Surprised no one has started this topic yet...I don't think I've ever been alive when a book has become so mainstream where so many people are reading about it and talking about it!

So I was interested in seeing what people thought about the book.

Personally, I thought it was VERY GOOD but NOT great. And I was expecting GREAT after listening to everybody reading it, saying they couldn't put it down, etc.

I think one of my friends said it best: An A+ as a history lesson, a B+ as a Mystery.

A history lesson? Isn't it fiction? (at least historical fiction?)

It is marketed as "historical" fiction, with some grain of salt thrown in when it comes to the adjective.

Reputable Biblical scholars and historians find it questionable, if not outright bogus.

Yes, of course it's fiction, but you learn a lot about different theories floating out there, including a few of Da Vinci's paintings, and the history of the Holy Grail. I also learned some additional things about Christianity that I didn't know about, in addition to Opus Dei, and the Priory of Sion, both of which are real organizations that I had no idea about.

It definitely gets you to thinking about a lot of things, and has caused me to investigate more about what different people have to say about Da Vinci, the Holy Grail, and Christianity in general.

asc85,

You're entirely right. There is often a "secret history" to most things, well beneath the radar and purview of the official version, those who wrote the histories. But by the same token, not everything is true. We live at a time when there is a huge appetite for pseudo-science (scientism), false histories (denial of Jewish genocide), and just out-and-out non-sense (recovered memories, alien abduction, John Edwards).

There’s a recent book of essays called Vermeer in Bosnia, which detailed the fact that Vermeer's work was done against the backdrop of a period of intense religious warfare and persecution, entailing barbarity that rivals anything we have today. Strange how art can reflect history, or be a refuge from it.

One thing I'm fascinated by is the role that St Paul play in creating the character and institutional structure of the early church that persist even to this day: priest celibacy, marginalization of women, dispensing with circumcision thus opening the new faith to gentiles of any and all stripes, etc. Great stuff.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: wong828,

I haven't read this book, but I have looked at it and thought it was a little to much fiction for me to bother with. There is a fellow by the name of Laurence Gardner who has written the most important recent works regarding the bloodline of Jesus and the Holy Grail. I recommend checking out Bloodline of the Holy Grail, and Genesis of the Grail Kings. Also Elaine Pagels is a very good author on this subject. These are non-fiction works though in case you are not into that stuff.

Come on Fiction is great. Non-fiction is boring and for me, hard to read. Fiction is imagination and fun.

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Originally posted by Smenkharon:
I haven't read this book, but I have looked at it and thought it was a little to much fiction for me to bother with. There is a fellow by the name of Laurence Gardner who has written the most important recent works regarding the bloodline of Jesus and the Holy Grail. I recommend checking out Bloodline of the Holy Grail, and Genesis of the Grail Kings. Also Elaine Pagels is a very good author on this subject. These are non-fiction works though in case you are not into that stuff.

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A really good collection of some of the non-canonized texts from the Biblical era is "The Other Bible", edited by Willis Barnstone, which includes the Gnostic gospels, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and some of the "lost" gospels. Interesting stuff, much of it, and you can certainly see why the church fathers wouldn't want it in the canon. Power to the people, indeed!

This book is a heart pounding page turning masterpiece. I dont understand why some people dont like the writing, I find it perfectly fine. Once I started reading this book, I really couldnt stop. Now that i think of it, it wasnt the best book ever but it really is fun to read.

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Hey PE! I have a few of those Gnostic and lost Gospels books on their own and they are fascinating! Own a few books on the dead sea scrolls but find them to be rather laboursome reading. I will definately take a look for the book you mentioned. I have an awesome used book store by my workplace that carries tons of great hardcover non-fiction, so hopefully I'll be able to find it. Either way, I put it on my book list!

Non-Fiction holds much more interest for me these days, as fiction has become predictable and the truth fantastic!

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Originally posted by Smenkharon:
Hey PE! I have a few of those Gnostic and lost Gospels books on their own and they are fascinating! Own a few books on the dead sea scrolls but find them to be rather laboursome reading. I will definately take a look for the book you mentioned. I have an awesome used book store by my workplace that carries tons of great hardcover non-fiction, so hopefully I'll be able to find it. Either way, I put it on my book list!

