The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (2003, Hardcover, Large Print)

A right ripping good yarn. The mystery begins with murder in the Louvre. Professor Langdon, having been called to meeet the curator Louvre, Jacques Sauniere is now suspected of his murder by police inspector Bezu Fasche. But this is no ordinary murder. Jacques Sauniere in his dying moments left a trail of clues the hopefully Sophie Nevue and Professor Langdon would solve. Enter said cryptologist, Sophie Nevue, with her own agenda. Worried for his safety and sure he was not the perpetrator of the crime Nevue whisks Langdon away, bemused and struggling to make sense of the intrigue in which he finds himself. The pace picks up rapidly throughout the book as, peice by peice. Nevue and Langdon discover the stories that have brought them both together and the puzzle they have to try and explain. The burning questions about Jacque Suniere's past and the clues lead from Sauniere to Da Vinci to the Priory of Sion and to the to the possible truth about the Holy grail are answered.

At best Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code is just a mediocre modern day mystery with religious conspiracy overtones. The characterization seems like it came straight out of a 70’s made for TV movies. If you have read any mysteries before the plot is paper thin, the first time the true villain makes an appearance, it is basically a “well isn’t that contrite” moment. But it is a fast EASY reading novel. This book is just fine for lounging on the beach or passing the time on a cross country airline flight.

Some people take the conspiracy overtones to being anti-catholic. I think this is just nonsense but if you are sensitive to this sort of thing you might be offended by this book.

A much more interesting book, in a similar venue (modern day mystery with religious conspiracy overtones), is Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Be forewarned, Eco’s novel is a MUCH more challenging read but in the end is a more enjoyable novel. It is analogous to comparing cotton candy (Da Vinci Code) to a 12 course gourmet dinner (Foucault’s Pendulum). Both will satisfy hunger, both are a type of food, but the popular one is something which can be consumed casually and in the end leaves you wondering if you should have made an effort to consume something that would have been more fulfilling.

I found this book to be the extreme with possi-
bilities that would cause some to ponder
but yet not give in to the thought of such
ideas to be true. I found it hard to feel that
the book did not have "trues" implied in it.
Pagans were definitely known to worship as such
and of course there is the good versus evil.
I will read this book again and maybe more than
twice.

This is the Hostess CupCake of modern literature. The plot was spit out of a factory, the story is adorned with superficial enhancements and its definitely not good for you. Regardless of these apparent shortcomings, you will absolutely enjoy every single bite/page.

The Dan Brown Plot Factory - read one and you've read them all. Digital Fortress, Angels and Demons, Deception Point. They are formulaic to a flaw. I was lucky enough to have read Da Vinci Code first but if you have read his other books first, do yourself a favor and wait till the movie comes out. You'll be disappointed by the predictability of the plot and the similarity of the heroes / heroines.

Superficial Enhancements - there are an endless supply of useless nuggets of information sprinkled through this book. Like a Tom Clancy novel, it often seems the author is more concerned with showing the reader how well versed he is in the subject matter instead of spinning a tight story. Im not an expert on the Catholic Church or art history so I don't want to comment on the accuracy of these useless facts, but they can, at times, unnecessarily weigh down an otherwise fast moving story line.

Its not good for you - upon completion, you wont have learned anything new and you wont think about the world in a different way and you wont get into deep philosophical debates about the content with your friends. The theories put forth in the book are interesting but a bit far-fetched and not exactly relevant. There are a ton of facts in the book but none of them are significant enough or organized in a manner that would advance any of the author's theories.

But who cares ? It tastes good ! - There is simply no arguing with 126 weeks on the NYT best seller list. If you get past the obvious fact that Dan Brown is not the next Tolstoy, this is a fun and exciting story, the kind that begs to be made into a movie. Get a glass of wine, put your feet up and enjoy !

I decided to buy the book after seeing the movie. I had many uanswered questions regarding the movie and the book answered them. There are many differtences but I enjoyed discovering them. I am now reading Angels & Demonns. It's even better.

I had loaned my original "Devin chi Code" book to my daughter. So, I decided to re-purchase it for myself from e-bay, and re-read it. I was pleasantly surprised at the good condition, and reasonable price for a hard back book that I found on e-bay. I recommend that if you haven’t read this book then, read it. It’s a wonderful mystery that prevents you from putting the book down. This is one of the best mysteries that I’ve ever read.

I heard this book was great... but it's really wonderful. WAY BETTER than the movie. Plus I loved the price Ebay offered.

This is going to be kind of hard to discribe. I bought this book and had it dropped ship to my aunt in NY.
I purchsed the book because of great price, great condition and because it was large print. (Wish more books were large print).
Delivery time was excellent and my aunt loved the book.