The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brownby Dan Brown
Shares rank 4 of 7 thriller novels by recommenders
Recommended as an easy page-turner that makes reading less of a chore. Critics call it not particularly good or tasteful.
Recommended as an easy page-turner that makes reading less of a chore. Critics call it not particularly good or tasteful.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 60%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Easy, gripping page-turner
“Pick up an easy dumb page turner like The Da Vinci Code, and reading won't be a chore.”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Ask HN: How much time do you spend reading books?” Read by people as young teens
“I was reading Brown at like.... 12 years old.”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “I rebooted my social life”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Not particularly good or tasteful
“neither of which (the books) are particularly good or tasteful or whatever”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “A Man Who Reads Books for a Living (One Every Two Days)” Opening facts page is fantasy
“the very first page listing "facts" rubs me up the wrong way because every claim on that page is fantasy horseshit”
Comment from 24 Nov 2025 in “Debunking the Myths of the HBO Chernobyl series (2023)” Format copied from its style
“dan brown jacked the whole format”
Comment from 22 Aug 2026 in “The Creation of Abulafia”
Other thriller novels people recommend
The four most recommended other thriller novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hunt for Red Octoberby Tom Clancy | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Freedomby Daniel Suarez | 7 | 1 | 88% | 4 | — | — |
| Reamdeby Neal Stephenson | 6 | 2 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
| The Da Vinci Codeby Dan BrownThis page | 3 | 2 | 60% | 2 | — | — |
| Kill Decisionby Daniel Suarez | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“dan brown jacked the whole format”
“neither of which (the books) are particularly good or tasteful or whatever”
“I was reading Brown at like.... 12 years old.”
“the very first page listing "facts" rubs me up the wrong way because every claim on that page is fantasy horseshit”
“Pick up an easy dumb page turner like The Da Vinci Code, and reading won't be a chore.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.