Rating: 
Summary: A book that does what it is supposed to
Review: I loved this book. Why? Because it did what a book is supposed to do. It was entertaining, and took my mind off the "real" world for a time. That is what a book is supposed to do and this one does just that.However, it also made me do some research...a book that makes you think...now there is a novel idea! I did research on DaVinci, and looked at his art and writings in a whole new light. I also did research on the various other Churches and socities mentioned...by doing that I learned some quite valuable history. I have barely scratched the surface of what I intend to learn from this book, and I look forward to researching even more. Thank you Mr. Brown for giving me an opportunity to LEARN.
Rating: 
Summary: What is so startling about this silly book?
Review: I am amazed that so many people have been taken in by this trite, poorly written novel. The supposedly explosive subject matter is common knowledge to anyone who is evenly reasonably well-read, and it has been discounted long ago. Books like Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and a plethora of others about Mary Magdalene are based on much spurious information and an abundance of paranoia about and downright hatred of Catholicism. It is easier for most people to comfort themselves by bashing the Bible than for them to read it and live it. I am surprised that I hear intelligent people trumpeting these half-baked theories about a Catholic conspiracy. I thought we left that garbage back in the days when it was commonly believed that Catholics ate babies, drank blood, and stored guns under their churches so they could eventually take over the world. Even my Wiccan friends are laughing at this one!!
Rating: 
Summary: A page turner, but not memorable...
Review: Okay, this is a decent, workmanlike novel. It's not overly sophisticated and is sort of like the Cliff's Notes version of Umberto Eco's _Foucault's Pendulum_. There are very modest amounts of real scholastic effort here, simply presented, about the Knights Templar and so on. The writing is remarkably flat in tone: reminiscent of, say, Adam Hall's Quiller novels. I can see how readers who come to this material fresh are fascinated, but having read the aforementioned Eco novel (and others with similar material), I found this effort pretty thin gruel in comparison. Despite the author's best efforts, this is a straightforward thriller (almost a procedural), with fairly flat characters. You won't care all that much about anyone here and you won't find the really deep mysterious material that others (especially Eco) explore elsewhere to better effect. I guess I enjoyed the book, but only as a temporary diversion. Wait for the paperback: you'll read this novel in a couple of sittings and, if you're like me, will want something with more substance. In particular, the Bad Guys and the New Age Goddess vs. the Pope stuff is so rote as to be a parody of itself. Look for this one at your local Cineplex Oderama soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Inexplicably fascinating despite its vacuous goofiness
Review: The characters might as well have been clipped out of wallboard. The plot is a goofy mess as these same charmless characters bumble from European landmark to landmark, solving riddles. And the book runs out of steam after about the 12th time the characters narrowly evade capture by the most inept French police inspector since Clouseau. That being said, "The Da Vinci Code" IS an occasionally engrossing page turner, altho' its charm depends entirely on its frequent asides concerning art history and the Catholic church. Sure, the Masonic plottings are familiar to anyone who's watched the Discovery Channel, but there's still enough fascinating tidbits to overcome the book's godawful prose. Unfortunately, the only thing propelling the actual plot are the riddles and puzzles, which the self-congratulatory and self-deluded Dan Brown frequently refers to as "clever." They're not clever. (VERY MINOR SPOILER AHEAD). Two of the main characters--one of whom is a Harvard professor, the other an Oxford-educated art historian--spend a chapter trying to solve a riddle that turns out to be simple mirror writing. Ten pages later, it only takes them a few paragraphs to solve a riddle that requires them to unravel a Masonic pun, translate it into Hebrew, encypher the result, transliterate the Hebrew back into English, and then etymologically trace the result back to the original ancient Greek. Like I said, occasionally interesting, but intensely goofy.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: I got the novel for Christmas, and I literally had it finished before I went to bed that night. I've seen a few negative reviews here about it, and I will admit that it's the research and historical/art history facts that make this book so fascinating. But that doesn't discredit Brown completely-the plot kept me reading (he came up with codes and clues of his own that I thought were quite intelligent), and his writing is great. He's no literary master, but I always appreciate books where I can see everything happening in my head. It reads like a movie, I suppose you could say. The characters are three dimensional, and by the end of the book, I cared about what happened to them and was happy when it had a, well, happy ending. In short, it's a book I thoroughly enjoyed, and if you like books dealing with this sort of thing, don't hesitate to pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: IM VERY MAD (though not about the book)
Review: I just wrote a very in-depth review of the book, and my computer deleted it when i previewed it (and by the way, im not incompetent when it comes to computers). Anyway, i'll sum up what i said in one sentence: The book was good, considering i don't tend to like mystery thrillers, though i was annoyed at the astounding assumptions and conclusions made by Langdon and Sophie, which tended to make the book somewhat unrealistic and idealistic.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting ideas, mediocre thriller
Review: The book served as an introduction, at least for me (and I am not very knowledgeable in this area, to the world of 'alternative' religion. I don't know how much of what was told in this book resembles any degree of truth. But it makes you wanting to read more on this subject. That's what I first started to do upon completion of this novel. And it's great achievment of the author. At the same time, I found it to be quite lame thriller, contrary to many reviews. The plot lines are predictable in many cases. In addition, Dan Brown is not a very good writer. His style is somewaht 'wooden' (as was mentioned in one of the reviews of this book). And what about all this itallics - I found such widespread use of itallics very annoying. That's why I gave it four stars. This book has a very interesting content, which is delivered in imperfect way.
