Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable and educational
Review: Do you like: thrillers, puzzles, conspiracy theories, art, history, explorations of religious theories, or just plain fun reads? If you answer yes to even one of the above, then I recommend this book!I completely enjoyed this book and am looking forward to re-reading it so that I can focus on the iconography and symbols more fully. Unlike most mystery/thriller books, this one is more than just a fun ride - it challenges you to think on many different levels. Even the 'heroes' and 'villans' aren't easy and clear-cut but multi-dimensional people who are working from deeply and passionately held beliefs. As for where the lines of truth and fiction lie? I'm still working that out for myself... which I think is the point.
Rating:
Summary: The Da Vinci Code
Review: Do you want to read a really fabulous book? BUY THE DA VINCI CODE NOW! Everything I'd heard about it turned out to be true and then some. I don't believe in long, detailed reviews that ultimately give the plot away, so I'll just say it is thrilling, intellectually stimulating and impeccably researched. And if you are a woman, like yours truly, you'll enjoy it even more. It is now on my "Top Ten Favorite Books" list. Don't hesitate, don't think about it anymore, just read the book. You can thank me later....
Rating: 
Summary: Da Vinci Disappointment
Review: Does overrated mean anything? I actually paid retail for this much hyped book only to discover a poorly researched tome that bashed the Catholic Church (I am not a Catholic) as well as Christianity in general. If feminist goddess religion is your bag, you might like it, but don't count on its historical accuracy.
Rating:
Summary: Paganism 101
Review: Don't be fooled as I was. I thought I was buying a regular thriller. What I really got was a BLATANT attempt to convert me to paganism--i.e., goddess worship. It should have been titled Paganism 101, because that is really the intent here. I was "treated" to lecture after lecture on how wonderful goddess worship is, and how it exists everywhere you look, and how unreliable the Bible is. Did you know that Constantine rewrote the Bible, that God has a female consort (named Shekinah), that Jesus got married and had kids with Mary Magdalene, and that the Israelites had (approved) sex rituals just like the pagans around them? Those are just some of the WILD accusations of this book, and none, absolutely none, have a shred of proof to back them up. The professor character throws those things out there, and the other characters just nod their heads and believe it. Any attempt at objection is a mere lob, a marshmallow designed for the professor to swat out of the park. The writer is depending on the force of the narrative to carry you along so you don't notice the proselytizing, the logical fallacies and especially the lack of proof. And speaking of narrative, don't believe the hype; the writing style is very run-of-the-mill. In short, this is a great book...to STAY AWAY FROM.
Rating: 
Summary: fun, trashy, read, but it won't change your life
Review: Don't believe the hype! This is a fun, trashy, read which has a great place in over-night bags. It is absolutely ideal reading for long weekends. The mystery is fun, the writing easy to digest, and the adventure is exciting. But don't contemplate it too long or it falls apart. It's no Uberto Eco book, and the big surprises won't be surprising for anyone who's read a little history, but I don't regret my purchase at all.
Rating: 
Summary: ludicrous
Review: Don't believe the hype. This is a poorly written book peopled by unlikely non-characters who don't so much interact as impart (or ask for) information (or disinformation), while chasing after one another at breakneck speeds or making hairbreadth escapes. If you can stomache sentences like the following - "Everyone in the emergency room gasped at the sight of the half-naked albino offering the bleeding clergyman" - then be my guest. You have been warned.
Rating:
Summary: Pick up a used copy
Review: Don't believe the hype. This is a very basic thriller, containing information that's standard in an introductory college-level art history class. The "puzzles" are laughable at best, character development is nil, and the writing style is about ninth grade. Plenty of artistic license has been taken with history. If you enjoy formulaic stories, you'll like it; if you want more substance, you probably won't.
Rating:
Summary: Well, it's OK, but no more than OK
Review: Don't believe the hype. Eveything about this book is less than you've heard: the history is deeply flawed, the art history is questionable at best, and the theology is ludicrous. But of course, the book promises to be no more than a thriller, and it doesn't even succeed at that level: anyone who can't spot the real killer has no experience with potboiler fiction. This seems to be the kind of book--I believe Michael Crichton started the trend--that is written in order to be turned into a movie. I'm sure it will be a success; and equally sure that I won't see it until it appears on Showtime. Read Eco's Foucault's Pendulum to see how a much better author treats similar material in a much more sophisticated way.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Mystery but.....
Review: don't expect to care about what happens to any of the characters. Brown does not spend any time on character examination; you know little about each character's history and care even less. The book is a well constructed mystery, however; the plot moves along so quickly its reminiscent of a Hollywood movie and frankly, could have almost been written as a screeplay. In addition, it appears that some of Brown's research is flawed. The scariest part of this book is knowing, absolutely, that some non-Christians will believe it to be based on fact which it absolutely is not....
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant...!
Review: Don't miss out on this book, one of the best I read this past year.....
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