Rating: 
Summary: Dan Brown's 4th and best book
Review: This mystery thriller doesn?t disappoint as it examines how history might have been rewritten if certain historical events had played out differently. Multi-layered, the book takes readers on a trip through a puzzle that requires a different set of operating instructions for each of the levels. And here?s the fun part: when you?ve finished the book, you can go further in the quest via a website!
Superb.
Rating: 
Summary: Classical literature this is not...
Review: This novel has deals with a number of fascinating subjects: cryptography, art history, history of the Christian Church, among many others. However, Brown has packed WAY too much into this novel, including a stereotypical Hollywood-structured race-against-time, to treat any one of these subjects with any seriousness. The character development beyond the two protagonists is very shallow at best, and even they are not rendered fully except as superheros who don't tire, don't make mistakes, and even acheive superhuman leaps of logic at 3am. The believability of this work goes out the window after about 100 pages, but you're committed by then, so you might as well finish it, as long as you can hold your nose to the outrageous, flawed finale. Clearly, Brown writes in a formula for the masses, meaning he boils things down to a high-school level of education and trite plot tricks for this piece of "entertainment." For example, he "hides" the "answer" deduced by characters from the reader until later chapters, but two paragraphs earlier, we were inside the characters head! A cheap suspence mechanism. Brown could have done so much more and written with much more sophistication and realism. The mere fact that 99% of the book occurs within 24 hours (minus the thin, awkward "flashbacks") undermines the sense of reality Brown attempts to create. Clearly, this will become a film and will do as well as the John Grisham novels-turned-movies. Nothing spectacular, yet so many will continue to shell out cash to this author via Century theaters. Oh well.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating premise, mediocre execution
Review: This novel has generated a lot of interest because of its fascinating premise, but at its core, it's a fairly mediocre piece of fluff literature. For those truly interested in the theological and philosophical questions surrounding the book's central mystery, there are far better sources of information available. It's not bad; it's entertaining in a quick, light, fluffy kind of way, but it's ultimately disappointing in that the subject matter deserved a better novel. But what annoyed me most of all was the hero's name: Robert Langdon. It just <i>sounds</i> like the name of a hero in a fluffy mystery novel. Surely Mr. Brown could have come up with something a bit less trite.
Rating:
Summary: Great premise, but...
Review: This novel has generated much interest for predictable reasons: it's a page turner with an enticing plot. It starts with a bang but runs out of gas about halfway through, right after we find out what the search is all about. From there it's one ridiculous turn of events after another, with cardboard cutouts racing through what is better described as a movie treatment. I found the ultra-short, cliffhanging chapters tiresome and distracting. The Holy Grail, the Knights Templar, and the Priory Of Sion are extremely fascinating topics. However, as clever as the author would seem, he simply borrowed the research of others (read Holy Blood, Holy Grail) and wrapped it up in a paint by numbers thriller. The meat in this book is great, it just needs more seasoning.
Rating:
Summary: Three words: Intelligent, fascinating, astounding
Review: This novel hinges on a fascinating alternative history of Christianity. Whether it has any merit in reality is another issue altogether, but the story-line is truly engaging. Hidden within the works of Da Vinci are clues to another story of Christ; one banned by the Church in its early days to solidify its power base and to make its message consistent to followers. Documents (e.g., the Gnostic Gospels) and artifacts relating to this "other history" were destroyed, its leaders killed and any records of its existence purged. Playing large roles in the story are obscure but interesting (and real) societies such as Opus Dei - the orthodox Vatican prelature - and the secret society called the Priory of Sion, founded in 1099. Weaving in generous portions of real events, artwork, historical biography, Brown does a wonderful job depicting the power struggle over control of Christianity. Playing lesser roles to the historical background are the protagonists, including symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu. These two - and the "action side" of the plot - require that the reader suspend belief occasionally... since when does a French police detective have authority to do enforce laws within the borders of England, for instance? But these players are all subjugated by the astounding historical backdrop. Truly fascinating and well-written - the Da Vinci Code is certainly worth reading. It is unlikely you will put it down until you've exhausted every page.
Rating:
Summary: A masterful work...
Review: This novel is a amsterful work that combines a realistic story of fiction with an amazing buffet of facts. I love books that take common knowledge and show how it could be/in fact is otherwise. This book fits that description in every chapter within. I hope to read his other works as soon as possible.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing, Entertaining and Thought Provoking
Review: This novel is a captivating read which I had trouble putting down. In fact my husband also started to read it at the same time,and we were quite competetive over who got the book at any given time!
The suspensful story begins with the mysterious murder of the curator of the Lourve with well defined strong characters of the investigating police, the niece of the slain curator, and an American expert in symbols who is unknowingly drawn into the mess as he had the last known appointment scheduled with the victim. What follows is the quest to discover the murderer in a story filled with fascinating details based on historical research of the Holy Grail, and a secret society of the Catholic Church called Opus Dei, and discussions of various aspects of church history, all of which enrich the mystery.
Dan Brown ingeniously weaves facts into his fictional tale, and is so convincing that some readers will undoubtedly take from this book some of his invented ideas with conviction they are historically true.
As a NY Times Bestseller, this book has received much attention in all media which only adds to the fun of reading it. There are magazine articles, and book club dicussions on the radio and television shows which have dissected the story and identified fact and fiction based on this remarkably entertaining and thought provoking read.
This is a book which I think will be judged as a significant work of pop culture.I look forward to the movie I anticipate will be forthcoming, so please read this BEFORE then-as books are OFTEN better than their counterpart movies!
Rating: 
Summary: Starts promising, but disappoints overall
Review: This novel is basically an excuse for Dan Brown to expose some pet theories about DaVinci, the Holy Grail, and some intruiging notions about the history of the Christian church. Worthy and fascinating topics, if handled correctly. Unfortunately, Brown decides to dump all of these ideas into the middle of a half-baked police thriller filled with cardboard cut-out characters. The plot starts well but then rapidly disintegrates into one near-miss and close-escape after another, getting more and more unbelievable as it progresses. By the time I reached the end I just wanted to throw the book across the room and yell out, YEAH RIGHT.... But... that being said.... i read it in one night. It keeps the pages turning. The best part is the historical discussions and theories. In the hands of more skilled writer, this would be a fanstastic concept for a novel. Something a bit longer and more detailed, and not trapped within the lame framework of a made-for-TV-movie potboiler. A great opportunity wasted. Still, I recommend it just for exposing readers to some very interesing ideas and theories.
Rating:
Summary: the DaVinci Code
Review: This novel is vastly overwritten and the author has an agenda. He gives the impression that this work is well researched and his facts about the Catholic Church and the beginnings of Catholicism are true. They are not. Too bad he didn't stick with the very clever games he has his characters play. That's intriguing.
Rating: 
Summary: What a waste of time
Review: This novel is very poorly written, I could hardly stand to read it. Save you time and money.
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