[amiga386]

I agree, I feel much the same way about The Da Vinci Code. It's an interesting diversion to read, if somewhat poorly written, but the very first page listing "facts" rubs me up the wrong way because every claim on that page is fantasy horseshit. The novel is 1000x better with that page is ripped out.

The Catholic Church don't like it, not because it ties some fictional conspiracy to them in the context of the plot, but because that first page claims the conspiracy is real. There is a real Opus Dei organisation, but that organisation does not employ albino assassins with peanut allergies, and it's not at war with Pierre Plantard's completely made up organisation.