Please give a writer harder to put down than Dan Brown - Page 26

lene1949 · 03-17-2011, 04:13 AM

Who is Dan Brown?

WillieMcIntyre · 03-17-2011, 10:32 AM

The History of Glue by E. VO. Stik

I couldn't put it down

issybird · 03-17-2011, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by captkjaneway

He can't be arsed to get basic facts right, and this is even before I get bogged down by his terrible writing style....

I was lucky. I got bogged down by the atrocious writing style by about the third page. Saved me a LOT of time.

ReneAZ · 03-22-2011, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHOECHICK

hangs head in shame...plans on buying new Dan Brown when it comes out....

As for can't put down authors, I've always loved Ken Follet even before pillars and love Daniel Silva. Clive Cussler and James Patterson drive me nuts although both can tell a decent tale.

Oh yes, Daniel Silva is hard to put down! Also, Vince Flynn and Lee Child.
(love spy/thriller/mysteries!

and I find Dan Brown entertaining also!

benham · 03-24-2011, 01:44 PM

Oh good. I have not yet read Silva but he is on our list for the April book review on the Michael Connelly forum.

spellbanisher · 03-24-2011, 01:57 PM

This is an excerpt from a review of Dan Brown from the Language Log that I found apt:

A voice spoke, chillingly close. "Do not move."

On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly.

Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His irises were pink with dark red pupils.

Just count the infelicities here. A voice doesn't speak —a person speaks; a voice is what a person speaks with. "Chillingly close" would be right in your ear, whereas this voice is fifteen feet away behind the thundering gate. The curator (do we really need to be told his profession a third time?) cannot slowly turn his head if he has frozen; freezing (as a voluntary human action) means temporarily ceasing all muscular movements. And crucially, a silhouette does not stare! A silhouette is a shadow. If Saunière can see the man's pale skin, thinning hair, iris color, and red pupils (all at fifteen feet), the man cannot possibly be in silhouette.

Brown's writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad. In some passages scarcely a word or phrase seems to have been carefully selected or compared with alternatives. I slogged through 454 pages of this syntactic swill, and it never gets much better. Why did I keep reading? Because London Heathrow is a long way from San Francisco International, and airline magazines are thin, and two-month-old Hollywood drivel on a small screen hanging two seats in front of my row did not appeal, that's why. And why did I keep the book instead of dropping it into a Heathrow trash bin? Because it seemed to me to be such a fund of lessons in how not to write.

I don't think I'd want to say these things about a first-time novelist, it would seem a cruel blow to a budding career. But Dan Brown is all over the best-seller lists now. In paperback and hardback, and in many languages, he is a phenomenon. He is up there with the Stephen Kings and the John Grishams and nothing I say can conceivably harm him. He is a huge, blockbuster, worldwide success who can go anywhere he wants and need never work again. And he writes like the kind of freshman student who makes you want to give up the whole idea of teaching. Never mind the ridiculous plot and the stupid anagrams and puzzle clues as the book proceeds, this is a terrible, terrible example of the thriller-writer's craft.

Here is the URl for this review:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/langu...es/000844.html

cvkemp · 03-24-2011, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frui

I know, I know, he is crap, everybody with a taste says.
His characters are flat. His language is bland. His world view is shallow. His plot is absurd. He is greatly flawed.

But he has an absolute power to absorb you from the very beginning to the very end, even in his weakest opus like "Deception Point".

I read all genres of thrillers, from Tom Clancy, through Kathy Reichs, to John Grisham. Every one of them has some shining points, but you will feel bored most of the time. No one has the talent of Dan Brown to catch you tight in every page.

So I believe there are two factions of writers. One faction includes Dan Brown alone. The other faction has all the other writers.

I am not paranoid. I am not a die hard fan of Dan Brown. I just want some books I cannot put down. I just find this humble request harder and harder to fulfil.

Now, my learned fellow readers, educate me, correct me, please! Add someone I don't know to the Dan Brown faction I mentioned above. I'd be overjoyed if I knew he was not alone.

Thank you.

I like Don Brown.
I find myself wanting to read the books cover to cover at a single satting. Why I like that his books do not have 4 letter words ever other word written. I find that I can relate to the materal. Seeing I to was in the Navy. And I love reading about the Jag Corp. And personally I do not pay any attention to what others think.

chuck

spellbanisher · 03-24-2011, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cvkemp

I like Don Brown.
I find myself wanting to read the books cover to cover at a single satting. Why I like that his books do not have 4 letter words ever other word written. I find that I can relate to the materal. Seeing I to was in the Navy. And I love reading about the Jag Corp. And personally I do not pay any attention to what others think.

chuck

I'm sure Don Brown is a great writer, but this thread is about Dan Brown!

wachuko · 04-01-2011, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benham

Oh good. I have not yet read Silva but he is on our list for the April book review on the Michael Connelly forum.

