Rating: 
Summary: If you've only read THIS book by Dan Brown...
Review: Then you've gotta get the rest of his works, like "Angels and Demons", "Digital Fortress", and "Deception Point". All are equally good Dan Brown books, but, of course, "The Da Vinci Code" was definitely in a class all it's own. It deserves to stay Number One for a very, very long time. And this coming from a reader who usually buys science fiction such as "Foundation", "Ringworld", "Agents of Chaos", "Snow Crash", "Neuromancer", "Virtual Light", "Childhood's End", "Darkeye: Cyber Hunter", "Prey", and so forth. So for me to like this intriguing religious thriller means those of you who love down-to-earth drama or thrillers will definitely love this.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Concept but Not Satisfying
Review: There are already 500+ reviews of this book, which means that it has struck a resonant chord with a lot of readers. I read through this book very quickly and enjoyed it as a summer suspense thriller. I enjoyed Brown's ability to bring a lot of interesting facts and fun conjectures together, and can forgive the possibly many errors, omissions and suppositions that others have found. It is "just a novel" after all. It was only after I was done, however, and started to think about the various elements of the book that it struck me: while I was reading the book, it felt like fiction imbued with historical scholarship. Now that I think through the various plot devices and elements, that feeling is transmogrified into thinking this is cotton candy scholarship -- delicious, but ultimately just a bit airy and unsubstantial. I don't like throwing rocks. I think Brown has done a great job with this. I'm just surprised at the large numbers of people who have embraced this book as a scholarly look at the world.
Rating: 
Summary: So, is it really Mary in DaVinci's Pieta?
Review: There are books you read because you feel some sort of compunction to be educated, there are books you read because others feel you should be educated, and there are books you read just for fun that end up being educational; this book falls into that last category. This book is enlightening on two main points, the role of the "Illuminati" in art history, and the deep distaste Mr. Brown has for the Catholic Church. Despite the bone he has to pick with "Rome" the book is very interesting, and even though it is a popular murder mystery, it does not descend into rank sentimentality. Overall, an excellent read.
Rating: 
Summary: talk about your "holey grail"
Review: There are major holes in Brown's grail conspiracy and don't even get me started on the plot of this amateurish novel. It reads like a novelization of a screenplay. So why all of the enthusiasm? It plays to the bigot in all of us. Bravo Mr. Brown you have managed to bring out the very worst element in human nature and make a buck while you are at it. I suppose now racism, antisemitism, sexism can all be considered fair game for mercenary writers everywhere.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: There are many good features to The DaVinci Code, and given the amount of publicity it's generated, it is certainly worth a read. The story is engaging and fast-paced, and the details are interesting and may cause you to look at certain elements of our culture differently. That said, there are quite a few caveats to watch out for. Brown got a lot of details wrong regarding the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei that the general reader will completely overlook, such as the fact that members aren't monks and are restricted in the amount of pain they may inflict on themselves. There are other minor historical errors as well. I'm not crazy about the writing, either; the chapters are all incredibly short and invariably end with a cliff-hanger. Once in awhile this device is tenable, but when it's employed every single chapter it loses its charm. None of the characters is substantially developed, although the pacing of the story compensates for this a bit. And while a lot of the pieces fit in very well, there are some details that are a bit of a stretch, particularly the Disney references. I think my major beef with this book is that it feels as thought it was written for a decidedly non-intellectual audience; the book reads like the textbook for a freshman-- or even high-school-- level survey course in modern western civ. While there's nothing inherently wrong with this tone, the book leaves you wanting more. Overall, though, it's a quick, easy read, and it made me think. I recommend it but caution against expecting too much.
Rating:
Summary: Hype over good story telling
Review: There are so many disappointments in this book, I honestly don't know where to start. The two main characters are boring to the point of tears. When it comes to emotion and action, the writer is forced to do it in description. The characters can't and don't speak like people on the brink of staggering discovery with danger at every turn. Instead, every time they open their mouths, I felt like I was sitting in a lecture room. All action, any energy the story had going for it came to a grinding stop. The writer made a point of beating us over the head that he was highly educated, but does that mean, he has to talk through the entire book like he's standing behind a lectern?
