Rating: 
Summary: As Novels Go, It Would Make a Great Screen-play
Review: Harvard professor Robert Langdon is awoken in the middle of the night and asked to use his specialized knowledge for a murder investigation. In a short matter of time, he will become the main suspect, and hit the road with the victim's granddaughter in the attempt to unravel a mystery and clear his name. Dan Brown deserves major kudos for taking the far-flung elements of a popular conspiracy theory and putting them together into an engrossing page-turner and weaving a cohesive plot. But ... Maybe because I was already primed for the material, and didn't have to spend anytime pondering it, the novel's faults seemed glaring. Lack of character development. With perhaps two exceptions - and minor players at that - the characters were nowhere near approaching fully "drawn." Everyone is either "good guy," "bad guy," "bad guy with flair," or "truth-seeking gal." "Show, don't tell." Probably the biggest reason I never got into mystery novels is all the exposition at the end. Maybe because DaVC tries to be both a thriller/adventure and mystery, there's exposition throughout. Recurring references to the protagonist's previous Vatican escapade. If Brown wasn't going to tell us what that was all about, why even mention it, except perhaps, to try to sell another book in the Langdon series? He could have at least put in a brief overview of what had gone on, other than "something very, very bad went down." As compelling and lively as Brown's prose is, The DaVinci Code is a bit like stopping in at Burger King when you're really hoping for prime rib. It'll do in a pinch.
Rating: 
Summary: Say goodbye to Kansas
Review: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is in Paris attending a conference where he was to have met Jacques Sauniere, curator of the Louvre, but the eccentric curator failed to keep their appointment. Latter that night Langdon is pulled from sleep by the French equivalent of the FBI, it seems Jacques Sauniere has been murdered and left a cryptic message on the floor of the museum and on his own body. The police seem to want Langdon's skills as a symbologist to crack the case completely unaware that he is the prime murder suspect. Enter Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist, a woman as intelligent as she is beautiful and, as it happens, granddaughter of the murdered curator. She believes that not only is Langdon is innocent but he is in danger. Together they flee the scene and begin work on solving the murder of Jacques Sauniere. The clues Sophie's grandfather left behind will lead the couple on an unparallel treasure hunt across Europe and the last two thousand years. Their investigations lead them through secret societies, power hungry villains, and some of the most famous pieces of art and architecture of the last thousand years. All to discover the hiding place of the Holy Grail. Where the grail is however is secondary to WHAT the grail is and each question answered leads only to another question. Mr. Brown takes all these elements and weaves them together with Leonardo DaVinci, Sir Isaac Newton and the Vatican itself. Where does the trail lead? To places unexpected to be sure. Sophie and Robert are never sure just how deep the rabbit hole really is. Every time they believe they are on solid ground Mr. Brown pulls the carpet out from under them and the find themselves plunging deeper into the complexities of the mystery itself. In the middle of the book the characters examine DaVinci's famous fresco "The Last Supper" I was compelled to find a picture to see for myself what Mr. Brown was asserting about the figures in the painting. Upon looking at the painting I was awe struck that Mr. Brown was indeed correct and I was left to wonder just how I had missed what is so plainly obvious. You would do well to have a copy of this famous painting along with others by DaVinci to see for yourself just how well the clues fit together. Spending an afternoon in the reference section of the library I found that the assertions Mr. Brown puts fourth in his book regarding early Christianity, the Holy Grail and the many secret societies are based on facts and not fictions at all. This itself makes the book all the more compelling and the paranoia he laces into his work all the more real.
Dan Brown's earlier novel, "Angels and Demons", featured the same protagonist, Robert Langdon. Like the previous book, "The DaVinci Code" is a well-researched thriller and Brown manages to educate without losing too much pacing. "The DaVinci Code" is a great history lesson about ancient Christianity and matters related to The Holy Grail.
Rating: 
Summary: enjoyable religious thriller
Review: Harvard University symbologist Robert Langdon is in Paris when he is awakened in the middle of the night by the police to come to the Louvre. Someone killed museum chief curator Jacques Saunier in the most secure section, Grand Gallery near the Mona Lisa. The culprit left behind enigmatic messages including bringing Langdon into the investigation. The police syspect Langdon killed the curator, but cannot prove it. Meanwhile he joins with French cryptologist Sophie Neveuto in an effort to solve the puzzle of the message that both believe will lead to the identity of the killer. They begin to decode clues that when combined forms a map depicting the locale of the Holy Grail and proof of the existence of Jesus. However, several secret societies will use anything including murder to insure that the Grail remains hidden. The sequel to the exciting tale ANGELS AND DEMONS, THE DA VINCI CODE is a fast-paced tale that will provide much pleasure to readers who enjoy religious thrillers. The police procedural takes a back seat to the engaging Langdon-Neveuto deciphering of the codes as the two characters are a delightful lead pair. Though the story line occasionally detours into religious history sermons, fans will appreciate this fine action-packed novel. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Somethings wrong
Review: Has Dan Brown deliberately ripped off Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince's
famous 1997 investigative book
The Templar Revelation?
