Rating: 
Summary: Don't Get Hoodwinked
Review: I admit, I too saw this book on the bestseller list and was intrigued. A relatively unknown author's book debuting in the top 10? Had to check it out, and boy do I have buyer's remorse. The book is, in a word, lousy. Mr. Brown must have some serious Catholic school damage, because the entire book is a rant about how "the Church" has subverted our 'true spiritual nature' as Goddess-worshipping free-loving wood nypmhs. "The Church" is responsible for all the male-centered evils that have been and are being wreaked upon the world. And "the Church" contains high officials who direct their acolytes to murder people in their attempt locate the Holy Grail. And of course, as pointed out by other readers, Brown heavily laces the book with the ridiculous theory that Jesus was not the Son of God but merely an important historical figure who married Mary Magdelene because it was politically advantageous (He was of the line of David, she of the Solomon line) and they produced offspring whose lineage survives today. Of course they did. The characters are paper thin, the plot is obvious, and the ending is anticlimactic. A big waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Even Christians won't be able to put this book down
Review: Growing up in church you are taught one story of Jesus. Reading this book challenges that story and stretches your mind. Even if you disagree with the premise, you have to admire the writing style and genius of the plot. I would hope that Christians can not be threatened by the premise (see "Subliterate heresy"), but rather enjoy Mr. Brown's exceptional story telling ability and leave the religious aspects of the book for lively discussions with friends and family - of which their should be many!
Rating:
Summary: The further you go, the thinner it gets
Review: Ok, let's not forget that this is a work of fiction, and that the author has the right to create a new world of alternate biblical history and religious sensibility. Responses to the book that only express outrage and censoriousness are just making his point. However, a piece of literature should have to earn the right to be taken seriously by creating a life-world with some plausibility. This is particularly true in this case since its pages are suffused with condemnation of the church, orthodox Christianity, and the biblical canon. But all that Brown gives us to establish his setting is a polemic that panders to every half-baked, crack-pot, sexually repressed spiritual fad currently in vogue. Yes, it is his right to create such a work, but, if in the process he seeks to destroy belief, he also has the obligation to do a little homework and pursue a little greater consistency. Did Constantine really select the New Testament canon? Of course not. Is there any reason to believe that no one prior to Constantine believed that Christ was God? To the contrary! Ought we to blame "the church" for having brought into the the world same devaluations of the female that manifest themselves in Asian cultures? That makes no sense. The list can go on--and I'm not even touching on the interpretations of art we have to deal with. I was really looking forward to this book. For the first half or so, I thought I could just ignore the non sequiturs and factual errors and not let them get in the way of spoiling a good story. But after a while, the deceptions just got "in your face." The author gives every indication of being able to write an alternative religious history that neither offends people nor relies on a cartoon-like version of Christian history. I would challenge him to do so.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: As an employee of one of the major chains, I had access to a preview copy of the book. We were encouraged to handsell this book, so I thought I should read it. I don't think I've been so disappointed in a book since "The Celestine Prophecy".
The writing style is mediocre at best. At first I liked the short chapters that intercut between characters so that you feel you are reading the story in real time. But this device became very tedious when a character, usually Sophie or Langdon, would go into long reveries about some detail in the past.
The plot device of following the clues wears thin rather quickly. It becomes a cross between a roller coater ride & a scavenger hunt.
The anti-Catholic tone is strident & ridiculous. Throughout the book we are led to believe that the Vatican (is the Vatican a person now?) is behind the conspiracy or involved in some way. Then Brown just drops the insinuation. Vatican motives were not so evil after all.
I was willing to go along with the parts set in France, but when the scene moves to Britain, I began to notice the little niggling errors about places I have been. The author describes people as "grave-rubbing" in Westminster Abbey. The proper temr is brass-rubbing and it has been a very long time since anyone was permitted to do brass rubbings in the Abbey. This indicates that Mr Brown may not have done as much research as he should have.
