Rating: 
Summary: I liked it okay, but...
Review: I'm just more accustomed to high-tech science fiction or cyberpunk books, such as "Neuromancer", "Cryptonomicon", "Mona Lisa Overdrive", "Darkeye: Cyber Hunter", "Snow Crash", etc. But this book's still worth reading and owning if, for no other reason, the controversial tale that it weaves with some good plot twists.
Rating: 
Summary: SIZZLES
Review: I'm more of a self help book reader than fiction. But I do have my share of fictions. My favorite author has been Tom Clancy. Till now. The Divinci Code boiles with suspense and makes you want to know more and more. I think this tops any of my Clancy books. As for the self help, The Little Guide To Happiness is and will always be my favorite. Whatever your genre. You can't go wrong here.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Journey
Review: I'm not a big conspiracy theorist and I'm sure that Brown takes some liberties with his source material (this is a novel after all) but all in all I was fascinated with this book. I read it from start to finish in 2-1/2 days and just couldn't put it down!
Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: I'm not a big fan of "thrillers," but this was recommended to me, so I decided to take a look. I loved it! Dan Brown's work is more than just a conventional thriller; it also provides a bit of history and gives some interesting insight to our perceptions of theology. I'll second that recommendation - I couldn't put it down. Dan Brown really did his homework with this one, and I look forward to reading his next work. Sneeble! Sneeble. Snarble. Snibble, snooble, snib. Bleeble! Blarble. Blibble, blooble, blib. Neeble, narble, nooble, nerble, nabble, nubble, nerp! Blee, blee, blee, blee, blee, blee, blurp.
Rating:
Summary: Good research but way too many twists in the plot
Review: I'm not a Grail devotee, but it looks to me as if Brown's research on the subject (as well as on cryptography and symbology) is pretty accurate. But he needs to take lessons on thriller writing from the late Robert Ludlum.Although Ludlum's characters were larger than life his story and plotlines were always logical - you could pick up any of his books and trace out what happened and why. "The Da Vinci Code" relies far too much on coincidence and inference, and when the villain's identity was actually revealed the story and its author lost a great deal of credibility. Even more credibility was lost in the climax and anti-climax that followed. I can see how this book became so popular because of it's main subject (the mystery of the Holy Grail) and the obvious research that the author did on that subject. But as a thriller or mystery writer Brown falls far short of the mark.
Rating:
Summary: Best educational fiction book
Review: I'm not a reader of fiction books, but The Da Vinci Code is an exception. The combination of facts and fiction in this book should keep any reader intrigued. I read this book at the time of Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" release. Needless to say, two widely opposing views were presented in Gibson's and Brown's account of Christ's life. I was a little put off by the constant twists and turns in The Da Vinci Code, but this is characteristic of a murder mystery novel, I suppose. The ideas in Dan Brown's book can further be explored in "Bloodline of the Holy Grail", and countless other investigative books and articles written on the subject.
Rating: 
Summary: 96% Marketing Ploy 2% Relevant Info 2% Weak Plot.
Review: I'm not a religious person at all, but I must say most of the factoids presented in the book have nothing at all to do with proving the main point of the book and the supposedly relevant "factoids" are far more "toid" than "fact". Consider this: If you think its Mary Magdalene in the cleaned version of Last Supper, take a look at James the Less and Jesus in there too, and then take a look at the Da Vinci painting called "St. John the Baptist". They all look feminine, and alot of Da Vinci's females look potentially male. Old news. While claiming a romantic relationship between Jesus and the person to his right in the Last Supper, and pointing out Da Vinci's sexual preferences, alot of the facts in this book could be equally skewed to claim Jesus was a homosexual rather than having a lineage at all, including the fact that he apparently never married. Or maybe the church coverup was meant to supress the fact that Jesus and Mary were powerful celebrated Jews? But the question remains, even if it was Mary Magdalene in the last supper, this proves what? Also, the Mona Lisa is said to be the wife of Francesco del Gicondo, not Da Vinci himself as the book claims, it looks no more like Da Vinci than many his other paintings. Try re-sizing and super-imposing the Leonardo self-portrait over "Portrait of Ginevra Benci", its just as convincing and doesn't need to be flipped. Moreover, Brown seems to be saying "if I come up with one actual provable fact about anything, no matter how un-related to the actual point, it means everything else I try to pass off here is true too no matter how distorted, unprovable, false or totally irrelevant". I didn't appreciate the catch-phrase "sacred feminine" used over and over as such an opportunistic smoke-screen like it was. The porno industry is running rampant here, secretly backed by our money-sucking corporations, is this a clandestine celebration of the "sacred feminine" too I suppose? Or "I made a left-turn down this street, left is the symbol for the sacred feminine, Mary Magdalene must be guiding me!!" ... please. And along those lines, the spy/action/mystery plot of this novel is so weak in points as to be laughable, I nearly gave up on it halfway through, including glaring plot holes, and making the police look like a slapstick comedy sketch. They outrun police cruisers in a tiny 100-kilometer-per-gallon economy car, and despite a national televised manhunt they never even attempt to disguise themselves while roaming around constantly getting recognized. It might have been a fun/interesting read if the bastardize erroneous "facts" had not been so repeatedly force-fed down the readers throat over and over, ad nauseam like that would somehow make them more valid. A goodly amount of craftsmanship, thought, effort, education, and research went into this book and I see why alot of people enjoyed it, especially women and people who don't like the church, but it is far and away mostly an opportunistic money-making marketing campaign being milked by the publishers and media, and that ruined the read for me as much as anything so I'm only giving it 2 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Mostly fiction and questionable fact.Wait for the paperback.
