Rating: 
Summary: Mostly fiction and questionable fact.Wait for the paperback.
Review: I'm not a religious person, but I must say most of the factoids presented in the book have nothing at all to do with proving the main point of the book and the supposedly relevant "factoids" are far more "toid" than "fact". Consider this:If you believe that's Mary Magdalene in the cleaned version of Last Supper instead of John, take a look at James the Less and Jesus in there too, and then take a look at the Da Vinci painting called "St. John the Baptist". They all look feminine, and alot of Da Vinci's females look potentially male. Old news. The book claims a romantic relationship between Jesus and the person to his right in the Last Supper, and points out that Da Vinci was homosexual, so alot of the facts in this book could be equally slanted to claim Jesus was gay rather than having a wife. Or perhaps the supposed coverup was meant to supress the fact that Jesus and Mary were celebrated Hebrews ...the Priory of Zion/Sion? But even if it was Mary Magdalene in the Last Supper, this proves what? Also, Mona Lisa was the wife of Francesco del Gicondo, not a picture of Da Vinci himself as the book claims. Brown seems to be saying "if I come up with one actual provable fact about anything, no matter how un-related to the actual point, it means everything else I put in here is true too". I adore and respect women, but I still didn't appreciate the catch-phrase "sacred feminine" being used over and over as a smoke-screen. The pornography industry is rampant here secretly backed by corporations, is this a clandestine celebration of the "sacred feminine" too? Or logic like "I made a left-turn down this street, left is the symbol for the sacred feminine, Mary must be guiding me". Please. The spy/action/mystery plot of this novel is weak and I nearly gave up on it halfway through, including glaring plot holes, and making the police look like slapstick comedy. They outrun police cruisers in a tiny 100-kilometer-per-litre economy car, and despite a national televised manhunt they never even attempt to disguise themselves while roaming around constantly getting recognized. It might have been a fun/interesting read if the erroneous "facts" had not been so repeatedly force-fed on the reader over and over ad nauseam like that would somehow make them more valid. A goodly amount of craftsmanship, thought, effort, education, and research went into this book and I see why alot of people enjoyed it, especially women and people who don't like the church, but it is far and away a marketing campaign, and that ruined the read for me as much as anything.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat Interesting.....Somewhat Fun..... But Mostly Hype.
Review: FACTUAL CONTENT: Most of the actual solid facts and research contained in the book, while interesting, have nothing to do with proving the ultimate point of the book. They are put in as a smokescreen to interest the reader while Brown hands them manipulated pseudo-fact or fabrication that is the attempted actual "evidence". Was he actually trying to prove something here, or just writing a thriller novel? I'm still not sure. In either case, repeatedly stuffing the same pseudo-facts and leaps of faith down a reader's throat over and over does not make them more true, it just gets irritating. Investigate on your own, and you will learn some things. Mona Lisa was the wife of Francesco del Gicondo, not a picture Da Vinci himself as the book claims. If you believe that's Mary Magdalene in the cleaned version of Last Supper instead of John, take a look at James the Less (second from the left end) and Jesus in there too, and then take a look at the Da Vinci painting called "St. John the Baptist". They all look female, and alot of Da Vinci's females look potentially male. Old news. The "perfectly formed M" in the painting does not exist. And the list goes on. The supposed stunning factual research of the novel does not hold up. PLOT CONTENT: Imagine this: A huge bound & gagged semi-conscious man, another smaller man regaining consciousness from a bad blow to the head, a polio victim with legbraces and crutches, a small exhausted woman, and a tired butler manange to outrun on foot, a police-force in the act of storming the house. They get out to a barn on a massive estate and drive away, with no workable explanation other than distracting the police with an intercom. No police went around the back of the house during the raid? Who carried the huge bound man, was it the small woman? The guy with the headwound? The polio sufferer? This is the type of plotwork you're in for. Along with the same cliff-hanging chapter ending he uses over and over, "what did the heroine see in the basement one night all those years ago??" which is a poor plot ploy. BOTTOM LINE: This novel has more work, information, education, and research put into it than most do, certainly, and it gets the reader's brain working, if only to investigate some of the claims and find them insubstantial. But it also has a large amount of misconstrued nonsense and the massive media circus surrounding it is nothing more than that, a circus. Wait for the paperback.
