Rating: 
Summary: Dan, Dan, Dan...
Review: I finished the book hoping for a redeeming conclusion. It never came. Wild and controversial data concerning Christ, Da Vinci and anything sacred is peppered haphazardly throughout the book (a bibliography would be nice for verification of claims). Fellow believers, be warned... as a Christian woman, it was an offensive and painful read. I will be praying for you, Dan Brown.
Rating: 
Summary: A fast, fun read!
Review: I finished the Da Vinci Code last night and today took some time reading through many of the other reviews. It's very clear that if you like fast-paced thrillers with plot twists (like me) than you are going to love this book (like me), but if you buy this book because you think it's some non-fiction historical text then you are kidding yourself and you aren't going to like it, so don't buy it or read it. By far my favorite portion of the book is the beginning with its unique setup of the plot. I have to agree with other reviewers that the last third tends to drag just a little, but that's a minor point considering all of the just plain awful mystery/thrillers I've read the past couple of years from prominent authors. I highly recommend this book to those readers which fit the qualities I mentioned above. Also, if you like this book, you may also enjoy Assassins Game.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining fiction!
Review: I finished this book yesterday - and it's one of those that I keep thinking about, missing the characters a bit, now that I've left their story-line. It's entertaining, intriguing, fun, but I didn't once mistake it for a textbook or a factual primary source.
I liked it for the same reasons I like WWII code-breaker stories, it united math, history and art with a suspenseful storyline. And like other interesting stories, it prompted me to do my own research into some of the tenets of the plot. Overall, a very entertaining fiction!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely brilliant!
Review: I finished this book yesterday, but I was ready to write a review about half-way through. I loved this book and could not put it down. I have always enjoyed a good murder-mystery, but this book far exceeded my expectations. I had no idea what I was walking into when I started reading Dan Brown. I learned so much. I kept looking back toward the first page that says FACT: and goes on to list the organizations, artwork, architecture, documents and secreat rituals in this novel are real and described accurately. I am recommending this book to everyone that I know. Not only was I learning a new and factual way to look at our history throughout the entire story, the suspense of the murder-mystery wouldn't allow me to put this novel down. You will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: An Entertaining Conspiracy Theory Read
Review: I flew through this book with such relish that I was done within 24 hours of cracking the cover. At its core, The Da Vinci Code is a mystery, but it's such a smart one that I didn't get my usual "I hate mysteries" heebie jeebies. The story is packed full of unique keys, secret codes, hidden hiding places and secret societies. And who doesn't love a good secret society? Dan Brown clearly did some hefty research for this novel, but I think it shows (off) a little too often. There's a bit too much, "Hey, look what I learned!" mixed in with the fiction. Sometimes it's even hard to tell the two apart - but that's not a horrible thing, this is not meant to be a textbook, after all. It was deliciously decadent to slip into the role of questioning the motives of one of the most firmly-rooted establishments in the world; the Church. The plot is intricate and fast-paced, which draws your attention away from the one-dimensional characters. And the cliffhangers, admittedly transparent gimmicks, do what they're supposed to do - they make you want to read the book faster. The Da Vinci Code is fantastic for what it's meant to be... an entertaining read. Anyone who criticizes it for being plot-driven or inaccurate is just being pompous and biased against popular fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Lightweight but entertaining
Review: I found "The Da Vinci Code" to be an entertaining thriller based on the theories presented in "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" by Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln. Brown's comments about the Louvre and Leonardo were the most interesting parts of the book for me. Having a man who studies symbols as his hero can lead to some intriguing puzzles to solve, as in "The DaVinci Code." Brown's treatment of the Catholic Church, however, is shallow and predictable. It is as if Catholics are the only Christians. (They are not even the most anti-female Christians). And although the secret society presented in the book is known to have been a hoax, as a previous reviewer stated, it makes for a nice plot device. But Brown claims that its existence is a fact. There also are times when the characters do some remarkably stupid things, just to move the plot along. For that reason, I have given the book three stars. If you enjoy art, ancient religions, and code breaking, this book is for you. Just don't expect great literature.
Rating:
Summary: Very well written and plotted, but
Review: I found it distracting in his obvious agenda/bias re the Roman Catholic Church. Not that it is an inappropriate one, it just seems to be a thread woven in two of his books I've recently read. Putting that aside the book is great and the premise possible, and it's tightly written. Hard to put down as you want to find out what is coming next! I shall continue to buy Mr. Brown's work and I recommend his work on my own web site. He's educational too about arcane and archaic thoughts/theories without being pendantic. One's sense of history is enlarged by reading Mr. Brown's book. His fiction does seem to be based on facts in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, fast read but...
Review: I found it to be a bit self-congratulatory. While the word puzzles and riddles that make up the bulk of the story were clever, the effect was ruined for me when, after each one, Brown states how clever they were and what a genius the character who "created" them was. As a result, I read the book with the feeling that the author was telling me how clever HE is. Also, I've read most of the books Brown seemed to use as references, and he didn't seem to pick the best scholarship on the chosen topic.
Rating:
Summary: I prefer not to
Review: I found it unenlightened and banal. It was so hackneyed and trite and vapid and tasteless that anyone who reads it loses a multitude of braincells. Why would you subject yourself to such a travesty of the English Language???? Brown should take a lesson from Emerson's self-reliance and get his own ideas...
Rating: 
Summary: Not a new story plot
Review: I found myself thinking of Umberto Eco's book, "Foucaults's Pendulum" as I read The DaVinci Code. The plot is certainly not original, but a variation of Eco's work, at least for me. I am a fan of Da Vinci, and checked out the story for that reason, but Eco had the main idea first.
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