Rating: 
Summary: A puzzle in story form
Review: I give this book 4 stars because it was a lot of fun to read, and because it will open people's minds as to the veracity of everything we read in the bible.
The Da Vinci Code reads like an action/ thriller, which it is, but it is more than that. Without giving away key plot elements, let me say that this book deals with very controversial art, historical, and religious theories.(Very controversial....some people with strong religious beliefs may take offense).
Let me also add that the book is a page turner. The chapter often end as cliff hangers..
This book is recommended, and I thank Dan Brown for writing a book that is going to inspire so much interesting dialogue.
Rating:
Summary: heresy schmeresy
Review: I'm halfway through this and having a grand time. Dan Brown is HARDLY the first one to come up with the idea that Christ fathered a child. If you want stupid religious ... read The Omega Code.The Da Vinci Code is fun, it is full of good tidbits and trivia, it's reasonably well written (the exceptions being some obvious ploys in the plot in order to be able to explain history). It's hard to put down and a quick read. If you like cryptography or fast-paced diversion it will entertain you.
Rating:
Summary: A very interesting read
Review: I could not put this book down. Two very late nights of reading was well worth it. Very enjoyable
Rating:
Summary: Throw out everything you believe
Review: I heard a 'blirp' about this book on NPR and there was enough intrigue to draw me in. From the first page you hit the ground running. Brown reminds you of the things you may have learned in Art 101 and then peels back several more layers and all the things you have taken for granted and places a well defined meaning on them. Math IS everywhere. The full scale scavanger hunt kept me up late two nights in a row. He is kind enough at the end to inlude the reader in the scavanger hunt as you develop the character of riddle maker you are able to guess ahead of the main character and feel a part of the story. From a Christain stand point it questions the very beginnings of what you have been taught to believe. The book is a well crafted novel with enough truth included to make it almost a historical trip back through time. A highly recommended quick read that you find your self thinking about days later and as one other reviewer put it; 'worth the second read' for the fine points.
Rating: 
Summary: Terribly written
Review: I bought this book with excitement, based on the good blurbs on the back of it and the general buzz about it. If only I had read a page or two! The style of this thing is laughable, clunky, medodramatic and trite. It is HORRIBLY written. How can other writers say it's great? So that they themselves will seem superior? It makes no sense to me. If you have any sensitivity to language, don't buy this. Maybe the plot has some redeeming qualities--I could not get far enough to find out. I was too put off by the terrible prose.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Concept and Execution
Review: The excellent way Brown leaves cookie-crumb style clues are worth the read alone. Add the scandle-of-the-ages subtext, and this is a weekend "finish at all costs" adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Better than average, BUT....
Review: I just finished the book. It is definitely a page turner, kind of like John Grisham novels. Unfortunately, it also has the same drawbacks as Grisham's novels, not mysterious enough. The book is a tad too predictable. I must admit, I didn't solve all of the mystery before the end, but I saw enough of it coming to make reading this book a tad annoying. Now, did I enjoy it? Yes, aboslutely. I think Brown did a very good job researching the facts and the characters were mostly well developed. I liked Sophie Neveu and Robert Langdon. They could very well develop a la the characters from Iain Pears' art history novels. I liked the puzzles, I loved the historical aspect of the story. Yes, I started to look up the Opus Dei and Priory of Sion, as well as the Louvre and all the other sites. BUT, I believe the history of the knights templar via a novel form was better told by Umberto Eco in Foucoult's Pendulum. Eco didn't go into Mary Magdalene either. The parts on the Gospel according to the Gnostics was intersting to me because I started to read the Gospel of Thomas a while ago. Overall, I liked the book, but not enough to give it 5 stars. It does, however interst me enough to read more of Dan Brown.
Rating:
Summary: Genius!
Review: This is by far the best book I've read in a very long time. I consider myself a Christian and I didn't think this book was a slap in the face at all. I found it very intriguing and people with open minds will feel the same. Dan Brown intertwines clues and facts together with ease and makes for a book I couldn't put down. Definitely makes you think as well as entertains! Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent thriller and historical eye-opener
Review: This was a completely enjoyable book to read. The author took a very interesting topic, and took it through all kinds of twists and turns to the readers delight. Definitely worth reading for both the story and the interesting facts.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing New Here
Review: I had mixed feelings about this book as I have been a long time reader of the various themes that are weaved into the story, particularly the big Church "secret" that was the focus of "Holy Blood Holy Grail" in 1982. This perhaps killed the real punch of the book, my fore knowledge. Brown did some intense research for this book and I did enjoy how closely aligned his information was with what I had known to be true, or at least as true as these sorts of topics can be. After a time I became annoyed with Brown's technique of walking the reader to an important fact or discovery in the plot, and then delay it for a chapter or two, sometimes even presenting the imagery that the character was looking right at this new tasty morsel of plot. That got old with me very fast. Such techniques are suitable when they aren't used so frequently: That reminded me of the only Stephen King book I "tried" to read. It at times read more like an educational essay on these various topics and themes for the reader new to them. As I said, already knowing about Templar and Grail legend, secret societies (the Illuminati vs. the Church is the focus of Brown's earlier book, "Angels and Demons), etc. This book did not change my view of what the Grail legends might be about, another reason TDVC failed for me. All in all, this book was a fun read, but it was not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination.
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