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Summary: The Da Vinci Code
Review: While the book's plot and characters are well-developed, Brown's "research" is selective, and--in several instances--incorrect. Caveat emptor.
Rating: 
Summary: A perfect, riveting novel
Review: On the first page of The DaVinci Code, the seventy-six-year-old curator of the Louvre, Jacques Sauniere, staggers into the museum's Grand Gallery, tears a Caravaggio off the wall, and collapses backward onto the room's intricate parquet floor. At once an alarm sounds, triggered by the painting's removal, and an iron gate falls shut, sealing the Gallery off from the rest of the museum and separating Sauniere from his attacker.In the brief interval between his deliberate self-imprisonment and his death, Sauniere constructs an elaborate cipher and, ingeniously, handpicks the individuals who will undertake its solution. French cryptologist Sophie Neveu and Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor and symbologist, must unravel the riddle of the curator's dying message. The path Sauniere sets the two on leads to a series of equally ingenious puzzles and involves them in a historical conspiracy. Wanted by the police, Neveu and Langdon are also shadowed by Sauniere's killer and by the elusive figure who directs him. As the above summary may suggest, the plot of The DaVinci Code is a complex one, and Brown must impart a great deal of detailed, near scholarly information to readers to make his story comprehensible. But to the author's great credit, the requisite information--about Leonardo DaVinci, or the Knights Templar, or the devout Catholic sect Opus Dei--is delivered at precisely the right moments in the story, and in the right doses, so that the reader is never overwhelmed by it. The plotting of the book, too, is masterful: Brown doles out his revelations so the reader is left wanting more after every bite-sized chapter. The book's characters, particularly the renaissance man Sauniere, are intriguing and likeable. In short, The DaVinci Code is a perfect, riveting novel that will grab you in its first paragraph and keep you reading late into the night.
Rating: 
Summary: What is Fact? What is Fiction?
Review: Along with "Charm School" by Nelson DeMille, this is a book I could not put down. It is painful to part company with this fantastic tale. It is so believable, I became confused between what is fact and fiction...I had to find a copy of "The Last Supper" painting to confirm a major crux of this story, it is that believable. As the plot twists and turns, I was so wrapped in the story, I found myself dreading the worst for the protagonists despite "knowing" that the book had to go on. I cannot rate this book high enough...I'm almost sure Dan Brown's other books won't be as good, but I intend to read them all to find out.
Rating:
Summary: fast read
Review: I wasn't going to write a review until I saw that someone called this book a "masterpiece". Masterpiece of what? The "facts" (?) really are fascinating but the fiction is sub-Grisham at best. Conspiracy is fun but what about the art of writing? There were a couple of incidents so ridiculous that you may find yourself wincing.
It is a fast read, though. There are a few 2 page chapters and they go by really fast!
If you want to read an excellent book that includes thoughts on gnosticism and the questionable roots of Christianity then I recommend "The Dream of Scipio".
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Summary: Mona Lisa's Smiling
Review: Dan Brown has written a page turner added a little panache to the genre of thrillers. This one's a thriller jacketed in a web of art history, age-old religious mystery, and who-dunnit Alfred Hitchcockery. The writing is simplistic and definitely doesn't get in the way of turning the pages. Which works well for those feeding on the thrill, but less well for those thrilled by the well-turned phrase. But the world needs summer beach books, rainy weekenders, and lazy fall leaves turning pages on the metro. Literary high art it's not, this we've established, but the world has it's place for, "The Da Vinci Code," and it's a rather entertaining place at that. The character names are pure genre and comically laughable...there's Sophie Neveau the brainy damsel in distress, there's Robert Langdon/Indiana Jones/Jack Ryan as the American in the middle of it all, and there's even Leigh Teabing as the eccentric rich British Knight Historian to add color. The strength of this book really is Dan Brown's religious conspiracy theory modeling behind a thriller with codes and puzzles. It's a fetching formula that hasn't been very often previously postured in other thrillers. Brown does fringe the line of pseudo-intellectualism gone bad though as he references current cultural fare to prove a point...Kubrik's "Eyes Wide Shut," proves secret society sex rituals among other modern movies. It detracts from the purloined pace like a badly placed intermission. Don't let these minor critiques put you off though. I thoroughly enjoyed Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code," and it kept me engaged from beginning to end. Do you have a Eurorail pass? This might make perfect reading on the night train from Florence to Rome.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome
Review: This book was one of the best books I have ever read. It has some very interesting ideas in it. Overall the book was Awsome!
