Rating: 
Summary: fun, trashy, read, but it won't change your life
Review: Don't believe the hype! This is a fun, trashy, read which has a great place in over-night bags. It is absolutely ideal reading for long weekends. The mystery is fun, the writing easy to digest, and the adventure is exciting. But don't contemplate it too long or it falls apart. It's no Uberto Eco book, and the big surprises won't be surprising for anyone who's read a little history, but I don't regret my purchase at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Could not put it down
Review: OK, I don't know where I have been, but I had not seen the reviews or had heard about the book until a friend who loved it actually bought me a copy. Ignorance is bliss. I have not done this in years, but I picked up the book to read for an hour and 6 1/2 hours later I still had not put it down. I finished it in two days; I had even debated missing work to finish it. Since I hadn't heard about the book, the surprises and twists were fun and suspenseful. It will not change my faith because I read it as fiction. I can't wait to look up some of the paintings referenced. This book is just a fun read and I am looking forward to discussing it with friends.
Rating: 
Summary: Intricate Mystery
Review: I was disappointed after all the hype. This seemed like a Robert Ludlum type of layered plot. It had some good mystery, and some exciting escape sequences as the hero and heroine connected and tried to evade capture while figuring out the mystery. However, it all seemed so contrived to me that I had a hard time accepting it, especially the religious underpinnings. If you aren't too critical, you might enjoy the adventure, the romance, and the mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking, mind boggling book
Review: I read the book in two days. It was really quite good and really questioned a lot about what I believed in fact or not. It brings alot of questions to the table about Jesus, the paintings of all the great artist. I have to agree with some of the reviews that the ending could be a tiny bit better but overall VERY EXCELLENT. I highly recommend it. Oword of advise is to read it with an open mind and a lot of it IS FICTION.
Rating:
Summary: So this is what Professor Jones has been up to lately....
Review: I made the mistake of reading too many reviews about this book before sitting down to read it myself and that's a mistake I won't make again. This book is one fine piece of entertainment! While reading it I couldn't help but be reminded of the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark." This book is that same sort of mixture of fun, adventure, lots of cliffhangers, codes, mysteries and a few conspiracies thrown in for good measure. Just as in the Raiders movie, I did not know whether any of the biblical references, etc. would hold up in court nor did it really matter to my enjoyment of the film. I don't believe in the theory that the Holy Grail actually refers to Mary Magdalene or that she and Jesus were married but it made for an interesting twist to this novel. I would also like to add that I am Catholic and found nothing offensive about this book. At most, the author intimates that the Catholic Church is an organization with its fair share of fanatics, secrets and power struggles but that is true of all religious groups. This is certainly nothing new. I actually thought the author was very respectful, especially in his portrayal of Bishop Aringarosa. Again, a major part of this book's appeal for me was the word games and the search for answers to the cryptic codes. I'm looking forward to the sequel!
Rating:
Summary: Fast, enjoyable read
Review: I had not read any of Mr. Brown's previous book(s) and was not sure what to expect. Not being erudite enough to express my self in "big words" like other reviewers, I will just say that I enjoyed the book. It was somewhat thought provoking; the research into the Knights Templar, DeVinci, Catholicism, etc. seemed well developed. The hero/heroine could have been a little stronger and villian(s) could have been developed a little more, but all in all, I felt that this was a worth while read. After all, the book is fiction, folks! Don't you want something quick, fun and a little thought-provoking to read for fun? Or do you just want spies, sex, blood-and-guts gore? I thought this book was a good, clean, fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Great Airplane Book
Review: I bought this book in an airport at the beginning of an unexpected 4 hour delay. It is a honest to goodness page turner.
Not a work of history. Very fast paced. The quality of the ending is on par with the quality of the premise/plot. I finished the book several hours after I arrived home. Beware, it is hard to put down once you start.
Rating:
Summary: Not only entertaining but thought provoking
Review: I enjoyed this novel because the underlying storyline is intellectually fascinating. The story discusses the development over time of various religious, historical and cultural theories and their significance as to world history and society today. These deeply meaningful historical backdrop is ingeniuosly woven into an entertaining, compelling story worth buying, reading and finishing. The characters are interesting and diverse. You continue to guess at the villian(s), so to speak. Good luck. I would have given it 4 1/2 stars not five though because the ending could have had a real bang. It didn't as far as I was concerned. And of course you can't help but see the book as a movie; I learded that the rights have been purchased with an opening date of early 2005, I believe. Therefore, as a result of the book I intend to look further into the book's backdrop, so to speak. But as for the book and its author, I will be waiting to read Dan Brown's next novel and in the meantime will start on the one(s) before this one.
I have strongly recommended it to my friends for the reasons stated above. Donna Goldman
Rating:
Summary: Deepak Chopra meets Encyclopedia Brown
Review: The subtle and brilliantly hidden clues that Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon discovers are like Chopra's Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire. They're all there yet only by stepping back - real far back- to the borders of the mind and beyond- is Langdon able to see them. What was Da Vinci thinking!?!?! It's the same concept as Seurat's pointilism. This is a great book and actually it made me pick up Chopra's new book as well where I found even more profound clues about real life. Great job by Dan Brown.
Rating:
Summary: THE DESPOSYNI
Review: THE DA VINCI CODE incorporates the suppressed history of
THE DESPOSYNI, Jesus (Yeshua)'s family & blood-relatives, who
were dismissed/dispossessed/and excluded from the Church in
318 C.E. by Roman Emperor Constatine's henchman, Pope Sylvester.
Too, from the time of the 1st-century through the 5th-century,
Roman garrisons hunted down THE DESPOSYNI as outlaws putting to
sword those they captured--Rome even set about purposefully
burning & destroying the genealogies/records of THE DESPOSYNI trying to eradicate them from the face of the earth. Yet,
this major piece of history is absent from our pro-Roman/
Roman-friendly history textbooks our schools and is conviently
excluded from our Standard Christian Reference Works. Again,
author Dan Brown, thank you for brining to the public's
attention this Roman suppressed history of THE DESPOSYNI/
THE HOLY GRAIL which is the "GOSPEL OF CIRCUMCISION/CIRCUMCISED"
referenced in the canon New Testament books of Acts (the Council of Jerusalem) & Galatians. --Gregory Thompson (MacTavish) p.s.: as a supplement to THE DA VINCI CODE, regards THE DESPOSYNI, I recommend: Eusebuius's ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY;
Julius Africanus "LETTER TO ARISTIDES"; BLOODLINE OF THE HOLY
GRAIL by Sir Laurence Gardner (1996); and REX DEUS by Marilyn
Hopkins, Graham Simmans, & Tim Wallace Murphy (2000)--as well
as, THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN CHURCH by Fr. Malachi
Martin (1981), a JESUIT PRIEST & Vatican-insider.
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