What readers think of The Da Vinci Code, plus links to write your own review.

I for one loved this book. I found the extensive amount of research as well as the fictional story wound around it eye opening. The other side of history, as Teabing called it, hadn't been revealed to me previsouly and it was interesting to hear not only about old pagan religions and their ties to today, but also another version of jesus's life. i loved this book and recommend it to anyone who likes a good mystery as well as an enjoyable history lesson.

Better than average, but not great.
I have to admit that I'm a sucker for puzzles. Present me with one of those logic problems ("John lives in the blue house. The owner of the lamborgini lives next the guy with the iguana..") and I'll stay out of trouble for a long time.
That's over half the fun in this book. Of course a well-educated reader can figure out the clues several pages ahead of the protagonists; I spent the last third of the novel wanting to scream at the hero "Wake up, you dummy! The answer to the second riddle is freaking *obvious*! Does it have to hit you on the head?" Also, the name of one of the main characters is an absolute plot-spoiler for anyone with an elementary knowlege of European theology.
It reminds me a lot of Catherine Neville's novel *The Eight* - another cliff-hanger that takes the reader through a romp with history and cryptology. If you want a serious book on these themes, check out Neal Stephenson's *Cryptonomicon*.
Cardboard characters? Sure, but so is the guy with the iguana.
I thought *The Da Vinci Code* was delicious brain candy.
I thought this

For starters: Perez-Reverte does history better, Deaver does misdirection better, Grand Dame MacInnes did 'man-in the-street-must-elude-capture' better in her worst efforts. I can only imagine the ignornace of 'The Code's fans. I knew the answers to all the 'riddles' well before our milquetoast hero, our ridiculoulsy naive heroine or the trip-over obvious villain, and I certainly don't make that statement as a glory deserving boast. (I will admit I did not bother to work out the first two anagrams; just recognizing them as such was enough.) Anyone with a smattering of science, a dollop of history or a half dozen decent thrillers behind them should be ahead of the plot from Able to Elba.
As for the 'philosophical' premise, the middle ages produced a full bloomed cult of Mary, Mother of God, which remains vitally central to many (including Catholic) Christ dervied organizations. And one might expect mention of galaxies when speaking of the universality of the Golden Mean.
How many times is one allowed to have a character 'suddenly'? A little less telling and more showing would help. And why did I read the darn thing to stat with, and why am I spending good time writing ABOUT it? The answer to the last---at work, bored silly waiting for someone else (a very slow else) to finish up.
Try Auturo Perez-Revete.

Yes, it seems everyone has gone mad; I agree with Marie Smith. The characterization in this book has all the depth of a mediocre adventure comic book from the 1950's and there are too many easy escapes and short, choppy chapters. Isn't the author capable of sustaining action and dialogue? Clotted cream in tea? How bizarre; the clotted cream is served with scones or other pastries, not dumped into tea itself.
   On a more serious level I was appalled by the acceptance by readers of Brown's version of "history" in terms of the Catholic church. His scholarship consists of a mishmash of legend, half-truths, stories from the apochrypha and bald statements (for example his allusions to the existence of gospels in the Dead Sea Scrolls) that have no basis in scientifically research. Mary Magdalene, considered a holy saint by Catholics since the earliest time, is the author's symbol of "the sacred feminine," supposedly suppressed by the Church, in its relentless effort to subjugate women. Practicing Catholics will be mystified by this, since our most powerful source of comfort and understanding, beyond the Trinity, is the Virgin Mary, a deeply venerated and definitely feminine figure of the Church. How many other Christian churches are as devoted to a woman? I was disappointed in this book and saddened to find so many of the old superstitions about the Church perpetuated for the sake of a best-selling potboiler. A Minority Reporter

Facinating and exciting. I learned quite a lot about Catholicism, art and history reading this book. I highly recommend this enjoyable book.

Upon starting this book I believe that the story engulfs you from the very first chapter. The unusual short chapter length keeping you in a constant rush. If the chapters were long someone might lose the feel of the chase and be convinced that the police went off on a coffee break. Character development was fine. I suppose Robert Langdon's character didn't need anymore development since he was from the previous book Angles and Demons and Sophie's story is meant to be developed as the story goes on. What kind of set me off though were the repetitive stand offs; though I did enjoy the final deception played on Teabing. I also noticed that many of the tricks and puzzles where incredibly simple. Far too simple for the expertise accounted for. I'm sure that the writer of this book could have made everything vaguely complicated but then it wouldn't definitely shorten the reader base. If there were some things I could change in this book I would say it would have to be some of the character positions. I wish that Aringarosa had played a bigger part and that Silas wasn't so stupid. Maybe if he had a few more skills instead that of a thug. It would have made him a little bit more of an enjoyable character to hate. All you feel at the end for him is pity. This book was definitely a great read despite it shortcommings. I'm off as well to read Angles and Demons.

Media.Misfit
http://www.suicideminds.com

P.S. I also found the online game extremely fun.

This is a moderately interesting book by virtue of the subject matter, but far short of a good book by virtue of the writing. The author recirculates some long-held and largely obscure theories about early Christianity through a well-worn and often tedious thriller structure. He falls victim to the temptation to attempt intellectual standing by piling on marginal historical trivia. The book is selling well and thus giving at least a few people pause in their presumptions of orthodox religious history, which is a small benefit. But the mechanical cops 'n robbers staging and obligatory escapes and chases, along with a heavy-handed tendency to leave nothing to the reader's imagination, reduce it down to the level of another mediocre potboiler.

Dan Brown is no Hemingway; let's get that out of the way immediately. Despite his less than sophisticated prose style, however, he is a gifted storyteller! The sheer amount of interesting information he weaves into this tale is astounding. His history lessons on the sacred feminine and christianity in general are fascinating and refreshing. I'm going out now to get Angels and Demons.