Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining but hardly deep.
Review: I read this book after hearing the 20th person rave and gush about how she simply "could not put it down!" I had little trouble putting it down, myself. The Da Vinci Code is fun, but irritatingly commercial at times (starting with physical descriptions of our heroes, George Clooney and Julie Delpy, oops, I mean Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu). Some of the facts are just off, and show the single-source limitations of Brown's "exhaustive research": for example, the selection of books for the New Testament was basically solidified more than 100 years before Emperor Constantine was a wicked gleam in his father's eye, contrary to Teabing's claim that Constantine handpicked the New Testament volumes for their marketing values. Moreover, the canon of New Testament books was chosen from only 34 volumes, not 80. (By the way, if you're curious about those rejected books, try reading their translations on earlychristianwritings.com. It'll remind you of the well-circulated e-mail joke, "Rejected Dr. Seuss Books." You'll find that there are some good reasons why some of that material didn't make the cut, reasons that have little to do with portraying Jesus Christ in a negative light. Some of those proposed books of the New Testament are just laughably bad and bizarre enough to convince one that the Mediterranean cultures of the early first millenium A.D. were growing more peyote than olives.) Finally, I found that the puzzles lacked challenge: anybody who'd passed 7th-grade math could recognize the members of the Fibonacci sequence, and I spotted them right off. The anagrams were also obvious (duh, most famous artist in the world, most famous museum in the world, most famous painting in the world. Duh.), and anybody who's ever been to Westminster Abbey wouldn't have been much fazed by the "orb" and the "Pope" cryptography. If readers truly are looking for intellectually stimulating puzzles based on trivia about hoary-headed Western Civ All-Stars, try reading Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum" instead. I haven't read other Dan Brown books, but my advice to him would be to skip the cheese-filled "it was all a dream" epilogue in future works. Not that my advice is worth anything to him...
Rating: 
Summary: Good piece of work
Review: I read this book back in July. It peaked my interest so much that I took a trip to France and Italy in September to look at the things mentioned in the book. I was in awe seeing the paintings by Leonardo, for the first time. You come away feeling that you have learned something. Not many novels do that.After this book, I read all his previous ones. And I highly recommend them, especially "Angels & Demons", another exellent Robert Langdon's adventure, which inspired me to travel to Italy to see the Vatican for myself. I can't wait for his new book.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting premise but poorly plotted
Review: I read this book because it was in the listing for our book club. I thought it started well, but petered out pretty quickly. The characters are poorly drawn. Plotting is weak. Not much happens by way of story. Mr. Brown the teacher seems to have triumphed Mr. Brown the author. Reach Foucault's Pendulum instead.
Rating:
Summary: ooooh...this holds the attention of a nation?
Review: i read this book during the summer and am surprised to find it still atop the bestseller lists. harlan coben,in his blurb on the back, writes "perfect for history buffs, conspiracy nuts, puzzle lovers, or anyone who appreciates a great riveting story.' well, i consider myself to be among the first and last, but found this less than a perfect fit for me. after just a little bit of reading on the side, one finds most of the theories brown puts forth here are baseless, so plausibility goes right out the door. it is a perfect story for conspiracy nuts, but there's a reason they're called nuts. if i remember correctly there were 3 main puzzles for the protagonist, harvard symbologist robert langdon, to solve. i solved 2 of them pages before he did. one of them is just plain laughable. harvard must be considering a suit.
furthermore, the book is incredibly anti-catholic, but that institution has been under such pressure lately, they must have decided to let this one slide. finally, the writing is horrible. instead of writing chapters, he writes movie scenes...he even compares langdon to indiana jones. want puzzles and history and conspiracy, go immediately to furst or lecarre; you'll get good writing too.
Rating:
Summary: Dan Brown The Da Vinci Code
Review: I read this book in a day because I couldn't put it down. The best and most intriguing book I've read in awhile,but definitely for a thinking reader with an inquiring mind and a love of thrillers.The "political" content may offend some dogged Christians, but I found it enlightening and at the same time riveting. Can't wait to read his other books.
Rating: 
Summary: An exciting page turner
Review: I read this book in a week, it's pretty thick but after the first chapter you're hooked. The writing isn't excellent but Dan Brown sure knows how to set you up for suspense and excitement. At points I couldn't believe the amount of research that must have gone into writing this book. All of the theories were obviously fiction but the weird part was that they actually made sense. I loved this book! I have already read "Angels & Demons" another of Dan Brown's books and Da Vinci Code is by far the better of the two. Buy it you'll love it!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I read this book in a weekend, because I could not put it down. Aside from the suspense, it intelligently incorporated some of my favorite subjects: art history, church cover-ups and conspiracy theories, brain teasers and of course, Paris. A super beach read!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Quest
Review: I read this book in four days, it was an easy read. The story was interest, it makes me think differently about the Catholic church, and the values that I grew up with being Catholic. I would recommend this to anyone who questions the Catholic church and their beliefs. My only critizm of the book was too much detail, but that is probably my complaint about most books.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable summer read
Review: I read this book in one day and agree that it moves quickly and is enjoyable, even if the writing style is awful. Having been raised Catholic, I thought Brown's central message about how the Church needs to reform is sound, and a welcome message, even if his plot stretches the barriers of belief a bit much. Other books I would recommend for those interested in doing further research are: The Gnostic Gospels & Adam, Eve and the Serpent, both by Elaine Pagels, and any book by the German theologian Uta Ranke-Heinemann, particularly Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven: Women, Sexuality, and the Catholic Church.
Rating:
Summary: A one day read
Review: I read this book in one day! It was so good, I couldn't put it down. It is thrilling, informative and really makes you think. Ultra-conservative catholics may be offended but I applaud anyone who questions the norm. Dan Brown has done an outstanding job. I borrowed this book to read it, but i want to own it now! I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who has a thirst for higher knowledge.
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