Rating: 
Summary: I learned a lot!
Review: I absolutely loved this book. I loved that "all the descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate." This book is a page turner from the very first page and does not stop. The explanations of secret societies, religious theories, etc. are so interesting and were explained fully without getting boring. Just a really, really exceptionally written book! I couldn't believe the way this story turned out! You will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I absolutely loved this book; great concept with and extremely interesting viewpoint on the early church. I find it rather amusing how most of the poor reviews this book has received come from what appear to be Christian fanatics. The book, however, is not without its flaws. The characters are nothing more than cardboard cutouts. While I would have appreciated realistic, breathing, characters to read about, it in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Whatever happened to Faith?
Review: I actually couldn't bring myself to finish this book. I got about 3/4 of the way through it and had to stop because I got so tired of all the mumbo jumbo and conspiracy theory. And if you really look at the theories, they don't make any sense. What this book failed to even acknowledge is that Christianity isn't based on proof. It's based on faith. Even though I believe that there is proof of Jesus Christ's existence and identity, more than anything I believe in the joy and love that he has put into my heart through a relationship with him. As far as I'm concerned this is nothing more than propoganda itself.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting fact and fiction combo
Review: I actually enjoyed this book, unlike some others. The most interesting aspect of it was the discussion about the Golden Section with regards to math and the Fibonicci Series, and the ideas about the Priory of Sion. Some of what Brown says is true, while other ideas are way off the mark. I spent a great deal of time just going back and researching what was accurate and what was not. Did anyone read the article in the NY Times a while back about how the entire Priory of Sion phenomenon was a fake? Very interesting. Also enjoyed the use of anagrams in the book, although I thought some of them were a little too obvious. The anagrams and hidden messages reminded me of another book, BARK OF THE DOGWOOD by McCrae. In it, he uses anagrams and symbols, but most of them are not explained right up front as they are in DA VINCI CODE. In "Dogwood" you have to look for them and only know about them because of a reference toward the end of the book. At any rate, I would recommend DA VINCI CODE and another very similar book, ANGELS & DEMONS. I actually liked ANGELS & DEMONS much better as I thought the writing was more sophisticated and the pacing better. But read them both and decide for yourself. Also recommended; McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD and ANGELS & DEMONS
Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: I actually had to force myself to slog through this book. The writing style is similar to "The Bridges of Madison County" - a flowery style filled with gratuitous adjectives and ridiculously over-stated descriptions. The plot was alternately absurd and boring. I read this book based on all of the hype and I really expected something interesting. Except for a few brief moments, I found this book to be very easy to put down. The entire experience was an insult to my brain cells.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Premise but lack of character development
Review: I admit I couldn't put the book down. It challenged my assumptions about religion, about art history, about women's place in the world, but it did not engage me emotionally. The plot and the premise keep your interest, but the main protagonists barely register as human beings on the page. I was barely interested in their fate at the end of the book. Mr. Brown is better with his villains, he gives them motivation and meaning that he denies the main characters. The premise of the book has led me to interesting conversations with fellow readers, and to further research on Mary Magdalene and Leonardo DaVinci. On that basis I would recommend the book as a good read and great conversation starter.
Rating: 
Summary: the da vinci flop
Review: i admit i got caught up in the hype and read this solely based on other people's reactions. my final take on this piece is that, while entertaining, it's just another cheesy mystery novel. a large part of this book is focused on an alternate history involving jesus christ and mary magdalene but, while interesting, i can't take anything in this book as fact in the same way i won't let the movie pearl harbor grant any awareness about what really happened on dec 7 1941. the author went as far as stating that opus dei and the priory of sion were real organizations on the first page of the first chapter.. perhaps leading the reader to think that their role in the novel is indicative of their role in the real world. wondering if opus dei really existed i googled them to discover, wow, they really do exist. i mean "wow" as in "why did the author choose to defame a real catholic organization." he depicts opus dei followers as corporal mortifiers, racketeers, fanatics and even murderers. whether or not this is really true doesn't vindicate the author because since this is a novel and not an academic work there is no ethical responsibility to portray the truth. so in reading the user is coerced to understand the opus dei characters in the exact way the author characterizes them in the novel (specifically "silas"). we see the same issues in movies where viewers are led to believe something about history (or the real world) when in fact the story being told is a work of fiction (ala apollo 13, saving private ryan, braveheart and my favorite example, pearl harbor which was sold as a movie about 12/7/41 but actually had almost nothing to do with it). da vinci code is a novel, i know! i know! but it seems to me that people would rather get their facts from fictionalized stories than actual facts. i remember when pearl harbor came out everyone was commenting on how much they learned about wwii and the japanese invasion and all the while i could barely keep myself from puking all over these history students. so my rant has a point, you'll be surprised... in that i got the same reaction from people about this novel. "oh it's so fascinating, i didn't know that da vinci did all those things, that opus dei was a bad religious organization and that there is a secret grail society blah blah blah..." as i mentioned earlier, while this is "interesting" i think the interest merits further investigation and until then can be categorized as "entertainment" and nothing else. so what drove me down this long path, you're asking yourself. well my first quest for the truth involved a visit to opus dei's website whereupon i discovered a link to a public statement in reaction to this novel. reading this statement affirmed my belief that you can't take anything at face value. i even feel sorry for them b/c this novel is so popular and they are getting a bad rap because of it. so my final analysis of this book is what my high school english teacher calls a "tv book." that is, a piece of literature that has no more value than to entertain ... which is why i think alot of people like this book. just don't mistake it for being "informative."
Rating:
Summary: Another example of bad writing making a hit
Review: I admit I read this book because of all the hype. I am in total disbelief that something like this has accumulated so much positive acclaim. This book is badly researched, has ridiculous omissions and the supposed expert characters are made to look like ridiclous buffoons repeatedly. Did all these people that rave about it miss that? The thing that bothers me the most is the constant references to this bad piece of bad researched pulp as genius. I will never cease to be amazed by the bad tastes and obvious bad education of the general public.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Book! A thriller, mystery and historical book +
Review: I admit I was skeptical about reading a mystery thriller when first introduced to this book. However, the book was much more than just a who done it type of fiction. The book's plot was intermingled with historical details that made the book far more than your typical mystery novel. The book really made an impression on me as far as theology goes. I could not put this book down--it's plot takes so many exciting and unexpected twists. Even if you don't normally read mystery/thriller books, this is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone looking for a great story that gives you some things to think about history and religon-wise.
Rating:
Summary: Bad writing, plot and history...at least it's consistent
Review: I admit it, I read this book because of the hype. I expected a deep book, with careful research. What I got was a book of tin-foil hat conspiracies, weakly intertwined and excruciatingly thin characters. The characters only exist to move along his poorly executed plot. Dan Brown is a bad writer. Worse, he's a lazy researcher. I have no idea why this book is a best-seller. It's impossible to care about any of the characters. The plot is full of holes and improbabilities. He makes amazing omissions. He goes on through the entire book about how the church wanted to minimize women by limiting the role of Mary Magdeline, but avoids ever talking about Mother Mary. It has an utterly predictable hollywood ending. The most laughable thing about this BADLY written book it that people are now going around quoting its psuedo-history and made up theology as facts.
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