Rating: 
Summary: A vicious and worthless book
Review: This proves again that insulting and falsifying Christianity is big business, and that asnti-Christianity is one form of politically-acceptable bigotry. Funny, no-one writes books insulting Islam for some reason.Christianity doesn't need me to defend it, but I'm offended that this book is being passed off as some sort of insight into history and theology when it is neither. It is garbage for the gulliable, or more precisely, for the half-educated and those who passed through school and university after history and theology ceased being taught there. To quote another reviewer: "Same old lies. Hardly any of this background is original. Most of it is derived from the fantasy-disguised-as-history work 'Holy blood, Holy Grail,' and the rest is cobbled from other bits of well-worn and risible muggests of esoteric and Gnostic conspiracy theories." The Catholic Church is shown as brutal, repressive and murderous. I am not a Catholic, so I have no particular reason to take offense, except that all this untruth should be offensive to anyone, and I feel angry on behalf of the many good Catholics I know. Its attitude to Catholicism and Christianity is simply vicious bigotry. Among the ludicrous historical errors presented as part of the factual back-ground are the alleged facts that the Divinity of Christ was invented by the Roman Emperor Constantine, and voted on at the Council of Nicea. There is a claim the Church killed five million accused witches during the medieval period. This is also utterly, ludicrously false. This is a frankly degenerate work - it is not even well-written as a suspense thriller - aiming to exploit the gulliability of the modern half-educated and its success is a depressing comment on the state of our civilization.
Rating:
Summary: The Da Vinci Scam
Review: This review contains a spoiler. First of all no art scholar would refer to Leonardo as Da Vinci. Secondly, Leonardo painted St. John in the same effeminate manner in another portrait. No conspiracy there. Dan Brown is pulling our collective leg and getting rich doing it. I am amazed at the praise this amateurish novel is getting. Are people so anxious to defame the Catholic church that they will lower their standards to such a level? Next thing you know the Hardy Boys will be exhuming Martin Luther and Nancy Drew will be translating the Koran.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: This review I wrote partly to trump those who felt the book was poor because it took on too much of an adventure movie feel. This book is fascinating and for those that don't know the alternate story of the holy grail (not the one of the chalice made famous in Indiana Jones) and for those who grew up learning from the Bible. Da Vinci Code does take on a Indiana Jones feel, but this only adds to the essence of the book. If you want straight facts about the Holy Grail, the Priory of Sion, the Knights Templar etc. then don't feel the need to read this book - I haven't read them on this particular subject but I am sure there are good reference materials at your local library. If you want to learn more about the subjects listed above and you want a thriller, than pick up the book. P.S. I thought this book was far more fascinating than Indiana Jones and Indiana Jones is one of my favorite movies. I have also been to Paris and think this book is a great read to learn more about the Louvre and surrounding museums and churches.
Rating: 
Summary: "DaVinci Myth" is more accurate
Review: This review will be unfortunately a bit longer than I want it to be, as I care to spend little time writing about a book I consider to be a second rate, cheap, dimestore thriller. I picked up this book to see what all the hoopla was about, but much to my disappointment, it was what I consider the "Big Mac" of books: tastes good, but no nutritional value. Da Vinci code is a formulaic franchise (yes, I deliberately use that word) that reads like a Spielberg movie. Dan Brown is a hybrid of all the other popular mainstream thriller authors out there that are currently making bazillions of dollars on the rights of their novels being sold for silver screen production. (I'm looking at you, Chrichton, and you, Grisham) But I believe Mr. Brown, has done himself a service in that he was able to save himself some extra cash when the inevitable transfer from book-to-movie comes around. He will not have to hire any scriptwriters, because the book already reads like a movie script. No changes necessary. For those of you who understand where I am coming from, yet steadfastly refuse to be deterred from reading the book, the only positive critique I can give is this; it *is* a page turner. But, then again, is that really a positive comment? If that were the case, Danielle Steel or Judith Kranz would be considered the literary geniuses of our time. Heck, for that matter, so would Penthouse Forum. Another element that strikes a discord with me is how good Mr. Brown is at in blending fact with fiction. I understand that common practice and Brown is certainly not the first to interweave these two elements to create a plausible synopsis, but the difference here is that it seems to be undermining people's faith in religion and that Christianity is one big conspiracy. I won't go into detail about the fabrications that Dan Brown has made in the book, lest I give the story away, but rest assured there are plenty of websites and articles out there that debunk the authors many presumptions. This is a work of fiction and people need to keep that in mind. In conclusion, the only conspiracy here is the marketing one.
Rating:
Summary: Such buildup I had to read, that will teach me.
Review: This seems to be the book of the year and shows no signs of slowing down. I was excited to read it, but that came to a grueling end as I trudged through Brown's "research." My college freshman English professor would of marked down my paper with such flimsy research. It took me all of two minutes to find on the internet that the sect Opus Dei does not even have monks. One of the main characters of the book could not even exist, so much for Dan's research. I also would question that five million women were killed as witches in the Middle Ages. My research could only find that maybe 15,000 died, while sad, not close to the 5,000,000 stated in the book. As for the story of Mary Magdalene and Jesus' marriage, that has been around for years and is nothing new, as most of the reading public seems to believe. And just because Dan says it is true does not make it true. I had such hopes for this book and was sorley disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: this book is a direct attack on the cathollic church
Review: This so called mystery is a thinnly disguised attack on the catholic church.By someone who is ignorant about history and the catholic church. I pray he sees the evil he has unleashed for he will pay for his umbelivable lies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Grail Quest Eventually Grates
Review: This story began with great promise. It appeared to be a non-stop type of novel. About midway, however, it became clear that the author had a personal agenda to pitch. When the plot ultimately degraded into a "car chase" I actually put it away for a month or so. I finally finished reading the book this morning, and the ending is clearly designed for a B-Rated Hollywood film (Hmmm, maybe Richard Gere could play the lead role.) This book went from great to a grating disappointment!
Rating:
Summary: Delivers
Review: This story delivers the promise of excitement from the first page. It's a can't put it downer in more ways than one. If you enjoy intellectual puzzles, you'll find this book right down your Rubic's cube. Few writers could write this book; it required a brilliant mind. Reading it, though, is easy. If it upsets the Christian mythologists, so be it. It's about time their brains got a jolt. However, in the final analysis, it's doubtful if they have been done any harm, despite all their screaming in the previous reviews. This is a fast paced story and you won't be able to quit reading once you start.
Rating:
Summary: Good story but it carries too much personal baggage
Review: This story has a great premise and is well written. Unfortunately the author uses the story as a vehicle for expressing strong anti-Christian views. While the story is fiction, its clear that the author's distaste for Christianity is very real.
Rating:
Summary: Stretched too far
Review: This story is beyond believable and not particularly well written. There are so many hints at things to come; the reader is left hanging just too many times. There are too many long explanations of historical events, theories, art. The main characters continue to be chased by the police, like some Hollywood concoction. All that is missing is a car chase. The storyline is so convoluted that I felt I could not take another twist or explanation. To be honest, I cannot finish the book.
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