Rating: 
Summary: Mildly entertaining, but utterly predictable and simplistic
Review: As a lapsed Catholic, I couldn't help but find the premise of this book somewhat intriguing. I didn't know much about it beyond some references to "The Last Supper" and some secret involving the role of women in the early Church, but it all sounded like good historical fun. The book, however, is a disappointment. The first problem is that all the characters are essentially looking for a trunk full of "secret" documents, the contents of which are already public knowledge. To build suspense, Brown sets up a series of implausible events, none of which are really necessary beyond their mechanistic contribution to the plot. The codes and puzzles are obvious, and the fact that you as the reader can figure them out well in advance of the characters, who are allegedly experts at this sort of thing, makes you wonder why you should care about such transparently obtuse people. There's quite a bit of simplistic wordplay and a series of final "surprises" that are neither surprising or especially clever. Brown is such a poor mystery writer that he telegraphs everything many pages ahead. It does not help that Brown has no ear for the English language. His style is awkward and leaden, and his characters say truly awful things no human being would ever say in real life, unless he or she were reading this book aloud. There is also a great deal of empty-headed posturing about the "sacred feminine," in a first-year Women's Studies class kind of way. Tiresome.
Rating:
Summary: love the ideas, but the story fails...
Review: I rarely read books with so much media hype surrounding them, but the premise of this book piqued my interest. As an art lover and a spiritual person, I was looking forward to an interesting read.I was incredibly disappointed. I hope no one finds offense in this next statement, but this book was written for the masses. The writing is... obvious. No thinking required. It's a good book to take on vacation, or to read while on break from grad school, like I am. It is not an intellectual endeavor, by any means! With that said, it was certainly entertaining, and I'm wondering if the movie is already in the works. Robert Langdon is likened to Harrison Ford early in the story, and I don't think this was an accident. The reader is stuck with the mental image of Ford as Langdon. (not such a bad thing, of course, but it adds to the Hollywood movie feel of the book!) The potential in this book is endless, and I believe it could have been a masterpiece. Sadly, the claims on the jacket are simply hype... Nelson DeMille claims the work of "pure genius" lies within the pages of this book, but I fail to see it! Every single symbol is explained and explained again, in case you forgot the first explanation. This certainly takes the fun out of symbolism, if you ask me. Every chapter is written with this cliffhanger, Hollywood-esque style, which keeps you turning pages in the beginning but gets tiresome after a while. I love the theories surrounding the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalene, and I find the beliefs in the sacred feminine incredibly intriguing. I find it funny when devout Roman Catholics denounce this fictional book as heresy... these closed-minded reviews just add to the controversy and help support opposing theories. In my opinion, Roman Catholicism is the nuttiest and most corrupt religion out there. More people should examine the ancient beliefs in the sacred feminine, something that has been sadly eradicated from the Catholic Church. This idealogy is explored in The da Vinci Code, and I found the history quite interesting. One last thing, in response to some of the reviews I've read - it's difficult to take people's reviews seriously when they can't even keep the story straight. Sophie Neveu was Sauniere's granddaughter in the book, not his daughter, as I have read too many people say. It's an important detail, as the reader finds at the very end of the story. Speaking of the end, that was my favorite part of the book. I saw it coming and was annoyed to have the writer present it as such an amazing revelation, but Sophie's reunion with her family members help tie the story together and add a little depth to otherwise incredibly shallow characters. The end was also my favorite part of the book because, well, I could finally stop reading it! Throughout the story, I kept waiting for Brown to redeem himself as a writer but it never happened. All in all, I feel it could have been a great book but it was mediocre at best. Some of the historical stories and symbols have grabbed my attention though, and I look forward to reading more about these intriguing topics.
Rating: 
Summary: People should know better
Review: Now HERE is a really bad book, sorry to say, even though it was the best-selling 'mystery' novel of 2003. I'm all for conspiracy theories as a sub-genre, recall being caught up in the Illuminati Trilogy of the 1970s, etc., but this is just over the top. I am not in favor of organized religion of any kind -- it is strictly a personal thing and nobody has the right to condemn or persecute anybody else for whatever they stand for -- but even so I can hardly believe that the Roman Catholic Church has been one giant conspiracy for the past 1000 years, murdering for the sake of suppressing worship of the mother goddess. Yes, there are indeed secret societies, but more along the lines of old-boy networks, Masons, the Bar Associations, Big Business, and the like. And yes, they are out to rip us off. As are politicians, bosses, capitalists, socialists, you name it -- all of those meddlers who think they know how the rest of us should live our lives. But there is nothing Satanic about this, it is just human nature. "The Da Vinci Code" is just plain silly, and even its vaunted scholarship is nonsense. As a quick read, it's OK in an improbable way, like the James Bonds, but not halfway as stylish.