Review: I'm not a religious person, but I must say most of the factoids presented in the book have nothing at all to do with proving the main point of the book and the supposedly relevant "factoids" are far more "toid" than "fact". Consider this: If you believe that's Mary Magdalene in the cleaned version of Last Supper instead of John, take a look at James the Less and Jesus in there too, and then take a look at the Da Vinci painting called "St. John the Baptist". They all look feminine, and alot of Da Vinci's females look potentially male. Old news. The book claims a romantic relationship between Jesus and the person to his right in the Last Supper, and points out that Da Vinci was homosexual, so alot of the facts in this book could be equally slanted to claim Jesus was gay rather than having a wife. Or perhaps the supposed coverup was meant to supress the fact that Jesus and Mary were celebrated Hebrews ...the Priory of Zion/Sion? But even if it was Mary Magdalene in the Last Supper, this proves what? Also, Mona Lisa was the wife of Francesco del Gicondo, not a picture of Da Vinci himself as the book claims. Brown seems to be saying "if I come up with one actual provable fact about anything, no matter how un-related to the actual point, it means everything else I put in here is true too". I adore and respect women, but I still didn't appreciate the catch-phrase "sacred feminine" being used over and over as a smoke-screen. The pornography industry is rampant here secretly backed by corporations, is this a clandestine celebration of the "sacred feminine" too? Or logic like "I made a left-turn down this street, left is the symbol for the sacred feminine, Mary must be guiding me". Please. The spy/action/mystery plot of this novel is weak and I nearly gave up on it halfway through, including glaring plot holes, and making the police look like slapstick comedy. They outrun police cruisers in a tiny 100-kilometer-per-litre economy car, and despite a national televised manhunt they never even attempt to disguise themselves while roaming around constantly getting recognized. It might have been a fun/interesting read if the erroneous "facts" had not been so repeatedly force-fed on the reader over and over ad nauseam like that would somehow make them more valid. A goodly amount of craftsmanship, thought, effort, education, and research went into this book and I see why alot of people enjoyed it, especially women and people who don't like the church, but it is far and away a marketing campaign, and that ruined the read for me as much as anything.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest page-turner ever!
Review: I'm not always after reading "high literature" but enjoy being entertained now and then, and, boy, this book truly delivers! You will NOT be able to put this book down after reading the first 2 pages -- and that, in my opinion, constitutes a spectacular success! It's the best page-turner I ever read. Other book I recommend: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: A masterful combination of history and modern-day suspense!
Review: I'm not exaggerating here when I say that this was one of the most intelligent and intricately-woven suspense novel that I've read...well, ever, I guess! This new twist on the age-old search for the "Holy Grail" presented an extremely interesting historical analysis of the basic tenets of a religion vs.the political manipulation of religious ideals. Dan Brown sucessfully analyzes the institution of the Catholic Church while showing complete respect for the basic tenets of Christianity. Very effective! Dan Brown did a fantastic job incorporating history into modern-day suspense. Not only did I learn about the truth behind pagan religions ("the sacred feminine" and the goddess)and how politics influenced the growth of the Church, but I also gained a new appreciation of Leonardo Da Vinci and other such "Renaissance Men". ...and the author's enticing descriptions of the sites of Paris (especially the Louvre) and London has reawakened a desire to travel to Europe someday! I look forward to reading more of Mr. Brown's writing!
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