Rating: 
Summary: Poor plotting plus author's bias equals bad book
Review: The Da Vinci Code is suffused with bias against Christiantiy and the Catholic Church, in particular. The author's plotting is contrived and ridiculous; the ending is particularly weak. Too bad, because the potential was there for an interesting story.
Rating: 
Summary: Two Steps Ahead at All times
Review: I have to agree with some of the negative reviews. If you are familiar with goddess and grail traditions, there is nothing new here. Same for some of the Da Vinci material. The Priory of Sion was absorbed into the Jesuits in the 15th century, but Brown made excellent fictional hay out of its real-life 20th century reincarnation in pre-war France. All of that is eminently forgivable if it weren't for the woefully underdeveloped lead characters. They are supposed to be experts in their fields, however, I, a dilettante, solved nearly every clue rather quickly (I am not that smart, the clues were just that obvious.) It was torturous to wait while our heroes - who should have known this material - went through some painfuly dullwitted exercises to solve the mysteries. So, if this stuff is new to you - you'll probably like it. If you are reading it because you heard it was about goddess traditions and the sacred feminine - pass. But to end this review with a kiss,(because I appreciate the colossal effort it takes to write a novel) I did enjoy the ending. It's rather a corker!
Rating: 
Summary: More twists and turns than a roller coaster
Review: I rarely read books of fiction but because of the fact that so many of many friends had suggested this book I thought it would be a good idea to keep up with the current, hot summer reading. As a testament to the fine writing by Dan Brown, I read a good deal of "The Da Vinci Code" by flashlight during the recent power blackout.
"The Da Vinci Code" introduces a large number of primary characters but the author makes them different enough from one another that following them is not difficult and the chapters are by and large very short so that the action never stops. But the book has a kind of Keystone Kops quality to it...the reader can't quite believe how inept some of the law enforcement authorities are and how multiple their mistakes are. And, remembering this is fiction, the entire story takes place in a day or two. The movie can't be far behind. I found that the end of the book was the weakest and most disappointing. Still, "The Da Vinci Code" is well worth the read and the pace will keep you turning pages as fast as the plot twists and thickens.
Rating: 
Summary: A Big Mac for the mind
Review: This book is a roaring good read, which is reason enough to spend a couple of evenings with it. But the author's facts are skewed and some of his assertations are just plain silly. (If that's who he says it is in the center of the painting with Jesus, then why was James, brother of Jesus omitted from the gathering of apostles?) You've heard of junk science? This is junk history. Enjoyable, but not very nourishing for the mind.
Rating:
Summary: Another Page-Turner by Dan Brown
Review: I have read all of Mr. Brown's books and am glad his work is finally getting the attention it deserves. The Da Vinci code takes the lead character from what I think is Mr. Brown's best book, Angels and Demons, and plants him at the scene of a murder within the Louvre. The story moves with the speed of a hit hollywood movie, and from what I understand it may well become one. This has been Mr. Brown's style with all his books. Short chapters that almost always end suspensefully, forcing the reader to keep committing to "just a few more pages" before going to bed. I have never taken more than 72 hours to read one of Mr. Brown's books. They are just too hard to put down! The Da Vinci code is extremely well-researched, and it is amazing how Mr. Brown is able to craft a puzzle with so many twists, turns and double-meanings. If you haven't read the Da Vinci code yet and have an interest, I'd suggest reading Angels and Demons first. It isn't at all necessary to understanding the Da Vinci code, but it does give you an introduction to Robert Langdon and is the first book in this series that I am sure will be long-running and successful.
Rating:
Summary: Too Clever by Half
Review: This very popular book uses alternative ideas of the history of Christianity as the basis for the plot. The author has taken a large number of crackpot ideas about the history of Christianity and European history in general and stitched them together to produce a conventional thriller. In general, all these ideas center around the common theme of a hidden or secret history of Christianity suppressed by the Church. The plot elements are cleverly integrated using a series of puzzles. The overall story is cast as a kind of Grail legend with virtuous knight (a la Parsifal) and an evil sorcerer type (a la Klingsor). The quality of writing, however, is poor. The characters are schematic and exist only as devices to move from one gimmick to another. The action of the plot per se is rather silly. Not recommended, even for light reading.
Rating:
Summary: good for a car ride and afterwards to persue real research
Review: It's neither as good nor as bad as many of the reviews claim. I had great fun reading it on vacation. As a theology student, not everything mentioned by Brown is completely impossible, especially if one considers that what we have as the Bible and Christian tradition comes out of the social biases of the last 3,000 years and that they are incredibly patriarchal. One bite I have is that his characters conclude that if Jesus were married then he could not have been divine (away with the incarnation, resurrection, etc.). Maybe it's not that black and white. ... Have fun reading it and then DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
Rating:
Summary: A "Gotta" Read
Review: Although I have previously read most of the information in this book, I was fascinated at the way the author put it together to create a page turner you couldn't put down, and that could haunt your dreams as well as give you marvelous ideas to discuss with your friends. The chapters are just "bite-sized", and each seems to end with a little mystery you just know will be solved in the next. You have to keep reading "just one more chapter" Some of it is facts, some speculation, some fiction. Its hard to know which is which, and the implications and possibilities are going to really make people think about what they really know about Jesus and Magdalene, the Templars, Masons, the Gnostics, pre-christian religions, secret societies, and the symbology of ancient religions.
Scotty Zilinsky
Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: In addition to the Eighth-grade reading level, painfully contrived dialogue, and insipid characters, this book is rife with historical error. For example, the Knights Templar were not destroyed by the church, but by the King of France, and the Dead Sea Scrolls DO NOT discuss Jesus' alleged marriage. What is really disturbing is Brown's claim to have extensively researched this book. A claim which may lead many less-educated readers to believe this is a very factual and historically accurate novel. There are so many outrageous claims-I would love to see some footnotes and references!
Furthermore, Brown's implication that the Christian/Catholic church destroyed the sacred feminine in order to maintain a powerful patriarchal society just doesn't hold water. Never mind that the pagan societies so revered by Brown for their inclusion of goddess worship were explicitly patriarchal and oppressive of women (name any FEMALE Roman senator, empress, Athenian leader, Persian leader, etc.). And what about the Cult of the Virgin Mary? The writings of St. Bernard hardly demonstrate oppression of the sacred feminine!
Unfortunately, I sense that any challenge to Brown's research would be met with a snide 'Michael Moore' defense-"It's JUST fiction."
A far superior read is Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. It is well-written, erudite, humorous, and devoid of Brown's juvenile moral equations(liberal=Good, conservative=Bad) and shoddy history.
Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful book that kept me through the night and morning
Review: I was incredibly surprised by how many people disliked this book! I read it without stopping. It was a real page turner! I found it fascinating, and the plot was fun and suspenseful...and yet it was all laced with historical fact and theories. It was almost just like a fun history lesson. I think it was worth buying, and it's okay that other people think differently...but personally, it was a wonderful book. In fact, I bought a second copy for a friend's birthday.
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