Rating: 
Summary: I'm not Catholic and I still didn't like it.
Review: Contrary to one reviewer's assessment, you don't have to be Catholic to find this book less than entertaining, enlightening, or both.What started out as a promising suspence thriller quickly degenerated into a strange theological lecture. If I had been in the market for strange theological lectures, this might have worked for me--though even then I might be tempted to say "so what". I'm not naive enough to say I don't know what the fuss is about, but though a devout believer in Christ, it doesn't affect me much--married, not married, childless, or not. I believe in his divinity and the arguments offered were not particularly bothersome or convincing. But back to the fiction. The technique of leaving the reader hanging throughout the novel over and over again, strikes me as a cheap sort of trick for a writer who can't maintain suspense in an honest sort of way. I must agree with those who critiqued the puzzles as sort of purile. Someone gave me this advice once which I would like to pass on to Dan Brown. Never try to write characters who are smarter than you are. All in all, though, I have gained one bit of unexpected entertainment from this novel. I have enjoyed reading the reviews which are full of a passion and honesty entirely missing from the novel. So I add my voice to throng.
Rating: 
Summary: Controversial and dubious but absolutely smashing!
Review: Controversy? In spades! Dan Brown has created exactly what he, his editors, his publishers, and his agent crafted...controversy. Why? Because controversy sells. And no two subjects are the focus of controversy more than sex and religion. I applaude Mr. Brown for having the guts and keen insight into the simplistic psyche of the literary public. As to his book, THE DA VINCI CODE, I found it fun, fast-paced, and intriguing. But wait! Isn't that what one looks for in fiction? The continuing controversy and scorn Mr. Brown receives is in my opinion somewhat laughable. Mr. Brown has struck the nerve of many with this book but at what cost? This book can be loosely classified as "historical fiction," but the reader must decide where history stops and fiction starts. This intellectual conundrum is the core creator of the underlying controversy. Mr. Brown will suck you in with a known historical fact while weaving his fictional storyline around those very facts. So, by the time the reader is through a passage or chapter, he/she says, "Hmmmm." To say this isn't ingenious is disingenuous. To the book... Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is in Paris attending a conference when he is awakened by a phone call from hotel management and taken to a murder scene. After dusting the sleep from his eyes, he finds the victim is the curator of The Louvre, Jacques Sauniere, a man Langdon was to have met earlier that evening. However, Sauniere never showed and now the mystery of his rude imposition is clear. The Parisian authorities ostensibly ask Langdon to assist them in their investigation due to the mysterious and arcane message left on Sauniere's body. Unbeknownst to Langdon however, the French Police consider him the prime murder suspect due to an undisclosed line in the archaic message. Enter Sophie Neveu, an attractive, brainy cryptologist working for the French Police, and, conveniently, the granddaughter of Sauniere. She has seen pictures from the murder scene, including the "undisclosed line" kept from Langdon, and as such, believes Langdon to be innocent. Moreover, she believes the message grotesquely situated on her grandfather's body was left for her as a bizarre yet pointed "treasure hunt." The treasure? The Holy Grail. Langdon is a returning character from Brown's earlier novel, ANGELS AND DEMONS. THE DA VINCI CODE is an ostensible history lesson albeit dubious at best. The action however, is pure fiction and masterfully wound. His use of parallel storylines with chapter-ending cliffhangers keeps the book fast-paced and suspensful to the end. Just like a good novel should. To say Da Vinci was a man ahead of his time is a supreme understatement. Perhaps a great deal of this furor is entrenched solidly in our ignorance of Da Vinci and his "sight" into the future. Remember, history has him pegged as the first to envision manned flight. This, in the 16th century, well before the Wrights put it together. So, to say Dan Brown found the right recipe for a blockbuster novel would also qualify as a supreme understatement. Brown's focus on Da Vinci's paintings and ostensibly interpretive messages within is ingenious. Let's face it, Da Vinci lived 1,500 years after the events in question. One MUST question HOW Da Vinci would KNOW the actual facts of these events. This is the overriding "pinch of realism" that will continue to make the reader wonder yet this same "pinch" continues to make the reader thirst for more. I read a review wherein the author indicated the following: "There is a paragraph or two in 'The Da Vinci Code' conveying the true meaning of history and man's involvement with it. Those who dominate & win can write history as they see fit. Those who lose will cease to exist in history." How poignant. If this theory were applied to Da Vinci's paintings and the purported sybolism/meaning, one might be able to brush aside the zealous rhetoric and enjoy this book. Again, how does Da Vinci KNOW these facts? Everyone has their own beliefs and will reach their own conclusions. Mr. Brown can be criticized for his research and promulgations relative to Christian history and the Catholic Church but the question that one must ask (if taking Brown's storyline to heart) is: Do you believe the history you know as an undeniable truth or do you question it? Is history as black and white as we learned it in school or is there room for interpretation, shades of gray if you will? You be the judge.
