Rating: 
Summary: A Few Additional Sources
Review: A fun grab bag! There is much to enjoy in this collection of historical parlor games that Mr. Brown playfully cobbles together using the thriller format. As near as I can tell, however, the lion's share of the grail storyline is lifted from HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL (a source Mr. Brown acknowledges in the text). HBHG is itself best read as speculative historical fiction. Readers interested in more of the straight historical record might want to check out Malcolm Barber's THE NEW KNIGHTHOOD (an objective and detailed history of the Templars), Susan Haskin's MARY MAGDALENE: MYTH AND METAPHOR, and, of course, the first (and possibly still the best) grail story, by French writer Chretien de Troyes. His PERCEVAL, OR THE STORY OF THE GRAIL (1186) is the one that started all the centuries of "rewrites" and speculation. It was a blockbuster in its day, and still reads beautifully -- full of wit, romance, adventure and authentic poetic mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Great!
Review: You must read this!! Dan's best work yet!PS. Has anyone gotten Jonas' password in the webquest? For the life of me I cannot figure it out. Any hints???? Thanks!
Rating: 
Summary: Spinning into space
Review: As someone who has studied and been fascinated by the same subjects as are the characters in this book, I was captivated by the clever plot, but sorely disappointed in the ending of "The Da Vinci Code." This is due to the fact that the object of the protagonists' search is in the final analysis, not a physical object; and, as the author directs us, is not the point. For anyone who has seen any classic Hitchcock film, you know that this kind of device is known as a McGuffin, the plot that motivates characters being more important than the actual thing being searched for. The story is compelling and a bona-fide page turner for a good 7/8 of the book. While elements are implausible, they are of the sort that one discounts to keep moving. As a tour de force, that 7/8 of the story, a good 350 pages, takes place all in one evening. But once dawn breaks, the reader is betrayed by the author, and the plot unravels into such implausability that it seems unfinished. We are led to believe that the global secret being slowly revealed to the reader is of enormous importance, and at least eight people are killed to keep this secret from getting out. Somehow I was not prepared to have this secret turn into a McGuffin of the most cosmic order. A typical, maddening red herring Mr. Brown engages in, is to name the victim on page one Jacques Saunière. (Our protagonist, his granddaughter, we assume comes from the line of Saunières.) Anyone who has studied the mysteries of the Templars and the Grail--the premise of the McGuffin in this book--cannot help but know that Saunière is the name of the priest who, it is claimed, found a part of the Templar secret at Rennes-le-Chateau between 1890-1908. While we are waiting to see what the connection is between Jacques Saunière and the priest Berenger Saunière, the final disppointment in the book is that there is no connection at all! Like the plot, it simply is gone in a puff of authorial smoke. Some of the puzzles and codes solved by the protagonists are very clever; some are so obvious it is embarrasing that they can't find the answer for pages, when the reader can. I don't mind that the search is for a McGuffin: but if that is the case, the characters might better be interested in each other as passionate love interest. Our male and female characters at the end, barely seem to acknowledge one another, making it a fascinating beginning, and rather a flaccid end.
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Summary: A Fun Read!
Review: This is a fun, entertaining book. Take it to the beach and start turning the pages! You can almost see the movie as you read this thriller.
Dan Brown has successfully arbitraged a lot of research about the Holy Grail and Mary Magdelene and the Knights Templar with the general public's lack of awareness of all that research into a cosmic whodunit.Along the way, you learn about Fibonacci Numbers, The Codex Leiscester, church and art history and mythology.
If you want to know more about all the issues the plot deals with, buy "The Templar Revelation", by Picknett and Prince, at the same time(published in 1998, the first chapter is entitled "The Secret Code of Leaonardo DaVinci"!). Their non-fiction book describes in depth practically everything The DaVinci Code treats in this fictional representation.
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Summary: Thriller
Review: I just finished reading the Da Vinci Code and I think it was one of the best intellectual thrillers I have read in a long time. Although I don't consider myself much of a history buff, I thoroughly enjoyed the mix of history, art, religion, murder and suspense. I was amazed at the way Dan Brown put all of the puzzle pieces together. I find myself searching the internet for more information on Da Vinci and his theories. Are any of these theories true????
Rating:
Summary: good, except for last 20%
Review: Good story, except for the last 20% of the book. At that point the author starts to have the characters to things they would not do except to mislead the reader.
In the book earlier part of the book the readers get the same information that the main characters do, however at this point in the book the author withholding information the characters do.
Rating:
Summary: A charming thriller
Review: This book was simply amazing. It is a classic page-turner that keeps you guessing until the end. What I found most interesting was the amount of Catholicism in the book. Be warned: what you believe may not be what is contained in this book. Dan Brown is a shockingly good author, and this book is top notch.
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Summary: OUTSTANDING WORK OF IMAGINATION AND RESEARCH
Review: The Da Vinci Code is an outstanding work of both fiction and history. The book starts from the murder of an elderly curator at the Louvre inside the museum, close to which the police find symbols. Come in Harvard symbologist Langdon, late at night, to try to decypher the code. The story goes from there, with Langdon joined by Sophie, the old man's daughter, to uncover clues left by her father that only her could understand. The story mixes a good murder mystery with esoteria collected through thousands of years in Western civilization. Such esoteria include the Holy Grail, Mona Lisa's smile, etc. Without giving much away, Langdon finds out that the curator was involved in a secret society that also included Isaac Newton, Da Vinci, Hugo, among others. This is an intelligent thriller, with a number of great plot twists that follow one another up to the very absolutely great ending. Despite the 400 or so pages, should be a book to read in two or three days...
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Summary: Book of the Year
Review: Thank you Dan Brown! Thank you! Finally a book in 2003 worth telling people about. Due yourself a favor run out now and get it. If you love word play, anagrams, puzzles, and enjoy when modern religion is confronted with uncomfortable facts -- you need to read this book. Best I've read in a while.
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Summary: Intricate jigsaw puzzle of riddles, double entendres, GREAT
Review: I have read much historical fiction/suspense, and this is certainly one of my "top five". The clues, puzzles, double-entendres, and anagrams are brilliant. The story grabs hold immediately and does not let go of the reader...I did not put the book down until I was finished, and was disappointed that the experience was over. The Da Vinci Code is comparable to The Name of the Rose, An Instance of the Fingerpost, and other highly literate compositions. It is clever, entertaining, and captivating... It is guaranteed to thrill.
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