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

For those who like reading entertaining books, The Da Vinci Code is for you! This book is full of suspense, action, and historic trivia. You are left riveted and in suspense as you follow the plot. Some argue the book is historically inaccurate and portrays religion incorrectly. No matter what your side of the story is, the book is entertaining, hands down. That said, Dan Brown offers an interesting perspective on religion, its history, and the implications of its role in our lives. Whether or not you agree with his point of view, it is an interesting perspective. In addition, Brown puts together the plot and leaves a trail of clues that even Sherlock Holmes would be proud of!

As a sequel to Angels and Demons, it mirrors the style exactly. If you haven't read Angels and Demons and you enjoy The Da Vinci Code, then you must read the prequel as well!

From what I hear, the movie is going to be a disappointment for those who read the book.

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 !

Poses the concept that significant aspects of the Catholic religion are based on cover up's made for political gain beginning centuries ago. What is hard to believe about this? It's still happening today.

The story line is well written and I found the book hard to put down. I enjoyed it cover to cover. I especially enjoyed what it left with me... The "what if" some or all of the ideas presented actually happened. Oh my goodness. The power of politics is immense. It makes me want to learn more detail than what I was taught when I was growing up.

A book that makes you want to learn more is a gift to all of us.

This book is an outrageous attack on the Christian faith, probably the worst we've seen in 2,000 years. It is all lies. For the truth, check out Jack Van Impe's website. He has a book listing all the lies. Don't get sucked in by this book, or by the movie. We live in an "anything goes" world. Well, this book should "go". Jesus was sold out originally for 30 pieces of silver. What's new here? He's being sold out all over again for money. But don't forget what happened to Judas. Mark Twain wrote our first duty is to our conscience. If this book does not bother your conscience, then it is because your conscience is dead. And that's not a position you will want to be in on your dying day. God is real and it's about time He got a little respect!

The Da Vinci code is one of the most debated and discussed books of the past decade. Whether you read it because you are a fan of Dan Brown's work or because you heard about it in the media, you will not be dissapointed.

The Da Vinci code is a well written book that allows the reader to drift into a world where you feel like you are running with the characters and trying to solve the clues along side them. There is a lot of talk of this book being anti-catholic and such, but most readers can distinguish between fact and fiction. This is a well written book that you will find in the fiction section of you local bookstore, there is no need to be upset by it.

I am highly anticipating the movies release in 2006. The book is not the best I have read, but it does keep the reader entertained. It is a real page turner that inspired me to look up information on Da Vinci's work and study his paintings to see the small details discussed in the book. I know there is a prequel to this book, but I did not read it before I read the Da Vinci code nor have I since. This book can stand on it's own.

If you are looking for an entertaining book that will keep you up at night trying to finish just one more chapter to see what happens next, this is a good book for you. Enjoy!

The Da Vinci Code is a great novel. It saddens me that so many people get caught up in the fact that some of the information is incorrect. It's a novel...a work of fiction...it's *not* a documentary or a scholarly essay. Brown takes liberty with historical and religious information in order to further the plot, not an uncommon thing to do in a work of fiction.

Having said that, the story moves along at a brisk pace, and there is suspense at every turn. The chapters are short, but you always feel the need to read the next chapter to see how the current situation resolves itself.

I've read all four of Dan Brown's books, and can't wait for the next one to come out. Buy the book, disconnect the logical side of your brain, and enjoy the book for what it was meant to be: a great action/suspense novel.

As a Christian I approached this book with a ten foot pole. I found a lot of the book to be historically accurate and I liked that. After page 250 I had to keep telling myself this is FICTION and not the TRUTH. Overall it was a well written book and I can see why some people who are not well grounded in the bible can be swayed to belive this is truth.

I'm not a huge fiction fan, nor do I read much of the other authors in the suspense/thriller genres, but I have to say I loved this book.

Authors who can master the art of making the reader want more at the close of each chapter are few and far between, but Dan Brown had me at "hello" (or whatever the first word was). His pacing is phenomenally well timed, he lends just enough historical background to the story to give it a feeling of legitimacy.

This book has obviously appealed to a wide audience -- it's been a bestseller for years now -- and would likely make a good gift (as long as the recipient doesn't have strong religious views!)

