I've read it, but abandoned it before the end. I don't think there's a need to freak out, but I do think it confirms how deeply the church is held in contempt, because it really IS as bad in terms of attacking the church as its critics claim.
I have to disagree slightly over the adamant assertion about it being a novel, and fiction, which it most certainly is...BUT the author put a note at the front of the book claiming the history it's bassed on is FACT. That's why I consider this a "stealth history" book, because everyone I've spoken to who loved the books says "It's all true, all the background about the church." Well, it's not, but the readers of this fiction believe it is.
For fiction, Mr. Brown claims it is fact.
From the official web site:
FACT:
The Priory of Sion—a European secret society founded in
1099—is a real organization. In 1975, Paris's Bibliothèque
Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers
Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of
Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo,
and Leonardo da Vinci.
The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout
Catholic group that has been the topic of recent
controversy due to reports of brain-washing, coercion, and
a practice known as "corporal mortification." Opus Dei has
just completed construction of a $47 million National
Headquarters at 243 Lexington Avenue in New York City.
All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and
secret rituals in this novel are accurate.
PROLOGUE
http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/excerpt.html>