Da Vinci Code Decoded

Rating:
Summary: Why not to waste your money...
Review: "Expert historian and Grand Master of the Dragon Society" is how the Disinformation Company, which publishes this work, describes the author, Martin Lunn. A website for the "Dragon Society" describes it: "The Imperial and Royal Dragon Court & Order was one of several occult-inspired secret societies created by the aristocracies of Europe following the formation of the Catholic Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar in the 12th Century." "The Dragon Court primarily concerns itself with Witchcraft and alchemical Vampirism, and considers itself the terrestrial incarnation of the pantheon of the Gods." (...)As one who holds a PhD in European History from Indiana University, I know most "expert historians" in the field: Lunn holds a Masters degree from an undisclosed university. A Google search provided no information about this author or his "extensive background in journalism." He may or may not be the same Martin Lunn who wrote a 48-page children's book on astronomy for the BBC, though I doubt it. As other reviewers here have pointed out, Lunn's work is as silly, shoddy and founded on fairy tales as Brown's original work. Every bit of the historically nonsensical esoterica that appears in Brown appears here again, supposedly as affirmation or confirmation. He simply uses the same sources that Brown did, categorizing the information (disinformation, rather)in such a way that it sounds, to the gullible, like learned exposition: not unlike the main characters in the novel.
Among the seemingly insightful passages is this one that contextualizes the founding of Opus Dei: "In fact, many aggressive religious orders, for example the Dominicans and Jesuits, have their origins in Spain, perhaps partly as a result of its long struggle against Fascism and its historical role as a geographical bulwark against its spread." (p. 111) The first half of this sentence is perfectly valid, the second reads like a line from a confused freshman essay. It is nonsense, since the Domincans were founded in the 1220s and the Jesuits in the 1550s, and Fascism was founded by Mussolini and Company around 1920. Perhaps like the Priory of Sion, Fascism, too, was founded in the middle ages. Spain had no "long struggle" with fascism, it adopted it after the Civil War of the 1930s (does Francisco Franco ring any bells?)and the Catholic Church, including The Dominicans and Jesuits, supported fascism as a bulwark against godless international communism.
He begins the chapter against Constantine: "In addition to being the person who first brought Christianity to Rome..." Gee, no Christians in Rome before Constantine? So who built the catacombs?
The book is riddled with trash like this, which is merely poorly written "history" that has nothing esoteric or speculative about it. It merely displays the utter ignorance and poor research of the author, the "expert historian." The esotericism and speculation are equally fictional: one of his chief sources is Dagobert's Revenge, a magazine that bears the same relation to history as a comic book.
A glance at his bizarrely organized bibliography betrays the absurdity of his "research," which omits even the scholarly work that would support his absurdities, such as recent the book Elaine Pagels or The Chalice and the Blade, the grandmother of much of the feminist material in Brown and Lunn.
As any sort of guidebook to the "truth behind Brown," Lunn's book is simply garbage, but then it's published by "Disinformation Company," isn't it?

Rating:
Summary: A Refreshing Antidote to the Da Vinci Code Hype
Review: A refreshing antidote to the Da Vinci Code craze which seems to have taken the book world hostage. The author takes care to clarify much of the distortion found in Brown's book without personally attacking him-which I found to be most admirable. If you are a Da Vinci Code fan, I suggest supplementing your bloodline awareness by checking this fine bit of decoding work.
More importantly be open to dialoguing on the intriguing and controversial Da Vinci himself without trying to kill his mystery with expanation and definition.

Also check out Dagobert's Revenge website for more info. on bloodlines, the grail cup, etc. etc. and a review on both the Da Vinci Code and Da Vinci Code Decoded

Rating:
Summary: The worst of conspiracy buffs
Review: After reading "The Da Vinci Code" I was interested to learn about the questions it brings up. I bought 2 books: the conservative debunker "The DVC: Fact or Fiction?" by Hanegraaff and Maier and this book. I read the Hanegraaff book first and thought it was rather unreliable because it's main argument seemed to be, "Because the Bible says so." Then I read "DVC Decoded" and was amazed at how inept and ridiculous Lunn is. His willingness to go along with any theory, no matter how preposterous, made me yell out "Come on!" more than a few times. Unsatisfied with either book, I got Burstein's "Secrets of the Code" and can not recommend it enough. Its balanced, intelligent essays represent a thorough and stimulating discussion of the popular Dan Brown book.