I read this book in 9 hours. A real Page Turner. Couldn't put it down. Loved the way each chapter was not very long and you could return to a previous plot within minutes. <p>There were many interesting facts within the novel. The author leaves you with many little known origns of words we use every day. This was one of the best parts of the novel. So you get to learn and have fun.

Dan Brown's book the Da Vinci Code is just another example of the fact that mass media is available to all regardless of whether or not what they write is truthful, helpful or even humorous. The most important thing to know about this book is where exactly you'll find it in any library; and you will find this book squarely in the middle of the FICTION section of any library. Why? Because that's exaclty what it is fiction, Dan Brown even says so in the introduction. But, Dan Brown very decitefully disquises his own personally held beliefs in the veil of fiction literature. Why, you may ask, does Mr. Brown call the Da Vinci Code fiction? The reason for this is simple, and that's because Dan Brown has zero, none, zip, nadda, evidence to prove any of the things that he tries to claim in his Fiction book. In the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown has taken completely unrelated events, characters, and groups throughout history and he has drawn an imaginary line between them that simply does not exist in reality. And, all of this hinges on whether or not one believes Leonardo Da Vinci believed Mary Magdaline to be the Holy Grail or "Holy Blood Line" of Jesus Christ. So in his own convoluted way Dan Brown rejects all scholarship and endeavors to weave a tale constructed on evidence that is faulty at best and completely fabricated at worst.

If you really want to read a book that will be worthy of your time and intellect that does not seek to re-write history and reality then pick-up "The Gospel Code" by Ben Witherington III. Here Doctor Witherington (a New Testament Scholar) illustrates all of the flaws that exist in Dan Brown's book (not New Testament Scholar, or any other kind of scholar for that matter).

If you want a poorly written, badly stylized fiction novel, with flat characters and wooden storyline, that attempts to hide the fact that it is a personally held belief of some ill-informed re-visionist non-historian, then fine buy the "Da Vinci Code", but please remember that it is fiction, and nothing more.

I rate this book at one star, and that's only because there wasn't a place to select zero stars.

I decided to buy the book due to a show on t.v. about The Da Vinci Code. I have very catholic in-laws so naturally I did not tell them I wanted to read this. I found it to have some food for thought and even though I'm not very catholic but know enough, I found much of the information very interesting. However, I did find that Dan Brown used a less than thrilling, end of of your seat, nail biting story as a vessel to get his history and information across. I think it would have been more intersting to see the facts and information at hand rather than to have a story that just coasted you through 400 pages. I'm glad I had the chance to sit down and read it but I don't think it's worth reading another book by this author.

The Da Vinci Code is an attack on the very foundation of the Christian faith and it threatens to lead millions to believe that Jesus Chris was a fraud.

The book and movie make several false claims:
-Jesus and Mary Magdalene were man and wife.
-The New Testament is false testimony.
-There were 80 gospel accounts of Christ's life.
-The Roman emperor Constantine gave us the New Testament.
-The divinity of Jesus is an invention of fourth-century church leaders at the Council of Nicea.

While the book and movie claim to be based on fact, they clearly are not. Tragically many people, even Christians, will go away believing the book and movie are factual.

Good movie to refute the "facts" of the Code: The Da Vinci Delusion, a DVD which is based on fact and which points out the errors of the "facts" presented in the The Da Vinci Code .

Blasphemy! It is truly sad that so many people are out there searching for truth in a fiction novel. I am appalled that so many people have believed God whom is divine can seriously be portrayed has a mere human man controlled by his sexual desires. I pity you and suggest you buy a bible and educate yourself to know the difference between truth and fiction. I could not finish this book I was so disgusted. This book is for uneducated lost souls!

Actually all this ideas from the book are fiction...Even they admited that they forged the documents..So there is no history AT ALL in this story.. I see only two facts here :that Jesus existed and also Mary From Magdala...
However this is great from 2 perspective:
1. This is our time to evangelize, we could have not have risen the awareness at this level without Dan Brown...So he is doing something good for the real christians..
2. As, Jesus cleaned up the place around him, by saying: "If everyone eats my body and drink my blood..." ...and some disciples left ..forever,because they where Christians by name only,not having their heart with Christ.In same way this book will clean up the church, those who think they are christians, but not denying themselves,not having their heart with Christ...THEY MUST GO!!
In what category are you?
-will stay?
-wil go?
...or you never believed,and all this made you curios and now you are in the quest for the truth?
I suggest the book :"Case for Christ" by Lee Strouble
May God Bless you and may His truth be in your heart!!