I think you will enjoy it. I really enjoyed the Gabriel Allon series.

I am looking for other suggestions as well... finished all the recommended books I had...

TaureanBull · 04-01-2011, 12:39 PM

The "Da Vinci Code" was fine. There was an irritatingly long explanation in the end in "The Lost Symbol".

"Angels & Demons" has a poor time plan. The time plan does not match the actions.

However, he claims factual info, thats what intrigues me. I am not sure about the claims he makes about several important people from history being part of brotherhoods. Thats as recent as George Bush being a 33rd Degree Mason!

ReneAZ · 06-30-2011, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHOECHICK

hangs head in shame...plans on buying new Dan Brown when it comes out....

As for can't put down authors, I've always loved Ken Follet even before pillars and love Daniel Silva. Clive Cussler and James Patterson drive me nuts although both can tell a decent tale.

I totally agree with Daniel Silva!! The Gabriel Allon character is wonderful. I believe he has another one coming out in July. Cannot wait. This is one of the few writers I will spring for the cost of the book. (I would just buy it for Kindle, but my husband, alas, is still clinging to actual books, eek.)
I used to read Cussler, but with all his "co-authors" I think the quality has suffered (as I do with Patterson).
Always, always buy Silva, Vince Flynn and Lee Child (Reacher novels). They are my can't put down writers!

reprich1 · 06-30-2011, 12:45 PM

He may not be a literary giant but he's enjoyable enough for millions of people to have kept him on the top of the best seller list for a long, long time, Other action/adventure authors that I enjoy are Daniel Silva, Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Clive Cussler & James Rollins.

benham · 06-30-2011, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wachuko

I think you will enjoy it. I really enjoyed the Gabriel Allon series.

I am looking for other suggestions as well... finished all the recommended books I had...

I have been enjoying these and am almost done with the series.

Have you tried Brian Haig?

lestatar · 07-01-2011, 04:26 AM

Hmmm, old thread but...

I personally can think of hundreds of writers who I find more compelling and un-put-downable than Dan Brown.

I have read all his work over the years and only Digital Fortress and Deception Point were mildly enjoyable.

my 2 cents!
-les

vxf · 07-01-2011, 05:46 PM

I have not read the entire thread, so I apologize if this has been said before.

But I am truly disgusted by Dan Brown... and it's nice to see I am in no poor company.

Now, to the more useful stuff. If you truly like the 'Dan Brown' style, then, as others have said, I would say Stephen King is the... ahm.... King.

Another author that is a page turned is Michael Crichton:

THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, Knopf, 1969
THE TERMINAL MAN, Knopf, 1972
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, Knopf, 1975
EATERS OF THE DEAD, Knopf, 1976
CONGO, Knopf, 1980
SPHERE, Knopf, 1987
JURASSIC PARK, Knopf, 1990
RISING SUN, Knopf, 1992
DISCLOSURE, Knopf, 1994
THE LOST WORLD, Knopf, 1995
AIRFRAME, Knopf, 1996
TIMELINE, Knopf, 1999
PREY, Harper Collins, 2002
STATE OF FEAR, Harper Collins, 2004
NEXT, Harper Collins, 2006
PIRATE LATITUDES, Harper Collins, 2009

Everything there is engaging...

On a completely different note... if you fancy the type of Brown conspiracy theories but want something with literary value, I would recommend Umberto Eco. Brown borrowed with both hands when 'writing' Davinci's Code from Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. He just left out the intelligent and well written parts.

EDIT: I apologize, didn't realize this was a zombie-thread. I just spotted it...

03-17-2011, 10:32 AM	#377
WillieMcIntyre Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 30000 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Scotland Device: Kindle	The History of Glue by E. VO. Stik I couldn't put it down Last edited by dreams; 03-17-2011 at 12:35 PM. Reason: removed self promo

