The Da Vinci Code

THE DA VINCI CODE is chock-full of ancient rumors, historical facts, mysterious characters, and modern plots and counterplots. It's thought-provoking and fun and could easily be the downfall of an unwary narrator. Paul Michael handles it all with aplomb. His varied pacing and clear phrasing enliven the wealth of historical information that protagonist Robert Langdon imparts in conversation and clarify the complexity of signs, symbols, and secret codes that abound. In addition, the main characters--French, English, and American--are distinct and believable creations. The husky French-accented voice that Michael gives to Sophie Neveu is particularly noteworthy. A diverting listen that will leave you wanting more. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

February 3, 2003
What if Jesus Christ had a tryst with Mary Magdalene, and the interlude produced a child? Such a possibility—yielding a so-called royal bloodline—provides the framework for Brown's latest thriller (after Angels and Demons), an exhaustively researched page-turner about secret religious societies, ancient coverups and savage vengeance. The action kicks off in modern-day Paris with the murder of the Louvre's chief curator, whose body is found laid out in symbolic repose at the foot of the Mona Lisa. Seizing control of the case are Sophie Neveu, a lovely French police cryptologist, and Harvard symbol expert Robert Langdon, reprising his role from Brown's last book. The two find several puzzling codes at the murder scene, all of which form a treasure map to the fabled Holy Grail, where proof of the Jesus bloodline supposedly can be found. As their search moves from France to England, Neveu and Langdon are confounded by two mysterious groups—the legendary Priory of Sion, a nearly 1,000-year-old secret society whose members have included Botticelli and Isaac Newton, and the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. Both have their own reasons for wanting to ensure that the Grail isn't found. Brown sometimes ladles out too much religious history at the expense of pacing, and Langdon is a hero in desperate need of more chutzpah. Still, Brown has assembled a whopper of a plot that will please both conspiracy buffs and thriller addicts.

Here are secrets so deep that literally nobody knows them. This iconic novel was a mega-bestseller and is now being filmed. The biggest secret it reveals, if known, would overturn two millennia of Christian assumptions and doctrine, so the Church's response is powerful, even ruthless. Paul Michael is one of a group of young readers who have made a big splash in recent years with their 1990s' style of precise pronunciation (here involving many foreign words and voices) and nicely paced narration. It's hard to put this one down. D.R.W. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine