description of the 20th century Priory of Sion, an organization that plays a major role in the book, leaves out the group's nastier side. He paints a picture of a well meaning society of influential people who's only purpose is to hand on a secret message to the world at the proper time. In fact, before and during world war II this organization was extremely anti-semitic and pro-Nazi. The Priory of Sion's publications during this period bare witness to their extreme right wing views. Either Mr. Brown didn't do enough serious research or he chose to leave out this unsavory side of this secret society which plays such a pivotal role in his story. Aside from that omission, the text is full of intriguing research and little known facts. It is a most interesting read, but a lousy mystery.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic!
Review: Dan Brown's masterful new offering, The Da Vinci Code, is an intellectually stimulating and pulse-quickening triumph. The combination of completley unanticipated plot twists, fascinating artistic and historical facts, and the stunning manner in which Mr. Brown interweaves and interprets them is a monumental achievement. It is truly a rare offering that is both highly readable, educational, and extremely addictive. This is a book that should appeal to anyone looking for a rare item: a thrilling page-turner that is both accessible to anyone but that does not insult anyone's intelligence. It will pump you full of adrenaline and knowledge. The Da Vinci Code will be the book that everyone is talking about for great reasons.
If they havent already! Congrats Mr. Brown, your book was a pleasure to read!
Rating:
Summary: Catholics, Beware of Fuzzy Theology
Review: Dan Brown's new entry to the Templar/Holy Grail genre deserves a 4.5 for the storyline, but a 1.5 for its historical and scientific claims. Beginning with the murder of a curator of the Louvre, who leaves a cryptic message designed to ensure the invlvement of his daughter Sophie Neuveau, a cryptologist for the French Judicial Police, and of Robert Langdon, a Harvard art professor specializing in religious symbology, the story draws the reader into the amusing and exciting quest to decipher the sequence of puzzles that lead to the secret of the Holy Grail. Unfortunately what starts out as an engaging story draws to a shaky, uncertain finish, losing momentum and closure. What's much more bothersome to me is the lack of any visible relation of the background math, science, and history to factuality. He claims (for example) that the golden ratio (approximately 1.61803, and the ratio of the long to short sides of most flags) represents the ratio of female to male bees in a hive. Balderdash. Or that the ancient prejudice against left-handedness results from a program of defamation by the early church against the feminine, left-side, rather than the obvious explanation that a person who cah shake your hand and stab you at the same time seems sinister. More egregiously, the author claims that Constantine (emperor 324-337) changed the day of Christian worship from Saturday to Sunday, ignoring the fact that Justin the Martyr describes Christian worship on Sunday, no later than AD 155. Most astonishingly, he suggests that the divinity of Jesus was not established until the Council of Nicea, ca 325, apparently ignorant of the fact that the issue addressed was the Arian heresy, not even an issue until the late third century, and which proposed that Jesus, while supernatural, was not consubstantial with God, and that Jesus, while first-created, was not co-eternal with God. There had been lots of discussion about the nature of Jesus, but by far the maority belief was in the divinity of Jesus, not the skeptical denial of much modern theology, which Brown pretends was the prevailing view of the early Church. The silliest thing Mr. Brown claims is that the Hebrew (unpronouncable) name of God - YHWH - was derived from the 16th century translation mistake Jehovah. A good discussion of the origin of the word "Jehovah" is given in Gunther Plaut's commentary "The Torah" pp 425-6. In summary, an enjoyable story that despite faltering at the end, is mostly a pleasant read. The silly and even offensive lapses in the historical background make it occasionally annoying. For his authority on the history of the early Church, ...