Rating:
Summary: WAY overrated.
Review: As suspense thrillers go, this one is ho-hum. The first half of the book really drew me into the novel. I found myself turning the pages relentlessly. I couldn't WAIT to see what happened next. But then I got bored. Really bored.
This suspense-driven thriller was ultimately without substance. Brown does a good job of giving us all a thumbnail refresher on our ancient history, but to what point? I found myself losing interest quickly around the midpoint of the novel and had to force myself to slog through the second half of the book just to finish it. Brown's pedantic suspense devices became insufferable, and the plot fell completely apart. I found his religious commentary to be sophomoric, and I am amazed that this novel has gotten the kind of press that it has. Didn't we all learn about the rise of Christianity in our ancient history classes somewhere around 8th grade? I thought that Brown was trying really hard to be shocking with what is (or should be) old news. (Really old news, at that.) Finally, like other readers, I was befuddled by Brown's attempt to convice me that a thirty-something French girl would be mortified by sex. I just don't buy it. Too, I could see the ending coming a mile away -- he all but beat you over the head with it, which added to my total boredom. In any event, this book really doesn't merit a second thought, much less an episode of Dateline. I am bewildered by this book's popularity. It is a "just okay" read, so check it out from your local library. I can't imagine why anyone would want to own this one.
Rating:
Summary: The Da Vinci Code Sparks Interest in 10 Other Books
Review: I finished reading this last night - 2 1/5 days total reading time, I just couldn't put it down. Now I won't claim that the book is an A+ Thriller/Mystery as I don't read those books and wouldn't be an educated critic - however, it did keep my complete attention at a busy time of the season (holidays) What I notice is that the book generated many questions for me and I am excited to learn more about lost religions. I am looking on Amazon for more titles that will continue me on the journey... What I notice is that many, many others are feeling the same as I - I checked the Amazon 100 Best Seller list moments ago and found the following titles - #5 - Angels & Demons
#8 - The Gospel of Mary Magdalene
#16 = The Gnostic Gospels
#22 - Holy Blood, Holy Grail
#28 - Lost Christianities
#37 - Lost Books of the Bibles
#48 - Beyond Belief - The Secret Gospel of Thomas
#74 - The Secret Teachings of Jesus
#86 - Nag Hammadi Library
#99 - The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls This is the best flattery that a book can get - to spawn the interest into subjects that have been ignored by the mainstream for so long. Proof that there is interest in questioning the status quo. People are finally questioning and questioning is that best one can do to educate oneself. I think this book deserves many awards for the amazing impact it is creating.
Rating:
Summary: Sadly could have been so much better
Review: Thank God it's not just me! I thought this book had a great premise, but was such an insult to the reader's intelligence. I felt like I was 17 again, reading a Sidney Sheldon novel. Dan Brown must think the average reader is a sheer idiot. He spends several pages at a time uncovering what are supposed to be clever plot twists (the tracking device in the bar of soap, the "semitic" writing that baffles the supposedly erudite characters). It's no fun reading a book when you're several pages ahead of the author. I put it down with 50 pages left and don't care what happened. Several hours wasted that I will never get back!
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