This is another grail quest but personally, I don’t think one can compare it to The Da Vinci Code in terms of which is better or worse. They have very few similarities and are both good and bad in their own ways.

Although there were a few times when I felt like the politics involved in it were dragging on a bit, overall the story was very interesting and kept me wanting to know the secret of the grail and what happens in the end.

I liked the way the story is told, from two different time periods that are connected. Some of the character development was good, some was lacking. There are some concepts that require some mild belief in the “supernatural” or maybe spiritual (there are some physic-like moments) which is fine with me but some people can’t get past it.

I think both Da Vinci Code lovers and haters can appreciate this story.

In my opinion, this book is better than The Da Vinci Code. This isn’t actually saying that much since I wasn’t a big fan of The Da Vince Code in the first place.

This book really is ok, though. Set in southern France, it follows the parallel stories of Alais, a 17 year old woman in the 12th century in Carcassone, which is on the brink of being invaded by Crusaders, and Alice, an English woman in her early 20s volunteering at an achaeological dig in the general area who finds across “something interesting”. They’re the good guys and the race is on to stop the bad guys from getting the secrets of the Grail, naturally to use them for their own ends.

Suspend your disbelief for a little while and the story is actually pretty good. It is a thriller that treats the reader like they’re fairly intelligent, and it will hook you.

A couple of things, however, irked me. There was far too little explained about Alice and the choices she made while Alais was far too much the stereotypical nice girl to whom bad things happen. A little more character development really would have made the story much more enjoyable for me. The lengthy descriptions didn’t bother me that much during Alais’ side of the story, but I really could have done with some editing when it came to the descriptions Alice’s sightseeing.

Overall, not a bad book but not a great one either.