Rating: 
Summary: Action & excitment but disappointing ending
Review: This book kept my attention as one puzzle lead to another. Brown's writing is clear and gripping. But the ending was a disappointment. I enjoyed the Defenders of the Holy Grail more.
Rating: 
Summary: exciting, yes. but even more interesting.
Review: I love learning about the subject discussed in Da Vinci Code. This is definetely a typical page-turner/suspense filled book, but the setting and plot that is packed in here makes it a step above the rest. I bought the book, read it, and passed it on to many other people in my family. They, too, enjoyed it as much as I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Fast Read--Lots of info, but the writing is shallow.
Review: I agree that this book is chalk full of great little tidbits of historical info and teasers, as well as some controversal ones (both fact and fiction) however it's definitely not a well written piece (as far as the form of writing goes). But it is definitely a page turner. It's almost written as a screenplay and I'm sure they had their sights on a movie deal shortly after. As many people have mentioned, the plot devices can be seen coming a mile away and the writing style doesn't help to improve it much. It is, still, a page turner with suspense/murder/cryptology/conspiracy theories/art history/secret societies and of course the Catholic Church.
The main characters are the vehicle for the reader to learn all this great info--and little more. They don't really have much depth themselves. I believe this is coming out in paperback soon, so if you've held off long enough from buying this, I would wait to get it in paperback.
I'm sure you could also just wait for the movie too (maybe next fall?).
Rating:
Summary: Great Read, Shoddy Facts
Review: It captured my interest from the first pages. Fast paced. Some of the problem solving was a bit too convenient.
Readers need to realize that not only are his characters and story fictional, but also the "facts" that his characters provide. The distortions are rampant, and the selective history lessons are misguided at best. The uneducated and uninitiated reader can come away with a seriously damaged understanding of the early church. I suggest readers who are really interested in the history of Jesus and the early churn see John Meier's excellent series entitled "The Marginal Jew". Those who are interested in how loosely Dan Brown plays with the truth will want to visit: http://www.crisismagazine.com/september2003/feature1.htm If you like good fiction it's fun. If you like good history it's the wrong place to look!
Rating:
Summary: Cultural literacy thriller
Review: This book starts out with lots of superfluous description of people and places that never ties up or is relevant to the tale. The story takes quite a bit of time to get off the ground. The story line is textbook predictable. You know who the bad guy(s) are before they are introduced. As they say in the trade "it is the last person you would suspect."
Now for the positives. After a slow start the action finally starts to move. If you think it has holes that you could fly a jet through, maybe but if it did not you would have no story. One thing people enjoy in books is things they already know about. With Tony Hillerman it is Navaho culture. With Stephen King it is spookiness based on standard premises. This book also bases its suspense on existing conspiracies weaving current events into age old mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: Dan "The Fraud" Brown
Review: Dan Brown uses the research of others and passes it off as is own. This book is nothing but a murder mystery weeved into the Holy Grail myth already written in "Holy Blood, Holy Grail." That book came out 20 years ago! Brown makes no mention of this book in interviews nor is it featured on his own website, because it would hurt his own book's business. Someone called Brown a charlatan on one of the reviews. I think that sums up his characther very well. So he's getting rich off the work of Richard Leigh and others who put their life into research of the Grail and the Ancient Scrolls. The murder mystery is terrible and just shows that when Brown is not rehashing the research of others that he is incapable of fabricating a credible fictional plot or characthers. I give this book 2 stars only because its the kind of book to recommend to those who do not read and they will like. It also serves as an inspiration to others that ANYONE can write a bestseller.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking after you are finished.
Review: I was slow to get around to this book and then finished it in 2 days. I simply couldn't put it down. You probably know the basics of the story if you've read the publisher's review. It's another suspense-thriller, this time wrapped in the ancient secrets of religion. The book is a thrill ride for the first half and then becomes somewhat predictable, but still fun. At times, I felt I was watching a soap opera where you can miss several days and still know what is happening. At the same time, I couldn't quit reading it because I was pulling for the hero. I predicted the finish and imagine most readers do but would still recommend the book as a pleasurable read to anyone. What I most enjoyed about the book is how it covers topics I'd heard about but know very little about. It seems the author did plenty of research and through that, has pushed me to begin doing my own research. If you are interested in religious history at all, you will enjoy reading this book and likely be challenged to learn more about the past.
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