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The Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $14.97
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: yes, remember that it's just fiction
Review: Enjoy the story, but don't mistake it for a work of non-fiction scholarship as some have. I have a history degree from U.C. Berkeley and a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies and can tell you from my own research that there's no historical basis for much of Brown's story. He doesn't even get the Leonardo part right (for example, as some Leonardo scholars have pointed out, no one refers to Leonardo as "Da Vinci"). So enjoy the ride, but look for historical accuracy elsewhere.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Un muy buen libro.
Review: Es un libro que aparte de ser interesante te mantiene muy intretenifo y puedo decir que interesado y divertido, ataca a sociedades y grupos como el opus dai y el poder que tienen actualmente en el mundo. realmente si quieres pasarte un rato a gusto y aparte teniendo otros puntos de vista en cuanto al cristianismo... compralo.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Atrocious writing style.
Review: Even if this were it's only shortcoming, readers should snub this book. The writing style is so poor that it is distracting, and the characters so uninspired and shallow, that I was not able to read more than a couple of chapters, before putting the book down in exasperation. The character development is dispensed with in the following manner: "He was tall and powerfully built, with his hair slicked back, and he wore a finely tailored Armani".

The author also seems to have forgotten that punctuation exists in English language, resulting in choppy, short sentences reminiscent of a High School English writing assignment. But I suppose this must be a device to keep the thriller thrilling...

I'll let the other reviewers, who were obviously more patient that me, tear the story to pieces, and will just content myself with saying that this book falls into the "cheap supermarket novel" category, no matter how lofty the subject matter may hope to be, and has no claim to literature status. For that, you are better off reading "The Name Of The Rose" or "Foucault's Pendulum", where style and substance co-exist.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Read
Review: Even though it is a historical fiction, this is a very good book to read. True that some of the points he wrote about were true. But we should know that this is open to interpretation. What is also important is that as readers, we should be able to discern where historical truths end and where fiction begins. I have read a great deal of historical fictions, and know how misleading historical fictions can be. Nothing that is written in this novel is exact. The father of this theme that Dan Brown took in this book is Michael Baigent , the author of HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL. He said it succinctly that he did not believe about the grail story because he did not know. What he wrote was what people said, many of whom were hazy about it. So, he wrote using "it is said that". That is what makes writings glaringly historical fictions.

Another good historical fiction is DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Okay...it's not bad
Review: Even though this religious thriller isn't exactly what I usually like to read, I was curious as to what all the good and bad reviews were about (thousands of them). I have to admit that I wasn't expecting much, but the books not bad. I really give it three-and-a-half stars.

But, being a science fiction fan, I also recommend: STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, PUPPET MASTERS, CHILDHOOD'S END, NEUROMANCER, SNOW CRASH, DARKEYE: CYBER HUNTER, etc.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Yes, it is that good
Review: Ever since I read a review about this book in PEOPLE Magazine, I have been dying to read it. Now I know why- it has every interesting aspect any good novel should have tied into it: history, mystery, suspense, intellect, intriguing characters, and unfathomable reality connections. Dan Brown's wonderful, hands-down performance tangles the reader into the temporary discipleship web he has spun of the forgotten faith mentioned throughout the book. Excellent character foils double to represent the timeline generations of the Church and to create inticing reading.

Many times while reading this book, I found myself racing to and from the computer to check on facts created in this novel, which were very true, as far fetched as they may seem. The Da Vinci code not only opened my eyes to a world I never imagined could exist but reminded me that all things have ulterior motives.

Bottom line: At the final page, I found myself secretly wishing a second catastrophe would uprise so that the adventure could continue.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Incomprehensible tripe
Review: Every now and then I buy a book on the spur of the moment without looking up the usual reviewers or even flipping through a few pages. I almost always get burned doing this, and this purchase was no exception. A massive (and misleading) marketing campaign and relentless self-promotion are the only explanations for this book's success. Cloddishly plotted and populated with moronic caricatures instead of characters, this waste of paper routinely mixes spurious 'facts' with idiotic conspiracy theories while racing breathlessly--and with breathtaking dullness, not an easy task--to a senseless and contradictory conclusion. At first I was astounded that anyone could actually recommend this garbage, then I realized that movies like 'Dumb and Dumber' draw large crowds.
There really should be a 'zero star' rating available for this kind of puerile nonsense.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Forget the history, it's just bad writing.
Review: Everybody complains about the history. "These details are wrong, the history books say this..." and on ad infinitum. It's fiction. Says so on the copyright page. Fiction. Grounded in reality, but ultimately made up.

That people give this book one star for "being bad history" is just grossly ignorant. It is not a history text, it's a novel. And, it's a BAD novel. The plot speeds along, and is the book's saving grace. There is little to no characterization, and clunky prose that sticks out like a sore thumb on subsequent rereadings. (I admit that I was flummoxed by the quick pace of the book, only on review did I realize just how badly it was written.)

I bought this for my fiance for Christmas cause she likes DaVinci, and for making her happy, it gets five stars. No stars subtracted for being "bad history"; four stars subtracted for being too badly written for the money I spent on the hardcover, and one star added for a quick plot that glosses over all the obvious problems.

"Almost inconceivably, the gun into which she was now staring was clutched in the pale hand of an enormous albino."

?

-Evan

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: ignoring an issue
Review: everybody keeps talking about this dumb book

but what about this charge of racism?

why are y'all ignoring this Q?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Sensation Frustration
Review: Everybody's talking about this book. A friend of mine has invited folks over to discuss it. I've no doubt this will springboard us into talking about 'the sacred feminine' (Eve was framed) and "Are there intergenerational, nay inter-epochal conspiracies, secret societies, etc, etc, etc." Well OK, the book is selling and it's a great springboard.
Other questions that I expect answers to in a book ballyhooed as much as this one: "What if I had the Holy Grail, the actual cup that Jesus drank the first communion with his disciples; what properties would the Grail convey on the possessor (or viewer)? Would it be like Dorothy's ruby slippers or Midas' golden touch? Another question- how is the Grail's authenticity verified? Tell me this, Dan Brown! No, <The DaVinci Code> never reveals this to my satisfaction. The whole 'thing' hinges on a riddle and the hero, Langdon never sees the Grail. So...it's DaVinci Code as in Crossword Puzzle, not as in the chromosonal genetic code that spells Jesus Christ. Admittedly, a clever read and if <DaVinci Code> serves you like it did me, to generate an invite to brunch, go for it. Another caveat; this is one of those stories where the hero was tired to begin with and stays up 48 hours. Don't start reading it after 9:00 PM or sympathy pains may convince you that sleep is all but impossible!


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