03-24-2011, 01:57 PM	#381
spellbanisher Guru Posts: 826 Karma: 6566849 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Bay Area Device: kindle keyboard, kindle fire hd, S4, Nook hd+	This is an excerpt from a review of Dan Brown from the Language Log that I found apt: A voice spoke, chillingly close. "Do not move." On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly. Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His irises were pink with dark red pupils. Just count the infelicities here. A voice doesn't speak —a person speaks; a voice is what a person speaks with. "Chillingly close" would be right in your ear, whereas this voice is fifteen feet away behind the thundering gate. The curator (do we really need to be told his profession a third time?) cannot slowly turn his head if he has frozen; freezing (as a voluntary human action) means temporarily ceasing all muscular movements. And crucially, a silhouette does not stare! A silhouette is a shadow. If Saunière can see the man's pale skin, thinning hair, iris color, and red pupils (all at fifteen feet), the man cannot possibly be in silhouette. Brown's writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad. In some passages scarcely a word or phrase seems to have been carefully selected or compared with alternatives. I slogged through 454 pages of this syntactic swill, and it never gets much better. Why did I keep reading? Because London Heathrow is a long way from San Francisco International, and airline magazines are thin, and two-month-old Hollywood drivel on a small screen hanging two seats in front of my row did not appeal, that's why. And why did I keep the book instead of dropping it into a Heathrow trash bin? Because it seemed to me to be such a fund of lessons in how not to write. I don't think I'd want to say these things about a first-time novelist, it would seem a cruel blow to a budding career. But Dan Brown is all over the best-seller lists now. In paperback and hardback, and in many languages, he is a phenomenon. He is up there with the Stephen Kings and the John Grishams and nothing I say can conceivably harm him. He is a huge, blockbuster, worldwide success who can go anywhere he wants and need never work again. And he writes like the kind of freshman student who makes you want to give up the whole idea of teaching. Never mind the ridiculous plot and the stupid anagrams and puzzle clues as the book proceeds, this is a terrible, terrible example of the thriller-writer's craft. Here is the URl for this review: http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/langu...es/000844.html Last edited by spellbanisher; 03-24-2011 at 02:01 PM.

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03-17-2011, 04:13 AM	#376
lene1949 Wizard Posts: 1,952 Karma: 213930 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Middelfart, Denmark Device: Kindle paper white	Who is Dan Brown?

03-24-2011, 01:44 PM	#380
benham Guru Posts: 882 Karma: 5565888 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Townsend, WI Device: Palm TX, PRS-505 (BLUE)	Oh good. I have not yet read Silva but he is on our list for the April book review on the Michael Connelly forum.

04-01-2011, 12:39 PM	#385
TaureanBull Guru Posts: 64 Karma: 9478 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Imphal, New Delhi Device: Kindle 3-3G	The "Da Vinci Code" was fine. There was an irritatingly long explanation in the end in "The Lost Symbol". "Angels & Demons" has a poor time plan. The time plan does not match the actions. However, he claims factual info, thats what intrigues me. I am not sure about the claims he makes about several important people from history being part of brotherhoods. Thats as recent as George Bush being a 33rd Degree Mason!

06-30-2011, 12:45 PM	#387
reprich1 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: nook color	He may not be a literary giant but he's enjoyable enough for millions of people to have kept him on the top of the best seller list for a long, long time, Other action/adventure authors that I enjoy are Daniel Silva, Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Clive Cussler & James Rollins.

07-01-2011, 04:26 AM	#389
lestatar LB's lolz Mutt Minion Posts: 2,902 Karma: 5700001 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Hong Kong now but NYC forever Device: Kindle3, GalaxyTab, BB Bold9700, BB 8300, Sony Clie, Palm Vx, Palm III	Hmmm, old thread but... I personally can think of hundreds of writers who I find more compelling and un-put-downable than Dan Brown. I have read all his work over the years and only Digital Fortress and Deception Point were mildly enjoyable. my 2 cents! -les

07-01-2011, 05:46 PM	#390
vxf Guru Posts: 944 Karma: 1490348 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Norman, OK Device: Sony PRS 350, 900, 950; Kindles (ALL of them!); Kobo Aura One	I have not read the entire thread, so I apologize if this has been said before. But I am truly disgusted by Dan Brown... and it's nice to see I am in no poor company. Now, to the more useful stuff. If you truly like the 'Dan Brown' style, then, as others have said, I would say Stephen King is the... ahm.... King. Another author that is a page turned is Michael Crichton: THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, Knopf, 1969 THE TERMINAL MAN, Knopf, 1972 THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, Knopf, 1975 EATERS OF THE DEAD, Knopf, 1976 CONGO, Knopf, 1980 SPHERE, Knopf, 1987 JURASSIC PARK, Knopf, 1990 RISING SUN, Knopf, 1992 DISCLOSURE, Knopf, 1994 THE LOST WORLD, Knopf, 1995 AIRFRAME, Knopf, 1996 TIMELINE, Knopf, 1999 PREY, Harper Collins, 2002 STATE OF FEAR, Harper Collins, 2004 NEXT, Harper Collins, 2006 PIRATE LATITUDES, Harper Collins, 2009 Everything there is engaging... On a completely different note... if you fancy the type of Brown conspiracy theories but want something with literary value, I would recommend Umberto Eco. Brown borrowed with both hands when 'writing' Davinci's Code from Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. He just left out the intelligent and well written parts. EDIT: I apologize, didn't realize this was a zombie-thread. I just spotted it...