lakecake's review against another edition
3.0
I read this right after the Da Vinci code came out, because I was completely obsessed with the idea of Christ being a "real man." The book is interesting, and the premise is still intriguing, but the problem is that so much of it is speculation that it really just leaves you with more questions.
pretty_little_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on 1 December 1982, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail is a really interesting book. I first learnt of it when I read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and then subsequently watched the book. I loved them both so much that I so wanted to get my hands of this book. Really grateful to Sankalpa for lending me this book!
If you are a lover of conspiracy theories then this is for you definitely! Having read The Da Vinci Code which was explosive on its own, I was surprised that I never knew about it and about this book too. However, it is not to be taken as the ultimate truth. The authors do claim that this is a hypothesis they have put forward. However, reading such 'scandalous' matter may make the reader forget about the disclaimer put at the beginning. Nonetheless, it is an interesting read, so to say.
If you are a lover of conspiracy theories then this is for you definitely! Having read The Da Vinci Code which was explosive on its own, I was surprised that I never knew about it and about this book too. However, it is not to be taken as the ultimate truth. The authors do claim that this is a hypothesis they have put forward. However, reading such 'scandalous' matter may make the reader forget about the disclaimer put at the beginning. Nonetheless, it is an interesting read, so to say.
mtmdays's review against another edition
3.0
I'm all for alternative histories, conspiracy theories, and heresy, but would have liked to see more on the idea that Jesus was also an alien-human hybrid, and thus, the magical properties of his foreskin.
janedoelish's review against another edition
2.0
A spurious, if entertaining conspiracy theory that quickly falls apart even as you look at it.
mkesten's review against another edition
2.0
This is by far the best hoax I've ever read. Read this before you go on a road trip through rural France. It'll really give you the heebee-geebees.
zeydejd's review against another edition
2.0
It took me almost a year to finish this book, and for good reason. It's dense material, especially for someone (like myself) who doesn't have any background in Christianity, biblical history, etc. It was easy to get sucked into some parts and lose track of others. The overall hypothesis they propose - Jesus was, in fact, married (to none other than the Magdalene) and had a child/bloodline - is not outlandish and the text makes good points as to why and how this is possible and why the Church would want to keep such a revelation hidden, especially given political context.
Many of the other links the book tries to make are very circumstantial, and the authors admit this readily themselves! They are the first ones to make note of the fact that some of the "proof" they are offering up is not actually proof at all, or that everything they are noting is, in fact, a theory and nothing else. It's a good way to cover your bases, but it's tiresome to read a few hundred pages of "maybes."
I didn't regret reading it, but wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others unless they already had a pretty strong background in the aforementioned subjects. Trying to read it without that is like trying to read medicinal research while simultaneously trying to understand basic scientific concepts.
Many of the other links the book tries to make are very circumstantial, and the authors admit this readily themselves! They are the first ones to make note of the fact that some of the "proof" they are offering up is not actually proof at all, or that everything they are noting is, in fact, a theory and nothing else. It's a good way to cover your bases, but it's tiresome to read a few hundred pages of "maybes."
I didn't regret reading it, but wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others unless they already had a pretty strong background in the aforementioned subjects. Trying to read it without that is like trying to read medicinal research while simultaneously trying to understand basic scientific concepts.
nerdy_scholar's review against another edition
4.0
Having read this book as fiction, I enjoyed it a lot, though it was fragmentary in plot now and then. Alas, read as a work of history, this book is a great hoax! Knowing the popularity of Jesus at his own time, his marriage couldn't be that easily forgotten. If a dynasty of his lineage existed at any time, they would have spreaded the word of their sacred lineage and people would have revolted against any attempt at dethroning them. Today, no one would even think of reviving the divine right of kings in Europe or the world, after the advent of the enlightenment and its revolutionary concepts. Thus, every argument in the book is logically refuted.
bookelf's review against another edition
4.0
Made me add tons of books to my ''to-read'' list therefor the high stars.
patrickkanouse's review against another edition
1.0
A great read...but ultimately built on a hoax and that is why the one star.