The next pot hole in this book is that if the names of the main characters had been removed from the pages, I wouldn't be able to tell which one was speaking because they both sound identical. They had all the depth of a wading pool. Martha Stewart expresses more taunt drama explaining how to boil water.
The writer has a lot to learn about conflict, action, and putting characters in danger. Each time the characters were in danger, or had a puzzle to figure out, the writer would explain how a character would be shocked, stomach turning, blood run cold, blah blah blah and drag it out for another paragraph to squeeze as much trite suspense as possible. And the way they got out of danger was so incredibly contrived as to be laughable.
And how many times do we have to be told about the feminine this or feminine that? It was clear that the writer was so much more interested in writing a history book than telling a story. Every new discovery side tracked the story while we got yet another lesson. While there is no end how bad I thought this book was, by now my opinion has been made.
Rating:
Summary: The Epitome of Suspense Fiction
Review: There are so many reviews already written on this #1 bestseller, there's no point in further summarizing the plot. It should be enough to know that Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" has already inspired a TV documentary on the possibility that the book's premise is true. Not many works of fiction accomplish that. My general thoughts are that, simply put, this is the best thriller I've ever read. This is the book I want to write when I grow up. The action begins almost immediately, and never lets up. There are no weak spots. No points at which one loses interest or wishes the author wouldn't go off on some tangent in search of "literary excellence." This is straight, old-fashioned story tellin'. And what a tale. Critics can claim that the book is too "commercial" and formulaic, but while that may be true, it is the quintessential example. The book is neither character nor plot driven; it's premise driven, and though the devices employed by Brown to transfer the enormous body of research to the reader become less than transparent, the concept is so intriguing that the book works. It more than works. He makes believable an otherwise preposterous and controversial supposition: that the Holy Grail is a highly guarded collection of documents proving that there are living ancestors to the offspring of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdelene. My single complaint is one that can't be fixed. One gets so swept up in this history lesson and Grail quest that a letdown is inevitable. Neither Brown nor his protagonist know the definitive truth or location of the Grail, and therefore, despite the growing feeling that you're about to learn some fantastic universal truth, you're left at book's end with the rather depressing realization that you've simply read a good book, and nothing more. I generally avoid the New York Times best seller list. Not because those books aren't good, but because it's often a mystery why those select few have been filtered out of the pack and afforded full support and attention by the industry, media, and reading public to the detriment of the thousands of worthy midlist writers left behind. This is one book that in my opinion deserves its place at the top. And Brown deserves every penny for his effort. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of BIG ICE and WAKE UP DEAD.
Rating:
Summary: The Meaning of Life
Review: There has never been a book that has captivated my interest as well as The Da Vinci Code, written by Dan Brown. This on the edge thriller has been proclaimed one of the most controversial books of our time. The story tells the tale of a professor's trip to Paris over a 48-hour period. The plot thickens continually with every turn of a page. There is not a chapter that passes without some sort of plot changing event. This story will have readers on their toes the entire time and wishing it would never end
The book however is not for everyone. I would say the age limit on this book would be the biggest barrier. Somebody under the age of 16 might miss some of the underlying themes in the story, most of which are crucial. It would help a reader to have some sort of religious background, however it is not necessary. The Catholic Church has claimed the book to be completely untrue and unethical. Dan Brown wrote this book as fiction for a reason. Bottom line: if you want a book that will completely captivate and entertain you, The Da Vinci Code is for you.
Rating: 
Summary: If they make a movie it ought to be a Saturday serial
Review: There is a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter and computer generated characters will be more than adequate to cope with characters' emotional depths. Any really good heresy is an old heresy. Mr. Brown has done a lot of research and it's the arcana that are interesting. Wish he had skipped the novel and written a popular history of the Council(s) of Nicaea and how the heresies dealt with there have persisted.
Rating:
Summary: Read it!!
Review: There is a reason it has sold millions of copies--it is just plain entertaining. Buy it already!
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