I finally read "The Da Vinci Code," by Dan Brown. Finally! I had to know what all the fuss was about, and Mary Magdalene is an interest of mine, ever since I did a great deal of research about her for Maundy Thursday.
The great thing about this book is that Mr. Brown has certainly done his research. Every secret society, every historical figure, every place and past event is true. I don't think any of it is based on speculation on his part; as far as I can tell, he bases it straight on historical fact and a TON of research by historians, religious symbologists, scientists, and who knows what else.
First off, no, I won't spoil any huge surprises for you. Everyone I know was lauding the book and saying, "But I don't want to spoil any surprises for you!" And I have to say, I reached the end of the book, and aside from a couple of nice plot twists at the end, I was left with the thought of, what surprises?
The thing is, every theory he puts forth and all those "surprising things" have been around for ages and ages. And they're extremely well-known, too. If you watch the Discovery Channel or the History Channel (particularly around Easter or Christmas), you'll have seen countless documentaries about the very subjects he discusses. Even at the Pageant of the Masters, where the Last Supper is performed every year, there's inevitably a discussion about it. So I was a little surprised that it's such a huge deal to everyone. I'm a little surprised that people have NEVER heard this before.
I guess I was a tiny bit disappointed that there was no great revelation in it, sort of like seeing "The Sixth Sense" when you've been told the ending, but I really enjoyed it anyway. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, so you'll find yourself at 2:00 a.m. saying, "Well, just one more chapter..." I defy you to read it slowly!
Some of the writing is a bit easy; it can start to sound almost like a preteen novel. But for the most part, it's an exciting Grail chase across Paris and London. It's a lot of fun. It even has an albino monk; really, what more can you ask for?
I won't go into any more of it...I don't want to accidentally say too much and risk the wrath of someone who's halfway through it! Read it; you'll enjoy it very much. Trust me.