Dan Brown chooses the most outlandish of interpretations and then presents them as facts. This leads to wild deductions.
The characters are flat and cartoonish. Am I the only reader who thinks he was a bit hard on the French police?
The only reason I give it two stars is because it kept my attention half way through the book. I had to force myself to finish it. I read Patterson's "The Jester" in the same month. It may be a while before I can force myself to read another hyped thriller.
If you want to read this kind of thriller, Arturo Perez-Reverte is much better at it. Try "The Flanders Panel", an amazing book that will not disappoint.
Rating: 
Summary: Insulting
Review: I started reading this book and was immediately fascinated by the historical content and the fast paced plot. However, after reading further, I think the message that Mr. Brown was trying to get across to his readers is clear. If you're an intelligent, scientific individual, you're a "good guy". If you're a Christian, you're either stupid, mislead or evil. I don't consider myself to be a fundamental Christian, and I'm still insulted by this book. This poor, mislead Christian will have to find another book because I'm done with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Good story v. bad package
Review: While I find myself unable to put this book down, I wish I had not started it. The writing is poor and hackneyed and I have no emotional attachment to the characters. Most of the time it reads like a bad Sandra Bullock movie. An albino villain--COME ON! But the concept, if poorly executed, is still intruiging and I DO want to know what happens. If you haven't read it yet, don't start...that is if you don't want to sit there with a paradoxical reaction--groaning at the cheesiness of it but unable to stop reading.
Rating:
Summary: Dan Brown is no Umberto Eco
Review: ... The DaVinci Code rehashes a clever idea - but that's about all it has going for it. The characters are two-dimensional at best: the villain played by religious zealot albino, the angry French cop named "Fache" with a gaze that 'scorches the earth as he walks', the protagonist with little more to him than his description as "Harrison Ford in tweed". The plot is predictable from the first chapter, the suspense non-existent, the dialog tedious and pedantic. ... It's certainly not going to threaten any religious establishments. This book was borderline painful to read. Don't be fooled - at least read the first chapter before you buy it. You'll be able to tell in the first ten pages if it's for you or not.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting themes, disappointingly explored ...
Review: I must say I was disappointed by this book. I had heard such glowing reports about it ... especially about how suspenseful, riveting & insightful it was. The book got off to a good start, but quickly became pretty transparent & (at times)didactic. Brown keeps telling us how "amazing" and "startling" all these revelations are, when most of them have been telegraphed way ahead of time, leaving room for only one actual surprise (and it felt almost like a "cheap trick" -- won't elaborate coz I don't want to be a spoiler). I give this book kudos as a very entertaining way to brush up on the history & lore of the Holy Grail, but its conclusions about the ultimate nature of the Grail fall sadly short of being startling, inspiring or convincing. There are far greater Mysteries associated with the Grail that could have been more daringly explored. Most annoying of all was Brown's attitude that he was enlightening the "great unwashed" on subjects which have been the focus of a great deal of exploration over the past 30 years (at least!): goddess worship, Nature religion, the perils of patriarchy & organized religion, and the history of the Knights Templar & the Priory of Sion. I was reminded of the hype that accompanied the publication of the Celestine Prophecy, everybody going "Wow!" about the obvious. Sigh!
Rating:
Summary: The Mt. Everest of its Genre!
Review: Completely enthralling, and thought provoking, The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown is my pick for Book of the Year. Read in one sitting, with a glass of milk and only one sock change, i would have to say that this Novel purely ROCKED!
Rating:
Summary: If they make a movie it ought to be a Saturday serial
Review: There is a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter and computer generated characters will be more than adequate to cope with characters' emotional depths. Any really good heresy is an old heresy. Mr. Brown has done a lot of research and it's the arcana that are interesting. Wish he had skipped the novel and written a popular history of the Council(s) of Nicaea and how the heresies dealt with there have persisted.
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