Rating: 
Summary: ha ha ha
Review: The fact that this book is so popular is because it is so infantile and general that it appeals to the very general public. It's a successful heresy in paper though, because the general public seems to easily accept such follies presented in a novel. Such an untruth as the idea that Christ was married to Mary Magdalene is laughable. This is a novel by a foolish anti-Catholic upstart. Only fools can be swayed by lies in mystery novels.
Rating: 
Summary: What a book!
Review: Wow! I could not put this book down. A real page turner through out! I raced to find a DaVinci Art book so I could get a closer look at his work--couldn't believe my eyes--its's true!
Rating: 
Summary: Thrilling & fascinating novel
Review: I heard all the hype and thought The Da Vinci Code couldn't possibly be as good as I'd heard. However, it really is...especially for someone not well versed in studies concerning the Holy Grail. I found the parts describing the Grail & all the research that has been done on it fascinating. It really made me want to read more about the topics of the Grail & Mary Magdelene, and it is becoming rare for me to find a book that interests me that much. The Da Vinci Code has two elements that make it great: not only is it a page turning thriller, but it really makes you think. The research Brown must have done (even if he uses all research that is not necessarily his own) had to have taken ages. He really brings a topic that is not widely known to the public eye. I gave the book 4 stars for only one reason. It IS a thriller and starts to employ some cliched ideas toward the end of the novel--after all the information (besides the location of the Grail) is revealed, and Sophie & Langdon are racing around trying to recover the cryptex, etc. The book is still wonderful, and I highly reccomend it.
Rating:
Summary: 96% Marketing Ploy 2% Relevant Info 2% Weak Plot.
Review: I'm not a religious person at all, but I must say most of the factoids presented in the book have nothing at all to do with proving the main point of the book and the supposedly relevant "factoids" are far more "toid" than "fact". Consider this: If you think its Mary Magdalene in the cleaned version of Last Supper, take a look at James the Less and Jesus in there too, and then take a look at the Da Vinci painting called "St. John the Baptist". They all look feminine, and alot of Da Vinci's females look potentially male. Old news. While claiming a romantic relationship between Jesus and the person to his right in the Last Supper, and pointing out Da Vinci's sexual preferences, alot of the facts in this book could be equally skewed to claim Jesus was a homosexual rather than having a lineage at all, including the fact that he apparently never married. Or maybe the church coverup was meant to supress the fact that Jesus and Mary were powerful celebrated Jews? But the question remains, even if it was Mary Magdalene in the last supper, this proves what? Also, the Mona Lisa is said to be the wife of Francesco del Gicondo, not Da Vinci himself as the book claims, it looks no more like Da Vinci than many his other paintings. Try re-sizing and super-imposing the Leonardo self-portrait over "Portrait of Ginevra Benci", its just as convincing and doesn't need to be flipped. Moreover, Brown seems to be saying "if I come up with one actual provable fact about anything, no matter how un-related to the actual point, it means everything else I try to pass off here is true too no matter how distorted, unprovable, false or totally irrelevant". I didn't appreciate the catch-phrase "sacred feminine" used over and over as such an opportunistic smoke-screen like it was. The porno industry is running rampant here, secretly backed by our money-sucking corporations, is this a clandestine celebration of the "sacred feminine" too I suppose? Or "I made a left-turn down this street, left is the symbol for the sacred feminine, Mary Magdalene must be guiding me!!" ... please. And along those lines, the spy/action/mystery plot of this novel is so weak in points as to be laughable, I nearly gave up on it halfway through, including glaring plot holes, and making the police look like a slapstick comedy sketch. They outrun police cruisers in a tiny 100-kilometer-per-gallon economy car, and despite a national televised manhunt they never even attempt to disguise themselves while roaming around constantly getting recognized. It might have been a fun/interesting read if the bastardize erroneous "facts" had not been so repeatedly force-fed down the readers throat over and over, ad nauseam like that would somehow make them more valid. A goodly amount of craftsmanship, thought, effort, education, and research went into this book and I see why alot of people enjoyed it, especially women and people who don't like the church, but it is far and away mostly an opportunistic money-making marketing campaign being milked by the publishers and media, and that ruined the read for me as much as anything so I'm only giving it 2 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A Darn Good Mystery/Thriller
