Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommended, even with flaws
Review: If you are one of the few people who have not read the book yet - do not hesitate and do it now. Odds are very favorable that you will like it, even be thrilled by it. It is highly entertaining, fast-paced, exiting and informative. The author has the endearing habit of sharing with the readers tidbits of extraneous information - not trivia - he has found in the course of his research.However, do not expect perfection or a future classic work of literature. There are shortcomings. But before I list them, let's deal with some issues which should not worry you: 1. The book is "an attack on Catholic Church and Christianity." The book is no such thing, unless you believe that the Church can never do anything wrong (remember Inquisition?), can never be criticized, and that we already know everything that can be known.
2. The book is based on "completely unfound legend," "crackpot theory." "Anyone who knows art history and Christian history will see this book for what it is - pure garbage." Again, it is neither of those things. While the protagonists, understandably, present an alternative history in more assured terms than someone "objective" might do, there is more than enough evidence suggesting the possibility of their main contention being true, and there are serious scholars who accept the described interpretation of evidence.
3. Minor errors or dubious details that some flaunt as earth shattering evidence of wrongness of the whole book. Examples: Monks and habits not existing in Opus Dei. BIG DEAL! Anyway, even if just about nobody there was a monk and wear a habit, could there not be one exception? "Cargo truck hummed, then the truck roared, then there was hum again." BIG DEAL! Moreover, humming refers to tire noise, while roaring to the engine noise, which can change with time. "Da Vinci is not Leonardo's name." BIG DEAL! Thousands know and call Leonardo "Da Vinci," and even though it is imprecise, using just Leonardo would be equally ambiguous (how many Leonardos have there been in the world), and using always the full name would be cumbersome.
4. Perhaps the most silly objection is that "though some may find the religious topic thought provoking, this book doesn't require deep thinking". How many mystery novels are thought provoking, not to mention requiring deep thinking? The fact that so many people, as shown by the positive reviews, have found the book thought provoking, is an unquestionable testimony and tribute. Disregarding the above, what are the real shortcomings of Da Vinci Code? Here is my list:
A. As mentioned by many reviewers, the characters are poorly developed. Not unusual for a mystery/action story, but regretful anyway.
B. The ending is, in my view, a mistake. The author should have left an open ending, rather than provide a specific, highly unlikely explicit solution to a fictional story.
C. Perhaps most importantly, it might dawn on you in about the middle of the book, if not sooner, that the plot is a logical absurdity. Here we have a dying man, frantic to save an enormously important secret, of which he is the only keeper, from being lost forever, and to transfer it to one specific person. Does he do it using one encrypted, safe message? No, he sends the person(s) on a chase, at each stage of which the secret could be eternally lost! And he has prepared this process in advance, while presumably sane! Essential for the story, but logically unacceptable.
D. The essential premise of the story is that the "secret," which is the main topic, is so earth shattering, that revealing it would imperil the Catholic Church. In reality, as shown most clearly in the ABC Special, very respectable Church notables look at the suggestion regarding Mary Magdalene with complete benevolence. The author has interestingly, and perhaps wisely, steered away from the more radical version of the legend, but doing so he again created a logical void.
Rating: 
Summary: Impulse Buyer take heed
Review: If you are the kind of buyer of books like me (see the pretty cover positioned in the front of the store, better buy it) you can spend your money better elsewhere. If your a reader into science fiction/religion books with lots of attention to detail then this is your book. I not being one of those people still found the symbolism and the little details exciting and well played but the overall effect made me dizzy. If you don't pay close attention to the characters thoughout the entire book then you will find yourself lost many times. Quite frankly I was dissapointed by this book. In the plot they're searching for something (I won't tell you what). At the end they were no closer finding it than in the beginning. I read through those 400+ pages to be lead nowhere further. If you like arts and code breaking this is your book. If you just looked at the cover, download a pictre of it and buy something a lot better.
