Re: NBC: Anyone Else Think That Dan Brown Is a Terrible Writer?

Michael Schey <mscheynjSPAMBLOCK@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 19 Apr 2006 10:10:13 -0700, "jnjmitch" <jnjmitch@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I guess I'm one of a few people left in the universe who haven't read
The DaVinci Code. So I picked up Angels and Demons, having heard from
a few people that it's "better", and because I plan to read the DC
before the movie comes out. Now I read a lot of popular fiction, and
have no problem at all with a Stephen King or a John Grisham, or even a
Tom Clancy. And I wasn't expecting Hemingway or Tolstoy. And the
ideas behind Brown's stories sounded very intriguing to me- the clash
between religion and science. But...A&D is just awful. I mean
excrutiatingly bad. Amateurly written to the point of distracting from
whatever convoluted and unlikely story is there, with paper thin
caricatures, dumb foreshadowing ("Little did Langdon know that what
he'd what he'd learned about the parachute would save his life in the
next 24 hours") and a very clumsy narrative. That's not to mention
that chapter breaks every page and a half that completely destroys and
momentum or smooth flow.

So is DaVinci Code any better? Did the guy actually learn how to write
when he published that one? Based on what I've heard, the two books
are basically the same story with different details, which doesn't bode
too well for the DC. I know that sales do not equal quality, but I'm
surprised at the number of intelligent people who have told me that
this guy is a good writer- people that can appreciate a good story but
that usually have discerning taste when it comes to bad writing.

And what's the deal with these tall paperbacks that sell for $9.99? I
see more and more books published like that, including the paperback
versions of the last three Dark Tower books. I hope that's not a
trend, because I see no benefit to the taller pages that would justify
jacking the price up from already overpriced books.


They are called trade paperbacks. I happen to like them sometimes,
though they are tougher to lug around. I have read the entire DT
series in these versions.

Actually, if I'm reading jnjmitch correctly, I think he's referring to a
tall format mass market paperback (same width, an inch or so taller,
than a standard mm). It's a relatively new format here (it's been
around a bit in the UK) and it allows for a slightly larger font with
the same page count. Blame the boomers and their dwindling vision...

And yes, Dan Brown is a hack. The stories are... fine, if you don't
think too much. The writing makes me want to poke a sharp stick in my
eye.
.

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