Rating: 
Summary: Quick read, fun ideas, mediocre book
Review: After watching the Da Vinci Code flying off the shelves of the bookstore I work at, I figured I might as well give it a try myself. It was better than I expected--which isn't necessarily saying much--but overall a perfectly ordinary thriller. The book's mindfull of a lot of Michael Crighton's work: obvious indication of meticulous research, fast-moving plot, but written with an eye for the big screen, leaving some of the settings, and more grieviously the characters, somewhat threadbare.But so what? It's a quick read and entertaining, and while the plot itself is forgotten almost as qickly as the final page is turned, some of the ideas the novel plays with linger on. The nature of PHI, the existance of Opus Dai, the Priory de Sion, and the exploration of Da Vinci's works--it's all great stuff and fun to read. Some of the grail conjectures are dubious at best, but again, so what? Most texts about the subject are equally goofy. My biggest complain with the novel is a glaring error in the research that comes early in the novel and proves surprisingly important later on. The apple. Though modern tradition has it that humanity was booted from Eden for Eve's munching of the apple, it remains exactly that, a modern interpretation. The Bible refers only to a fruit, not an apple, and earlier interpretations of the scene have substituted other fruits--like a pear, for example. Which seems like nit-picking, but wouldn't a world-reknown symbologist know this? So much for suspension of disbelief.
Rating: 
Summary: Informative Read
Review: After watching this book stay on the bestseller list for month after month, I decided to finally discover for myself what this book was about. And boy was I surprised. Although the characters are fictional, the historical events and people are real. This book allowed me to see Christianity in a different light. But I am skeptical as to how much of it is true. Many of the reviewers of this book complain that the book is full of inaccuracies and mistakes, but I thought it was a great read. It's fiction, albeit historical fiction, but what did some of the readers expect when they opened a work of fiction? Fact? I hope not. All I know is that I couldn't put this book down until I finished it. I found it interesting, informative, and suspensful. That is probably what Dan Brown intended the book to be and that is what I got from it. And for that, it was worth my time and money.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprise! It's the Vatican's fault!
Review: After wondering for a few months why New Yorkers were so happy with this work of literature, it wasn't until reading it that I began to appreciate why it received so many plaudits. It's another piece of Catholic bashing that many Manhattanites are more than happy to indulge. Perish the thought of "challenging" their faith or ancestry, they scream like banshees. But they're always very anxious to support works that are outright falsehoods ridiculing a faith that is responsible for the conception of human rights as it exists today. I've got no problem with people lying about my faith under the guise of challenging it, it's been done for 2000 years. Christianity will prevail because it's the truth and doesn't offer special treatment by virtue of genetics. But don't claim special protection when scrutiny is directed at you instead. And don't find yourself so frustrated when you search for friends and don't find them in your time of need(knowing your history, it won't be long). We're accustomed to turning the other cheek but this is getting ridiculous.
Rating:
Summary: buyer beware
Review: Alexander Pope once said "a little learning can be a dangerous thing." How true that is. Like others, including Oliver Stone, Brown has taken a few interesting bits of historical information mixed with some out-right fabrication and attempted to form a conspiracy of sorts, involving the Catholic Church and among others: Constantine, Mary Magdalene, Victor Hugo, Leonardo da Vinci and even Walt Disney. The trouble, of course, with this kind of fast and loose investigation in which the presumption that because A follows b then b must have caused a, is that it more often than not leads to mistaken conclusions. Ah, but this is a work of fiction, you say. That does not seem to be the message that Mr. Brown is spreading as he markets his novel. I suppose that the belief that this nonsensical pulp could be based on reality is essential to sales. So let that old caveat "buyer beware" continue to be your warning.
Rating:
Summary: DaVinci Code
Review: All book is UNTRUE and was NOT worth reading at all!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Just Not Very Good
Review: All hype, very little to offer. Just skip it. Believe me, you'll forget it in a day if you spend the time to read it. Too bad it is such a big bestseller....lowers the bar, in my opinion. Do yourself a favor and pick up a book by Anne Tyler or Alice Hoffman. Musch more rewarding then this trite book.
Rating:
Summary: A Major Let-Down
Review: All I can say after this reading is...BLAH! I am truly shocked that SO many people liked this book. Maybe it's because so many had never heard of any of the concepts Brown introduces. I think he's one of those know it all sort of people who has a definite agenda to push. For this guy, it's goddess worship. Read any interview of him regarding this novel and you will know the truth of my words. If you must read it, please don't waste your money- borrow it from your public library.
Rating:
Summary: An absolutely must read!
Review: Almost everyone I knew was reading this book so I thought I would see what all the fuss was about. I AM GLAD I DID. I was so enthralled by this book that I could not put it down, and when I had to, I could not wait to get back to it. It is an intellectual and imaginative roller coaster ride. This book fascinated me so much that I would go on-line to further explore some of the ideas presented. This book exposed me to theories I had not known about art history, the Holy Grail, mathematics and more. I admit, ordinarily topics like art history and mathematics put me to sleep but NOT THIS BOOK. This is the kind of book that intrigues you, gets you thinking, makes you re-examine what you've taken for the truth, teaches you new theories and does it all in the context of an extraordinary murder mystery. Whether you believe all of the theories presented in this book or only some of them is up to you. I took comfort in that fact that the pendulum IS swinging. As a human race we are starting to sense the dangers of our history and of our destructive paths. We are beginning to sense the need to restore the sacred feminine.
Rating: 
Summary: What is Fact? What is Fiction?
Review: Along with "Charm School" by Nelson DeMille, this is a book I could not put down. It is painful to part company with this fantastic tale. It is so believable, I became confused between what is fact and fiction...I had to find a copy of "The Last Supper" painting to confirm a major crux of this story, it is that believable. As the plot twists and turns, I was so wrapped in the story, I found myself dreading the worst for the protagonists despite "knowing" that the book had to go on. I cannot rate this book high enough...I'm almost sure Dan Brown's other books won't be as good, but I intend to read them all to find out.
Rating:
Summary: Da Vinci Con!
Review: Alright besides his ignorance and complet absurdities this guys makes in this illogical and inaccurate story, he blantly shows his stupidity in stating that the dead sea scrolls were discovered in the 1950s. Well every 6th grader knows that they were actually discovered in 1947, now if he can get a basic fact incorrect, how can the rest of his "facts" be correct?
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