OK, having speed-read the first 9 chapters of "The Da Vinci Code", I've come to the following conclusion; tedious, boring, below-average writing, and fundamentally off the mark. Anyone who wants to get all whipped up over this book needs a bloody hobby. Lots of sizzle, but no prime beefsteak to back it up. Plenty of smoke, but precious little fire. 2 out of 5 stars on the Mad Jack scale.