Rating: 
Summary: Lousy Mystery, Great Read
Review: Dan Brown's managed to do the near impossible. He's created an intensely readable and interesting book that ultimately misses the mark. On his webpage Brown states that Robert Ludlum is one of his idols and a mystery writer he tries to imitate. Well, I've read everthing Ludlum ever wrote and to paraphrase that famous presidential debate: "Mr. Brown, you're no Robert Ludlum." This is not to say that this book is not deeply engaging and extremely well researched. It is. However, while Brown is very much at home in the world of Church history, crytology and numerology, he fails as a mystery writer. People who read mystery novels are very picky. They don't want even a hint of "Deus ex machina" surprises. The idea is to fool them up to the end and then slam-dunk them with a totally unexpected ending. That's what mystery readers crave and why they read the genre. The cardinal sin for these readers, however, is for an author to pull plot surprises on them that are fundamentally unbelievable. The Da Vinci Code is chock full of these unsavory plot twists. Mystery readers know they are in trouble from the very beginning. For instance, the police crytologist who shows up at the murder scene turns out to be the dead man's granddaughter. This kind of uncanny coincidence happens over and over again in the book. And, most discourageing of all to the mystery fan, without these unlikely circumstances the story line falls apart. No mystery reader with any experience has much use for this kind of writing. Other readers, like those interested in the inner workings of the Catholic Church, Opus Dei, the Knights Templars, etc, will have a field day with the book. Even those schooled in Catholic theology will find rich food for thought. And Church history buffs will finally find something interesting to read. Generally, anyone interested in the dark side of Christianity will find the book fascinating. There is one caveat that needs to be clearly stated: Mr. Brown's description of the 20th century Priory of Sion, an organization that plays a major role in the book, leaves out the group's nastier side. He paints a picture of a well meaning society of influential people who's only purpose is to hand on a secret message to the world at the proper time. In fact, before and during world war II this organization was extremely anti-semitic and pro-Nazi. The Priory of Sion's publications during this period bare witness to their extreme right wing views. Either Mr. Brown didn't do enough serious research or he chose to leave out this unsavory side of this secret society which plays such a pivotal role in his story. Aside from that omission, the text is full of intriguing research and little known facts. It is a most interesting read, but a lousy mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Anyone who knows Paris
Review: Anyone who knows Paris at all knows you don't go down the Champs Elysees from the Louvre to get to the American Embassy. I just stopped reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Promising start, stumbling finish
Review: At first I couldn't put this book down-the plot twists and clues were holding my interest pretty well. Then the situations got more preposterous, the chance encounters more convenient and the plot twists got predicable, which should be a cardinal sin for a book championing cryptology.
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Summary: A murder in the Louvre is only the beginning!
Review: Dan Brown has written an immensely enjoyable thriller that will grab your attention on the opening pages. Blending vivid characters with fact, fiction, history, speculation and myth, The Da Vinci Code takes the reader on a fast paced search for the identity of a murderer. The victim is the renowned curator of the Louvre, a man of diverse interests who uses clues originally planted by Leonardo Da Vinci and others, to protect and preserve an ancient secret. Rousted from his hotel bed by the French Police; Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor and symbologist is brought to the galleries of the Louvre to witness and interpret the scene of the crime. Clearly the victim intended to communicate a message, however the meaning of it is as mysterious as the motive behind his murder. Aided by the granddaughter of the victim, a trained cryptologist, Langdon is thrust into a frenzied search for a killer; a search that might also lead to the answer of Christendom's most revered mystery, the Holy Grail itself! Nothing is ever quite what it seems, as each puzzle unfolds to reveal yet another question to answer. Doubt regarding allies and enemies persists as agents from French and British law enforcement, religious historians, the Vatican and Opus Dei jockey with the protagonists for the possession of a secret maintained by the mysterious Priory of Sion for almost two millennia. What sets this novel apart from the usual murder/pursuit genre is Mr. Brown's ability to merge details from art history, symbology, mathematics, forensics and theology into such a readable story. Descriptions like "page-turner" and "couldn't put it down" are more than appropriate for The Da Vinci Code. You'll find yourself racing the characters to interpret the various clues and puzzles, while breathlessly awaiting each turn of the plot. Upon reaching the end, the only question that might remain is "exactly how much is true... and how much is fiction?"
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