Rating: 
Summary: Maybe this work of fiction will inspire further reading
Review: Oh Goodness, I really wasn't going to do this but I will. As someone who has been reading about the Gnostic Gospels and other aspects of "unorthodox" christianity, I just had to throw my two cents into the fray. The DaVinci Code - by sheer purpose of its subject matter - is a fascinating read. Though Brown's prose is right down there with Grisham and many other commercial thriller writers, the fact that he has taken on such a controversial subject matter, and tied it in with a great conspiracy theory (read, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, a tedious non-fiction book from the eighties and you can see where Brown drew much of his ideas), makes this book a must read. Warning, I'm about to blow the plot line. Do not read further if you don't want to know the ending.............I love the idea that Jesus just might have been married. If you read Mary Magdaline's gospels (which, though discovered earlier than the Nag Hamadi gospels of the other gnostics, are considered part of the gnostics) you must at least entertain this idea. Because these gospels didn't make "the cut" into the bible during the council of Nicea (politics is everything, especially in religion), doesn't mean they're any less spiritual or true. Brown was very smart to tie this element into his story - heck, I wish I had thought of it. Though one word of warning, the beginning of the book stating that everything in there is "true" seems a bit of a sensational ploy. If you want to really argue the point, we don't even know if any of the gospels that inspired the faith of Christianity are "TRUE". That's why we call it faith. The gnostics and the controversy they inspired have apparently been floating around academic circles for about a decade, and as one academic friend has told me, it takes that long for much of the controversial academia matter to filter down into the public. No one is less or more of a "Christian" by reading this book. I would hope, if nothing else, that the ideas in this book might actually open a few minds to the fact that there is a fine line between myth and religion and that relgion is simply based upon what we want/need to believe. These puritanical evangelists should just get over themselves. What difference would it make if Jesus had been married? Would he have not been more understanding about humanity and all its flaws if he had been? And what, gasp, might have happened if he and Mary Magdaline had had children. The fact that Jesus' off-spring just might be roaming this earth, to me at least, is a very comforting thought.
Rating: 
Summary: OH MY GOD...dess
Review: Oh My God...DESS!!!!
Richard N. Ostling DID NOT finish this book before reading it...fact.
Webster Baker
Rating: 
Summary: False teaching in the last days
Review: Oh yeah, I know it's supposed to be a fictional thriller about symbolism and mysterious puzzles; but there is a message here that is not well hidden or cloaked in secrecy: The attempt to discredit the claims of true Christianity, the innerancy of scripture, and the deity of Christ. (See chapter 55)
Rating: 
Summary: Fast Read, Disappointing Ending (Plot doesn't hold!)
Review: OK - I too heard a lot of good things about this book, and it does well at two things. (1) The story hooks you quickly within the first couple of pages, and (2) The mesh of religious & artistic symbolism and "what it all means" is intriguing, even if somewhat off historically (so I've heard). My biggest problem with this book is that the ending negates the whole plot. Let's just say that that whole thriller part of the plot revolves around the frantic effort to maintain information (or a secret) before it's "lost to the world". But when you get to the story's end, you find out that there were others all along who were guarding the secret/aware of the situation, so really, our protaganist's efforts throughout the whole book were not required, not necessary, and didn't really change anything. So what's the point?
Rating:
Summary: Should I REVIEW THE NOVEL?
Review: OK I admit it, I'm dumb as a rock! I blame it on my utter unwillingness to do anything more than drive my SUV to the mall while talking on my cell phone after watching TV all day. I firmly believe that Dan Brown intended to subvert the Christian masses with his impeccably researched book of pure fact that cannot be challenged by the greatest historians of any age. This book, no let's refer to it as a Bible from now on, this Bible, who's content may not be called into question, should be taught along side the creation theory in all school across the US. Which by the way is ruled by the superior intelligence of our greatest of all Presidents George W. Bush A.K.A. God mark II. Do not question my authority and my God given power to judge all others as scum. I am next in line to rule the earth after God mark II is done with it. Though there won't be anything left I will still have my copy of the Jebus Bible in one hand and the Dan Brown Bible in the other. So it is written so it is done.
