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[fantasyjunkie]

I'm hearing Da Vinci code this and Da Vinci Code that. Can someome please tell me what this code is or is it just a bit of fiction someone made up? Thanks!

[Lychon]

Originally Posted by fantasyjunkie

I'm hearing Da Vinci code this and Da Vinci Code that. Can someome please tell me what this code is or is it just a bit of fiction someone made up? Thanks!

It is a novel which incorporates dubious historical accounts of Christianity and suspenseful developments in modern times regarding these accounts. It is written with numerous references to cryptology, ancient scripture such as the Apocrypha (writings not included in the "official" Biblical Cannon), and religious organizations which come together in the novel as part of an underlying conspiracy about the bloodline of Jesus Christ.

You've probably heard that the novel centers on the question of whether or not Jesus was married to Saint Mary Magdalene, and fathered children with her that formed the base of a holy bloodline which is supposedly affiliated with a secret society known as the Priory of Sion (or the Ordre de Sion, although it is unclear whether these are the same society or two different ones). Leonardo Da Vinci was said to be a "grandmaster" of this society and used his talent for painting to encode secret messages and images about the idea of the bloodline. Leonardo Da Vinci really does not play a main historical reference in the novel. The main reference is his painting the "Last Supper," in which the author Dan Brown asserts that the figure next to Jesus Christ is in fact his wife, Mary Magdalene. This has not been proven, but then again, it has not been disproven which makes the novel even more exciting.

Here is a picture of that painting- Jesus is the central figure with the red and blue garments, and the person to the left of Jesus (as you're looking at the painting, not from Jesus's perspective) is the supposed Mary Magdalene instead of the traditional apostle John, as traditionally believed:



The Catholic Church and other religious groups (such as the Catholic society Opus Dei, which is featured prominently in the novel) have responded with great displeasure against the novel, since it challenges established Christian beliefs to their very core. The question of what is fact and what is not when it comes to religion is very difficult to decide. There is historical evidence, however, for the Priory of Sion, and various other groups (such as the Knights Templar, Freemasons, Rosicrucians, etc...) which have been linked to the bloodline conspiracy.

I've read it and believe it is written well, with great suspense and mystery elements that come together with one of the most controversial topics in present time to obviously create a bestseller. If you can't seem to find time and read it, then perhaps you'll enjoy the movie version of the book which is coming out this year on May 19th. Overall, IMO it's not War and Peace or Great Expectations, but it's still good reading.

I'm kind of a fan of this whole topic, ever since I played the computer game Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, which deals with the same consipracy (great game, play it if you like this kind of mystery). There is also a second fictional book in the works that I've heard of which deals with the same subject, and that is announced for 2008.

-Alex

[Miriel]

It's an extremely poorly written book that someone from Fanfiction.net could have written.

[jrgen]

It is based on actual theories, but he makes some really farfetched connections between them.

[I'm my own MILF]

Originally Posted by Miriel

It's an extremely poorly written book that someone from Fanfiction.net could have written.

Though I'm very glad I'm not the only person who thinks that, this is one of the best things I have ever read, and it's on fanfiction.net

'Course I probably only love it because I love X-Com, but I think he's done the world an exceptional amount of justice.

Helps that his pen name is my surname, too. xD

[Zante]

Originally Posted by Miriel

It's an extremely poorly written book that someone from Fanfiction.net could have written.

Guess thats a matter of preference, I enjoyed it verry much.

[Resha]

It's an okay book; highly overrated, to be sure, and the ending is crap. That kind of lets the whole book down; if the ending is rubbish, then it reflects badly on the whole book. I also think that maybe Dan Brown is a leetle too sceptical of things. It's a good book to read once or twice, but hardly worth the big media blow-out it gets.

[Cz]

It's a decent novel, even though the plot is rather flawed. The simplicity of the book makes it good light reading, although I doubt it would stand up to repeated reads considering how reliant it is on mystery and suspense. It's no work of art, but not bad nevertheless.