Rating: 
Summary: This book took over my life for more than a day
Review: Once I got my hand on this book it wouldn't let me leave it alone. I got through the 400 or so pages in a day. It was that good and that exciting. If you have an open mind that can handle exposure to some ideas on religion that might differ with what you have believed up to this point, give it a try! The action will suck you in and have you talking about he book for days.
Rating:
Summary: An Awesome Read
Review: Okay, I can understand now why the other reviewer said that the story had been told before. However, I have two things to say to him: First, you should have marked your review Spoiler. Second, just because a story has been told before doesn't mean that there isn't something to be gained in a retelling. For example, John Milton's Paradise Lost is a reinterpreted and retold Genesis. Romeo and Juliet has been retold so many times that it is ridiculous. And yet, both are worthwhile. It is only part the story that is important. The more important thing is how the story is told.Dan Brown tells a story that has been told before, yes. However, he tells it beautifully, and he is my favorite author. I have yet to read one of his books that disappointed me in the least. Each is Crichton-esque, but even more packed with research, care, and good story. I can't get enough of this guy's work. Read this book. You won't regret it.
Harkius
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Summary: Hardy Boys meet the Pope
Review: This has to be one of the most unusual and fascinating mystery novels! At times it is thought provoking; at other times, it is reads like a junior high adventure story, but it always makes the reader go on to just one more chapter. The mixture of art, religious symbolism, paganism, and secret societies is fascinating. Although to some, this may appear as anti-Catholic, I didn't find it so, but felt that a respect for real faith in a loving God came through. The situations are bizarre and contrived, but this truly fictional book caused me to think about how much we don't understand, and that the road to how we got to where we are as modern day "religious" people has never been straight. This book made me shake my head and smile and think of Shakespeare's line: "Lord, what fools these mortals be [and have been]" Read it for what it's worth, nothing more, but if you want a real page-turner with some interesting historical minutiae, do read it.
Rating:
Summary: An INCREDIBLE read!
Review: Robert Langdon fans, rejoice! The hippest hero you'll EVER catch in a Harris tweed is back for another trans-European thrill ride. There are enough conspiracy theories, exotic locales, history lessons, white-knuckle escapes, double crosses, and last second twists to make this book simply impossible to put down. While it is possible to read right through the book fairly quickly, the background material--such as the nature of the Holy Grail, Da Vinci's hidden codes, the religious symbology, and the early history of the Christian Church, to name just a handful--almost cry out for further study once the last page is turned. That, I think, is one of this book's greatest strengths. Readers who want to read this as a straight thriller will not be disappointed at all. However, those who want to delve deeply into the mysteries of "The DaVinci Code" will find plenty of material to pore over. This book is a spectacular, command, virtuoso performance by an author who knows how to educate while bringing readers to the edge of their seats. BEG him to keep writing!
Rating:
Summary: Say goodbye to Kansas
Review: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is in Paris attending a conference where he was to have met Jacques Sauniere, curator of the Louvre, but the eccentric curator failed to keep their appointment. Latter that night Langdon is pulled from sleep by the French equivalent of the FBI, it seems Jacques Sauniere has been murdered and left a cryptic message on the floor of the museum and on his own body. The police seem to want Langdon's skills as a symbologist to crack the case completely unaware that he is the prime murder suspect. Enter Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist, a woman as intelligent as she is beautiful and, as it happens, granddaughter of the murdered curator. She believes that not only is Langdon is innocent but he is in danger. Together they flee the scene and begin work on solving the murder of Jacques Sauniere. The clues Sophie's grandfather left behind will lead the couple on an unparallel treasure hunt across Europe and the last two thousand years. Their investigations lead them through secret societies, power hungry villains, and some of the most famous pieces of art and architecture of the last thousand years. All to discover the hiding place of the Holy Grail. Where the grail is however is secondary to WHAT the grail is and each question answered leads only to another question. Mr. Brown takes all these elements and weaves them together with Leonardo DaVinci, Sir Isaac Newton and the Vatican itself. Where does the trail lead? To places unexpected to be sure. Sophie and Robert are never sure just how deep the rabbit hole really is. Every time they believe they are on solid ground Mr. Brown pulls the carpet out from under them and the find themselves plunging deeper into the complexities of the mystery itself. In the middle of the book the characters examine DaVinci's famous fresco "The Last Supper" I was compelled to find a picture to see for myself what Mr. Brown was asserting about the figures in the painting. Upon looking at the painting I was awe struck that Mr. Brown was indeed correct and I was left to wonder just how I had missed what is so plainly obvious. You would do well to have a copy of this famous painting along with others by DaVinci to see for yourself just how well the clues fit together. Spending an afternoon in the reference section of the library I found that the assertions Mr. Brown puts fourth in his book regarding early Christianity, the Holy Grail and the many secret societies are based on facts and not fictions at all. This itself makes the book all the more compelling and the paranoia he laces into his work all the more real.