Rating:
Summary: 300 mile-an-hour mystery
Review: If you are the mood for a fast-paced, highly entertaining mystery, this is your next read. The extent of the author's research into the worlds of western religion and art history become evident immediately. In fact, the breadth of need-to-know-tidbits are about the only parts of the book that will slow you down. Brown's descriptions of Paris and the Louvre visually launched me into the world of the main characters Robert Langdon and Sophie Nuevue. If you are looking for depth and character development, look elsewhere. Remember, this is a mystery, not historical fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: if you arent a closed minded christain, and there are so many out there.......than give this book a try. its a great suspense/mystery novel. I usually read dean Koontz novels, but this one pulled me in right away. give it a try.
Rating: 
Summary: Make it stop.
Review: If you can suffer through this collection of 4-page suspense recipes, and tolerate the most annoying prose style to appear in mall bookstores in quite some time, then by all means -- buy the book.
Rating:
Summary: Anti-Catholic Propaganda
Review: If you consider yourself a practicing Catholic this book should not be on your read list. An author with an axe to grind against the Church uses this fictional story to push a feminist, modernist, anti-clerical agenda. As usual the Catholic hating media has picked up on this book as some great piece of literature with new ideas. Same old heresies and grumblings against the church, just packaged in a different way. Save your time, money, and even your Soul skip this book and wait for Mel Gibson's movie.
Rating:
Summary: The Duuuuh Vinci Code
Review: If you couldn't figure out the codes in this book within seconds, I have one word (if it is a word) to say to you: DUUUUUHHH!!!!! I felt that Brown insulted my intelligence all the way through this book, not to mention that he cribbed all his 'conspiracy theory' plot lines from two books, "The Templar Revelation" and "Holy Blood, Holy Grail." The characters are third-rate stale mystery stereotypes: the studious yet manly professor type (hello Indiana Jones?) the bereft yet beautiful French orphan girl (who is supposed to be a London-trained cryptologist but can't solve even the simplest backwards-writing code), the albino monk (haven't we picked on albinos enough?), the diabolical Catholic Church officials, honest to God this is character/plot workmanship right out of Mystery Writing 102-- Course Designed for Pretentious Art History Geeks. If you want to get your jollies from some REAL Art History Porn, go for Simon Schama's "Rembrandt's Eyes." It's the real deal. The only reason I'm getting so excercised about this is because this book is a bestseller and some people actually think it's good. Have we lost all sense of incisive criticism? Liberal Arts majors -- speak out against this travesty. Take back the historical novel, and preserve its integrity for future generations! Tell people the truth -- this book is rank. Thank you. Oh, I did get past the first 10 pages because the author mentioned my alma mater, American University in Paris. But that's the only good thing...
Rating:
Summary: Not for the simple-minded. Only for the open-minded
Review: If you don't think for yourself, don't bother with this intellectually and spiritually challenging work by Dan Brown. This book is an highly provocative mind-opener, so you really have to be a courageous, free-thinking person in order to really get into it and explore new territory. It throws into question many of our comfortable traditions and truisms, our cherished and well-defended beliefs and practices(like going to church every Sunday and trusting the cliches coming from the pulpits above us). I believe that this novel is a landmark on our journey toward greater self-awareness and freedom of intellectual exploration- but you have to be gutsy enough to shed a lot of mental baggage and inherited illusions to get there. If you want to be brave and expand your consciousness, read this work. If you want to remain a sheep amongst the flock with the same color of wool over your eyes, then do not even venture into the first chapter. It will shake you to the foundations of your uncritical thought. Stay where you are. Pray. Smooze. Follow the dicta and the routines of your Church. The pure sunlight out here in Dan Bown-land can be blinding, especially for sheep.
Rating:
Summary: If you dont mind missing sleep and meals then read this book
Review: If you dont mind missing sleep and meals then read this book because you wont be able to put it down! Very exciting a little confusing at first but it is a very good book and i would recemend it to everyone who likes a good read!
Rating:
Summary: da Vinci, Brown and the Occult
Review: If you enjoy reading books on the occult, mysticism, astrology and abhor Christianity and Catholicism you will like this novel. Brown starts out with a pretty good mystery and then transforms it into the absurd. Christ fathered a child? The Bible and thousands of written records are totally irrelevant when Brown cites "authoratative sources". My biggest regrets: 1) I not only read this garbage to the end but 2) I actually paid money for this tripe. Even as fiction this premise is hard to swallow.
|