Rating:
Summary: Good ideas but such poor writing!
Review: OK I finally gave into the hype and decided to read it. By the end of the first chapter it was obvious the writing had serious flaws. Clumsy sentences. Awkward writing. It is an interesting subject that is true. And these ancient historical conspiracies are facinating. But these are covered so much better in other books, several of which are mentioned in the "recommended instead of" section. I started reading a couple of them and the difference in the quality of the writing is quite striking. It is one thing to be a good researcher and another thing to be a good writer or novelist.
Rating: 
Summary: Da Vinci Code. Goosestepping gobbledegook.
Review: Ok its an accetable thriller, but a nasty jab at Christianity and religion in general. He seems to say that none of this religious stuff is real, (even his own), and if you think so you're stupid or tragically misled. It seems like the author expects his readers to be theologically unsophisticated, like they are just awakening to the fact that religious tenents can be controversial, and that they will swallow his comic book version, supported by reams of apochryhal rubbish ; which conveneniently dovetails with his world view: Religious beliefs are all "metaphors", anyhow, and really not all that helpful, when the greatest good (ie political correctness with a goose-step) is to elevate are daughters from centuries of sexual discrimination, and repression. So if our goal is to make our daughters "beam" in theology class, we have to get rid of all the patriarchal baloney, and invent a kinder,gentler and more convenient religion. Too bad the disciples of Christ, who died insisting that Jesus Christ, was who the Bible says he is, the Messiah of the Old Testament, God incarnate. They could have saved so much trouble had they been able to benifit from Dan Brown's "research", that they somehow missed, even while being eye witnesses to the lives of Christ and Mary Magdelena, and the first century. I guess they were'nt politically correct enough to see the
error of their particular "metaphor". The Wiccan "metaphor"
has been embraced by many , througout the ages. One such enlightened leader energized a whole population
with these beliefs in our time, and yet Dan Brown fails to name him in his works. Pagan heritage was a major theme of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, right down to the ritual sexual deviancy of his Brown Shirts. To top it off, the protaganist worships before the supposed tomb of Mary Magdelena, in the closing passage. Why? According to Brown, she is just Jesus's wife; and Jesus
is just a great teacher. So, what's the point? Like the London Times reviewer says, this book is
ludicrous.
Rating:
Summary: Bad book - bad reviews
Review: OK ok - I did read the book and I thought it stunk. Poorly written drivel for the masses. Akin to romance novels. A book with nothing to offer to anyone but viewers of reality TV. And to people like John Sebastian. You really need to learn to direct you anger towards something positive and stop bashing other reviewers. Hypocrites abound @ Amazon.com!
Rating:
Summary: Just not a good story
Review: Ok, Dan Brown, we know you're smart; stop hitting us over the head with it! Why don't we use some of that energy that was used in all those puzzles and plot twist to make some likable characters. Heck, I'd settle for un-likable characters over these flat stereotypes. There was a very smart idea in this book. But instead of letting it shine dully through a well crafted novel, Brown lets it blind blatantly without any sort of veil. I felt like I was at a lecture at some points in this book. And when it did that, this novel lost any saving grace. I love learning new things when I read fiction, but more than anything I love a good story and the Da Vinci code was severly lacking in that department. Online customer, save yourself the hassle; I'm sure a movie is on the way, save the time and fork up the 7.50.
Rating:
Summary: Could not put it down
Review: OK, I don't know where I have been, but I had not seen the reviews or had heard about the book until a friend who loved it actually bought me a copy. Ignorance is bliss. I have not done this in years, but I picked up the book to read for an hour and 6 1/2 hours later I still had not put it down. I finished it in two days; I had even debated missing work to finish it. Since I hadn't heard about the book, the surprises and twists were fun and suspenseful. It will not change my faith because I read it as fiction. I can't wait to look up some of the paintings referenced. This book is just a fun read and I am looking forward to discussing it with friends.
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