Rating:
Summary: An intelligent, exhilarating maze
Review: Dan Brown's new offering, The Da Vinci Code, is an intellectually stimulating and pulse-quickening triumph. The combination of completley unanticipated plot twists, fascinating artistic and historical facts, and the stunning manner in which Mr. Brown interweaves and interprets them is a tour de force. It is truly a rare offering that is both accessible, educational, and addictive. As in his past books, Mr. Brown offers multidimensional characters, with a special mention for his complex, not-cookie-cutter female protagonists. His depth of research into art, science, religion, secret codes, and architecture will make you want to have your web browser nearby. As he carries you deeper into an area where art and religion mix with Church philosophy, the Knights Templar, and centuries-old conspiracies, Mr. Brown manages to explain clearly complex histories while racing you onward. While you will not want to stop reading this book (for ANY reasons, like eating or sleeping), every now and then you may wish to pause to let your mind catch up with your racing heart. This is a book that should appeal to anyone looking for a rare item: a thrilling page-turner that is both accessible to anyone but that does not insult anyone's intelligence. It will pump you full of adrenaline and knowledge. The Da Vinci Code will be the book that everyone is talking about for great reasons.
Rating:
Summary: Good and Bad
Review: Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code" reveals the controversial and fascinating history of early Christianity in a fast paced murder mystery. His research shows how Mother Earth became a man's world when the goddess was banished from the temple. The obliteration of the sacred feminine resulted in a "life out of balance" and disrespect for Mother Earth. Based on the Coptic and Dead Sea Scrolls the Bible is a product of men with a political agenda. The Holy Grail is an ancient symbol for the sacred feminine and represents a woman. And that Jesus was a mortal prophet who married Mary Magdalene and had children.
Although the suspense is a page-turner Brown's remarkable research would have been better served by a slower paced novel with more developed characters. It was the riveting story not the historical research or the two-dimensional good versus evil characters that stayed with me after reading the book.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, someone has brought these theories to the masses!
Review: Dan Brown's novel is a fictionalized version of the compiled research of theologians, archeologists and grail enthusiasts. As I was reading the novel, I could name the texts from which the scenes were derived. The information has been available in less "fun" forms for years. I applaude Mr. Brown from telling a really good story...and for having the courage buck the system in such a public way. I hope that this story encourages others to do their own research into this subject. "The truth is out there."
Rating: 
Summary: stormed through it in a day!!
Review: Dan Brown's novel Th DaVinci Code was truely enjoyable to read! I found myself unable to put this book down once I had started it. Although some of the characters are predictable, I didn't feel that this aspect took away from the quality of the story.
I am currently reading the predicessor to this novel, Angels & Demons (also starring Robert Langdon) and am having difficulty putting this one down as well! I do hope that this will turn into a book series about Robert Langdon.
Rating: 
Summary: Is there a positive side to this?
Review: Dan Brown's primary goal in this novel is to question Christianity as we know it, especially Catholic Christianity. I come to this conclusion because from the first two words he has, by forcing uneccasarry information upon his reader, demonstrated that he is incompetent to write a suspense novel. He then, by revealing that the curator in the Prolougue is lying, proceeds to destroy the suspense of the first few chapters. The book is riddled with information that is utterly irrelevant to the plot, and which does little more than to describe Leonardo Da'Vinci's heroic crusasde against the church. And then we come to the flashbacks, dear Lord, put mercy in my heart. Flashbacks should be usd when one is incapable of revealing his information otherwise, Flashbacks are a crutch and Mr. Brown, it seems is in a wheelchair. A fair portion of the story is explained only through flashbacks and it comes to seem that whenever Mr. Brown found a spot he decided to promptly add yet another flashback. Hurrah. The theological implications of this book? Perhaps valid, but that's for you to decide. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.
Rating:
Summary: My best read book of the year
Review: Dan Brown's research into Catholicism, architecture, art history and DaVinci is apparent and impressive in this addictive piece of work. Mr. Brown's manner of writing is such that you find yourself engrossed in the story, thinking alongside the protagonist as he reveals little known facts about the aforementioned areas of study. This is a provocative book, challenging the reader to question formed beliefs and even do self-study into many of the revelations with which Dan Brown blesses us regarding history. Coupled with the intense nature of the information is a fun and puzzle-solving storyline that makes the book extremely difficult to put down. Almost all questions are answered in the end and leaves you wanting to read it again; but perhaps more entertaining - to discuss with fellow readers the topics and facts presented herein. I highly recommend this book and for a bit more disturbing, yet equally enjoyable read, try Dan Brown's earlier work: Angels and Demons!
| 
