Please give a writer harder to put down than Dan Brown

[frui]

Christopher Reich, no good.
He has no real tatent, no imagination, no originality.
He just add together all the factors which are supposed thrilling. Very mechanical.

[frui]

James Patterson. This is the one I hate most. All bad things about pulp fictions apply to him most fittingly. No ingenuity. No fun.

David Baldacci. I was reading his "First Family". It's OK. Much better than James Patterson, but much less enjoyable than Dan Brown.

Clive Cussler. Never read his works. Will try.

Michael Connelly. This is the one I really like. Among my personal top 5 of thriller writers alive. He is a real professional. He knows the technical procedure of crime detection and the court. His works are full of interesting details, while maintaining a facinating plot. This is the one I'd recommend to everyone. But frankly speaking, he is still not as enjoyable as Dan Brown.

Steve Berry. Don't know this one.

James Rollins. I read through one of his cave novels.
It's readable. Not as good as Michael Connelly.

Tom Clancy. Techno stuffs. Weak plot. No good.

John Grisham. A mixed bag. I used to like him a lot, not now.

Brad Thor. I was reading "Blowback", but I could not finish it.

Originally Posted by 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/

[BenG]

Not even Dan Brown can write a thriller like Da Vinci himself.

From the monumental works of Leonardo da Vinci have come some of the most thrilling discoveries of all time - among them the manuscript for The Deluge, a powerful and violent story of life and love in a time of blazing turmoil and savage upheaval.

One man... Two women... haunted by terror, pursued by destruction, caught up in the coils of desperate mob frenzy, of unfulfilled desires, of the primal hunger for survival...

[petermillard]

Robert Harris (The Ghost, Pompeii, Imperium), C J Sansom (the Matthew Shardlake series), Lee Child (Jack Reacher series) and Robert Crais (Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series) might be worth a try??

[Sonist]

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.....

[Over]

Originally Posted by Sonist

DOes this mean you pissed yourself laughing?

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Over

DOes this mean you pissed yourself laughing?

I suspect it was just a form of dismissal. Not everyone who expresses disdain at a popular subpar author do so because of anything related to religion. Perhaps a lot of people do get their panties in a bind when it comes to these kinds of subjects...I remember when I was younger and got angry at every poor rendering of Japanese history and how popular book salesmen became famous pseudo-historians of "ninja" and the like. More recently, I am still a little miffed at Gavin Menzies for pretending to be a historian and promoting a bogus but popular history of the Chinese discovering America. Of course, in these cases it's often that the author is seeking real credibility for their BS, which is not true in Dan Brown's case.

I haven't read enough Dan Brown to make any strong decisions, but those who have are most likely just iconoclasts hoping to tear down an idol they don't view as worthy. Doesn't have to be religious in motive at all.

[wayspooled]

Originally Posted by frui

Tom Clancy. Techno stuffs. Weak plot. No good.

I thought his 1st 5 books - Red Storm Rising and the 1st 4 Jack Ryan books were excellent. Then he got lost or something with the Ryan stories - and started those 3 "plot-light" series (Net Force and Power Plays and Op Center).

Same with Harold Coyle, 1st 3-4 books were great. Sword Point was a real highlight. Dale Brown's Flight of the Old Dog and a couple of the followups, wow... I'm more inclined to try out a new Coyle or Brown book than I am Clancy's though because Clancy ate so much of my money with books that sounded interesting but bleh.. nothing in 'em that caught my attention. Just my opinion, your mileage may vary. I definitely consider Clancy's first books though to be among the best thrillers I've read.

[Slite]

Originally Posted by wayspooled

I thought his 1st 5 books - Red Storm Rising and the 1st 4 Jack Ryan books were excellent. Then he got lost or something with the Ryan stories - and started those 3 "plot-light" series (Net Force and Power Plays and Op Center).

Oh wow... I had totally forgotten Red Storm Rising, I loved that book. Wonder if it is available as an e-book at a reasonable price someplace.

[wayspooled]

Originally Posted by Slite

Oh wow... I had totally forgotten Red Storm Rising, I loved that book. Wonder if it is available as an e-book at a reasonable price someplace.

Man, I could NOT get that book out of my hands once I'd started it.

[Slite]

Originally Posted by wayspooled

Man, I could NOT get that book out of my hands once I'd started it.

Just saw that BoB has it for £5.85 .... Have to get it when I get home tonight

[Direct Ebooks]

I must admit, I'm a big fan of Dan Brown myself. This is all despite the fact that I would consider myself quite well read, with a degree in English Literature! (cue the gasps of disbelief!)
I honestly feel that a lot of the so-called greats are only enjoyed by academicals. To me, if a book engages you, absorbs you and makes you care about its characters, then no matter what genre, the author has done a good job.
I'd much prefer to be absorbed in a cracking story then feel culturally adequate by reading James Joyce.
I love Michael Coneely. His Bosch series and the new lawyer books are great. He also turned me on to Raymond Chandler, whose turn of phrase in particular is brilliant.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by Direct Ebooks

I honestly feel that a lot of the so-called greats are only enjoyed by academicals.

I'd much prefer to be absorbed in a cracking story then feel culturally adequate by reading James Joyce.

I agree. And I'm sure many academicals don't like some "greats" but lack the courage to say so.

I don't consider Dan Brown a great author. That said, I also admit I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, as I sometimes enjoy action movies (the book seems to have been written with the movie in mind). And yes, I was dissapointed to learn that the facts were all wrong. I don't agree with Brown when he says that, as it is a work of fiction, he can twist the facts the way he likes.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Pablo

That said, I also admit I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, as I sometimes enjoy action movies (the book seems to have been written with the movie in mind).

I was thinking just the other day while I was watching one of the recent James Bond films how they were designing the sets just like they were video game levels...

[Bob Russell]

Originally Posted by frui

Christopher Reich, no good.
He has no real tatent, no imagination, no originality.
He just add together all the factors which are supposed thrilling. Very mechanical.

Surely you don't mean it! If he's not very original, I'd sure like to read the people he copied! (Of course there will be similarities, just like with other authors, but that's okay for me because it still feels quite fresh the way he does it. Brad Thor, for example, seems to be almost a simple rip-off of the Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn. But I like that - I'm all for more Vince Flynn type books!!!!)

Btw, the first Reich book, Numbered Account (1998), was especially exciting for me. And I didn't care much for the Patriot Club. But... tastes vary, so just because I liked it so much doesn't mean anyone else will.