Dan Brown's earlier novel, "Angels and Demons", featured the same protagonist, Robert Langdon. Like the previous book, "The DaVinci Code" is a well-researched thriller and Brown manages to educate without losing too much pacing. "The DaVinci Code" is a great history lesson about ancient Christianity and matters related to The Holy Grail.
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Summary: I wish it had a biography
Review: As far as "non-classic" fiction goes, I like my books with brains. That's why I love Umberto Eco. Enter Dan Brown. I'm not going to give a run down on the plot because I'm bad at that; I always end up giving too much away or being too vague. All I'll say is that this is a riveting and intellectually stimulating thriller/suspense novel.
One thing I love about Dan Brown's novels is that he works in so much intellectual detail. I really wish he added a bibliography to his books - this one and Angels and Demons specifically. I cannot recommend this book enough. Get Angels and Demons too! Dustin
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Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Brown's book is captivating and full of knowledge, besides supplying a story which is unrivaled. Awesome ending.
Rating:
Summary: Intellectually Stimulating, Fast Paced
Review: What amazed me about this book was the fact that Brown uses the thriller genre, where every chapter ends in a cliffhanger that leaves you breathless, but it's jam packed with fascinating historical nuggets, ALL of which serve to drive the plot and keep the reader guessing. It's a dozen puzzles within a dozen puzzles, but all of them clearly logical and based on ancient paintings, writings and historical facts. Just when you think he's said something ludicrous, you go to the painting or edifice named and it's all there. And though he demonstrates how much of the Church is based on myth -- all thoroughly documented -- he manages to do it without being sacrigilous or mean-spirited. Once I started reading, I could not stop and had to finish it. A perfect blend of pop adventure and deeply intellectual research. It all fits and it doesn't cheat. Brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Not usually my cup of tea, but this was outstanding.
Review: I picked this book up from the library because I am intensely fascinated by da Vinci and the inside jacket synopsis hooked me to give it a try. I've never read any type of suspense/mystery book. This was my first one. Well now I'm afraid to read another and find that I've just read the best and there's nowhere to go but down. I have never read a book as quickly as I read this one. Now, I'm pushing this book on all my friends/family. I even bought it as a present for my Dad. The twists and turns are very unpredictable and I am very good at figuring out what is "around the corner" before it is revealed. So there is an immense sense of anticipation as you read it. The puzzle element of the book is good and it feels like you are reading an adventure game like Myst or Longest Journey. I would try to figure out the puzzles before the solution was revealed (of course, falining miserbly b/c they are ingenious). And finally, the research and the fact that there is some veridicality (the Priory of Sion, Opus Dei, the surprise in The Last Supper, the Beloved Disciple, etc) were jaw dropping for me. As I read the book, I would go on the Internet and look up things that Dan Brown wrote about and found that there is some support for the things he discusses. As a Roman Catholic, these revelations were mind-blowing and has made me more interested in the history of the Roman Catholic church. This book is definitely a must-read. As I already do, I would recommend it to anyone. I definitely plan to make this book a permanent part of my collection. I also think it would make an excellent movie. Christopher Nolan, the director of Momento and Insomnia would do this book justice.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't believe the hype
Review: ... I found this book contrived, the suspense artificially manufactured, with fake cliffhangers every couple of pages. I found the inevitable revelation was something I figured out right around page 50, so no big surprise, and I had to slog through a lot of bad writing and reams of factoids (some of them wrong, by the way). It's like the author thinks he'll snow us with Too Much Information. Plus a lot of the information was irrelevant mind game stuff, like the Fibonacci numbers and all that. Why he had to go pick on Opus Dei as a villain I don't know -- I hold no brief for them, but they're just not cartoon bad guys like he makes them out to be. And it makes no sense that the victim whose death starts out the book would put his granddaughter on this endless scavenger hunt -- that was what really felt contrived. How anyone can compare this potboiler to "Name of the Rose" is beyond me.
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