Dan Brown

 Read Da Vinci Code and liked it. Then I read his other books, and the formulaic nature was evident. Also, the liberties he took with physics could not be ignored. It made me wonder whether he did the same with history, and researched a bit about the Holy Grail. Sure enough! That was also full of stupidities like Angels and Demons

Nandakishore Varma says "Dan Brown is a one-trick pony".

Angels and demons was very fascinating was really excited about the plot twists 😁

 Shahid Ameen CBC: "If you liked Da Vinci Code, I would recommend Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln who also sued Dan Brown or his publishers if I remember correctly. This though would be the OG in speculative history that explores the bloodline of Jesus Christ."

Nandakishore Varma CBC  Tcr: "I have read the book. But it's full of bogus scholarship. It has been thoroughly exposed."

 Shahid Ameen CBC: Da Vinci Code extensively borrows from it

Nandakishore Varma: He stole even Baigent's name and made an anagram of it 🤣🤣🤣

 The best novel to go for if anyone likes conspiracy theory fiction is 'Foucault's Pendulum' by Umberto Eco. It's a lot though. 

 J P Alexander

Of all Dan Brown books, it is "Da Vinci Code" which truly fascinates me because  of the interesting links which he makes to the  2000 year old legend of Mary Magdalene and her flight to Europe, following the crucifixion of Jesus. 

Yes, Jesus's followers were prosecuted by the Romans, though some like "brother James" stayed on till Titus's Destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

 For example, Mother Mary, according to some accounts lived in a cottage on Bulbul Mountain near Ephesus which hundreds of pilgrims visit daily. The fact that all the Popes since Pius X, more than a century ago, have made  this pilgrimage, lends credibility to the story.

Dan Brown in 2003 borrowed heavily from well-researched "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" which had fascinated me in the 1980s. Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln and Richard Leigh worked assiduously to fill up the gaps in this 2000 year old story.

Pierre Planchard de Saint Clair ( a descendant of Mary Magdalene ?) who died in 2000 wielded immense influence in France and even Charles de Gaulle consulted him during major crises. Well-known historical figures like " long haired" Merovingian monarch Dagobert II and Godrey de Bouillon are introduced to lend  authenticity to the unbroken lineage. (Duke Godfrey of Boulogne in Belgium was a surprise choice as King  of Jerusalem when the 1st Crusade took the city in 1098. But the book claims that his descent from Mary Magdalene was the key factor.

The Grail, in quest of which Arthur's knights ... Percival, Galahad, Gawaine, Lancelot ... journeyed afar, wasn't the Chalice at the Last Supper, but the sacred bloodline of Jesus! 

Sang-real = Blood royal.

This was protected by the Templar Knights, Rosicrucians and the  the Priory of Sion whose Grand Masters included prominent figures like Sandro Botticelli ( Birth of Venus), Leonardo da Vinci, the Constable de  Bourbon, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, Charles Debussy.. ( OMG!)

" Da Vinci Code" begins in the Louvre Museum, Paris with the murder of curator Jacques Sauniere.

 It also ends in the Louvre, with Robert Langdon speculating about Mary  Magdalene's body being, interred below the massive Entrance Pyramid. When I visited the Louvre in 1977, there was no pyramid.(I M Pei's grand work came up only in 1984).

In the short time available, I did manage to see Mona Lisa (sans bulletproof glass) and 3 of Da Vinci's  other masterpieces.

 Also "Venus de Milo" and  "Nike of Samothrace " ... altogether just an infitesimile part of the vast museum.

The visit of Robert Langdon and Sophie  to London's Templar Church was action packed.

What was even more  thrilling  was our vist in 2017 to mysterious Rosslyn Chapel, near Edinburgh, which was built by Sir William St Clair in  1446. Thanks to the book, there was a veritable horde of visitors and not even enough space in thev car  park.

As a "Da Vinci Code" aficianado, the icing on the cake was our serendipitous visit to  St Clair estate ( founded by Graeme St Clair in 1874) as we traveled through Srilanka's Central Highlands. We bought a pretty good painting of the lovely St Clair Falls (above) for a "humungous" Rs 1500 ( Srilankan!). Life was cheap a decade ago. Maybe it still is, in Srilanka.