Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best!
Review: This is a 5 star book if ever I've read one. I'd like to thank the publisher for printing it.
Rating:
Summary: The best book yet!
Review: I have read many books and no other piece of literary work has captured my attention in this fashion from page 1 and on. I doubt I will ever find another book of this caliber. HUGE fan!
Rating: 
Summary: This Da Vinci is no genius
Review: After reading the far better "Dream of Scipio" by Iain Pears, this book underwhelmed me. Granted it kept my attention and caused me to turn every page, but no better or worse then any other formulaic bestseller.
I was caused to recall "The Day After Tomorrow" as a similar novel that left the reader high and dry at the end just as this book predictably did. I wouldn't say it was disappointing, but if you want to have something good to read on the beach wait for the paperback and don't shell out the [money amount] cover price.
Despite the numerous twists and turns, I was caused to determine the identity of the arch-villain about a hundred pages before the end of the book...and felt that the book made a better work up for a screenplay then it did a full blown novel.
Overall, if you don't mind checking your intellect at the door and suspending all sense of reason, this is a shallow but somewhat entertaining escape for those seeking shelter from more trying day to day endeavors.
Rating:
Summary: After 300 pages forget it!
Review: The first 300 pages of this novel were exciting and as suspenseful as FOCAULT'S PENDULUM. At a critical juncture the story fell apart. I am very disappointed!
Rating: 
Summary: Left Behind for pagans seeking the sacred feminine.
Review: 7/17/03
The DaVinci Code In this best selling thriller, the second in a series about the renowned symbologist Robert Langdon (a modern day Indiana Jones), Brown takes us through one of history's more inflammatory legends in an action-packed ride through historical haunts of Paris and England. There are many good things about this book. First of all, Dan Brown's skill for puzzle making is great, making the reader really want to figure out the conundrums before the protagonists do. I often found myself scouring the Internet for clues to crack the case while reading along, hoping Google would give me the answer first. Secondly, there are some beautiful descriptions of European churches and other famous historical landmarks. When reading about the Louvre, I often felt I was in Paris, watching the events take place. But the most interesting thing about this book is Brown's wealth knowledge about ancient legends and the history of many secret societies. Regardless of your religious persuasion, the premises of this book are interesting, at the very least. And the amount of information about symbology and history that he imparts through character conversations is staggering. I honestly feel that I learned a lot from this book, but this is where the problem begins. I don't know what is true and what is false. Basically, the premise is that Jesus Christ was the husband of Mary Magdalene, who the Catholic church later besmirched as a whore to combat this knowledge. Supposedly, the true message of Jesus was one of sexual equality and the "sacred feminine," which was covered up by white males who liked their power too much, specifically the Catholic Church. What's more, Mary was pregnant when Christ was crucified, and His descendants are still alive in the Merovingian line, protected by the Priory of Sion. The Knights Templar and the Priory of Sion were created to protect this knowledge from the Church, who has been seeking it's destruction. The knowledge and practices of the "sacred feminine" (basically, orgies as religion), Mary's physical body, her descendants, and the knowledge about her connection to Jesus are revealed to be the Holy Grail, which is figurative (Mary holds Christ's blood by having his baby), rather than the literal chalice which held Christ's blood. They call this line the Royal line, despite the fact that, in this book's philosophy, Jesus is neither God nor anything more than a great man. His divinity was decreed by the Council of Nicaea, and was not the original belief of any of Christ peers. What's even more impossible to believe is that Christ's "rock," the man on who he would build his church, was supposedly Mary, but this role was usurped by a jealous Peter, who can be seen attempting to murder Mary in the Last Supper by DaVinci. There's plenty more about DaVinci's (who was a Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, along with such other notable figures as Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, and Victor Hugo) subversive works. The conclusion is unsatisfying, as Brown lets the big secret out of the bag halfway through, and I read on to find that the philosophy was all packed in the middle, while the beginning and the end were soulless plot. Throughout the plot, both the Priory of Sion and a Catholic organization, Opus Dei, fight to discover the truth about the Grail. While Brown avoids vilifying any specific Catholics or Christians, this is little recompense for his merciless slander of the Church and the tenets upon which it rests. The second shortcoming of this book is that every character is one dimensional, with few exceptions. While they do some surprising things, and there certainly is enough plot twists to warrant the label "thriller," the characters frequently launch into summaries of history and symbology at the most peculiar times. By the end of the book, I got the impression that the characters and the whole of the plot existed just as a podium for Dan Brown to shout his interesting views, similar to the way the Left Behind series of books exists for little purpose than propagation of a narrow set of Apocalyptic views. It's ironic that books from such opposing worldviews share such a big similarity. In conclusion, I would not recommend this book. In particular, Christians should stay away, as it has many inflammatory themes and lots of slanderous accusations. There are many great things about this book, namely the puzzles, the locations and the history, but the bad far outweighs the good, as a whole. This book is Left Behind for pagans seeking the sacred feminine.