Review: <i>While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, a baffling cipher found near the body. As Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci...clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.</i> ...And so begins the Holy Grail hunt from Paris to London and back again. My Mom often tells me to be careful what I read. She's afraid I'll be influenced by the dark side or sucked into beliefs that will send me to hell. Fortunately for me, my mind is not that weak. I have yet to read anything that has caused me to denounce God or not believe in His Son, Jesus. My faith is simple and not overcomplicated by the ravings of man. My advice to you while reading this book is to read it with entertainment in mind. THE DA VINCI CODE will probably offend some Christians because there is a mention of Jesus and Mary Magdalene being married, touching on THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST. Some Catholics will be offended because they are accused of suppressing other religions by turning their symbols into something evil, and trying to hide the truth of God, even going as far as to murder to protect the secret. Even though Leonardo Da Vinci painted such masterpieces as THE LAST SUPPER and VIRGIN ON THE ROCKS he often mocked the church and "painted Christian themes not as an expression of his own beliefs but rather as a commercial venture...a means of funding a lavish lifestyle". He also placed hidden symbols of paganism in his work. Believe it or not, I was a bit shocked by this discovery. I once thought Leonardo Da Vinci must have loved God a lot to paint such beautiful pictures! Now I'm not so sure, but only God knew Da Vinci's true heart, lest I should judge. I learned something about THE LAST SUPPER painting I didn't know and was quite fascinated by! I can't tell you what it was without giving too much of the novel away, but if you're the curious sort I am, you'll find yourself running to the dining room at two in the morning to see if your copy of the painting is the one done by Da Vinci. Mine wasn't, so I had to get Online and search for THE LAST SUPPER. Not only is THE DA VINCI CODE a darn good mystery/thriller, it's also a fascinating look at religious history. All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate. Dan Brown has done an excellent job striking the right balance between fact and fiction to make this an enthralling read. I found myself trying to break each code along with Robert and Sophia and laughing when they too came up with the same wrong answer I did.
Rating:
Summary: da vinci code cracked
Review: da Vinci paints St. John in the picture "The Last supper" as Mary Magdalene but keeps it a secret till Dan Brown, inspired by Fibronacci's quest for the sacred feminine "rabbit" realizes the the "v" between Jesus and St. John in the picture is a symbol of the sacred feminine and not a clever foreground/background inversion of the triangle grouping of Judas,Peter and John. Whereas Peter's hand seems to rest fraternally on John's shoulder highlighting Judas' exclusion, it's really threatening Mary Magdalene. In this conspiratorial secret da Vinci is in the company of the most accomplished philosophers and scientists of Western civilization, like Newton and Pope, who write of their intense Christian belief only to conceal their disavowal of Christ- as presented in the 1st century writings of the New Testament-and their devotion to the sacred feminine, whose clebration culminates in public heterosexual sex as its highest religious expression. Finally everytime you press the "v" button, the down button, on an elevator you are in communion with the sacred feminine which was deliberately suppressed by Christianity, which started in the 4th century with the Council of Nicea. Huh?
A lot of fun as a mystery which I didn't think sustained a kind of imaginative credibility- at one point I thought the author was teasing the reader and that it's to be taken as a joke, as a code in itself which is really affirming the opposite of what it proposes. Now that would be fun to explore.
Rating:
Summary: Superb read
Review: Without any doubt this was the most enthralling and gripping read I have had in years. It is a well paced thriller, in the real meanbing of the word, written by a master of his craft who has obviously done his in-depth research well. Once you suspend your disbelief about the demonstrable fantasy of the Priory of Sion, the rest falls into place in an enthralling and delightful manner. All with any interest in esoteric history, whether the serious researchers or the fans of the Holy Blood and Holy Grail, should enjoy this delightful romp through the groves of medieval obfuscation.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book, good lead in to more reading
Review: This book is an excellent introduction to the "paranoid historical thriller" genre. The material is easy to read, and a wonderful page turner, but may have been altered for readibility purposes. There are a lot of knee-jerk reviews on this book, in both directions. There are the fundamentalist christians, who instantly assume that Dan Brown is trying to ruin the Christian church, and there are people who have heard that the book is excellent, and just agree with everyone else. I like to think of this book as the Harry Potter for adults. It is a great read, and it introduces the reader to other great books in the genre, such as "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," and its sequel "The Messianic Legacy." Things that, in "Da Vinci," aren't very well justified, are looked at in much greater detail, and perhaps might help people who don't think that "Da Vinci" has any historical background. Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone with an open mind, or even very religious people, who, as noted in Holy Blood, Holy Grail, are secure enough in their convictions to listen to take another, different, look at their faith.
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