Please give a writer harder to put down than Dan Brown

[jeremy_ahn]

That was not spam. The truth tastes salty though. I kicked Tom Brokaw's jaw with a turntable.

[rebecca12345]

OOps. I was so into the book, and so not into proofreading. Not sure if I can refer to Freud while talking about Lyons' book because it's certainly not Oedipal. I'll have to read/write up on that, lol

[chlorine]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Even fiction does not necessarily give one the freedom to cast aside reality. If a novel is apparently set in the real world (or as close to the real world as any work of literature can get), then it needs to play by certain rules. No one would take an author very seriously if he said that Paris was on the Rhine and that Rome was in Spain.

My thoughts _exactly_ about computers in Stieg Larsson's Millenium series. I couldn't have said it better, so I'm glad to find it so eloquantly said!
(I'm aware of course you were not saying that about that particular book

[jeremy_ahn]

Jeremy Ahn = best author of all timez.

Aaron Sorkin, Amy Heckerling, Anderson Cooper, and that guy from Entourage emailed, tweeted, or shouted "props" to me.

Oh and I met Dan Brown before. Nice guy. Stinky breath.

I
AM
AHN

[JeremyZ]

I haven't read the whole thread, so forgive me if this is repeated.

I don't think Dan Brown gives a damn if people are putting him down. Because he is making a mint through his book sales & movie deals.

One could say the same about Stephen King. He had a lot of admirers and haters, but in the end, he is successful at writing books that the public buys in mass quantities. Which means that he is loaded.

To answer your original question/title, I'd say Stephen King is just as hard to put down.

[jeremy_ahn]

I beat stephen king's ass with Carrot Top's mallet.

dan brown is my bro. i met him and he gave me props even after i dissed on his out of playa hatin jealousy.

that takes a big man to do.

i dig dan brown as a good person. his writing is ass. but he aint no ass-hole.

that's props.


oh

and JEREMY AHN is the best writer of all time.

OF ALL TIME.

kanye is the douchiest of all time, though.
true on that, for real

[JeremyZ]

<snip>

[jeremy_ahn]

Originally Posted by JeremyZ

You are an idiot or a troll. I don't know which yet.

hee hee hee

butt-hurt JeremyZ

it would be funny if every time someone says or writes your name you think of me and have a little pain inside hee hee hee

[jeremy_ahn]

does anyone remember that movie about trolls and jennifer aniston? that was some funny filming, that movie.

and haters STFU. dan brown is human too. a human can only take so much abuse from haters.

[pshrynk]

MobileRead is a community based on mutual respect and politeness. Please stop calling one another names and being disrespectful.

pshrynk (moderator)

[amjbrown]

So thanks to this thread I bought (and read) the latest Dan Brown. And I was very pleased to be able to do so many miles from home on a business trip, upload it to my reader and enjoy it on the way home.

I have three points:

(i) Dan Brown can spin a yarn. His four page chapters, each with a cliff hanger might be highly formulaic, but it is a formula that works. It is very hard not to start chapter (n+1) as soon (n) is done. And when (n) is around 150, you've finished

(ii) Dan Brown wants you to know how much research he has done. The only way he can do this is by pretty much quoting it word for word. Michael Criteon did exactly the same thing. It doesn't make great prose, but some of it is pretty interesting.

(iii) Having just read the book, the funniest thing I have read in the last three weeks is the UK Spectator magazines reveiw of it. For those of you that don't get it, here's a link...http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/535...ormation.thtml but comments like

Freemasons have been getting steadily less glamorous since their apotheosis in The Magic Flute. Nowadays, one thinks of them in connection with short-sleeved, polyester shirt-and-tie sets, pens in the top pocket, sock-suspenders and the expression ‘My lady wife’. I honestly can’t see them guarding the secrets of the universe.

and

His attempts at characterisation never go much beyond ‘Systems security specialist, Mark Zoubianis, had always prided himself on his ability to multi-task.’

gives you an idea where it's going (make sure you read all four pages!).


I have loved this thread. I read a really fun, trashy novel as a direct consequence of the debate here, plus I've picked up a couple of new authors to look out for. Thanks!

amjb

[yanfeng]

I've just finished "The Lost Symbol". It took me almost a month. That's something I've not anticipated. All Brown's other books I devoured in 2 or 3 days. Does Brown miss it this time, or simply I have grown up?

In some ways "The Lost Symbol" is "Dan Vinci Code" with a newage flavour, or "Da Vinci Code" with a American background. I seriously doubt it will have much appeal to non-newage people and non-american people.

In "Angels and Demons" and "Da Vinci Code" religious, cultural and historical background is blended quite cleverly with the fast pace of the plot. In "The Lost Symbol" the cultural factors infringe and retard the plot.

Make no mistake, I am not against pantheism, manito, and newage spirituality. Brown just does not present them in a thrilling way. He now behaves more like a preacher, and not a very good one at that.

I can understand he wants more "depth" and more "positive thinkings" this time, but unfortunately that's not his advantage. "Digital Fortress" and "Deception Point" are better read than "The Lost Symbol", and that's quite a criticism.

[brad72la]

Hi frui, I agree with you that Dan Brown is really good and I still haven't find someone who is as good as him. The only other writer that managed to hold my attention like that is Chinese writer "Jin Yong" (for Chinese story).

Thanks for all the great suggestion. I will check out some of the books you guys suggested.

[yanfeng]

brad72la, you certainly hit my soft spot. Along with Dan Brown, Jing Yong is the only other writer that can make me stay up reading all night! Of course they are vastly different in every way.
I'd be very interested to know what language version of Yin Yong's works that you've read. I somehow think his works are non-translatable. They are too chinese for westerners to appreciate fully. It's a great pity.
Generally Chinese thrillers are very poor compared with their western counterparts, but Jin Yong is a great exception. He alone makes up for the whole gap.

[frui]

As much as I like Dan Brown, I should say the characterization in Jin Yong's novels are much better than that of Dan Brown. Jin Yong built a rich and deep world much as Tolkien did. Dan Brown has no world. He only has plot.

Originally Posted by brad72la

Hi frui, I agree with you that Dan Brown is really good and I still haven't find someone who is as good as him. The only other writer that managed to hold my attention like that is Chinese writer "Jin Yong" (for Chinese story).

Thanks for all the great suggestion. I will check out some of the books you guys suggested.