Rating: 
Summary: If you Take You Religion Seriously...
Review: Prepare to find many revelations and statements in "The Da Vinci Code' to be scandalous or just downright heretic. But remember...ITS FICTION! Though based on some fact, the book is a work of fiction, making presumptions based on the facts author Dan Brown researched. But reading these presumptions and analyzing them is in the books' fun, as well as being a ming-boggling, multi-layered suspense thriller, ripe with conspiracy, chases, high-technology and well-drawn characters. Robert Langdon is a American symbologist in Paris on business when he is wrongly fingered for the late night murder of the curator of the Louve, and goes on the run with a french cyptographer Sophie Neveu, the grandaughter of the curater. What follows are downright brilliant puzzles and conundrums expertly designed by Dan Brown involving not only clues clverly hiden in Da Vinci's paintings but also hidden ancient symbolism in many modern religious marks and even secular culture. It all points to a startling revelation about what the Holy Grail actually is, a far cry from the wooden chalice of lore.Brown writes the book at a breakneck pace, with barely a single chapter over a couple of pages, enhacing the effect. Not to mention the father you get into "The Da Vinci Code," the more you absolutely have to read. Even if you don't buy into the books' laments on modern religion, "The Da Vinci Code" is utterly compulsive reading.
Rating:
Summary: Three recommendations
Review: Prior to reading the DA VINCI CODE, I have three strong recommendations. First, read Brown's DEMONS AND ANGELS. In DEMONS AND ANGELS, Brown introduces the main character -- Robert Langston, the Harvard professor. The reader will have clearer insight into Langston character develop. In fact, the DAVINCI CODE begins the day after DEMONS AND ANGELS ends. Second, find a copy of the Mona Lisa on the Internet. There is a URL that offers the contrast within the context of Brown's framework (da Vinci's smile/Mona Lisa's smile). My friends who have read the DA VINCI CODE and have seen the constrast have developed a renewed appreciation for da Vinci's artistry. Third, find a copy of the da Vinci's The Last Supper that enables you to enlarge it. You'll need to revisit it several times while reading this great novel. As a child, I have seen The Last Supper more times that I can count. However, while reading THE DAVINCI CODE, I developed fresh perspective and a deeper appreciation for this masterpiece. Like DEMONS AND ANGELS, THE DAVINCI CODE offers a series twists and turns that evolve into a series of difficult to predict outcomes. The common question for this type of novel becomes, "who did it?" The reader enters a struggle to uncover "who did it." prior to the writer revealing the details. I was totally taken off guard. Brown is able to effectively distract the readerby bringing in a series of highly plausible evil doers. In fact, reading DEMONS AND ANGELS first offers the basis for additional suspects. The most thrilling aspect of this book is Brown's style. Brown is a crafty writer who has the ability to take the reader to another place. I was so absorbed, I lost track of time and forgot where I was. Brown's vividness creates pictured in my mind -- making me forget that I am reading a book and creating the feeling that I am writing a great film.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book
Review: Prior to reading this book, I saw tons of people getting this book, but had little word of mouth information and never knew what it was about until there was a television special about it. I decided to read it because I thought it was an interesting idea for a book. Especially because it went along with my curiousity about truth and fiction in the Bible and church history. I absolutely loved it. It opened things up that I hadn't really considered, with my relatively conservative religious upbringing. It was a thrilling idea that Jesus was human, and not a robot without feelings and without a true human experience. It was also fascinating to consider the role of previous church leaders in information, or the supression of it. It was interesting to see how the book ended, but more interesting was the information that I went out to research after I finished reading it. The book wasn't focused on sex. It was focused on the idea that the information we could have gotten that was such a threat to the authority of church leaders that they felt they had to surpress it. Anyone who walks away thinking the book was all about sex made a snap judgement and didn't see the problems posed by the church burying information. They came in with pre-concieved notions and would have been offended no matter how well or how poorly the story could have been told. They are also probably the same folks who watch television shows and movies just so they can whine about how violated they feel. And that's truly sad. People who are deeply offended can move on, because they can go get one story spoon-fed to them every week. But those who are interested in looking at a work of fiction that can open their eyes to exciting ideas, while reading a gripping story, will truly enjoy this book. I read this book in a day and have re-read it several times. This book has also given me a start to do historical research and find out what real events are behind this story. Fantastic... Read it, but keep an open mind. If you can't do that... Then stay the same as you've always been.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Probably the expectations were too high. The book came with rave reviews as being an intelligent religious thriller. It's probably intelligent, if you are seven years old. It starts off pretty well but then it is downhill all the way. Gaping holes in the plot, puerile puzzles, twists and cliches dampen any enthusiasm you may have. The characters are boring. Brown's enthusiasm in explaining concepts like the golden ratio is like that of a child who's just got a new toy and can't wait to show it off. While Brown insists on referring to his male characters by their last names, why he prefers to use the name Sophie and not Nevue is puzzling. All in all, you'd be better off re-reading Foucault's Pendulum.
Rating:
Summary: A Thrilling and Murderous Search for the Holy Grail
Review: Professor Robert Langdon of Harvard University is in Paris to lecture and meet with a curator of the Louvre. Instead, the police take him from his hotel to the Louvre, where he finds the curator murdered. He is stunned to find that all evidence points to him as the murderer of a man he had never met. But Sophie Neveu, a police cryptographer and granddaughter of the curator, shocks Langdon further by maneuvering him into escaping from the police. On the run, she explains that she does not believe that he murdered her grandfather. The curator was the head of a secret society that dated back to the time of Christ and protected a great secret. She wants to find the secret. Pursued by police, they soon find that they are also pursued by the murderers. To their astonishment, they find that the secret they seek is nothing less than the Holy Grail. Their breathtaking flight extends from France to London and on to its climax in Scotland. Brown's ending of his story is less than thrilling, but the chase, which occupies most of the book, is well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Pulse Pounding
Review: Pulse pounding fiction at it's best. Fast paced, suspenseful, scary, and provocative. Also, I highly recommend The Little Guide To Happiness: How to smile again.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Waist Your Time
Review: Pure garbage, and an insult to the minds of good people. This writers intentions are in a faryland. What starts out to be good mystery, ends out being pure garbage. I really don't know how else to discribe this rag of a book. I will use it for fire knidling when the weather gets cold.
Rating:
Summary: How Can Anyone Take This Book Seriously?
Review: Put succinctly, here are the major problems with The Da Vinci Code: It attacks the Catholic Church and her beliefs about Jesus Christ, the Bible, and Church authority.
It claims to be completely accurate and based in fact, but it is not.
It rewrites and misrepresents Church and secular history.
It promotes a radical feminist, neo-gnostic agenda.
It propagates a relativistic, indifferent attitude towards truth and religion. For a thorough dissection of the errors found in DA VINCI CODE, navigate to: http://www.envoymagazine.com/planetenvoy/Review-DaVinci-Part1.htm
Rating:
Summary: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY
Review: Quite simply put this is a fictional story designed to cast doubt on the TRUE word of GOD... The Bible. Don't waste your time or money...
Rating:
Summary: Believe the Hype!
Review: Rarely does a book come out with so much attention and is able to live up to it. Dan Brown lives up to the hype. This book is amazing. I can't wait to read his other books.
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