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Summary: If you've only read THIS book by Dan Brown...
Review: Then you've gotta get the rest of his works, like "Angels and Demons", "Digital Fortress", and "Deception Point". All are equally good Dan Brown books, but, of course, "The Da Vinci Code" was definitely in a class all it's own. It deserves to stay Number One for a very, very long time. And this coming from a reader who usually buys science fiction such as "Foundation", "Ringworld", "Agents of Chaos", "Snow Crash", "Neuromancer", "Virtual Light", "Childhood's End", "Darkeye: Cyber Hunter", "Prey", and so forth. So for me to like this intriguing religious thriller means those of you who love down-to-earth drama or thrillers will definitely love this.
Rating: 
Summary: Hope the Movie's Better
Review: The Da Vinci Code is one of those books that would make a much better movie. In fact, as a high school aged reader, I found myself picturing a movie during the whole time I was reading the book. So, when I found out that a film based on Dan Brown's novel was going to be made into a movie, directed by Ron Howard, I couldn't have been more pleased. I will be excited to see the movie version of the book because the book had a terrific plot, but sadly, it lagged in parts from the monotonous writing of Dan Brown. The movie could make up for that major weakness in the book.The Da Vinci code starts out extremely compelling. The curator of the Louvre in Paris has been killed by an unknown assailant and the police are after Harvard professor Robert Langdon because a code next to his dead body says, "O, Draconian Devil! Oh, lame saint! P.S. Find Robert Langdon." Robert Langdon and a cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, are then racing against an enemy to find out a secret that a group, The Priory of Sion, have been hiding from the world for hundreds of years. Parts of this book are actually very well done. One could clearly picture the characters and they seemed like real people. I also enjoyed the clues and word puzzles as they were very well done and challenging to figure out. The book raised some interesting topics about the bible, Mary Magdalene, and the Holy Grail. The book also had many plot twists and so one never knew what was coming next. While reading the book, it seemed to me that the author ran out of steam about two thirds of the way through. Dan Brown includes chapters on events as pointless to the plot as Langdon and Neveu going to a library. To me, this is a sign he was just trying to fill up space. The book has some very interesting information, some of which is made up by the author and some of which is based on fact. But one has a hard time believing the facts that the author does have information to support because the facts are mixed in with a great deal of fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Research, Poor Writer
Review: On occasion this story was good, but after the author used the same technique to cheat the audience repeatedly just to keep some suspense going, I started to get bored. It is also interesting to note that every extra (disposable) character in the same scene has the exact same reaction as all the others. I didn't realize there were still so many sheep bleating overseas. If you want a good story and don't mind the author's poor writing skills, this is a decent attempt. I must admit I was amazed when I realized Dan Brown had been published before - I thought the mistakes he made were because he was a beginner!
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Summary: This book makes you think really hard...
Review: I could not put this book down. Although his writng style has never been one of my favorites, this book is outstanding!
Rating:
Summary: READ the Da Vinci Code!!
Review: This is an excellent novel--both a thrilling mystery and an enlightening and fresh view on the Church and Jesus Christ. It will only take you a few hours to read this page turner and it just might change your entire perspective on religion, the church, and life(!) You will not regret reading this fabulous book, take it from this more than satisfied fan!
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Summary: The page turner to end all page turners!
Review: This is a SUPERB thriller! But let's be clear - it never intends to be fine literature, with richly developed characters. The characters of this story are merely props, to propel a FABULOUS plot. You will literally not be able to stop reading! Sure, it's a guilty pleasure, and junk food for your mind, but life's about more than diet and exercise, right?
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: THIS BOOK WAS SO VERY WELL WRITTEN. I PICKED IT UP ON A SUNDAY AND FINISHED IT ON A WEDNESDAY. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I WANTED THE STORY TO GO ON AND ON....NEED MORE ABOUT LANGDON AND SOPHI PLEASE!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Thrillers I've Ever Read!!
Review: I absolutely loved this book, and read it in two days. I really liked the main characters, found the story fascinating, and loved learning all the little historical tidbits, many of which I plan to read more about now, on my own. I imagine Christian fundamentalists will view this book as heresy, and I would not be surprised if they tried to get it banned. This is the first book I have read by Dan Brown, and I plan to rush out and buy every one of his other books. If you enjoyed this type of genre, I also recommend checking out A Skeleton in God's Closet (another religious/archaelogical thriller).
Rating: 
Summary: Bubble-gum history
Review: Dan Brown clearly rankles some nerves in "The Da Vinci Code," with his sweeping condemnation of the Church and its evil operatives. The pre-prologue, labeled "Fact:", may also cause some head-scratching among students of religious history. But I think the book can be best enjoyed by not taking it too seriously. After all, this is pop historical fiction, served up with intriguing plot twists, high-tech surveillance devices, charming little riddles, and a dash of sexual innuendo, all of which are played out by a cast of jet-set international cognoscenti. James Bond meets the bible. Chances are you've read, or are thinking about reading, "The Da Vinci Code" because, well, everyone else is reading it. Whatever formula delivers popularity, which begets further popularity, "The Da Vinci Code" certainly has it. And that could be the novel's strongest point. It appeals to a wide audience and keeps readers captivated to the end. That's the holy grail of this book. It's easy to poke holes in "The Da Vinci Code," but treat it as a fun read for the bus ride home and you'll probably be glad that you read it.
Rating: 
Summary: You will not believe how bad this book is.
Review: The Da Vinci Code is really two different books pushed together. One of the books is awful and the other is unbelievable. The awful part of the book is the thriller. The main characters, like all main characters, are trying to uncover a mystery while be chased around by an appropriately bizarre killer (a super-strong albino Catholic fanatic). This part relies on some of the oldest cliches in mystery/thriller writing, including the dying man leaving obscure clues as to who killed him instead of just writing the killer's name. He supposedly doesn't do the latter because the killer might be watching him, but his behavior in leaving clues behind is so bizarre that if his killer was watching he would have to realize something was going on. For a thriller to work, we need to care something about the characters. That's impossible here because the main characters have no personalities. One is a man and one a woman, but there doesn't seem to be the slightest thing interesting about them. They are in no way distinctive human beings. There are comic book characters with more depth than the ones you find here. Thrillers of course turn on the characters trying to uncover some mystery, or acquire something that someone evil wants. That gives the writer the excuse to have his characters being chased around, shot at etc. until the conclusion. Alfred Hitchcock famously referred to the thing that is being fought over as a "McGuffin." Normally no one cares that much about the McGuffin. Here, the McGuffin takes over the entire book. The McGuffin here is the Holy Grail, which is very different than any would think who knows it only from Arthurian romances. And it is Brown's explication of what the Holy Grail "really" is about that is driving the sales of the books. Brown bases his theory on sources that have been known to be false for centuries. However, it appeals to a certain segment of the population, and most people will uncriticly accept what he has to say. For anyone with access to archives of the New York Times Book Review section, I suggest that they read the back of the Book Review for 2/22/04 for more on Brown's sources. Normally I wouldn't care about what wacky McGuffin the characters in a thriller were chasing -- I like the X Files for years without ever believing in aliens -- but here it is Brown's statements about the Holy Grail that are responsible for the success of the book. This success is not deserved. I gave this book 1 star only because Amazon does not allow you to give a book no stars.
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