Rating: 
Summary: Long on Hype, short on suspense and craft.
Review: Not such great story telling and exhaustive research that can be chalked up to a handful of books.
The NY Time's review states that Brown's latest novel is "Umberto Eco meets Tom Clancy.." This does a great disservice to both authors. Eco's knowledge of the subject matter spans a lifelong academic period. He truly invented the intellectual thriller and has to date been unequaled. Some reviewers have bemoaned the fact that Brown did not included a bibliography at the end of "The Da Vinci Code." It may have been because his so-called exhaustive research could in fact be boiled down into a handful of non-fiction books. HOLY BLOOD HOLY GRAIL, which stirred controversy and raised the holy bloodline issue decades ago. THE TEMPLAR REVELATION by Picknett and Clive Prince discussed almost word for word the DaVinci Hoax: The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper (Mary Magdalene's substitution as St. John and the fact that "...Da Vinci painted himself as the second disciple on the right, looking away from Jesus." And again the veneration of John the Baptist over Christ in The Adoration of the Magi and The Virgin of the Rocks. Add Gilbert's MAGI, Graham Hankock's THE SIGN AND THE SEAL and a quick read of Joseph Campbell and ... there's your "exhaustive research." To this stew we simply include a pinch of the well-known factoids. Being, secret societies have worshiped female [self esteem], and that "sexual secrets" lie at the very heart of Rosicrucianism, Hermeticism, and even fundamental Freemasonry; what's the end result? Modern feminism wrapped in the arms of Europe's Best Known secret: the worship of feminine wisdom.
As a writer, I could overlook all of this and do laud Brown for plunging into the waters of controversy by undemonizing the Gnostic so-called heresy, if it weren't for the fact that this novel fails in it's main goal: the creation of an intelligent and fast-paced thriller. The prose is sophomoric, some of the technical details of real police procedure (even European) are laughable, and the attempt at suspense becomes highly predictable. To compare this to the craftsmanship of authors such as Clancy, Ludlum, or other suspense thriller writers is pure hype. Novelists such as Koontz, Levin, Farris, and even King and Chrichton--bring a sublime and well-tuned racing engine to their work. They hurtle you down the track, easing up on the throttle just enough for you to catch your breath and then, pound you back into your seat with shuddering G-forces. Whereas, Brown barely manages to place you within a soapbox derby.
To say that one should dismiss Brown's poorly fleshed out characters in favor of the plot misses the mark and the purpose of fiction writing. Yes, Langdon and Sophie are merely conduits for information dumping in the form of dialogue, indeed. Langdon, in particular, without motivation, without subtext and background immediately becomes cartoonish. If we don't care about him why the hell should we care what happens to him?
And the action sequences are quite a snooze. Perhaps, only DoubleDay really cares about our hero but in the form of [dollars].
If you want to read something along this line, which is far more original, well-written, full of vivid prose, ... and break-neck action combined with esoteric lore as well as European scenic backdrops--read R. Douglas Weber's PROTOCOL-17.
Dean Koontz's DARK RIVERS OF THE HEART and even, Robert Ludlum's THE SIGMA PROTOCOL are also recommended for ... fans.
Rating: 
Summary: A must read book!
Review: This book is truly captivating. I could not put it down. Dan Brown has just joined my list of favorite authors. I am now going to locate and purchase some of his other books!
Rating: 
Summary: Not As Good As All The Hype
Review: Sorry to run counter to the rest of the reviews to date, but I've read better. The endorsements from "today's hot writers" should have been a dead give-away - only average books need that kind of hype (see also, for instance, James Siegel's "Derailed" - a disturbing, voyeuristic book with little to commend it but the "hot" endorsements found on the dust jacket). First, mechanics. The novel's structure is okay. Plot is fairly predictable, character development adequate. Plot resolution, to my mind, is a cop-out. I guess the ending is meant to be satisfying on some sort of metaphysical level, but I didn't like it either emotionally or structurally. So Mr. Brown, just what exactly is the Grail? What happens to the descendants of Jesus and Mary M., the Priory, etc.? Can it be that the "royal" Sophie will take a commoner for her mate...? As to the "Grail," there's nothing new here. We've heard all of this before (which Brown dutifully, but obliquely, states up front in the opening "fact"). In presentation I wish Brown had been a bit more subtle and less heavy-handed. So much in-your-face lessons on symbology that I thought I had died and gone to Joseph Campbell heaven. And if I read just one more reference to the "sacred feminine," I was going to go on-line, buy all of Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Avalon" series from Amazon.com and OD. Radical anti-Church feminists, Gnostics, conspiracy theorists - feel free to rejoice. You'll probably find this book a worthy addition to your library of "anti" polemics. Christians will do well to remember Romans Chapter 1 when they find themselves getting all riled up. As a novel and as a work of theology, I can't think of a better way to describe the book than to state "See Ecclesiastes 1:9." I should have borrowed the book from the library or waited for it to come out in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: The Holy Grail ?
