Rating: 
Summary: You really shouldn't miss this current bestseller
Review: If you find spiritual thrillers appealing-- those books that mix excitement and suspense with interesting ethical and moral issues, you can't pass this one up. I also read Perdue's Daughter of God and loved that novel. It is obvious both books have been thoroughly researched and that the characters present controversial insights about church history and moral ambiguity. So many mysteries or novels of suspense are just a matter of dead bodies and clues with little that sticks with you, a novel of substance always stands out. There is no question that there are some curious correspondences to Dan Brown's book which I also read-- particularly curious in that these books were published long before his book. Still, this is a great story that needs no comparison to anything. It is fascinating, absorbing, and involving.
Rating:
Summary: Really neat stuff about Leonardo
Review: After a trip to Milan last summer, I have been intrigued by Leonardo Da Vinci. There is a museum there that has many working models of Leonardo's inventions and some extensive discussion of the far-thinking creations of this mega-genius, things like helicopters, parachutes, the breech-loading cannon and other things that would need to wait centuries before mere mortals and their technology could catch uo so that the inventions could be built.
This was what I found most intriguing about The Da Vinci Legacy: That -- like he did with the helicopter etc. -- Leonardo might have some observation or idea that could provide the missing link in modern-day-thinking to perfect some awesome weapon. All of this is very convincingly laid out and mixes history and speculation seamlessly, especially in the creative centerpiece that the Codex Leicester plays.
While I did enjoy the sections on religion, popes, art and so forth that were startlingly reminiscent of Da Vinci Code, I enjoyed the history and the Leonardo sections the most.
I read and enjoyed Perdue's Daughter of God, but I liked Da Vinci Legacy's Vance Erikson and Suzanne Storm much better than the Ridgeways that serve as hero and heroine, respectively in Daughter of God.
There are a number of "over the top" things in Da Vinci Legacy, but I think Perdue gives us enough historical and scientific justification to make them believable. All of this in a book that reads quickly and easily and holds interest while making a point in the background
Rating:
Summary: Loved It...
Review: I have the original 1983 copy of The DaVinci Legacy. I haven't read the newest edition, but some of these reviewer's don't have all of the information on which to base an opinion. I found this book compelling, entertaining, revelational and full of suspense. I would recommend it to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Creative, Innovative, Hyper-Paced
Review: This book is filled with moments that made me wonder, "could this be true?" The strange brotherhood (all the bloodline of St. Peter) is reasonably rooted in the battles over the papcy and the dueling Popes that enlivened church history. I found the brotherhood's graveyard (with the final resting places of some very famous artists and scientists) to be at least as believable as the parallel in Da Vinci Code. Only for my dollar, I think that Perdue makes for more interesting action, but then that is a personal preference of mine and is no slam at the better-selling Da Vinci book which I read and enjoyed. Quite frankly, I resent the people who have posted vicious reviews here that paint Perdue's writing as the anti-Christ or something just because his style does not appeal to them. I prefer his style, but I think it would just be simply mean and petty to go post reviews trashing Dan Brown just because his style isn't my style. These reviews should help people select a book book that fits their taste and not be a forum for grudge posts which do not add to that. With that said, I need to say that I found Da Vinci Legacy well-written although not as well as Perdue's most recent ones, Daughter of God and Slatewiper. On the other hand, Perdue has had 20 years to improve as a writer. Personally, I cannot wait until I can find a new book by him.
