Rating:  Summary: An enjoyable summer read Review: I read this book in one day and agree that it moves quickly and is enjoyable, even if the writing style is awful. Having been raised Catholic, I thought Brown's central message about how the Church needs to reform is sound, and a welcome message, even if his plot stretches the barriers of belief a bit much. Other books I would recommend for those interested in doing further research are: The Gnostic Gospels & Adam, Eve and the Serpent, both by Elaine Pagels, and any book by the German theologian Uta Ranke-Heinemann, particularly Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven: Women, Sexuality, and the Catholic Church.
Rating:  Summary: A one day read Review: I read this book in one day! It was so good, I couldn't put it down. It is thrilling, informative and really makes you think. Ultra-conservative catholics may be offended but I applaud anyone who questions the norm. Dan Brown has done an outstanding job. I borrowed this book to read it, but i want to own it now! I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who has a thirst for higher knowledge.
Rating:  Summary: Fun read, fast paced, work of FICTION Review: I read this book in one setting beause I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. As to be expected, less sophisticated readers miss the point entirely which is that this is first and foremost a mystery. Secondly, as all novels go, fiction is about escapism and so the characters are supposed to have larger than life adventures. Finally, and most importantly, this book is NOT anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, or anti-Christ. The "bad guy" in the book deliberately paints the Catholic church as evil but it is a plot devise and the Catholic church is exonerated in the end. But if you have been too offended to bother to read that far, you wouldn't have known that.As for the discussions of theology, is it so bad that a NOVEL should inspire casual, even regular church goers to ponder the meaning of Jesus' live and his message and what could have happened if history had taken a different turn of events? Brown uses factual events and real people only to embellish the PLOT, not to make a statement. Any theology scholor will agree that the Bible as we know it is highly edited and, yes, edited by Men. It is also a fact that there were other gospels written that were not included in the bible. Why? Because the editors wanted a specific message to come across. Despite their best efforts, a thorough reading of the "canonized" bible finds it full of inconsistecies (Genesis is a good place to start as the inconsistencies begin in the first chapter of the first book). Should good Christians feel under attack because someone points out these inconsistencies? No. This is a book written by many sources and each of them had a diffent view of the same events and would have emphasized those things that were most important to them. Inconsistencies are not necessarily a sign of imperfection, rather, the different versions put together provide us with a deeper and fuller picture of what these ancient holy men wanted to impart about the religion.
Rating:  Summary: Cleverly misleading Review: I read this book in one setting, which is a testament to this book's ability to keep one's attention. Nevertheless, anyone with a little knowledge of religious studies or art history will find Brown's blatantly erroneous accounts of Christianity's development or Da Vinci's work unsettling. He comfortably weaves such falsehoods with fascintating historical information in such a way that the average reader will be unable to distinguish the two. At best this is manipulative, however, at its worst, it is grossly deceiving and unprofessional.
Rating:  Summary: Great Book! Review: I read this book in one sitting! Whether or not you agree with some of the author's presuppositions, it is a masterfully written suspense thriller. Definitely a must read and would make a great movie. However, I am afraid that most people will accept his theological assumptions on face value. You must read it to know what I am talking about.
Rating:  Summary: I challenge you to put it down! Review: I read this book in TWO days, I simply could not, would not put it down...absolutely remarkable. This book is not only wonderfully written, the reader comes away from the book yearning for more, more, more. This book is daring, cunning, fast-paced, EVERYTHING a superb suspense novel should be. You owe it to yourself to read this book!
Rating:  Summary: Interact With the Story Review: I read this book in two days. I found it fun, entertaining, enlightening and a great read. One of the fun things about it is the book is full of riddles and puzzles. When I came to them in the story I tried to solve them before reading on. Some were simply impossible because they were based on locations or situations within the text but others were approachable. It really was thrilling to arrive at an answer, read a few more pages and see if your solution was the "right" one. I got pretty lucky and solved a couple of them. Additionally, because the book is based on historical data it open up new possibilites for the reader to explore while or after reading the book. So have fun, learn a few things and pick up this book.
Rating:  Summary: Not what I had hoped for . . . Review: I read this book just from the perspective of wanting a good mystery to read - the religious 'accuracy' aspects didn't concern me. And - it simply didn't hold my interest very well. The plot seemed fairly lite, and the characters weren't well developed. I probably scanned through about 1/4 of the book's pages. I suspect that Dan Brown recognized that the religious implications of what he wrote would make the book sell - and for that he is correct!
Rating:  Summary: Just silly bigotry Review: I read this book on the recommendation of a professional acquaintance. It was poorly written and substantively odious. I am tempted to recount the book's astonishingly vast number of factual errors, but for the most part they have been adequately digested in other reviews. The book's worst element, however, is the obvious bigotry oozing from its pages. Bottom line: If you liked the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," you'll love "The Da Vinci Code." Or perhaps more disturbingly, if you liked "The Da Vinci Code," you'll love "The Protocols...."
Rating:  Summary: A Great Read - Everyone Should Read This BOOK! Review: I read this book over the course of a 48 hour period and have bought 2 copies as Christmas gifts. It provides a very fast, exciting read that keeps the reader breathless. What I really liked about it were the many nuggets of historical information that the world needs to know about. P.S. Contrary to the opinions expressed in some of the above book reviews, the Internet is not a reliable tool for verifying the author's research.
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