Review: While the story is about a hunt for the grail, this book may be the Holy Grail ! It starts fast and hooks you right away. The story has many twists and turns as the heros take a fast trip in France and England. This intelligent mystery will keep you guessing (wrong) all the way through. One of the best books I have ever read and highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: This is no Name of the Rose
Review: This is fundamentally a chase-scene thriller book, dressed up in codes and ciphers, ancient conspiracy theories, scavenger hunts, and a lot of silly stuff. As such, it's an ok beach read. But those reviewers who say this is the new Name of the Rose (or even a rich mystery) are exaggerating.
Rating: 
Summary: Pseudohistory
Review: This book has a sacreligious premise at its center, it presents pseudofacts as historical "background," it portrays evil as good and distorts good into evil. Bestseller or not, it's not a worthy piece of writing. I stopped a third of the way through the audio version. You've only got so much time in life. Why spend it thinking about this -- especially during the Easter season?
Rating:
Summary: 5 Wows
Review: Wow 1 for indepth development of the characters; Wow 2 for a marvelous plot contrived of fiction and truth and a whole lot of research; Wow 3 for page turning events that consumed me from the moment I bought the book; Wow 4 for suspending any sense of reality I previously felt and replacing it with wanting to find the tomb; and Wow 5 for wanting to tell everyone I know who likes a good read about it and get them to read it so we could join in the quest. I have ordered the rest of his books and can't wait to read them. Couldn't have been better.
Rating:
Summary: All nighter
Review: I was up all night reading The DaVinci Code--Dan Brown's newest thriller is too hard to put down to let something like a good night's sleep get in the way. He manages to give art, religion and history lessons wrapped in a fast-paced mystery novel. Throw in a little Holy Grail mixed with lost gospels and faith-shaking
biblical conspiracy theories and it's an irresitable pull toward a satisfying conclusion.
I wonder if Opeis Dei has put out a fatwa on Dan Brown? If I were him, I'd keep one eye open.
Rating:
Summary: The Silliest Book I Couldn't Put Down
Review: While a bit formulaic, and saddled with inconsistent characters who are by turns unbelievably brilliant or completely obtuse, depending on the demands of the plot at any given moment, "The DaVinci Code" is undeniably a page-turner. Paced like an old Republic Serial, it is written in "real-time" and obviously meant to be read the same way -- in one long haul. The problem for some readers (myself included) will be prior familiarity with the "secret" upon which the book hinges: the true nature of the Holy Grail. Anyone who has read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" (which is actually referenced in the story) or has prior knowledge of the "mystery" of Rennes le Chateau or the Priory of Sion, which was a big story about fifteen or so years ago that turned out to be a hoax, will find the revelation of the "shocking" secret about as surprising as the fact that winter follows fall. However, those who are not familiar with these earlier references, a category that includes all the main characters of "The DaVinci Code" -- when the plot demands it -- will probably be shocked and awed by this book. But it's best not to take it as seriously as the author seems to be asking us to.
Rating:
Summary: WELL WRITTEN, BUT.....
Review: This is the second book in which Brown decides to make the Catholic Church look like a bunch of deceitful, fanatical, and desperate bunch of wackos. Brown knows how to write a book, but I frankly am tired of all this speculation. In this one, we find out what Brown thinks the Holy Grail is, and other assorted "facts" drawn through the ages. Give it a rest, Dan. You're a good writer, as shown in "Deception Point," but leave the church alone.
NOT RECOMMENDED.
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