Rating: 
Summary: Ho Hum
Review: I had expected a better written book after reading the glowing reviews. The story is fast-paced and exciting at first, but it soon got predictable. Nonetheless, I give credit to the author, for his imaginative ideas. But! do not doubt that this is a poorly written book. It could/should have been better.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun but Eco is better.
Review: I had fun reading this mystery novel, but
I agree with the reader from Columbia, SC, June 9th. Umberto Eco is much better. Brown's prose is often trite. Eco is a class act. Read Eco.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Premise, weak characters
Review: I had heard of all the hype about the Da Vinci Code, and finally, out of curiosity, I picked up a copy. And I was immediately drawn in.
the Da Vinci Code is a fast paced intricate novel of secrets. The plot is well-researched and well-written. What I did not like about the book was the poor character development. Langdon and Co. were there only as plot pushers. The main story was the Grail. I felt that when the story was over and done we didn't know any more about Langdon than when we first started. He only sprouts information at the right moments, as with Sophie Neveu. They seemed to know everything under the sun about symbols and codes, and yet we didn't know anything more about them.
However, the premise was good, and that is why I give this book 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Irresistible
Review: I had heard so many wonderful blurbs about this book and after reading it for myself I can't give it enough praise either!The opening chapters of the books reveals the dying moments of the curator of the famous Louvre museum. This curator holds a secret that dates back to the days when Christ walked the Earth. However, with the death of the curator the secret is in jeopardy of being lost forever. Before he succumbs to death, the curator must find a way to pass along this secret and deliver it into the right hands. Dan Brown takes the reader on a thrilling, nail biting journey chock full of historical references and fascinating symbolism. You won't be able to put this book down!
Rating: 
Summary: I tried! I really tried!!
Review: I had heard so much about this book and about how fantastic it was. I tried, I really tried to like the Da Vinci Code, but I could not finish it. It has a great story line, and Mr. Brown could have created great twists and turns with it--but he ran out of gas. His style included a big twist (like a murder) in the story--then for twenty pages, the characters would talk about it. Another big twist; and another twenty pages of discussion. That, and the fact he took true facts, tweaked them considerably, and then presented them to the reader as fact. I would have even liked if the book if it had been well written, but it was not. Run on sentences, changes of person and numerous other discretions of writing made for a very choppy read. I really tried to like this book, but could not.
Rating:
Summary: Popularity doesn't make it a good book
Review: I had high hopes for this book... and it disappointed me in every which aspect it possibly could. The research verges on the pathetic, the originality is a joke, character development doesn't exist, and yet, it becomes such a huge best seller. It is obvioudly a work of fiction, but it should have been believable or else... I cringe to think what a disservice this book will do for the masses by blurring the line between the historical and the make-believe in such a gross manner. Judging by how badly conceived were the technological marvels the author describes, I can only imagine that the historical and the theological points it attempts to make are equally laughable. Do yourself a favour and read something well-researched, such as Foucault's Pendulum, by Umberto Eco. I found the writing style of presenting "a shocker" every couple of pages to be especially annoying; even more so because most of the "surprise twists" can be spotted miles away. This may ok for an airport read or to pass the time when you really have nothing better to do (as when you're shipwrecked in a remote island with nothing else to read).
Rating:
Summary: High hopes ... but disappointed
Review: I had high hopes when I started this book. Being a scientist I was intrigued by the symbology, numbers, codes, etc. But I have to say I was sadly disappointed as the book progressed. Not only are the heroines in this book exceptionally BRILLIANT (they can solve complex puzzles in a matter of seconds which many could not solve over millenniums), they are incredibly lucky ... always getting out of impossible situations perfectly. The book was shallow, predictable and too neat. Everything fell into place within a of matter pages - where is the suspense in that? Give me some depth.
One positive ... a good book for a coast to coast plane ride or a beach vacation.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: I had misgivings about buying this novel, but after the first 4-5 pages, I was hooked. This is an absolutely stunning tome of intrigue, riddle solving, cryptic messages, and religious history. Not your bag?? Guess again!! I had to force myself to read this novel slowly, so as not to miss any of the myriad clues needed to solve the mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing New Here
Review: I had mixed feelings about this book as I have been a long time reader of the various themes that are weaved into the story, particularly the big Church "secret" that was the focus of "Holy Blood Holy Grail" in 1982. This perhaps killed the real punch of the book, my fore knowledge. Brown did some intense research for this book and I did enjoy how closely aligned his information was with what I had known to be true, or at least as true as these sorts of topics can be. After a time I became annoyed with Brown's technique of walking the reader to an important fact or discovery in the plot, and then delay it for a chapter or two, sometimes even presenting the imagery that the character was looking right at this new tasty morsel of plot. That got old with me very fast. Such techniques are suitable when they aren't used so frequently: That reminded me of the only Stephen King book I "tried" to read. It at times read more like an educational essay on these various topics and themes for the reader new to them. As I said, already knowing about Templar and Grail legend, secret societies (the Illuminati vs. the Church is the focus of Brown's earlier book, "Angels and Demons), etc. This book did not change my view of what the Grail legends might be about, another reason TDVC failed for me. All in all, this book was a fun read, but it was not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination.
Rating:
Summary: Rather disappointing for all the hype
Review: I had my doubts about this book, but I enjoyed it. I'm grateful that I got it from the library rather than paying a ridiculous hardcover price for it. It's entertaining, but certainly not worth the money. "The DaVinci Code" is a quick read. The writing is not at all challenging, which makes it a good bedside book. The characters each have their interesting qualities, although none is fully developed. My two biggest disappointments with this book were the tricks used to throw the reader off from guessing who the bad guy is, (apparently this is common in mysteries -- I don't generally read them so I was peeved,) and the failure of some of the more historically interesting passages to deliver in any way that transcends the book. Each piece of information works within the story, though, which I suppose is all any reader ought to expect. It's an entertaining book, but I really can't comprehend the excitement around it. It's got average writing and average storytelling. The subject -- the possibility of a secret society protecting actual descendants of Jesus Christ -- is stimulating, but ultimately not very well explored. For those of you still on the fence, get it from the library or wait for the mass-market paperback edition.
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