Rating: 
Summary: Certainly not literature....
Review: I have to say, although Dan Brown has an interesting web of trivia thrown into a loosely created plot, it does not make for good reading or literature. What it makes is Dan Brown a very wealthy man!!!! Go for the big bucks Dan! Just like Danielle Steele and Stephen King - quite a sell-out, really. Just toss the Davinci Code into your magazine rack along with your Pottery Barn Catalogue.
Rating: 
Summary: think, people!
Review: This book was purely escape literature. To read a really good book or three with true literary value, try The Count of Monte Cristo, Les Miserables (unabridged), and Pontius Pilate by Paul Maier. The latter two dealing with real historical facts to support the story. To all those who believe everything they read... the character development was poorly done, the language was elementary, and the "historical facts" were horribly erroneous. Dan Brown took SO much artistic lisence with history that it caused his "facts" to be almost void of historical basis. And just for all those who are wondering, because I havn't heard in mentioned, the gospel of Mary Magdalene, gospel of Thomas, etc. comes from the Apocrapha, an authentic ancient record that was unearthed in the 1800's, but which dates around 110 A.D.(the heart of the apostasy), which means we at least know that they were not penned by these authors. Therefore, they may or may not be accurate to the authors intents. As a student of the arts and religion i've done my share of research. Reasearch is an interesting thing. You can usually prove both sides of a story with stats and research. Does that make both sides of the story true? No. Truth needs no believers. It will exist without them. I could take an intellectual and subjective point of view for my review on this book, but why should I? I AM a religious person and am not by any means ashamed of it nor do I tremble at the so called "intellect" of the world. God is Truth and there wasn't much of God in this book. I'll give it credit for giving easily swayed folks somthing to stress about and being a good read for escape literature. I also found this book to be both a struggling attempt at another view point and a mockery to intelligent and or faithful Christians. So the question is, when you read this book will you allow yourself to be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine? There is One who knows all truth, and I can gaurantee you, it's not Dan Brown.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow! I am Stunned! Don't Miss This!
Review: I have read some of the reviews, and I don't see why people take it so literally. Last time I looked, it was a work of fiction! This book is the best I have read this year, right behind Angels and Demons, also by Brown. The story gets interesting from the first page, and you cannot put it down. Brown uses historical links to Masons and the Church to really get you wrapped up in the Secret Society bit. Once you start reading this, you will be in awe. If you only read one book this year, make it this one. Better yet, if you have not read Angels and Demons, pick both up and read that one first! You will not be sorry!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down
Review: The Da Vinci Code is exceptional! It starts off a tad bit slow but really takes off after a hundred pages or so. The story is a good mystery with many twists and turns. I don't know how anyone could rate the story under a 4! Remember, don't be afraid to read this book if you are a devout christian. The book is not "historical" so do not read it as such. Focus on the story itself, not the "history lessons."
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting....
Review: Interesting how people fall for this stuff and walk around calling it "historical". Research the alleged conspiracies and you will see. I found it to be not "historical".
It a fictional book wrapped up in the guise of non-fiction and laden with inacurracies and prevarications.
Rating:
Summary: The DaVinci Code
Review: Great book! Make sure you also read Angels and Demons.
Rating:
Summary: Weak storytelling, too predictable
Review: I was forced to read this book in my book club. Very disappointing! Interesting theories, but the storyline was too predictable to keep me interested. As I read, I could already visualize the movie...reminded me of John Gresham's good idea/bad-writing-turned-screenplay style. And while the author claims much of this book is based on fact, much of it is really only based on theories. As the book is catagorized as fiction, I have no problem with a book based on theory. However, it has to be supported by a well-told story to keep me interested. Couldn't even make it to the end!
Rating:
Summary: Don't pay attention to Mike Stewart from Lakewood California
Review: Apparently Mr. Stewart has some kind of personal vendetta against Dan Brown. Not only does he sprinkle immature comments like "Hate this book? Try In the Ghost Country!" but also he has taken it upon himself to criticize most of Dan Brown's books at Amazon. As a first time reader of Dan Brown's work with The Da Vinci Code, I was amazed at the author's imagination and profound research that went into his writing. Yes, this is popular fiction, but it is definitely a book that anyone would enjoy reading--from the highly educated to the common masses. I couldn't put it down for an entire day and I loved the author for that. It was a welcome respite from pre-med classes at Columbia. It has been awhile that I've enjoyed such an interesting and fast-paced read. It is thought provoking and wonderful. BUY THIS BOOK TODAY and SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS! You will definitely not regret it, I assure you. :)
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully subversive
Review: OK, so the book has its share of laughably bad writing, and you can spot the cliffhangers a mile away (here comes the end of the chapter -- cue the ominous music!). But the brilliant thing about this book is that the plot almost doesn't matter. The Da Vinci Code is a Trojan horse. Critics may quibble over this or that assertion, but wrapped inside the plot are many truths about the Church's manipulation of the Bible for its own purposes -- truths the Church has labored for millenia to supress. Now they're coming out in this made-for-Hollywood potboiler that's selling millions and headed for the big screen. The horse is out of the barn -- no wonder so many fundamentalists are so upset. So much for the Inquisition. To those who are up in arms, the author and the publisher have the perfect response: "Oh, relax, it's *just a novel!*"
Rating:
Summary: Wait for the Movie
Review: This is not a literary novel. Is it a genre novel? I'm not sure it's a novel at all. It's more like a screenplay in book form. The characters are so cliché that it's obvious the author was thinking about the movie rights from the start. Have you seen Frantic with Harrison Ford? It's basically the same characters engaged in a different plot.Mr. Angry police officer (that really is his name in French: "Monsieur Fache") tries to pin Langdon, nice eligible 40 something professor, with a murder and along comes totally hot young intellectual Sophie for an early save and the start of a bizarre adventure involving a lot of chasing, "aha moments" and Mr. Angry being angry. I was ready to ignore all the factual inaccuracies and suspend disbelief in order to enjoy a good yarn but the writer treats his readers with such lack of intelligence the book became annoying. A sample passage:
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'What's the captain's name?' Langdon asked, changing topics.
'Bezu Fache,' the driver answered, approaching the pyramid's main entrance. 'We call him le Taureau.'
Langdon glanced over at him, wondering if every Frenchman had a mysterious animal epithet. 'You call your captain the Bull?'
The man arched his eyebrows. "Your French is better than you admit, Monsieur Langdon.'
My French stinks, Langdon thought, but my zodiac iconography is pretty good. Taurus was always the bull. Astrology was a symbolic constant all over the world.
--- OK we get it. I think as a movie, this story will be more enjoyable. Lots of running around Paris in a Citroën while visiting nice old buildings and Jean Reno as the grumpy police captain. A fun thriller and if you don't like it, you'll have only wasted 2 hours.
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