Rating: 
Summary: Tiresome, gratuitous violence, & honestly, pretty stupid
Review: First of all, the description of this book found on the back cover of the paperback edition I bought does not correspond to the actual book. It goes on and on about some person named Curtis Davis who does not appear at any time in the book. Who dropped the ball on that one? It probably cost some poor publishing intern his/her job. That error just set the tone for my experience with the book. . . This book was entertaining enough to begin with, but as the plot twists got twistier and twistier, they got more and more ridiculous. The plot with the Brothers was insultingly stupid. I absolutely could not suspend disbelief. The book just wasn't well written enough for me to fall in hook, line, and sinker. Don't waste your time on this book. "The Da Vinci Code" is much more interesting and better written.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, Captivating, Shocking
Review: Da Vinci scholar Vance Erikson discovers a forgery and missing pages in a Da Vinci Codex that makes his a target of a mysterious Catholic brotherhood who has killed four other Da Vinci scholars. The murders take Erikson on a fast-paced sprint through Europe one step ahead of the killers and the law who have fingered him as the killer of at least one of the dead da davinci scholars, Dr. Martini who has written his last message in his own blood. Erikson hooks up with an undercover CIA agent whose cover is as a fine arts expert. Together they solve the mystery. This book is well-written and, according to Perdue's message board had some of the very dated 1983 references updated. I did not find the body count any higher than other good thrillers in the genre.
Rating: 
Summary: DaVinci'sLegacy
Review: I thought this book had great shoot out scenes and great escape scenes but little else. The reader doen't get to the "heart of the Matter"until page 200, after way too much blood has been spilled. This book was first published in 1985,yet contains references to 9/11. I think Leonardo would flip in his grave if he thought this much death and destruction was his legacy.
Rating:
Summary: Great plot and exceptional writing
Review: I first learned about Perdue back in the 1980s when I read a bestseller of his called the Delphi Betrayal. Anyway, Perdue had a couple more bestsellers, including The Da Vinci Legacy then seemed to disappear until The Linz Testament came out. That one read pretty much like the Da Vinci Code, but when Daughter of God came out, I was hooked again, both on the subject matter (pretty much like Linz) and the writing style (his best until Slatewiper). Picking up Da Vinci Legacy was like meeting an old friend after a couple of decades apart. Perdue writes better now than he did like 20 years ago, but this book is no slouch in that department. The chase through the wine cellar and the shootout in Milan's fashion district were gripping, but I have to say the hand-to-hand fight on the leaning tower of Pisa is my favorite thriller scene for any thriller by any author at any time. I love this guy's writing and, quite frankly think that the people trashing the writing style have never actually read the book. I notice they leave no plot details at all. They write as if they have an agenda they don't hide very well at all.
Rating:
Summary: A complete waste
Review: This book was absolutely awful. The action was irrelevant to the storyline. The characters were extremely underdeveloped; weak, stereotypical villains, and lead characters that seemed like they were yanked from a cheap romance novel. The dialogue was amateurish and downright embarrassing. I read this because I liked the Da Vinci Code. That book was no paragon of western literature, but for an action thriller it was well written and had an interesting plot. Da Vince Legacy is none of those things. Don't waste your time.
Rating:
Summary: Vatican Secrets, Leonardo and Holy Bones - Holy Cow!
Review: Man, did I totally groove on this one! Hero and Leonardo scholar Vance Erikson tumbles over a forgery in the Codex Leicester, that leads him to a mysterious brotherhood in Italy who have the bones of St. Peter (because they are all his bloodline) -- and this is just one of the secrets which would tear the Church apart if the world knew. The Brotherhood and and the Vatican (not to mention some Russian bad guys and a big organization of Global Corporations) will kill to get the real Codex pages which contain awesome insights relevant to today. And kill they do! The body count (including exactly FOUR top Leonardo scholars, one of whom writes his dying message with his own blood) is a bit high here, but okay for a thriller. If I remember correctly, there were four senechaux in DV Code. Along the way, the way, hero Erikson meets up with homicidal priests, gun-toting religious fanatics and finally hooks up with the heroine, a Paris-educated art expert (Auburn hair, green eyes, not thin or waifish -- sound familiar??) who is an undercover intelligence agent and together they enlist the help of a member of the British upper crust (also familiar, hmmm) and finally unravel the puzzle while trying to stay alive. I can see the 1983 roots of this piece. Perdue has tried to update it, but there are a few continuity errors -- none that really matter or detract from a book I could not put down. It's a good read in and of itself. It's also fascinating to read what looks like the first thriller to pull together Leonardo, Religion and skulduggery.
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