Rating: 
Summary: Da Vinci is Convincing
Review: I recommend this book for anyone - it suitable for all ages. Dan Brown has done a great job. As the grandson of a Mason and whose family members have been in other secret societies, I am glad Brown has brought them to light in a serious, but educating way. Brown uses a hybrid socratic method to keep the reader thinking ahead, while mixing puns, puzzles, and trivia to keep the reader focused on the current story. Brown uses many literary devices well and weaves many biblical allegories into the story itself. I commend the publisher for taking the chance on printing a thriller that has both a serious intellectual investigation and which has a more challenging style than is usual. The story is tightly written and the author does not stray from the plot or the main characters at all. Wondering who is bad and not bad keeps one guessing until the end. The book does not have a bibliography, but the author alludes to critical works on the subject he writes about. The reader can then go read the scholarly works. One thing missing from the book is the political ramifications for the Romans in allowing the unification of the Jews ( and thus Palestine ) such a marriage of Jesus and Mary could have brought about. Another angle would be the economic unification brought about by such a union - and the other economic interests that would have opposed this. Jesus was no ordinary leader and his death at a young age before he could become established and solidify his base no doubt was welcomed by many who preferred the status quo. I am constantly amazed at the number of Christians I meet who evangelize, but who are not familiar with the Masons or the Knights Templar or their role in preserving Western Civilization.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read
Review: I reluctantly picked this book up. I just didn't think I'd be interested in the subject matter. My best friend read it and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I bit. WOW! As I was working my way through, I could not tell fact from fiction. Not only am I left with wanting to go to Paris to the museum but I'm looking for a historical biblical course to learn more. In my opinion great book.
Rating:
Summary: Murder Mystery and Art History
Review: I review this book with caution as it appears readers seem to either love or hate the book. Personally, I found the book fascinating. It has me looking up the true origin of any old term of phrase or symbol that I come across nowadays. It makes me think more deeply about all those symbols which we use so matter of factly that they are no longer truly symbolic. Sure, everyone has a sense of what the Nike swoosh stands for, but what about Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper"? Nobody really studies those things any more, and they have become a lost history among our society. It is with skill, then, that Dan Brown manages to interest his readers into a topic that is almost a millenium old. He appears to have done a bunch of research for this book. Not only that, but he also put a lot of effort into making that research come to life without seeming overwhelmingly heavy or detailed in the prose. That's not an easy thing to do, and it's what I most admire about the book. You only need to pick up a bunch of academic papers to realise that "english" is not a first language when it comes to scientific debate. We rely on journalists, movie directors and authors like Dan Brown to make such laden themes with their secretive and prohibitive language digestible for the general public's enjoyment. Rather than taking the easy route by writing a simple, straight lined story about some art historian's discovery of the symbology of the Holy Grail, Brown created a mixture of interesting characters that each play a definitive role in his murder mystery. It's a combination of an Agatha Christie novel and a fictional history book. The skill of combining those diverse elements cannot have been easy, yet Brown manages to bring it off with a simplistic flair. In truth, his story is captivating. It starts off with a bang - a murder of a curator. The audience is carried along with the main characters, and for a good part of the book we are shrouded by the truth. If you love solving puzzles, you will be able to "beat" the character to identifying the next clue or uncovering critical bits of information by looking closely at the text (mirrors recommended). Of course, no one is expecting a work of fiction to be entirely based on truth, but Brown has a different treatment of the age old topic of the Holy Grail and his take on it I found to be interesting. Moreover, it has all the things a good book should have: it's engaging, easy to read in bite size chunks that should appeal to the general public, it's full of action and mystery, and it's well researched, thus has a ring of truth to it. I feel I must "defend" this book because I enjoyed every minute of reading it even though that opinion is probably not in vogue with "serious" readers.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!
Review: I sat and read this book for 7 hours straight - unable to disconnect from the wild ride found within these pages. It is not often that a book pulls me in so completely that I forget about the weekend chores waiting and allow myself such a decadent escape. 24 hours later, I am still reeling. I have read many, many of the reviews for this book - both here and on the web. I have followed the author's links and read even further about the theories presented by this author & other writers. I keep asking myself, what is it that has me so drawn to this subject matter? I like the idea- the possibility- that there remains in this life a discovery of such magnitude as The Da Vinci Code. The modern world seems empty of mystery and the possibility of new discoveries and grand adventures. This story - albeit fiction - pulls our eyes away from the feelings of hopelessness that has invaded a majority of Christian faith & throws us head first into the eternally magical quest for the Holy Grail. Only we learn the quest is really ...oops. Can't say that! Just know this - the scientific mind will tear it apart looking for its weaknesses; the devoted religious will refuse to even entertain its message because to do so threatens the very core of Christian beliefs. But balanced on that fine line where science & religion come ever so close to one another, there is this refreshingly taut & fantastically bold story (and story is the key word here) ' with a very timely message. Enjoy!!
