The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is a fast-paced, engaging thriller revolving around Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, in a race against time to reveal a secret that could dismantle the very foundations of Christianity. What if Jesus Christ had a union with Mary Magdalene leading to a potential child? This possibility, along with the indulgence of secret societies to protect such a devastating fact, provides the basis for Brown's page-turning thriller.
The lines along Jesus' bloodline have been quite blurred by controversies through the ages. Brown took the very advantage of these speculations to send his characters into a labyrinth of codes and on a journey mapped across the most historic of the cities. The story kicks-off in present time Paris as Langdon receives news about the murder of the Louvre's chief curator with his body found covered with symbolic messages within the museum. He’s called in to read between the lines of these ciphers only to realize that the very night would end up being one of his worst nightmares as he chases clues along with Sophie Neveu, a French cryptologist, with the French police hot on their trails. The thriller spirals between ancient truths, cryptic devices, bizarre anagrams, betrayals, codes in the works of Da Vinci himself and the questioning of faiths as the two protagonists hunt for the secrets of the Holy Grail.
The book itself is a fictional work but Brown has done an exhaustive amount of research into development of these ideas. And while fiction comes along with a lot of creative freedom for the author, Brown’s tone during a few parts of the plot might come off as condensing and not sit well with the concepts of ‘feminism’ that it wishes to target. But to say that this book isn’t a rewarding read would be a white lie. For suspense-thriller enthusiasts, looking for a touch of history so to say, The Da Vinci Code would be a great choice. The plot will not fail to keep you glued to the pages and please your conspiracy-thriller relish as you go on a quest to detangle a stunning, ancient mystery before it’s lost forever.