Rating: 
Summary: The book rocks, BUT
Review: Hi! I thought this was a great book, it was a real eye-opener to those who had yet to learn about the origin of the church and whatnot. The book was very overwhelming for me, it challenged much of what I've been taught, but also opened quite a few doors. I'd recommend this book to anyone. Not only is it full of real information, but it's fiction and tells of an awesome adventure story. A real page-tuner! Most people might take the time to write in about tiny details about certain paintings that do not allign correctly. I too have a corection to make! The character Robert Langdon claims one of his students came to him bearing The Lion King on DVD. Hardly possible! The Lion King isn't out on DVD yet, silly Dan Brown......
Rating: 
Summary: Hollywood style formula fiction
Review: Historic/Government secret + Discovery channal information + conspiracy/mystery murder + innocent figitive + romance = Pop fiction/movie The Da Vinci Code is the same produce after the calculation. No bad, but not too much suprise, quite enteraining
Rating: 
Summary: The most dreadful rubbish
Review: Honestly! What rubbish this was. It kept me reading only because I wanted to see what incredible (in the proper sense of the word, namely _un_believable) stuff Brown would come up with next. Rather worse written than Ludlum, or Trevanian, or Clancy or...Definitely forgettable.
Rating:
Summary: FAST PACED, FUN, PAGE TURNER
Review: How do I judged a book? Did I enjoy reading it?- 5 stars- Did it provide good entertainment?- 5 stars- .Is it a deep thought provoking book? -2 stars- this is your typical mystery/quest book. I would not judged this book with this criteria because it is not expected in this type of book. It is not a book centered on character development but action. Yet I thought a lot of what was mentioned made me want to find out more about the churches in Paris, etc. I think the reason some criticize this book is different criteria are being used. When I read a cozy mystery, I am not expecting a thought provoking literary fiction book. This is not either a cozy mystery or literary fiction so should not be judged with either criteria. I think it is EXCELLENT- 5 stars- at what it is. It is more a mystery/adventure/ quest with some interesting information on symbology, encryption, information on Paris , and actually very little on the Catholic Church. What everyone has heard about the underlying premise is interesting but there is a lot of other interesting information mentioned that has nothing to do with religion. It was a fast paced fun read. I read it in a couple of days and passed it on to my husband who reads very little fiction and he read it for 2 days not wanting to put it down to go to work:) Enjoy this book:)
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down, literally
Review: How many times do you read that someone "couldn't put it down", and then, when you read it, you're putting it down to see what's on TV? Well, in this case, it's not an exaggeration. Simply put, Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" is THE "can't put down" novel of Spring, 2003. Part rousing fiction thriller, part historical treatise, "The Da Vinci Code" spins the tale of secret societies, religious fervor, all intertwined in the brilliant mind of one Leonardo Da Vinci. Robert Langdon, symbologist, is called to the Louvre in the middle of the night after the death of an important curator. Suddenly, he is plunged into the vortex of a criminal investigation that is both in and out of his control. Once the mystery starts, it simple doesn't stop or even slow down. Dan Brown's writing style is brisk, inventive, and not terribly deep, which is absolutely perfect for this genre. Each chapter is only a few pages long, which moves the story from one locale to another without so much as a blink. Just as you get involved in one thread, it stops at a crucial point, and he picks up the second thread. It's perfectly attuned to keep you in tune with this book. Be prepared to see "The Da Vinci Code" on the bestseller list for months to come. And read it before everyone else does!
Rating:
Summary: Oh gee, not this again.
Review: How many times is this tiresome tale going to be told? The Jesus and Mary Magdalene story has been fiction fodder since Holy Grail Holy Blood back in the 80s back then it was hot stuff and considered controversial today the whole idea just rates a roll of the eyes.
Now, to the main point. Is the book good? Yeah, Dan Brown is a pretty good writer but the story--the only reason a fiction book exists, right?---is so lame that I couldn't enjoy it. The three stars is simply due to Brown's talent.
Rating:
Summary: The Scooby Doo Code
Review: Huge bestseller, interesting subject matter, a quick read, yet still a tremendous waste of time. I'm not troubled with the inaccuracies in the book, it is fiction after all... What troubles me is how poorly written the book is. The author lacks any hint of gift with the written word. The writing has an irritating, smug tone and exceptionally grating tongue-in-cheek dialogue. This author's prose is reminiscent of, and has all the sophistication of the narration from Ed Wood's movies. Any real mystery or intrigue in the book is coincidental, inherent in the subject matter but missing from the story. The author wraps an absurd plot in sophomoric characters and childish puzzles. The characters repeatedly struggle with riddles that would make Encyclopedia Brown chortle, and that every reader has easily solved. The DaVinci Code is like a children's book distillation of Umberto Eco's work... A poor man's Foucault's Pendulum or Baudolino.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: Hype or no hype, this is one of the best books I have read in years. Do not believe the poor reviews- this is a real page turner. Brown flawlessly weaves fact and fiction to create a masterpiece. Read it in two days- worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Thrillers I've Ever Read!!
Review: I absolutely loved this book, and read it in two days. I really liked the main characters, found the story fascinating, and loved learning all the little historical tidbits, many of which I plan to read more about now, on my own. I imagine Christian fundamentalists will view this book as heresy, and I would not be surprised if they tried to get it banned. This is the first book I have read by Dan Brown, and I plan to rush out and buy every one of his other books. If you enjoyed this type of genre, I also recommend checking out A Skeleton in God's Closet (another religious/archaelogical thriller).
Rating:
Summary: awesome book
Review: I absolutely loved this book. Goddess worship being banished by the Christian church has rarely received any sort of mainstream attention. It is time for everyone to acknowledge how the church degraded the status of women and it is still incredibly prevalent in today's androcentric culture. The facts are solid. And I would like to say that contrary to the Art Historian's comments below, the Di Vinci preliminary sketches he is referring to are in debate as to whether Di Vinci made those sketches himself, or whether a student of his did. Much of the evidence points to the fact that those sketches were not made by Di Vinci - and that would explain why they are labeled John instead of Mary. The sketches of "John/Mary" also look very masculine - nothing like what the image looks like in the Last Supper. Check out these two articles:
[kfki website]
"This sheet is one of the most remarkable drawings to have been connected with Leonardo. The composition is strongly reminiscent of the Last Supper. One thing there is total agreement about, however, is that the stiff figures were not drawn by Leonardo. But it is possible that he produced preliminary sketches of some of them and that they were drawn by a student. Whatever the case, the mirror writing is a sign that Leonardo used this piece of paper." [metmuseum website]
"Yet even among drawings of the 1490s, the crudely executed, but definitely left-handed, Last Supper composition sketch in red chalk in Venice (inscribed in Leonardo's right-to-left script) has occasioned fierce debate regarding its authenticity.37 While autograph drawings by Leonardo reveal left-handed parallel hatching (see the discussion below), it does not follow that all drawings with this type of parallel hatching are by Leonardo. Significant in any evaluation is the quality of execution. A number of surviving drawings that are executed in a Leonardesque style and that exhibit the hallmark of Leonardo's left-handedness-the lower right to upper left strokes-are demonstrably not by the master. These range from precise copies by enthusiastic pupils, to later imitations, to downright forgeries. It is known, for example, that Francesco Melzi reinforced drawings by Leonardo that were growing faint because of the physical properties of their medium, especially the studies in red chalk on reddish ocher prepared paper in which the contrasts between drawn form and colored ground are slight."
| 
