Please give a writer harder to put down than Dan Brown

[frui]

Over, I've rarely heard such a resonance as from you. At least I now know I am not that alone.
I especially like your appreciation of Brown's "direct" language. In my cultural tradition (China), direct and simple are very high praises as regards style. Confucius told us two thousand years ago: "Words must be direct." Sounds like Shakespear, huh?
As regards simplicity, Ernest Hemingway must have gone even further than Dan Brown?

Originally Posted by Over

I think the only problem with Dan Brown is that he wrote a best seller with religous implications. If you mess with religion, you're messing with a lot of people!

I'm christian and I think most things in his greatest best seller are BS. Yet, it didn't stop me to enjoy the book (although I would have enjoyed it more if the book had been more credible for my level of education in the subject).

Many people are pissed off because of what he wrote and about how many people his message reached and how many people take his book as factual. That's the genesis of most of the hatred for the author: religion and jealousy. Many may point other reasons, but those reasons are just a fugue for their frustation or hatred.

Of course, such a big start in the book publishing world, was the subject of many studies of many academics that also made money selling books with proof that he's wrong. And I wonder how many authors would stand up to that kind of scrutiny (that's the english word?).

I liked both books I've read (A&D and the code). His prose is direct (I hate too much flowery and other pretencious crap, justified with being artistry/literary) and engaging (as rarely most authors are).

That being said, I must agree that it's rare to find another author as engaging as Dan Brown. There are other books I like more, but I don't recall right now a book that I've devoured as fast as his Davinci Code. When it came out, I had a fever but I read the whole book in one night (missed class the next day, me who never missed classes in my times as a student, but I had the excuse that I was feverish, although better in that morning).

[frui]

I remember Dan Brown had been teaching English literature in a college for many years before his sudden rise to fame. So we may presume he should have a decent taste for prose and style?

[tompe]

Bestsellers are usually page turners so I would try bestselling books.

[benham]

Dan Brown doesn't even make the top 5.

Michael Connelly
Vince Flynn
James Lee Burke
Randy Wayne White
Jeffery Deaver
Steve Hamilton
Michael Koryta

Are all right up there.

[radamo]

IMHO real page turners can be found from Nelson DeMille, Dean Koontz and or Preston Child. I might also add David Baldacci to this list.
RA

P.S. Just saw "benham" listed Jeffrey Deaver... I second that...

[talaivan]

There's a mistaken idea that great literature has to be less enjoyable -- or at least a lot harder to read -- than Dan Brown or similar. This may be true of Henry James and James Joyce, but anyone who reads the great Russian writers, esp. Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, will find them a lot more enjoyable -- and easier to read -- than the likes of Dan Brown. It is intensely pleasurable to listen to Mozart or Duke Ellington -- actually a lot more so than listening to Michael Jackson, I think.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by talaivan

There's a mistaken idea that great literature has to be less enjoyable -- or at least a lot harder to read -- than Dan Brown or similar. This may be true of Henry James and James Joyce, but anyone who reads the great Russian writers, esp. Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, will find them a lot more enjoyable -- and easier to read -- than the likes of Dan Brown. It is intensely pleasurable to listen to Mozart or Duke Ellington -- actually a lot more so than listening to Michael Jackson, I think.

Exactly And to all those talking about brevity and understandable language, why not read Hemingway? He single-handedly influenced the style of all popular fiction after his work was published. Read the Old Man and the Sea instead of Dan Brown's craptacular fiction. Read Steinbeck's moving and funny, Tortilla Flats. Read some short stories by Kelly Link. Read the phone book, but don't read Dan Brown, for the love of literature, please

[Leep]

Would second Preston Child (like his novels better than his pendergast series). Would also recommend Harlan Coben (again I think his novels are better than his Myron Bolitar series)

cheers

[Bob Russell]

My favorite page turner authors...

Brad Thor
Vince Flynn
Christopher Reich

And just for silly fun, the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich about a woman that becomes a bounty hunter and just sort of "wings" it.

Am planning on trying some of the others listed in this thread when these go dry. (I read each of them as they come out with the newest books. It's the first time I've been hooked like that. I've read them from the beginning of the series and can't get enough. For me, that's an amazing thing. I sort of felt like that with Grisham novels for a while, but I think these really have him beat for fun page turners.)

Btw, our own Steve Jordan has some pretty good page turners as well.

[AnemicOak]

While it's not fool proof. Often when I'm looking for a new author based on liking another author I go to Fantastic Fiction and look at the 'Visitors to this page also looked at these authors' section of the author's page.

On Dan Brown's page the list would be...
James Patterson
David Baldacci
Clive Cussler
Michael Connelly
Steve Berry
Lee Child
James Rollins
Matthew Reilly
Vince Flynn
Tom Clancy
John Grisham
Harlan Coben
Robert Ludlum
Patricia Cornwell
Brad Thor

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/dan-brown/

Christopher Reichs fulfills admirably .... in the genre of Ludlum et al. A nice blend of 'page-turn'able action, plot depth and relative reality.

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Exactly And to all those talking about brevity and understandable language, why not read Hemingway? He single-handedly influenced the style of all popular fiction after his work was published.

Would Barbara Cartland agree I wonder.

I guess they both wrote hunting scenes.

[sassanik]

If no ones mentioned him I like Clive Cussler, he is a action adventure writer.

Amy

[junkyardwillie]

I'll second Michael Connelly, start with the Harry Bosch series.

I challenge you to pick up James Patterson's Alex Cross series and put it down, you might not be able to leave the house until you're done.

Other lighter page turners would be Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse series (very quick reads).

Michael Crichton is nothing to sneeze at either.

[junkyardwillie]

Aw snaps on Robert Ludlum, Bourne Series is a wild ride.

Dan Brown was originally suggested to be read to terror suspects but was considered an inhumane form of torture so they went with water boarding instead.