Rating: 
Summary: Highly enjoyable book
Review: All in all, I found this book to be flat-out enjoyable. But before I mention that, I'd like to address some of the elements that the previous reviewer brought up. This book is divided between four characters, each of who are written (in an excellent, albiet sometimes unbelievably extreme manner) to correspond with their atypical standard kabbalistic standing. In fact, to explain this, there's even a small diagram at the very beggining of the book that demonstraits this.
Characters come across not as steriotypes, but instead as being firm characterisations of their personality archtypes. Jensen writes these characters to focus not only on giving them believable personalities, but to epitomise the concepts in kabbalistic mythos. Although, I suppose this is easy to not understand...
And as for the comments on gay characters.. Ermm, I'm gay, and wasn't at all insulted. So I don't know what the previous reviewer was talking about with that. Now, about the book itself. This book is an excellent exploration of hypothetical philosophy, with a vague concept of physics passed across two. The idea of physics and philosophy being one and the same is not new, it's been tackled before, but not in such a manner. Here, said philosophy takes the form of kabbalism, a form of conceptual mystical-science of jewish descent.
From this, the reader is presented (via the character of the scientist and the militant) with the idea that the philosophical concept of good and evil may be, in fact, a physical force - an equation. At the same time, two other characters (the hedonist and the religious-scholar) explore the storyline behind this discovery - the character of Kobinski, a polish jew and kabbalist scholar imprisoned in Auschwitz, who disapeared under mysterious circumstances. Through mysticism and science, both the teachings of the kabbalist scholar and the discovery of the equation lead to the sudden and unexpected journey into four other universes - four seperate heavens and hells for the characters. It's a facinating book, and should be looked upon for it's theoretical concepts as much as it's literary merit.
Rating:
Summary: I usually don't read fiction but this book amazed me!
Review: As a non-fiction reader I find it hard to stick with a novel, even if it is very good, but this book had me after the first page! Jane Jensen writes with such a unique perspective, clear insight, and imaginative presence! I cannot say enough good about this book and how it makes the reader look at his world through a different lens. There are very few novels that I can muddle through but this novel captured my attention all the way to the conclusion! Excellent and distinguished writing!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but Not Always Thrilling
Review: As I write this review I feel just a little... torn. The truth is it took me about five months to complete the novel, and it was rarely a pageturner for me. But when it was, it really was. Then there's the whole spiritual cosmology that Jensen offers, which is not only intriguing, but really makes sense. I know nothing of Kaballah (nor claim to, even after reading this book) but the tenets put forth that Jensen claims are Kaballah are extremely interesting. More than once I've brought it up in conversations with people, and they always agree that it makes a great deal of sense. Jensen provides a few charts describing this philosophy in the beginning of the book, and I referred back to it often during the novel. My favorite character is Aharon Handalman, a Jewish rabbi who is fanatically devout to the point of coldness, but eventually finds a sense of freedom and love. But the truth is he and maybe Denton Wyle are probably the only characters I didn't find at least a little hollow. As interesting as the premise for this book may be, there was just something missing, some element that would make the book seem more real. "Dante's Equation" is a good read with a good premise, but not so good character development. It is still very recommendable.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read - Great Plot
Review: High powered mystery/sci-fi that is often a head rush. The characters are well delineated and the plot for the first half of the novel is actually highly believable. Though the author goes into great detail to describe Torah coding and the scientific explanation for the balance between good and evil, it is never boring nor pendatic. Though the novel can be enjoyed on a surface level, there are multiple layers of depth to the story that enrich the plot on an almost subliminal level. A lengthy read well worth the price of admission.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read - Great Plot
Review: High powered mystery/sci-fi that is often a head rush. The characters are well delineated and the plot for the first half of the novel is actually highly believable. Though the author goes into great detail to describe Torah coding and the scientific explanation for the balance between good and evil, it is never boring nor pendatic. Though the novel can be enjoyed on a surface level, there are multiple layers of depth to the story that enrich the plot on an almost subliminal level. A lengthy read well worth the price of admission.
Rating:
Summary: Two Great Books in One!
Review: I decided to give Jane Jensen's latest book a shot because she used to write cool stories for now-classic videogames and I wished to see how her "other" career is coming along. Wow!- was I happily surprised.
I've read lots of SF for the past twenty years and I have developed specific tastes which fall on the "hard" -side of SF, meaning I prefer fiction that extrapolates science into the future in believable and reasonable ways (like 2001: A Space Odyssey) as opposed to making-up lots of crazy crap (like many TV shows and their media tie-in books). As I've aged, I've also developed an appreciation for good-quality writing that includes character development, consistent pace, and unique plot ideas.
