Rating: 
Summary: Solid reading
Review: What a captivating read! I loved Dan Brown's previous books, and this one is completely great. Plot twists, lots of rich histroy, a fun page-turner. Quick reading!
Rating:
Summary: A Real Eye Opener!
Review: The book, 'The Da Vinci Code', is without a doubt one of the best books I have read all year. It is the story of the murder of a French man named Jaques Sauniere who held a great secret. As death approached, he is forced to transfer his secret through puzzles set across Europe that only one person can understand. This person, Sophie Neveu, works together with Robert Langdon, and American symbologist from Harvard to discover the origins of an ancient Pagan cult and the secret that they hold.
To some, this novel may not seem as "earth shattering" as others, but it personally intrigued me because all of the historical content on religion and hidden messages in paintings, such as Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper', are true to life. All of the revelations of Christ and his followers are true theory that can be proven from actual text found in ancient books and scriptures. Being someone who does not devoutly follow religion, it has greatly interested me and I find myself wanting to learn more from outside sources. The fact that this book could make me so intrigued in a topic that previously meant nothing to me makes me confident that 'The Da Vinci Code' truly deserves the highest rating I could give it and I stress that all people should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfyingly sleepless
Review: Attracted by the window display at Borders Michigan Avenue in Chicago ..., I ventured into the store not knowing that I was in for 4 nights of sleeplessness. For an art aficionado like me (though not particularly crazy about the Mona Lisa or da Vinci), the plot was a sure hook. The very first page gets you hooked as you embark on a journey much like peeling away layers upon layers of mysteries and clues. The prose is taut, the dialogue crisp, and the narrative tight, encouraging you to turn page after page. You've heard it said before, but the writing makes you feel as if you are part of the scene, witnessing, albeit silently and anonymously from some dusty, shadowy corner of the room the characters are in. Sensational stuff. Though the ending leaves me wanting to write an additional chapter or two to satisfy the urge to see what the da Vinci Code fuss is all about, I am nevertheless looking forward to his next novel. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: A Literary Thriller
Review: A gruesome murdur in the Louvre, hidden clues to an earth shattering secret, set the pace for a night long quest for Robert Langdon and Sophie, a symbologist and cryptographer respectively. Langdon is being pursued as a suspect while Sophie is blamed as an accomplice in his escape. And they must evade the police while desperately trying to solve a mystery of histrionic proportions. Oh, I loved it. A thorough mix of thrilling events, with calmer moments of historic and scientific explanations to some very esoteric subjects. One naturally wanted to see everything wrapped up in a tight little package in the end, but the type of mind boggling material
presented was not a subject easily dispensed of. Far out fiction for sure, though Dan Brown made a real case for putting religious history into new perspective. Well written, and easy to follow, (unlike some mystery/thrillers that can be confusing to the reader) this book deserves it's status on the best sellers lists.
Rating: 
Summary: Codes, conundrums, confusion and conflict!
Review: "The Da Vinci Code" is far removed from the proverbial whodunit, although who dunnit is certainly a central theme in the ensuing confusion and turmoil following the death of the Louvre's world-renowned curator. It is Robert Langdon who lives the conflict and deals with the confusion of imbedded art codes that are the crux of the plot's conundrum. Robert Langdon, also a renowned expert, is a symbologist who is implicated in the murder as his name plainly appears in a message left by the murder victim for his niece Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist with the French police. What follows is a whirlwind tour of some of England's and Scotland's famous churches, temples and chapels...all in the name of pursuing and deciphering the clever and encrypted messages left by the deceased. As Robert, and his accomplice Sophie Neveu, both attempt to clear their names as apparent partners in crime, they simultaneously pursue the clues left by Sophie's grandfather, a dignitary in a historically mysterious group, Opus Dei. To divulge too much is to spoil the whirlwind pursuit that sweeps the reader along. What can be divulged, however, is that Opus Dei devotees are worshippers of a religion in which the ancient goddess is a central part, in direct conflict with Sons of Sion, also a secret society that is slavishly devoted to the basic tenets of the Catholic Church, with no improvisations. Interesting and provocative art and church history unfold along with the parallel plot precipitated by "The Teacher". That's one of the closely-kept secrets! Who is The Teacher? Yes, it's a page turner. Agreed, it's a cannotputterdowner!
Rating:
Summary: Just Like His "Angels and Demons" Which is Both Good and Bad
Review: This book is, as noted before, as a "Can't put it down!". However, I felt I was just going through the motions. Don't get me wrong, it was a good read. It just seemed like déjà vu all over again. Langdon is woken up in the middle of a night with a phone call and is instantly running around Rome and now London again solving ancient puzzles and fighting secret societies. Again, using historical and present-day reality brings a sense of urgency to the book. But what happens when Brown runs out of secret societies to write about?
