I had previously dismissed The Da Vinci Code as prime example of the “trashy action” genre that I seek to avoid, but a friend raised the valid criticism that I hadn't actually read the book, so was "judging it by its cover". To that end, I did my best to set aside my preconceived notions and started reading the book.

The book is something of a page-turner, in the same way that an incomplete sentence makes you turn to the next page. There is little attempt to build genuine suspense and mystery, in favour of an "everyone is in on it"-style conspiracy with cheap twists (which are unexpected only because they are completely illogical).

That said, the novel merits two stars rather than one because the history and symbology (whatever portions of them are not made up) are actually quite interesting; they are just presented in a terrible package.

I know this review reeks of intellectual elitism. I am not categorically opposed to books like this: if they encourage people to read, or people find them entertaining, then all the better for it. But for anyone willing to put in a bit more effort to engage with what they are reading, there are plenty of alternatives – for instance, The Count of Monte Cristo is a great example of a suspenseful adventure novel that is full of twists and surprises without being silly.

"This is very common in times of turmoil," Langdon continued. "A newly emerging power will take over the existing symbols and degrade them over time in an attempt to erase their meaning. In the battle between the pagan symbols and Christian symbols, the pagans lost; Poseidon's trident became the devil's pitchfork, the wise crone's pointed hat became the symbol of a witch, and Venus's pentacle became a sign of the devil." (loc 589)

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the planet Venus traced a perfect pentacle across the ecliptic sky every four years. So astonished were the ancients to observe this phenomenon, that Venus and her pentacle became symbols of perfection, beauty, and the cyclic qualities of sexual love. (loc 574)

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