Rating:
Summary: Painful writing style, painfully dense characters
Review: Could Dan Brown use more adjectives? I thought I would throw the book across the room if he used "famous" one more time. His writing style read more like a freshman college student's first attempt at creative writing than an author published several times over. The only intriguing part of the novel was the historical description of the Holy Grail mystery. The "suspense" part of the book was so transparent, I was many steps beyond the purportedly brilliant scholars every inch of the way. I found this book very difficult to continue to read, but was forced to only because it was a selection for our book club. I wouldn't read another of his books.
Rating:
Summary: A must read ...
Review: Couldn't put the book down. Loved the detailed descriptions and the cultural aspects of the book as much as the suspense.
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling
Review: Couldn't put this book down - the author uses little known historical theories to create a compelling story that excites from beginning to end. He successfully crafts a riveting thriller, and makes the reader consider history, art, and religion in new ways. But this book is not to be taken as fact; it is a novel, and those who critize it for being too outlandish or historically inaccurate are missing the point. This is brilliant work, and definitely worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: Crisply written; grips you immediately. Reads very quickly. If you are Catholic, be prepared to have your mind opened...
Rating: 
Summary: Dont buy this book
Review: Da Vinci Code is a book with only one thing going for it, its presentiation of certian theories of chrisitian history. It does not have interesting characters, plot or settings. It certainly does not have good writing. I only give it two stars because unlike its predecessor, Angels and Demons, I was able to finish it. If, like me, you've read all the same books as Dan Brown and are familiar with the theories, this book has nothing to offer. His characters are shallow and any information on them is dropped in dead chunks of exposition. His entire book takes place in 24 hours so the settings have no depth. There is one particular scene in which a character is bound and prays for forgiveness, after which the authorial voice bashed its way in and declares that the prayer will be answered. This sort of foreshadowing is reminscent of the worst of 1930's pulp writing and should have been caught and killed by any competent editor. I mention it because he used the same technique in Angels and Demons (causing me to throw the book across the room). His characters remind me of rejects from a James Bond movie. Rejected for being too over the top to be realistic. Although, in all fairness, I did get all the way through Da Vinci Code, which I was unable to do with Angels and Demons. Please go read Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs (Relic, Reliquary, Cabinet of Curiosities, Still Life with Crows) or F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack series. (Tomb etc.)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Da Vinci Code is the best book I have read in many, many years. I hope that Dan Brown will write other books that involve Robert Langdon as I completely enjoy his character (as well as the history lessons!). I highly recommend this book - 5+++ stars!
Rating: 
Summary: Kind of like movie theatre popcorn...
Review: Da Vinci Code was much like movie popcorn. The many rave reviews tempted me, but ultimately the final product left me disappointed. It's a quick enough read and does touch on interesting topics. However, the 'love story' is pedestrian at best. My biggest complaint is Brown compulsion to add in random factoid asides. Obviously Mr. Brown completed a significant amount of research, but at times it appears he just adds in non sequitur bits just to let us know he did his homework. You could do worse, but I'd say wait 'til paperback and a long flight to pick this up.
Rating:
Summary: Ignorance is Bliss in this dumb trendy cliche'd tale
Review: Da Vinci isn't Leonardo's last name! It's where Leonardo was from! In 1452 Leonardo was born in Vinci, Italy, near Florence. The title of this book therefore doesn't refer to a last name, as it thinks it's doing, but refers to everyone born in Vinci. The ignorance revealed by the title hints at what's inside, a dumb, politically correct trendy as trendy gets tale of cross dressing goddess worshipping Renaissance secret societies, etc. The plot is worthy of a computer game. And the idea that the Mona Lisa is a man is great fun (and kind of a tired cliche) but the historical record is clear that she was a well-known Renaissance woman who, in 1495 married the wealthy Francesco del Giocondo. In fact, the painting for a long while was known as La Giocanda. Only if you are completely ignorant of the history of the Renaissance, and thrilled at the notion of wicca rituals, can you enjoy this book, which is so steeped in ignorance it is hard for me to believe it got published.
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