i went into this anticipating it to be much less than the davinci code. while davinci possessed a globality that added appeal, this story's more pointed agenda sang from early on. brown is all over this small-chapter, wide-turns style of suspense guiding the reader with great precision.

think of it this way, this book would make a great parent neglect their children to read just ten more pages. so imagine its effects on someone who is as confident in his ability to govern kids as he is to teach a class of 12 year old girls how to use a tampon. the good news is, the book can be read in a matter of days and what self-respecting kid can't do 48 hours in the same diaper.

on a more academic note, i read this while our pope of a scillion years died for real and the catholic players were in the process of selecting the next. you'd win the bonus question if you answered 'troy learned more about the pope in the last week than he ever knew before.' true dat.