Dante's Equation really satisfied all these criteria for me. I found the story gripped me immediately and the characters were all interesting. The big surprise for me was that the entire second half of the book continues on with the same quality but elevates the story to an epic level.
This book certainly deserves the five-stars I give it, but I regret that it isn't perfect. I personally found the ending was out-of-place and unnecessary. Don't let that prevent you from reading the book, though, as your opinion may vary. It's not hard to keep turning pages once you get started, so give it a go.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointing and insulting
Review: I recently have had very little time for pure pleasure reading. Even when I don't have something for class and I want to read some science fiction, I generally pick up something I know will be quality -- Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, or Philip K. Dick all come to mind. But I was anxiously awaiting the release of Dante's Equation. I've been a fan of Jane Jensen for a while due to the Gabriel Knight computer game series and the quality thriller Millennium Rising (AKA Judgement Day). Unfortunately, Dante's Equation is one of the worst novels I have read in a long time. What sticks out most in my mind after finishing the book is the rampant use of stereotypes. Name an offensive character type and chances are it pops up somewhere in this book -- we have a workaholic scientist, an evil military officer only intent on furthering the interests of the state, a close-minded orthodox rabbi, and various negative portrayals of gay men. And that isn't a comprehensive list. Of course all the main characters predictably overcome their various "flaws" -- although the gay stereotypes never get rectified since there aren't any gay speaking characters only shadows with effeminate walking styles. The yawn inducing plot only exacerbates these problems. I've read that one of Jensen's favorite authors is Michael Crichton, which shows through in Dante's Equation. Unfortunately, what makes Crichton fun to read (whatever his other faults) is that the stories are at least fathomable and somewhat believable. Dante's Equation doesn't have either quality which really hurts the reader's immersion in the book. The novel became a chore to read, one that I only completed to write this review. I'm glad to hear that Jensen is going back to making adventure games, where her greatest talent seems to lie. Just stay away from this failure of a novel.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing and insulting
Review: I recently have had very little time for pure pleasure reading. Even when I don't have something for class and I want to read some science fiction, I generally pick up something I know will be quality -- Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, or Philip K. Dick all come to mind. But I was anxiously awaiting the release of Dante's Equation. I've been a fan of Jane Jensen for a while due to the Gabriel Knight computer game series and the quality thriller Millennium Rising (AKA Judgement Day). Unfortunately, Dante's Equation is one of the worst novels I have read in a long time. What sticks out most in my mind after finishing the book is the rampant use of stereotypes. Name an offensive character type and chances are it pops up somewhere in this book -- we have a workaholic scientist, an evil military officer only intent on furthering the interests of the state, a close-minded orthodox rabbi, and various negative portrayals of gay men. And that isn't a comprehensive list. Of course all the main characters predictably overcome their various "flaws" -- although the gay stereotypes never get rectified since there aren't any gay speaking characters only shadows with effeminate walking styles. The yawn inducing plot only exacerbates these problems. I've read that one of Jensen's favorite authors is Michael Crichton, which shows through in Dante's Equation. Unfortunately, what makes Crichton fun to read (whatever his other faults) is that the stories are at least fathomable and somewhat believable. Dante's Equation doesn't have either quality which really hurts the reader's immersion in the book. The novel became a chore to read, one that I only completed to write this review. I'm glad to hear that Jensen is going back to making adventure games, where her greatest talent seems to lie. Just stay away from this failure of a novel.
Rating:
Summary: A Definate Must Read
Review: I was given this book for my birthday and assumed it was going to be terrible sci-fi, on par with Battle Star Galactica and most of the Star Trek books!! I could not have been more wrong, not only is this book consistant with the principals of physics throughout, but it is increadably well written. As each of the characters are looked at seporately, their personalities can be built up to an unusually detailed level. This is needed of couse to understand why they are sent to different areas of Jacob's ladder. The plot was very deep and gripping throughout, it also has an interesting view of religion and how it relates to the universe. The ideas of "good" and "evil" are studdied from both religious and scientific areas which is what makes this bood worth the read. The characters are stereotypical at times, but this nature is needed to show how different groups of people view the relationship between science and religion. It is a good read with interesting parallels to modern religion.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant book!!
Review: I was just walking around the bookstore, looking for something to read, and this book's title and front cover caught my attention. I bought it with no expectations but I was very surprised to discover it's a great, great book, I was totally hooked.
The pace is always good (not too fast, not too slow) and the characters very well written and developed. I was happy enough for it being some kind of Ken Follett-style book, but on the second half (aptly named "Book Two") it turns out to be also a great sci-fi story. So I felt almost as getting 2 books for the price of one :)
Highly recommended! I'll keep an eye on this author.
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