Most boggling conspiracy theory of all time

[Lunaverde]

I can't resist this one: has anybody out there ever actually read the book,
"Holy Blood, Holy Grail"? This is what the recently incredibly popular "The DaVinci Code" was based on. It has to be the grande dame of all conspiracy theories -- it has Knights Templar, mysterious ever-changing documents in the Paris library archives, Albigensians, Cathars, baffling connections galore. "The DaVinci Code" is like the Ophra Winfrey version of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail".

I must have tried to read it 3 or 4 times now, and I can't get through even half of it. Just too...complicated, bizarre, tangled. Somebody who has read it, please tell me how it ends!

It doesn't have any abductions by space aliens, as far as I know, but it has to be one of the weirdest books ever written. Such a serious tone, with such peculiar material. It is....unique.

[stony moss]

You must not read much. The DaVinci Code was very fast paced & I found it very interesting. But, I like that sort of weird story. What I have a problem swallowing is the stuff about the supposed Bible Code that can be deciphered only by computer & supposedly tells of future events. Sort of like a Nostradamus. People are still trying to figure out what he was trying to say. Don't read too much into it. Just read The DaVinci Code as well as his (Dan Brown's) Angels & Demons (or was it Demons & Angels) as a good conspiracy novel. If you can't get thru this book, don't try to read any of Tolstoy's stuff.

[Majuscule]

Originally Posted by stony moss

You must not read much. The DaVinci Code was very fast paced & I found it very interesting. But, I like that sort of weird story...If you can't get thru this book, don't try to read any of Tolstoy's stuff.

I think the OP was talking about a different book, not The DaVinci Code.

Originally Posted by Lunaverde

"The DaVinci Code" is like the Ophra Winfrey version of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail".

I too found The DaVinci Code to be pretty shallow--a popcorn read. There was some discussion of it in the Poetry and Writing Forum ("The Dan Brown Books").

I much preferred Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. I haven't read Holy Blood Holy Grail so I can't comment on it.

I hope someone who has read it through will comment. Is it worth looking for? I like complicated, tangled plots but ones that are comprehesible.

Is Holy Blood fiction or...uh, spectulation? (I was going to say non fiction but decided against!)

[Lunaverde]

Majescule, you're right -- and Stony Moss I apologise for being confusing. I was referring to "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" as the bookI couldn't get through. I read the DaVinci Code in a few hours, actually. It was light reading, and the plot is based on the information given in "Holy Blood, Holy Grail". The DaVinci Code is really pop entertainment, compared to HB HG.

HB HG is very complex and confusing -- at least I thought so. The authors (3!) seem to believe they are onto something real, so it isn't ....uh....fiction. They discuss all the documents they found, the places they visited, and they seem to believe they are involved in a true scholarly endeavor. There are photos of various people and locations mentioned in the book. It's a genuine, bizarre conspiracy theory. The mysterious priest in the French village, the painting, the tomb...I'd recommend it to anybody who liked the DaVinci Code, but be prepared for a much more in-depth presentation....

I'd be curious to hear from someone who has actually completely read HB HG, to find out what they think. What exactly is the full conspiracy, anyway?I gather it has to do with the Knights Templar having knowledge of the direct bloodline of Jesus Christ. So that would mean a descendant of Jesus is alive today. All I can say to that is: And...?

[anastrophe]

Originally Posted by Lunaverde

is like the Ophra Winfrey version of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail".

by the way, an easy way to remember how to spell ms. winfrey's first name is to remember that it is "harpo" backwards. thus oprah.

:yahoo_cof

[Lunaverde]

Thanks for the spelling correction on "Oprah". Not having a TV, my only source for info on the woman is those special magazines glimpsed at the checkout counter, and I can see I haven't been paying proper attention. Oprah is Harpo spelled backwards...hmmm, I must remember that. Feels like a hidden meaning in there somewhere....what's the numerological count on Oprah/Harpo?

[Lunaverde]

Ah, since my last post, I have discovered secret documents which reveal that Oprah Winfrey is in fact a descendant of the direct bloodline of Harpo Marx!

[capt_buzzard]

Originally Posted by Majuscule

I think the OP was talking about a different book, not The DaVinci Code.

I too found The DaVinci Code to be pretty shallow--a popcorn read. There was some discussion of it in the Poetry and Writing Forum ("The Dan Brown Books").

I much preferred Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. I haven't read Holy Blood Holy Grail so I can't comment on it.

I hope someone who has read it through will comment. Is it worth looking for? I like complicated, tangled plots but ones that are comprehesible.

Is Holy Blood fiction or...uh, spectulation? (I was going to say non fiction but decided against!)

Same here.

[koan]

Umberto Eco is fabulous the way he weaves historical info into his conspiracy plots. The spattering of non-fiction into fiction makes it more believable and therefore more enjoyable. Suspension of disbelief. "Foucault's Pendulum" was the first time I had heard of the Knights Templar and launched about a 5 year quest of finding out more about these "secret" societies who are not so secret anymore. Must say he lost his edge at the end of this book in an attempt to wrap it up.

I am attracted to these books because they show how completely different conclusions can be drawn from the same information. I love to see how people string their facts together and call it "proof". All it proves is that our idea of history is somewhat subjective.

I know of the book you refer to and remember reading a book by these authors. I'll have to look and see if it is the same book. They have written more than one. They take maps and lay them over artwork to find locations. There is a lot of numerology employed to come up with "facts" if I remember correctly. Sometimes you have to skim sections where they get self indulgent in trying to prove their conclusions. If you want to enjoy the book, assume you believe them and move to the next part. Then when you finish go back and see if their proof makes sense to you.

There is another interesting "historical" investigation by some Freemasons called
"The Hiram Key". A much easier read but not pablum. Again, they often say "So this is the obvious conclusion" and I wonder if it is really so obvious.

[koan]

Just found the book I was thinking of by the same authors as HB,HG. It's called "The Elixir and the Stone". I have read HB,HG and as far as I can remember, its main purpose is to try and cast serious doubt on the literal interpretations of the Bible. I don't know it they accomplish their goal but they seem to have a thing against traditional Christianity. The back cover of the book I have, E&S, reads:

With startling insight, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, acclaimed authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, turn back the pages of our intellectual history to uncover the magic and alchemy that have always been part of our lives - a part which they believe is even more important in this modern, scientific age.

The unifying thread, they reveal, is Hermeticism, a body of esoteric teaching which flourished in Alexandria two thousand years ago and was never entirely destroyed. The Elixir and the Stone traces this fascinating tradition - a parallel to today's holistic thought - from Egyptian times, through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the present.

With it at last comes a true context for those shadowy alchemists and magicians who have haunted our thoughts for centuries. With it, too, comes an alternative way of looking at the world - and the possibility of a figure other than Christ who defines our civilization.

The book is much better written than the back cover. I think I'll read it again now that I've dug it up.