Rating: 
Summary: An interesting fiction with historical facts!
Review: I knew Dan Brown with "Angels and Demons". "The Da Vinci Code" is similar in its action and structure. I liked both books because they combine fiction with history and an excellent description of museums, churchs and other esoteric/historical landmarks.
If you are looking for a literary book, this is not. HOwever, if you are looking for an excellent thriller, intelligent and very well written, this is the book.
In fact, I want to read Brown's previous books.
Rating: 
Summary: Best read I've ever had!
Review: I know a lot of bible thumpers and catholic sheep didn't like this book because it actually made sense, but to a person that is willing to go out of the ordinary and maybe even think for themselves, this book is a mindsaver! If you have an open mind and are at least a little bit intelligent, you will love this book. Not only does it have a great plot, it is more of a learning experience than most history books will teach you.
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping, but definitely "fiction"
Review: I know, I know it's a suspense book and you're not supposed to take it too seriously. I disagree. Fiction is really the best way to spread a theory that is otherwise too hot to handle in the mainstream - and believe me, we ARE talking theory, here.I know you've read some incredible things about Mary Magdalene and her fling with Jesus the Christ in THE DA VINCI CODE by educated Harvard writer Dan Brown.
Many of these theories come out of a well-financed (Hollywood financed!) minority of revisionist scholars whom the press sees as more exciting when they are, in fact, just speculating. Consider the non-fiction work of twenty-year New Testament scholar Donald Spoto "The Hidden Jesus". In Chapter 14 he rules out many of the theories that discount what happened at Christ's Tomb (Mind you, this book is not sold at Christian book stores - he merely represents 70-80 percent of real scholars' opinions):
"....other fantasies have Jesus meeting up with Mary Magdalene and hopping off to Spain, where they marry, settle down, raise a family - and presumably work on their memoirs or obtain a Gucci francise. This is the stuff of Hollywood, not of historical-religious exploration. Need I add that, for tales like this, there is, of course, not a shred of reliable historical evidence?.......No, the best historical judgement to make on the tradition is that things happened as they are written. There is very much in favor of that, and nothing against it." I just want to be sure that a decision for or against the craziness depicted in Brown's book and many others is made based on an educated opinion, not a sensationalist one or one because the Catholic Church sucks. I couldn't get around the hyberbola hocus-pocus that he presents as fact. I'm sure if he could comment he would say "Well....it is!" But he presents his theory to people who barely have time to entertain themselves with a book - much less learn Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek to discount him. It's 'Best Seller's list' status makes me want to buy a newspaper franchise because It's going to take a hundred years to educate the public properly on what most real scholars believe: a truth so apparent, so clear that it doesn't make good TV.
I give the book 0 stars for Yellow Journalism.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Extraordinary!
Review: I know, I know, this book came out over a year ago and I'm only now getting to reading it. Let me just say, this is one of the most engrossing, exciting novels I've read in a long, long, long time! It's not just the fact that it's a thriller -- some of the thriller aspects are little hard to believe -- it's all the history and speculation we get to be a part of. From the very first page, the author draws you into secret sects, religous history, and ancient secrets involving Leonardo Da Vinci. Everything from speculation about Mary Magdalene to the Divine Proportion, this book has something for everyone. Christians, in particular Catholics, may find some of the speculation difficult to take, but as a practising Christian I was intrigued by everything. I may not buy all of it, but it sure makes for great reading. Don't be stupid like me -- get this book now!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Thriller and History Lesson
Review: I learned more about history (both political and religous) in the Da Vinci Code than I did in high school. The book is a page turner, from the first word on the first page to the last word on the last page. Brown keeps the chapters short and intriguing, making this an easy read, even for those who do not read regularly. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Very Intriguing!!!
Review: I learned more than I would ever thought to have learn from this book. I know that a great deal of this book is fiction but the historical references to various paintings and the possible meaning behind those paintings intrigued me. So much so that I looked up the paintings (which I have seen before) to see the what is there that I had never noticed. This book is definitely a thrilling page turner that will teach the reader alot about various works of art and people. I do agree that the reader should realize the work as fiction and not look too much into the secret societies as nonfiction (which do exist and can be found all over the internet, not much of a secret!). I do not know the truths behind their organizations and do not want to label them and crticize them based on a work of fiction. Keep that in mind as you read.
Rating:
Summary: Raises some interesting points.
Review: I like books that challenge conventional beliefs with thought provoking revelations. Another book of this type is Kleier's THE LAST DAY (Warner Books), which goes even farther in its disclosures than Da VINCI CODE, into and beyond the secret sanctums of the Vatican Bibliotheca Secreta. There are some things God does not want Man to know (so think the patriarchs of the Church), and THE LAST DAY exposes the shocking, harrowing, and fascinating Truth. If you like the suspense of Da VINCI CODE, you will find THE LAST DAY even more intelligent and surprising.
Rating:
Summary: Smartly written suspense thriller!
Review: I like my suspense fiction with a healthy dose of history, so THE DaVINCI CODE is right up my alley. Lots of interesting, well researched info on both the worlds of religion and art history...well woven into a fun action story sure to make that cross-country plane ride pass quickly!
Rating: 
Summary: Diverting, but Ultimately Disappointing
Review: I like page-turners and the DaVinci Code appears at first to be just that, but by the last page I was worn out with the arcane symbolism and strained metaphor offered up by author Dan Brown. The book starts out strong, but begins to fizzle somewhere in the middle. It's biggest flaw is that the ending disappoints after all the build-up. I can suspend disbelief, providing I get some punch or originality in the end, but I had a very hard time imagining that humanity's greatest thinkers would actually believe this muck, let alone design monuments around it.
Rating: 
Summary: captivating
Review: I like the story telling and narration. It keeps one interested through out. It would make a good movie!
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