Rating: 
Summary: Take this Lightly
Review: I spent a lot of time last semester in a class hearing one of my favorite professors (a brilliant, highly respected medievalist) making fun of this novel. He had read The Da Vinci Code out of curiosity, and Dan Brown's "scholarship" became his joke of the semester. Anyway, I had to read it so that I could be in on the joke. I did enjoy The Da Vinci Code somewhat, but I certainly don't think this is anything to take too seriously. The book was written as Brown's way of advocating an imaginative reinterpretation of history (which several people have made before). I don't really have any problem with this reinterpretation. It's certainly compelling and interesting to read about. He certainly has the right to write it. If you do much research on the subject, though, you'll find that it's oftly improbable, and you'll find that Brown warped a few facts and ignored others. My main problem with the book is that Brown is audacious enough to predict how these ideas would change Christianity and the world, and his predictions show ignorance, particularly of Christian theology. The ideas here aren't all that revolutionary, and even if they were true, they wouldn't change anything. Just some examples are Brown's ideas on women's role and on God's gender that are already in the Bible (though they've often been misinterpreted) and Brown's ideas about Christ's divinity which don't follow logically from his arguments about Mary Magdalene and Jesus. I did enjoy the novel, though. It is compelling and entertaining, but DON'T think this is great literature (my professor was right about it), and don't take these ideas too seriously.
Rating:
Summary: Insulting
Review: I started reading this book and was immediately fascinated by the historical content and the fast paced plot. However, after reading further, I think the message that Mr. Brown was trying to get across to his readers is clear. If you're an intelligent, scientific individual, you're a "good guy". If you're a Christian, you're either stupid, mislead or evil. I don't consider myself to be a fundamental Christian, and I'm still insulted by this book. This poor, mislead Christian will have to find another book because I'm done with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Stuning!
Review: I started reading this book on Tuesday - what a mistake, because I had to go to work the next day and wasn't able to put it down until very late at night! It was absolutely amazing! Suspense is enormous, and the chapters are short, so you just read them one by one without being able to stop... On the other hand, if you come to think of it, maybe it was not the plot that attracted me the most, but some supplementary information on symbolism, art, history etc - when reading, I just kept on promising myself I will look this stuff up on the internet - so astonishing it was to me (and I never thought I might be interested in that field). Read it and share it with your friends!
Rating:
Summary: Downhill Excitement...
Review: I started reading this novel after numerous recommendations, and to be honest, this novel was not as great as I had expected it to be. Brown has successfully captured my interest in this religious thriller by connecting history with a fictional yet entertaining plot, but the more I read, the more disappointed I was in this novel. The Da Vinci Code begins with the violent murder of the Louvre museum curator who is also the head of one of the world¡¦s secret societies whose existence dates back to the death of Christ. In the very last moments before his death, he managed to leave puzzles and clues around the crime scene. His daughter who specializes in cryptography works with Robert Langdon, a famous US symbologist, as they set off on an adventure to discover the truth. Brown then leads the reader onto an expedition of the past ¡V briefly describing the connections between many historical sites, events, and art. However, the accuracy of the information given is still debatable. One thing I found interesting was the idea that Jesus had a wife ¡V Mary Magdelaine. Being a Buddhist myself, I have never studied the history of Christianity and nor have I read about these examinations. But even so, it was still not enough to raise my rating for this novel. The characters are very poorly developed, and this was realized as the excitement of the mystery was weakened after Brown revealed the rest of the plot. The later half of the novel was far less exciting than the first, and it is even more noticeable as the two parts are compared and contrasted. Overall, this is a fairly easy novel and all you have to do is just read and follow along the story. If you want to read an interesting novel of an easier reading level, the Da Vinci Code just might be the one.
Rating:
Summary: OH MY GODDESS!
Review: I started reading this while killing an hour before going to a Fourth of July BBQ. Well, an hour later I could not put it down... missed the BBQ, fireworks, and my beauty sleep as I stayed up until 4 AM when I finished this marvelous tale. I immediately picked up Dan Brown's "prequel" of sorts, Angels and Demons, and spent the next day reading that. Dan Brown has put a huge dent in my social life this last weekend but it was worth it all. Can't wait for the next book! I would like to recommend another terrific book, a murder mystery by William Freeman, MURDER IN KEY WEST... terrific story, great sex, beautiful locale.
Rating:
Summary: Theologically too inaccurate
Review: I started the book and couldn't put it down. Around page 200 the book takes a turn. Dan Brown misstates several things as he weaves the story together. I have a degree in Theology and can read a wide range of thoughts, but when Dan Brown says things like "YHWH was derived from Jehovah" it is troublesome... since in fact, Jehovah was derived from YHWH by the Germans who had a hard time pronounching YHWH. - the exact opposite! Dan Brown wrote a page turner - but unless you have an academic background in theology or church history, you could easily mistake his fiction for fact... be careful not to believe this book.
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