The Lost Symbol falls into the hands of pirates

[Dave_S]

A lot of the critical comments regarding this book remind me of what Kenneth Tynan once said, "A critic is a man who knows the way but can't drive the car."
On the other hand, criticism from other top selling authors might actually be worth reading.

[Hellmark]

In my experience, the fan community typically does better translations than most companies, and also don't let poltical correctness and sensitivities effect translations (very common with anime and manga).

Why is it a big surprise that a popular book got pirated? It'll happen, ebook or no ebook.

[M0zza]

They should have released the darknet version tomorrow... It's international talk like a pirate day! Aaarrr!

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

You guys sure do watch the dark side of the net carefully...

Purely for research purposes.

[Krystian Galaj]

Originally Posted by Slite

Nah, i watch them as is... but we do have some very good "hobbytranslators" here though

Or did you mean when they are finally aired localy?

Yes, I meant when/if they finally aired locally. I also watch English productions in English. And I agree with poster above that fan translations are often better than official translations shown on TV.

[rcuadro]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

You guys sure do watch the dark side of the net carefully...

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

A lot of the critical comments regarding this book remind me of what Kenneth Tynan once said, "A critic is a man who knows the way but can't drive the car."
On the other hand, criticism from other top selling authors might actually be worth reading.

You don't need to be able to do something well in order to see that somebody else is doing it poorly. Although it can be convenient to assume so.

- Ahi

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by ahi

You don't need to be able to do something well in order to see that somebody else is doing it poorly.

I guess that depends a lot upon how "poorly" is defined. If the work does not fit a predefined template, then it might be considered a poor work. But, it also could just be different. In the end it is what the majority of the consumers of the work think that will decide if the work is poorly done or not. I don't think that any author purposely tries to produce a work that a large majority of targeted readers would consider poorly done, and those targeted readers are the critics who actually count. Anything else is really just a matter of opinion, and not a matter of fact. Obviously, the work in question here is not likely to be the subject of study in the future like some of the classics are today, but that just makes it transitory, not necessarily poorly done for it's purpose of current entertainment in our current culture.

Originally Posted by ahi

Although it can be convenient to assume so.

That part is really hilarious.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

That part is really hilarious.

Things we wish to pretend untrue often are.

- Ahi

[acidzebra]

Originally Posted by ahi

You don't need to be able to do something well in order to see that somebody else is doing it poorly.

That depends on what Brown's goals are. If, for instance, his goal is to fill his pockets until they burst then he isn't doing poorly at all. Anything else is up for debate. Some of it a matter of taste. Or lack thereof.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by acidzebra

That depends on what Brown's goals are. If, for instance, his goal is to fill his pockets until they burst then he isn't doing poorly at all. Anything else is up for debate. Some of it a matter of taste. Or lack thereof.

I don't care for Brown's writing, but then again, I also don't care for the entire genre of Romance. Doesn't mean the author is doing his/her job poorly. Just means it doesn't appeal to me. And as long as he's making a ton of money, someone must be enjoying it, so more power to him.

[corroonb]

Dan Brown is all about the cash and that's exactly why his books are popular.

If you want to see how far literary standards have fallen in over a hundred years compare Dan Brown to those writers who were popular in the Victorian era. Dickens? Thackeray? Trollope?

[Superlucky]

Originally Posted by corroonb

Dan Brown is all about the cash and that's exactly why his books are popular.

If you want to see how far literary standards have fallen in over a hundred years compare Dan Brown to those writers who were popular in the Victorian era. Dickens? Thackeray? Trollope?

"A classic is something everyone wants to have read and no one wants to read."

~ Mark Twain


There are far greater numbers of literate people today, so its not a fair comparison. Dan Brown's novels are loved by the bourgeoisie, who couldn't even read a hundred years ago. Of course literary standards have fallen.

[corroonb]

Originally Posted by Superlucky

"A classic is something everyone wants to have read and no one wants to read."

~ Mark Twain


There are far greater numbers of literate people today, so its not a fair comparison. Dan Brown's novels are loved by the bourgeoisie, who couldn't even read a hundred years ago. Of course literary standards have fallen.

I think you mean the proletariat (or working-classes), most of the bourgeoisie (middle-classes) would have been able to read in the Victorian era, I presume.

It also depends on what you mean by 'literate'.

I wonder how many people who pirate the book will actually read it or would buy it if it wasn't available to be pirated.

[Stitchawl]

Some years ago I was traveling on a very small passenger ferry boat between the mainland of Malaysia to an island called Palau Tioman. The boat had a TV mounted in front of the seats and they were showing a video taped movie. The movie was "Jurassic Park," and it was two days before it was due to premier in N.Y. The tape was filmed with a hand-held video camera during a preview showing of the movie, complete with people's heads occasionally in the way! TWO DAYS BEFORE THE OPENING!

Stitchawl