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The Infancy Gospels of James and Pesudo-Matthew are interesting, as are many of the Acts (John and Paul) and the Manichean stuff. The Gospel of Thomas is really interesting, as well, as is the Pagan writings on God's bisexuality (Hermes Trismegistus).

Check 'em out...I think the copyright was from the mid 80's, so you should be able to find cheap used copies.

I enjoyed The Da Vinci Codes and thought that all of the plot "twists" that occured every few sentences or so were cool. I agree though that it was a bit to much historical facts and trying to incorporate them into the mystery story. I reccomend for anyone to read Dan Brown's first book, Angels and Demons. In many aspects, it was better than Da Vinci Code. It had less of the historical facts and a stronger, more exciting premise. It also had some excellent "twists" as well.

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Originally posted by know_it_all:
This book is a heart pounding page turning masterpiece. I dont understand why some people dont like the writing, I find it perfectly fine. Once I started reading this book, I really couldnt stop. Now that i think of it, it wasnt the best book ever but it really is fun to read.

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It was definitely a page-turner. Made me think of those old weekly serials where the heroine is left hanging from a tree branch over a waterfall in the last shot. However, I thought that the characters were just too one-dimensional... it seemed more like a printed video game in that it was all plot/action and no real characters. It could make a fun movie, though.

The DaVinci Code was an amazingly well written book. A Fascinating story. But fiction, it is. True, some of the historical facts he presents are most likely true and very interesting, but as far as the Grail goes, absolute nonsense. Here is the truth of the matter:
The Catholic Church has nothing to do with the "early church". It was started a few hundred years after the The Way (Christ's church started by the apostles) and I believe that Jesus and the apostles would be very dissapointed if they saw what the Catholic church has done to Christianity. If you guys want a good read, get an Interlinear Bible. It has the original Greek translation of the Gospels along side the English translation. You will find that the intended meaning of much of the Gospels has been missed by many denominations.

I'm sure I'm offending many people, but I'm a truth seeker. Don't take my word for it, look it up yourself.

No problema, Jackie, TRUTH is TRUTH! The bottom line is that we love everybody here, except for....Please don't get upset...post...that's the way to feel better!

Oh, and I forgot to mention for those of you who don't know, The DaVinci Code is being translated to film.

Director: Ron Howard
Writer: Akiva Goldsman

I enjoyed their work on A Beautiful Mind. Should prove to be interesting.

Hmmmm...very interesting information...do you have any other information on the film version of "The Da Vinci Code"?

I checked IMDB first...nothing on there at this time.

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Originally posted by kraftdeluxe:
I reccomend for anyone to read Dan Brown's first book, Angels and Demons. In many aspects, it was better than Da Vinci Code. It had less of the historical facts and a stronger, more exciting premise. It also had some excellent "twists" as well.

I also find Angels and Demons to be a superior story. (And for the record, A&D is Dan Brown's 3rd book.) I have also realized that Dan Brown is somewhat of a formula writer and both stories are rather similar in plot and in the characters.

Just read the Da Vinci Code, excellent book.

The only two things I hate about it are the fact that if you start at say, 8 pm, you lose a hell of a lot of sleep. So good you cant put it down. Second, its not the kind of book you can read twice in a single week (Unless your memory is totaly riddled with holes).

IMDB now has info on the movie, it comes out this year.

So many cool things in it. PHI! THATS TOTALLY NUTS! ITS REALLY TRUE! I tried it myself. If you dont get exact mesurements, you dont get 1.618. But you always get a number thats really close.

Great story, highly recommended. READ IT! I COMMAND YOU! =P

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Originally posted by TheRazgriz:

So many cool things in it. PHI! THATS TOTALLY NUTS! ITS REALLY TRUE! I tried it myself. If you dont get exact mesurements, you dont get 1.618. But you always get a number thats really close.

I'm surprised you hadn't encountered this before. I think I learned about it in 7th grade math class. It's sort of a fun story, if not necessarily great writing. Glad you liked it.