Judge for your selves and as will many who have read the results of 7 years
hard investigative research presented in The Templar Revelation.
It is shameless to allow the public to think that Dan Brown came up with
these ideas on his own, so I will speak out. It was L Picknett and C Prince and NOT Dan Brown that
discovered the heretical symbolism in Leonardo's paintings. In any case, Brown gets it wrong. Although
he lifts their material re The Virgin of the Rocks without acknowledgement,
he
completely misses the point. The Templar Revelation is much more shocking
than any of the stuff in Dan Browns book!!! I am SICK of breathless Brown
fans going on about his amazing discoveries.
What else can you expect from a miserable society that wants instant
gratification without effort. Look deeper and learn. Crichton E M Miller
Author
The Golden Thread of Time
Rating:
Summary: Book Club Blockbuster
Review: Have been a member of a monthly book club for three years and never did we have such an active reaction to another book! We loved it, albeit there were some critics of the actual writing. We liked it so much we decided to research certain aspects of it further, and last night had another lively discussion about Leonardo, Opus Dei, and Miriam of Magdala. what a fun, intellectual tour!(with apologies to the previous reviewer). Some of my friends said, that I had missed the second wave of feminism, and that the story was old already-well, I had great delight in reading it and will look forward to the next story by this gifted author!
Rating:
Summary: For a work of fiction; this book was entertaining; you just
Review: have to realize that it is just pure fiction! It was well written but the answer to the riddle was so elementary that it took the razamatazz out of the ending. Certainly not all it was hyped up to be; but a good effort at confusing and bamboozling the public. Surely we were not meant to believe these 'historical facts'!! My advice is just to read it, enjoy it and next time read the reviews first before buying. You can't always believe the hypsters!
Rating:
Summary: Symbols and More
Review: Have you ever left a movie, limp, exhausted and just wrung out? Were you on the edge of your seat the whole time? The Da Vinci Code left me that way. Everytime I relaxed a little, "Okay, they made it through THAT crisis", up would come another.
Author Dan Brown takes his major characters, symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu through a harrowing search/journey that leaves you with more information than you probably want to know about art history, symbolism, ancient religions, cults, architecture and much more.
Although the flashbacks are too long, wordy and at times intrusive, the plot, the use of modern technology and the sheer speed of the action make this a book you will find hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Impossible to put this book down!!
Review: Haven't read a book this good in a long time....it's a fascinating, well-researched page-turner that you will NOT be able to put down. Regardless of your religious affiliation, you will find the historic references to the Church, great artists, and scandalous periods in history intriguing and thought-provoking. Dan Brown is a thinking-person's John Grisham/a reader-friendly Michael Crichton. Also a good gift choice for people who love word puzzles or math challenges. BUY THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Oasis in a desert of books
Review: Haven't read a thriller since Kolympsky Heights or Fourth Protocol that is good as this one. It turned me on to Brown's previous books. Angels & Demons is even better than this one, but with the same Robert Langdon in charge. At any rate, get both of them, read A&D first, in possible.
You won't be able to put either one down. I read straight through them in a couple of days and am now on Brown's earlier work, Deception Point.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting and thought provoking!
Review: Having been mildly interested in stories of the Holy Grail after a trip to Rosslyn Chapel in 1999, it was with great anticipation that I finally read THE DA VINCI CODE. It did not disappointment me in the least. One hallmark of a good book to me is that it makes me think and makes me read more about something I learned in the book. I have already read two of the books mentioned in TDC (those in Teabing's library), and as a domino effect, have bought several others. But this book is not a history book or a book on art appreciation although it does make it even more interesting if you are interested in those things. It is a first-rate thriller. I wasn't able to figure out the villain until it was revealed to the reader (having been totally wrong in who I had guessed it to be). Of course the scenes at Rosslyn Chapel really came to life as I had remembered it. My book group read this and I wholeheartedly recommend it as a book group selection. We had our best discussion ever, I shared photos of Rosslyn Chapel and Westminster Abbey while another member brought books she purchased at the Louvre. I can't say enough good things about this book. My husband read it right after I finished (right after he read Brown's ANGELS AND DEMONDS). This book justly deserves all the attention it has been receiving and justly deserves its place on top of the bestseller lists.
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