Overall, this book is a very interesting read. However, it does require one to have an open mind and at times to suspend judgment in order to consider possibilities other than what is generally accepted in the popular culture. She does use well-documented source material throughout the book, but there are moments when Lynn Picknett makes serious leaps in logic and does not actually have anything factual to back up her claims (conspiracy church theories and assertions about Jesus's life in particular). The bias in her writing is obvious, and this leads her to make assertions that at times feel like they just came out of left field. It is not her theories that bother me I found some of them quite intriguing, especially as a person who is interested in the way mythology describes the public culture. But I am used to reading well-researched material by competent historians, and there are times when Lynn Picknett's book feels more like a sensational novel than a serious work. It would be delightful to see more hard evidence for what she asserts, but until that time, I have to take what she is saying with a grain of salt. As long as you read this book with the idea that it is largely theoretical, you'll be fine.

SATAN RULZ!!

Just kidding.

For some time now, Lynn Picknett has been shaking things up with some very unorthodox (but not completely unheard-of) excursions into possible hidden meanings behind (and often completely alternative interpretations of) various beliefs long established by the organized religions which rule cultures throughout the world, especially in this country.

This, her latest, is yet another one of these, this time turning to the sensation-turned-being known as Lucifer. With her vast imagination and thorough research, Ms. (Mrs.?) Picknett really raises some interesting points, including further explorations of Leonardo da Vinci (and what Dan Brown already has drawn much attention towards), how Christianity has long taken the ancient Greek myth of the god Pan and made him synonymous with the devil, etc. etc.

Though perhaps the subject matter of this and other books may not be unheard-of, Ms. Picknett certainly has done her proverbial homework on this and created another intriguing look into, quite simply, life.