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts well, becomes preachy and flat
Review: Christianity is a con job that for 2000 years has obscured the Real Truth--that of the Goddess--under a layer of patriarchal oppression. That's what I ultimately took from this book. The story starts out gripping and fascinating -- a murder in the Louvre, a cryptic series of messages, a chase. There are hidden codes in works of art, and explosive secrets that tantalize the reader to read on. But the book founders when Brown devotes chunk after chunk to sermonizing under the guise of teaching. Sophie, the primary female character, is a cryptologist who initially shows great intelligence as she helps our hero (Robert Langdon) escape, but for the rest of the book she serves primarily only as a receptive pupil for the nuggets of wisdom and knowledge she receives from the other primary (male) characters. The pages devoted to delivering this information are tediously extensive. It's a device typically deployed in desperation when the writer can't think of a more skillful way to get his points across. In this case, it serves to bog down the story and try the patience of the reader. What's more, the information is a real-life mishmash of fact, speculation, theory, and myth, all couched as Truth. Brown himself states in interviews that aside from the story line, everything in the book is factual. This is nonsense, but it accounts for the book's preachy tone. Brown has an axe to grind, and grind it he does. Finally, character development is nonexistant, as is typical in books that exist primarily to preach (for other examples, see the horrible "Left Behind" blockbusters or anything by Ayn Rand). I say if you're looking for a masterful telling of this kind of story, head for Umberto Eco instead and leave Dan Brown behind. Far behind.
Rating:
Summary: Christians Beware
Review: Book Quote: "The New Testament is false testimony". If you are even a casual Christian - the premise of this book will offend you. (The following provides some insight but does not give away the ending.) The world created by Dan Brown requires you to believe that Christ had children with Mary Magdalene, and that his rising was fabricated by the Catholic church in its effort to subjugate the world. Ugh! Ron Brown depicts Christians, and the Church was the bad guys, and the goddess worshiping, new age spiritualist as the protagonists. The main character, Langdon, is a cardboard cutout, Indiana Jones wanta-be, who couldn't even carry Indiana's fedora.
Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: the most entertaining,educating and exciting book i have ever read. thanks to the book now i know about Opus Dei, secrets of the works of Da Vinci. ohhhh, and the number PHI!
bravo Dan. thanks.
Rating:
Summary: Good Concept but Not Satisfying
Review: There are already 500+ reviews of this book, which means that it has struck a resonant chord with a lot of readers. I read through this book very quickly and enjoyed it as a summer suspense thriller. I enjoyed Brown's ability to bring a lot of interesting facts and fun conjectures together, and can forgive the possibly many errors, omissions and suppositions that others have found. It is "just a novel" after all. It was only after I was done, however, and started to think about the various elements of the book that it struck me: while I was reading the book, it felt like fiction imbued with historical scholarship. Now that I think through the various plot devices and elements, that feeling is transmogrified into thinking this is cotton candy scholarship -- delicious, but ultimately just a bit airy and unsubstantial. I don't like throwing rocks. I think Brown has done a great job with this. I'm just surprised at the large numbers of people who have embraced this book as a scholarly look at the world.
Rating:
Summary: How did I miss this?
Review: You will be amazed at the revelations that come forth in this book. Dan Brown uses a fictional story to reveal some fascinating theories concerning the true meaning of the Holy Grail. I had to continually ask myself if what I was reading was "true", or fiction. I have a Masters degree in the Arts and have never heard of any of the intriguing notions set forth in this book. If you love word origins, you will love this book. If you love the history behind History, you will love this book. I also liked the short chapters (some only one or two pages long) so that I could stop reading quickly when I had to. The trouble is, I didn't want to stop reading! Christians, you have to be really open-minded. But, I think if you are not too literal a reader of the bible, this book will expand your horizons.
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