BY COLM BRADLEY

Say what you like about Dan Brown, but a lot of authors owe their living to him. Even though he has not written a jot since 'The Da Vinci Code' in 2003, he is still undisputed king of the religo-thriller, and has introduced many new readers to the genre.

It must be said that it was not the writing that made The DaVinci Code such enthralling reading but, rather the story that it told. The theory of a married Jesus Christ with living descendants wandering about the earth had be seen in other non fiction books but when Brown packaged it as a 'fictional' page turner of the holiday variety, he struck gold.

The problem that other writers in this genre (and indeed Brown himself) now encounter is that in terms of mass appeal, 'The Da Vinci' can never be matched.

Its story was simply too controversial. But, that is not to say that books do not exist which are arguably better than Brown's biggest blockbuster.

Steve Berry, in the shape of 'The Alexandria Link', has produced one such book in this reviewer's opinion.

It is based on the premise that many of the documents the world once thought destroyed by man's ignorance and religious zeal in the library at Alexandria were in fact copied or smuggled out before the great library finally succumbed to destruction.

The book reveals that 'Guardians' of these treasured manuscripts have extended invitations over the years to learned scholars to feast at this lost table of knowledge. The latest known invitee, George Haddad, an aged Palestinian, is the book's title, 'The Alexandria Link.' What becomes clear very quickly is that there are many who want the 'Link' silenced, while others want to use his knowledge for their own end.

The only man to know of Haddad's location is Cotton Malone, an ex special agent with the US government and, with his son kidnapped, he is forced from his cosy semi retirement and into action. Malone must save his son, secure 'the Link's' safety and solve a 'hero's quest' to find the lost works of the Alexandria Library. What follows is a story with three plots skilfully interwoven to form a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The governments of the US, Saudi Arabia and Israel are all major players, with a shady European business society also an important mover as the journey unfolds. As the reader races through the story, they learn that the secrets saved from the library have the potential to change the history of the three main world religions. What is more, it becomes obvious that there are those prepared to kill to keep those secrets hidden.

Berry has written a very entertaining page turner. He has played on both the historical fact and the legend of the Alexandria Library. The story is fast paced and contains believable dialogue - something which many books in this field fail to deliver - and there are some interesting theories put forward by various characters.

But here lies the problem with some peoples interpretations of these type of books. They take these theories and arguments which are made by these fictional characters as historical fact.

This book is fiction, nothing more and nothing less. Just like The Da Vinci Code, it did not prove that Mary Magdalene had pride of place in 'The Last Supper,' so, people should not presume that the secrets that The Alexandria Link' submits were held in the great Library prove that there is an alternative and, indeed more accurate account of the Old Testament.

The author also comes in for some heavy criticism over his depiction of the 1948 war between Israel and Palestine. Berry is accused of showing blatant favouritism to the Palestinian position and, while this reviewer does not know enough about the war in question, it is again worth pointing out that this is a fiction book and that readers should not take every word as gospel truth - although come to think of it. There are those who would question that the 'Gospels' themseleves are truth.

But anyway, to be fair to Berry: he never intends his readers to take every word he wrote as literal truth. And, there is a very helpful author's note explaining the sources he used for some of the information and theories which may lead some to further reading.

In conclusion, 'The Alexandria Link' is a very enjoyable page turner. Perhaps not quite in the unputdownable bracket, it is however well worth a few pound for the 500 plus pages of entertainment that it provides.