The Sion Revelation: The Truth About the Guardians of Christ's Sacred Bloodline

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 528 pages
• Published by: Touchstone January 3, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0743263030
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0743263030
• Book Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 1 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
The high tide of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has lifted many boats, and one of them is the research of Picknett and Prince, self-styled writers on "the paranormal, the occult, and historical mysteries." Authors of The Templar Revelation, a book that helped inspire Brown's novel of hidden descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, Picknett and Prince return to these enticing themes of secrets, treasures, heresy and backroom power brokering with a closer look at the Priory of Sion. In this book, they argue that the Priory is a hoax, but one that is carefully designed in the manner of misinformation leaked by intelligence agencies to achieve specific goals. Behind the hoax, they say, is a network of European esoteric societies driven by the principle of "synarchy" and influencing the coalescence of the European Union, perhaps at the expense of democracy. Like their many other books, this one is cluttered with historical minutiae and sources of varying credibility. Skeptics will shake their heads over this next conspiracy theory, but for Da Vinci Code fans hungry for additional digging behind the fiction, this will be a dense but satisfying read. (Feb. 7)
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From Booklist
The authors' previous book, The Templar Revelation (1998), a primary source for The Da Vinci Code, looked at the symbolism in Da Vinci's art as well as exploring the notion that a secret group, the Priory of Sion, was charged with guarding the secret of Jesus' bloodline. Since then, most researchers have debunked the Priory. Picknett and Prince now argue that the Priory is neither the centuries-old society Brown posited nor a complete hoax but a real group that wants to bring about a United States of Europe. To get to their explanation of that concept (a notion that will be of most interest to Europeans), readers must wade through lots of convoluted logic. So, why bother? Well, for the very asset the authors tout--their connection to The Da Vinci Code. Thanks to Brown's novel, there is great interest in the topics covered here, everything from bloodlines to Merovingian kings to Gnostic gospels. That's enough to spark interest in this wildly speculative book. When the authors write that a presumed assassination of Princess Diana is outside their scope, one can only sigh in relief. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Reader Reviews
Here is yet another entry into the always fascinating but perplexing genre of "The Mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau and The Priory of Sion", which first leaped onto an unsuspecting world nearly twenty five years ago and has recently gained new life with Dan Brown's ubiquitous thriller "The Da Vinci Code." The basic story, conveniently summarized by Picknett and Prince, concerns the activities of a poor parish priest in the 1890s who somehow got his hands on a great deal of money and came into contact with a large number of unusual people: royals, occultists, opera singers, and sundry other types. Tracing this priest's career led to the unveiling of a super secret society, the Priory of Sion, and its supposedly explosive secret: the survival of descendants of Jesus Christ and their claim to be the rightful rulers of France. (There's way more to the story than that, but that's the gist of it.) Picknett and Prince try to sum up the evidence and tie up the loose ends, and they do a pretty good job of it, so far as is possible when dealing with a story that keeps on unfolding and always comes up with strange new twists. They debunk some of the more bizarre aspects, such as the Merovingian Dynasty's "right" to rule France and all of Europe, and prove(so far as anything in this story can be proven) that some of the chief protagonists, like Pierre Plantard, were habitual exagerrators if not downright liars. However, the most interesting parts of this book deal with the odd coincidences and strange interconnections so many of the events and characters boast. Reading these sections, I was reminded of the game "Six Degrees from Kevin Bacon," because it turns out that nearly everyone in modern French and European politics has ties to people who supposedly have ties to the Priory of Sion. Furthermore, it appears that the Priory, whether or not it really exists, has an interest in European unification which it shares with some less than savory groups, both past and present. Reading this book will clear up some questions about the whole Priory mystery, but it will leave you with dozens more to ponder. Comment | | (Report this)