Rating:
Summary: finally an unbiased guide!
Review: As a fan of The Da Vinci Code I've been curious about lots of the things Dan Brown wrote about, but without having to read all the dry history texts like Holy Bllod Holy Grail. So I was eager to check out some of the Da Vinci Code guides that are being published now. Guess what? Nearly all of them aren't written for fans, but by a certain type of Christian (hey, not all of us object to DVC) who just wants to argue against any possibility of the history framing The Davinci Code.

This is the only one written from a balanced, secular point of view. It's comprehensive but compact enough to be readable by almost anyone with a mild interest in the various topics such as The Priory of Sion, Knights Templar, Merovingian/Davidic bloodlines, etc etc.

It's also great value at under $10 and has lots of photos, so for my money this is the one to get unless you just want to read dogmatic arguments about why The Da Vinci Code's version of history couldn't possibly be true.

Rating:
Summary: A surprising bit of fiction
Review: As I read this book I found myself surprised that anyone could actually take scholarship of this degree seriously.

Truly a book that only a conspiracy theorist could love.

Rating:
Summary: take these reviews with a large pinch of salt
Review: Disclaimer: I'm connected to this book.

Fact: I've read this book.

Hypothesis: Most of the people posting negative reviews below have NOT read the book.

It's fairly obvious to anyone who has actually read more than the book description and the author bio. I have two theories as to why these reviews are being posted: (a) because Martin Lunn's book is not simply an argument against the religious history underpinning 'The Da Vinci Code'; and (b) because the reviewers are in some way affiliated with competing books about 'The Da Vinci Code'.

They won't admit to it, of course, but bear it in mind when you see those 1 star ratings.

By the way, of all the various books, only this one and Dan Burstein's anthology are in any way fair and balanced in a non-Faux News way. Burstein's book is very different - not really a holistic guide, but a collection of essays. But for the real fan it's probably worth picking up Lunn's book and Burstein's if you can afford it.

Rating:
Summary: Two Thumbs Way Down!
Review: For an alleged expert on the Davidic bloodline, Lunn's 'revelations' couldn't be more collegiate and trite. He trots out all of the usual 80s 'Holy Blood' retreads and expects us to be impressed. Big deal. As well, I purchased all of the Disinfo series on the media ($200+) and was sorely disappointed. There was only one decent article in the set from Russ Kick on 9-11. Other than that, nadda. And there is likewise absolutely nothing new to be gleaned from Lunn's stenography here.
For the keen student of the occult, I would be much more inclined to recommend Fritz Springmeier's awesome magnum opus 'Blood Lines of the Illuminati.' His book is the real deal.

Rating:
Summary: Decode The Code!
Review: For those of you interested in the differences between fact and fiction, this is the book for you. A great quick read. Full of interesting historical tidbits - such as where Friday the 13th comes from. Rounds all the right bases - Knights Templar, Opus Dei, Priory of Sion... I think of all the guides out there right now this one is the most bang for your buck. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: He Tried
Review: Handling this Da Vinci Code issue is tricky. One must find the right balance of response, rebuttle, commentary, and fact-offering. Sadly, Lunn missed the mark. Here's why.

What other books has Martin Lunn writtern?-none. And it shows. The guy clearly knows a lot about history, but when it comes to getting his point across, his rookie status as a writer really shows. Also, Lunn doesn't seem able to grasp what the average reader (a.k.a. Dan Brown fan) really wants to know. More than anything else, I felt like I was reading a tour guide to Europe when I read this book, instead of reading a real thoughtful response to Brown's bestseller. This may be because Lunn lives in Barcelona.

The book's PR description says Lunn's volume "provides an exhaustive tour of the locations visited by the novel's characters." Very true-I was exhausted by reading the book. I would rather have closed the last page enlightened with a few really interesting facts on which to hang my thoughts.

Rating:
Summary: More nooks and crannies than your Granny's attic!!
Review: I am a lapsed Catholic, and remember reading The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail about 20 years ago. It fascinated me, and answered a lot of the doubt that had arisen with me and my faith. Then as time progresed, I forgot about it until "The Da Vinci Code" came along, and I went back through the same process.

Then I saw "Da Vinci Code Decoded" advertised, and grabbed it. The Da Vinci Code goes here, there and everywhere without much explanation. But "Da Vinci Code DECODED" fills in the gaps, AND ADDS A WHOLE LOT MORE! How else would I have been presented with pretty convincing proof that the REAL British family is alive and well in .... Australia??

This book is a gem, and its small size and price adds to this definition. Also the pictures add a whole new dimension to the book. If you truly want to know one of the directions the western world is going in, read this, and you will be well-prepared!