Rating:
Summary: A Review That Compares Dan Brown's Four Books
Review: THE DA VINCI CODE has been #1 on the best seller and as I write this it has already been reviewed exactly one hundred times on Amazon. Thus, after summarizing the plot, I will attempt to make this review as helpful as possible by briefly discussing the author's four books, comparing the plots, and describing and analyzing his writing style in summary fashion. Harvard professor and symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to the Louvre to help Captain Bezu Fache of the Paris Judicial Police unravel the clues surrounding the body of the murdered curator, Jacques Sauniere. Sophie Neveu, a police cryptologist soon arrives, and it almost immediately becomes clear that it will take their combined skill and knowledge to follow the trail laid out by Sauniere before his death. As they attempt to uncover the hidden secrets of The Priory of Sion (a real organization that is hundreds of years old and has included as members Issac Newton and Leonardo Da Vinci, both of whom figure in the story), their search leads them to several Paris locations and eventually to England. Of course, others are also on the trail, including Captain Fachu, a huge albino monk, and an unknown formidable opponent who appears to be the only person in possession of a complete overview of the puzzle which they are trying to solve. The story combines history, murder, intrigue, wordplay combined with cryptanalysis, romance, religion and art. These elements are combined in such an incredibly captivating way that the pace never slackens as you are constantly being bombarded with both new facts and puzzles to solve. (I only solved one of the puzzles before Langdon and Neveu, and it is the one on which the author gives the reader some help.) The pace is fast and the narrative has several threads which merge to provide a surprising and satisfactory conclusion. This is Brown's second book involving Robert Langdon. My review of ANGELS AND DEMONS (Amazon 4/1/03) provides a detailed overview of that book. While this is not a sequel which requires that book to be read first, ANGELS has additional background regarding Langdon's character and academic specialty which made this book more enjoyable for me. Both involve religion, art and symbology, and both a have well researched and accurate historical basis. Thus they are superficially similar. However, ANGELS has three significant differences. First, it assumes further scientific advances and takes place in the future while DA VINCI takes place in the current day. Second, philosophical questions regarding the frequent conflicts between religion and science form the basis of the story and are the basis of some of the best passages in ANGELS. The philosohical implications of the mysteries involved in this story are just as complex but the discussion is much less profound. Third, in ANGELS the conflict among the various religious factions of the Catholic Church did not go the heart of the basis of Christian beliefs but rather to the existence and nature of God, the questions raised by this story are much more profound for Christianity. (This factor accounts for some of the critical reviews.) A common element in all Dan Brown's books is the very compressed time frame in which the stories occur. The tension is heightened by a race against the clock as an integral element of the nature of the various adversaries; this technique helps to make the stories real "page turners". In DA VINCI, the complete story except for a short epilogue incredibly takes place within approximately twenty four hours, yet the pace seems true to the events. (In order to give you an idea of the compressed time frames Brown utilizes, this is roughly double the time frame of ANGELS.) Both DECEPTION POINT (his third novel) and DIGITAL FORTRESS (his first book) also utilize this technique. All the author's books involve extensive knowledge about the subjects involved, which is always imparted in a manner that keeps the reader's interest. Thus, they are for the reader who wants not only fast paced action but intelligent and absorbing fiction, a very different genre than the also enjoyable best selling James Patterson (at least until THE JESTER, see review of 3/15/03). DECEPTION POINT involves computer hacking and introduces the theme ofcryptanalysis which is revisited in DA VINCI. DECEPTION POINT involves science, oceanography, NASA and politics, unfortunately it veers into implausibilty. In summary, Dan Brown knows how to keep his readers' interest. While each of the four books can be read independently, I would recommend reading ANGELS (available in paperback) if you only have time to read one or before reading DA VINCI. DIGITAL FORTRESS is an excellent first novel although not as polished as the later works. The subject is more specialized and probably won't appeal to as wide a range of readers. DECEPTION POINT is well written but had the only conclusion that disappointed me thus is not as highly reccommended as the other three novels.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely gripping tale
Review: This book is literally a 'cannot put down' and I mean right up to the very last sentence. I remember reading the last page with almost a trembling in my hands. This is a magnificent piece of work. There is only one thing to complain about, some may disagree, but I found the explanation as to what the Holy Grail actually is to be absolutely ludicrous, you can decide for yourself. However, for me it left a bad taste in my mouth, but that aside this book is an extremely well written, well woven, and totally gripping tale. Dan Brown's knowledge of the history and details surrounding DaVinci's artwork is astounding. I learned so much about Leonardo's artwork I found myself ( after verifying what information I could ) sharing it with my family members. After reading this book I promptly went out and bought all of his other books. I like his style and the little tidbits of interesting information he drops here and there. Well done!
Rating:
Summary: Not Your Typical Whodunit
Review: I began reading this book with some trepidation because it, at first, seemed to be a book about infighting between various religious organizations, with a murder thrown in. Boy was I wrong. It is a very well written thriller about a very complex murder that requires the protagonists to decipher numerous codes and other religious based histories in order to solve, not only the murder, but also to prevent irreplaceable documents (Holy Grail) from being destroyed. The other amazing part of this book is that it imparts a considerable amount of historical knowledge to the reader without them even realizing it. The many things I learned through reading this book would never have been looked into by me because religious history never appealed to me. Here, you get a big dose of it, without knowing you would, and then, being mighty glad you did. Great Book!
Rating:
Summary: Pins and Needles
Review: Definitely had me on the edge of my seat. The author really does his homework. I like the historical angle. Interesting as well as exciting. A big five stars for this one.
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