Da Vinci Code book related reviews
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 5/5
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 5/5
The DaVinci Code was one I couldn't put down - a true rarity for me. Brown has blended a wonderful array of topics into a truely suspensful story. Stories of code breaking, religon, art history, secret societies and more are all woven together to form a fantastic story. Highly recommended!
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 4/5
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 4/5
Not since the breathlessness of "The Day of the Jackal" or "The Bourne Identity" have I read a thriller this riveting. Dan Brown sinks the hooks in and drags us through the night hours with a plot that won't let go."The Da Vinci Code," like Ludlum's classic "The Gemini Contenders," deals with secrets within secrets of the Catholic Church. In this case, the Church has tried to suppress certain relics that would cause embarrassment and doubt for many of its billion believers. The relics, discovered by the Knights Templar during the Crusades, have been entrusted to a line of guardians to this present age. The problem: the guardians are being murdered, threatening the knowledge of this ancient secret. When a renowned symbologist and a female cryptologist find themselves joined at a murder scene in the Louvre, they are about to go on a twenty-four hour dash for their lives and for the survival of the secret, as hinted at by the Da Vinci Code.Brown not only keeps the pace at a gallop for the full 454 pages, he deals out clues and deceptions and word games like a Vegas dealer flipping cards. (In fact, the origin of the four suits of cards is even broached in this fascinating book!) Somehow, with mesmerizing skill, Brown draws us deeper into the mystery without setting our heads spinning. But you might find yourself nodding, smiling, and gasping in reaction.Ultimately, "The Da Vinci Code" swings the pendulum from run-of-the-mill thriller to a discourse on religious roots. Yes, I believe the Church has put forth a male-dominant view of God that is inconsistent with the Bible. The Bibles states in Genesis that both man and woman were created in God's image. Where Brown, or his Knights Templar, might swing too far the other way is in asserting God as the sacred goddess instead. Biblically, yes, God is spirit, encapsulating all the traits of man and woman in the divine. However, "The Da Vinci Code" dips into pagan practices and gnosticism, calling into question the veracity of Scripture.As a thriller, this book can hardly be beat. As a treatise on spirituality, it comes up suspect on factual and theological levels.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Perseus Books Group Rating: 4/5
Title: Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Perseus Books Group Rating: 4/5
I had read the Da Vinci Code one year ago. While I was intrigued by the information presented in the book, I didn't know where I can read up/confirm those insights made in the Da Vinci Code. Then I found this book. This book offers the background information I needed to understand the Da Vinci Code better. It covers lots of ground, include those books Dan Brown researched for his book. It contains interviews/literature presented by authorities on the subject as well as unorthodox interpretations/history of the evolution of Christianity. Overall, very interesting to read. I would have given it a 5 star if it had a summary paragraph for each chapter (for example, the Mary Magadelen chapter is at times hard to follow with the opposing view points presented back to back without transitions in between).
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 2/5
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 2/5
Okay, I admit I read it in one sitting but please be aware that this book is the literary equivalent of Lethal Weapon 4. Lots of mindless action, stilted dialogue, naive cultural viewpoints, and an ending that leaves you rather embarrassed that you read the book. And of course be sure to use Google to find the historical inaccuracies and author indulgences.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 4/5
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 4/5
With "DaVinci Code," Brown does a magnificent job of creating driving the story with a riveting plot. Character development is of secondary importance here, but it doesn't matter. The twists and turns of the story will draw you in...to a point where you don't care who's riding along with you.If you're into writers like Brown, Yann Martel, Mitch Albom, etc., then there's a new writer you should check out: GREG IPPOLITO. His most recent novel, "Zero Station," is a politically charged page-turner that pits its main Gen X character (John Saylor) against his Baby Boomer parents, teachers, etc., during the winter of 1991 -- in the heart of the Persian Gulf War. Right now, Ippolito is still a relative unknown (a friend turned me onto his work)...but this is a must-read. You can check him out and read an excerpt at:http://www.zero-station.netDon' t miss it.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 4/5
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 4/5
Sure there are some things to be annoyed about - Brown follows an age old thriller story arc where the hero (and sometimes a heroine as well) go on the run and hook up with the wise mentor. Hey wasn't this story arc used in that Keanu Reeves flick? It's a myth arc all by itself (maybe on purpose?) And it sure does owe a debt to 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail'. But this remains a fine, page turner of a thriller. I would hope, though, that readers are encouraged to not accept everything here on face value - this is a 'fantasy' of a thriller. Is Brown running the Sion, bloodline story as an established, inarguable fact? Many sites and works have been written that explain, in exhaustive detail, that the Priory of Sion was a hoax and that Plantard - the 'head' of the organisation, was a scheming, anti-semitic former crim who was, like many right-wingers of his time, anti-Masonic and interested in Celtic traditions and Grail legends. The Priory of Sion apparently created a number of dubious fictions - such as claiming that the familial home of a Templar Grand Master was at Blanchefort, near Rennes-le-Chateau when in fact Blanchefort was the home of a Cathar noble by that name, not a Templar Grand Master. Worst still many researchers believe that the 'bloodline' story Brown uses is a well known forgery (planted in libraries) and fiction (and I quote from one site): "The survival of the Merovingian bloodline as promulgated in the "Priory" documents is based on the alleged marriage of Giselle de Razes to the seventh-century Merovingian King Dagobert Il. Giselle de Razes never existed. Plantard and his associates fabricated her." Umberto Eco poked fun at this whole thing in "Foucault's Pendulum' showing that anyone can create a conspiracy/mystery utilising esoteric documents - there are millions of them - and by liberal interpretaions of the often mystical language of ancient texts. Of course Brown's research in other areas - symbology in art and architecture and language primarily - is fascinating. Be nice if he listed some sources! Can't wait for the next one, Mr Brown.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 2/5
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 2/5
This has got to be a record number of theories that can packed into one story. I have never read such a disjointed, mishmash of unresearched untruths in my entire life...The Georgia O'Keefe and Disney tie-ins were pretty absurd to say the least. Why do people eat this ...up? I am going to ask for my money back.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 3/5
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 3/5
I'm glad I read on after the first review to find other people did not take this to be a possible true revelation of biblical fact. This is indeed a suspense thriller but nothing more. Read and enjoy, but if you put any belief in this as the true answer to the Holy Grail I have some swampland in Florida to sell you.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 5/5
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 5/5
This book completely blew my mind. It is not often that I read a novel that had me immediately, after reading the last page, running to my computer to research the secret societies, symbols and other topics of this book. I found it very intriguing and exciting. It is definitely a book that makes you think and I wouldn't consider it a light fast read, although not being able to put it down myself, it didn't take me long to finish it. Definitely one of those books that you wish could last another 300 pages. A MUST READ!!!!
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 5/5
Title: The Da Vinci Code
Publisher: Doubleday
Authors: Dan Brown
Rating: 5/5
Although wrapped as a thriller, this nailbiting yarn from Brown braces a controversial subject. Little surprise then that it has provoked such pointless debate here in the reviews. Funny, because a bit of literaly license is not uncommon, e.g., in the description of the Pyramids in "Death on the Nile" (Agatha Christie), or old England imagery from Sherlock Holmes, or the veracity of "Blairwitch Project." This is not intended as a documentary, it is fiction, so it is in fact quite a positive thing that it mirrors reality SO closely. As a sinister thriller with a killer plot, be prepared to immerse in speculation, action and intrigue. Fascinating. As a book about religion or cults, assuming that really gets your goat, well it will incite you to get to your keyboard (as it did me) and that's a good thing, people! A highly recommended book to own. I could even stand an entire second reading!