This book is obviously working real hard at swaying people from the "Truth". The Holy Bible is the only truth.

Those that complain that the book will leave Christians thinking that Christianity is a fraud have little faith in the intelligence of people who read Fiction. I am Christian who thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did so reading the disclaimer that everything was researched and factual. Despite this within pages I was certain some things were not really true, and yet also hooked. The book is fiction, but still very entertaining. If you are looking for proof of religion or facts about the emergence of Christianity this may not be the book for you, but if you just want a great tale, some brain candy if you will this is a great book.

The Da Vinci Code is a great read filled with great characters, locations, and plot-line. The excitement starts on page 1 and keeps your heart racing all of the way through.

The Da Vinci Code is as entertaining as any James Bond movie or spy novel, but feels more cultured because you are learning about religion, art history, and Paris while you are captivated by the story.

You will never look at the Mona Lisa the same way again. Once you finish, you will also want to read Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

I read this book in 1 1/2 weeks...and this is coming for someone who works 60-70 hrs. a week so you know it must've kept my interest throughout.

This is a classic example of a page turner....I couldn't wait to find out where the next page was going to take me. For anyone who enjoys learning while reading this book is a must read. Dan Brown's ability to make the reader feel like they are having the story told to them, is in a nutshell...plain FUN!

His other book Angels and Demons, is just as exciting and merges the ever controversial religion and science debate with adventure and mystery..another must read!

Talk about food for thought! The DaVinci Code is a most wonderful banquet, serving up great portions of new ideas to make a very interesting story. The side dish of other perspectives was most enjoyable!

I have to admit, I finally broke down and read it! Dan Brown does an excellent job, condensing, twisting, embellishing and dumbing down information that has been out there for years. Add an evil nemesis or two, some sexual tension, a brutal freaky psychologically challenged albino and a murder plot......wow....you have a pretty darn good book on your hands. I throughly enjoyed this book. Very well written, enough twists and turns to keep me page flipping for hours.

O.K., so Brown acknowledges he did'nt discover and decipher the rosetta stone, but his readers treat him as such! If Da Vinci Code tickled your interest on such religious topics, you might want to read up on the real stuff. Check out Michael Baigent. Michael Baigent is the author of a number of important books that challenge the way we perceive the past, including (with Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln) THE HOLY BLOOD AND THE HOLY GRAIL, (with Richard Leigh) THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS DECEPTION, THE ELIXIR AND THE STONE and the recently published ANCIENT TRACES.

His new book, THE JESUS PAPERS, is currently a New York Times best seller.

For a fiction story it is very good. Dan Brown is a great conspiracy theory writer. BUT, if you want to try and make it relate to the real world of religion, it is off by a mile. The way it is written, the reader can almost believe the author has historical documents supporting his story. But, the truth is IT IS FICTION !! Read it and enjoy it, but don't believe it. And if a reader does take it to heart and the book changes their beliefs about religion, then they were not very strong, spiritually, anyway. Those types of readers need the Bible before Dan Brown.

If you are not one of those people that likes to read or have lost interest in reading , this book might just renew your interest in reading. This book is one of puzzles and the story is told in such a way that it is sure to captivate people's imagination and renewed interest concerning the holy grail. However, even though the story has many facts, it is fiction and thus should be treated only as such. I am sure though that the Catholic Church is not the bit happy about the book. The story is about a professor and a cryptologist's search for the holy grail and in order to find it they must decipher the clues left by the murdered cryptologist's relative. They must do all this while being chased by the police thinking they are the ones who commited the murder. All in all, The DaVinci Code is simply Dan Brown's masterpiece.

Don't buy this anti- Catholic rubbish. It isn't worth the paper it's printed on. People take this fiction novel as fact. It is far from the truth. Read a comic instead!