Dan's Browns the Lost Symbol Special Illustrated edition

[carbphrek]

Originally Posted by Grimm

Whatever you do, recognize that Dan Brown's researching of actual history is pretty lousy. The DaVinci Code is a perfect example. One example? Monks in Opus Dei? Really Dan? Did you even bother to research Opus Dei? If you did you'd see... no monks are members of Opus Dei. And ignore the blurb at the beginning that claims while fiction, he lists things are supposedly "true" as less than a half hour of research will show that much of what he purports to be true is simply put, not true at all.

I think he's a hack and a lousy writer but hey, most people will simply believe stuff because Dan Brown said so; it sells so whatever. Me personally, I'd never pay a penny for anything by him.

Thanks for your opinion.
The book can be found under the header of Fiction for a reason.

[xroads]

I downloaded the sample for my Augen TB. Looks great. Also while perusing the web came across this about Dan Brown. It appears some true to life letters and numbers wee recently discovered in the real Mona Lisa painting. See for yourself:


http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report...-pupil_1480643

[Ozric]

I've certainly heard mixed reviews about the quality of Dan Brown's writing, but if it successfully delivers entertainment, I'll be satisfied. I bought it more for the idea of having a book that really shows off what the Nook Color is capable of, and it looks well worth it at 3.99.

[Grimm]

Originally Posted by SCION

I enjoy his style of writing. It is a novel; people should understand that.

I agree (not about his writing style though lol), it's a novel, which is why when Brown says something is fact, and it clearly is NOT, I cannot see him as anything more than a hack.

[Grimm]

Originally Posted by carbphrek

Thanks for your opinion.
The book can be found under the header of Fiction for a reason.

Like I said, it is fiction, he just doesn't bother to actually research the things he claims are facts, which to me is the mark of a piss poor author.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by boswd

saw this while shopping tonight. i alread own the original but downloaded this sample to check out the illustrations on the nook color.

WoW, this is pretty sweet and just justifies the purchase of the nook color even more.

This is sweet, boswd! Thanks for sharing. I can't wait until they start selling enhanced books because that's when the NC will really shine. I did a search on "illustrated" and the only book that's similar is Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. The topic is probably too dry for most people, but the sample shows the potential of illustrated books. I've tried some cookbook and photography samples that look great. I couldn't find that many travel ebooks, which is disappointing. There is a DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Top 10 Milan - that sample looks great too! There are a few National Geographic ebooks, but the samples are too short to tell if they have graphics like the print editions. I didn't have much luck finding art or architecture ebooks. I've also downloaded a few public domain books from Google with color illustrations that look fantastic on the NC. If anybody else finds some good illustrated books, then please share!

Originally Posted by Ozric

This books sounds pretty cool. I've never read a Dan Brown or seen The DaVinci Code or anything. Will I be missing anything if I read The Lost Symbol without being familiar with anything else?

I agree that it doesn't matter much if you read them out of order. I read them as 2, 1, 3. My favorite of the trio was Angels and Demons. Have you seen the Nicolas Cage National Treasure movies? The Lost Symbol reminded me of that movie franchise.

[Ozric]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Have you seen the Nicolas Cage National Treasure movies? The Lost Symbol reminded me of that movie franchise.

I sure have and I thought they were both fun movies. Sounds like I might enjoy this book then, which is good because I went ahead and purchased it earlier

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Grimm

I think he's a hack and a lousy writer but hey, most people will simply believe stuff because Dan Brown said so; it sells so whatever. Me personally, I'd never pay a penny for anything by him.

I watched both movies and loved them. Great stuff, no matter how much he twists history. It's fiction, so who cares!

@Ozric, I still think Dan Brown's novels are a good read. There will be some who attack them for various reasons, mostly I think due to intolerance in their personal religious views. And yes there are some historical and scientific innacuracies, but the key term here is FICTION. I've yet to read any historical fiction or even historical non-fiction that didn't contain glaring innacuracies. Just read nearly any biography on any of the American founding fathers and you will see what I mean. And as far as I'm concerned, there are more historical and scientific innacuracies than you can shake a stick at in the religious books held sacred by the big three religions! So if you like, read these novels as FICTION and I think you will really enjoy Dan Brown's writing style.

BTW, I think the actual order in which they were written is:

• Angels and Demons
• The Da Vince Code
• The Lost Symbol

I read The Da Vince Code first, followed by its prequal Angels and Demons and lastly The Lost Symbol.

BTW, I read each book before I saw the movies, and although the movies or similar there are enough differences that watching the movies I still saw a few unexpected twists, and some characters were combined or left out in the movies. So the movies are quite enjoyable just as the books.

Edit: The second sentence was poorly worded and I edited it so that it did not sound accusatory or imply anything it was not meant to imply.

[wxgeek96]

I bought this just to see what a "special illustrated" edition looked like on the NC. I am not a huge fan of Brown (although I did read his other two books). Inaccuracies in fiction do not really bother me, but for some reason, the National Treasure movies did!

[Grimm]

Originally Posted by jswinden

There will be some like @Grimm who attack them for various reasons, mostly I think due to intolerance in their personal religious views. And yes there are some historical and scientific innacuracies, but the key term here is FICTION.

I'm assuming you're not implying I'm "attacking" Brown because of intolerance in my religious views. I simply stated he makes certain statements which he claims are FACT. These can be easily researched as NOT being fact at all. I've met countless people who actually believe the pseudo-facts are accurate. It's embarassing. My religious beliefs or lack thereof have nothing to do with pointing out that he makes a claim that is outright false and states that it is FACT.

The key term is indeed fiction, but Brown does not just make simple "historcal inaccuracies" as much as he very sloppily tells outright untruths and claims them as fact at the start of the book.

It is not intolerant to point out that what Brown claims as fact is not fact at all. This is not even my motiviation but it's a point worth making. The point is, Brown DOES claim certain "facts" but in truth, they are NOT facts. Easily disproven pseudo-facts do not inspire great confidence in the author. Brown even says this. He says the book is fiction but the following are facts. That is where I take issue with him as those things are NOT fact. He lies to his readers.

As for religious views (and no, mine do NOT come into play here, what does is the double-standard that it's ok to slander one group but not another for whatever reason), there is NOTHING wrong with people who hold certain religious views defending their beliefs when those beliefs are slandered or belittled by another party. That is not intolerant at all.

I'll stop here as this is not on topic and for that I apologize. All I'll say in closing is that pointing out that someone is claiming certain facts but is misrepresenting the thing entirely is NOT intolerant.

As for "tolerance" well, just because things can be tolerated does not mean they must or even should be tolerated. It is hardly intolerant to correct someone when they make misstatements about something.
As for the OP, enjoy the cool features on the Nook Color, I love mine as well!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Grimm

The key term is indeed fiction, but Brown does not just make simple "historcal inaccuracies" as much as he very sloppily tells outright untruths and claims them as fact at the start of the book.

Be that as it may, it doesn't bother me in the least. I still like his books.

[waffleman]

Thanks for the scoop. I've got the NC under the Christmas tree and this will be the first book I'll read. I cannot wait!!

I did a search at BN.com , under nookbooks with the word "illustrated" to see what other books might be interesting to read (Dan Brown's book is top on the list). There are several hundred books that show up - tons of travel books, illustrated bibles, illustrated stories and science books...but be forewarned there are quite a few that probably should be avoided...

[Grimm]

Fairt enough tubemonkey, and again I apologize to the OP for derailing the thread. It is cool about the special features the NC can take advantage of.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by Grimm

Fairt enough tubemonkey, and again I apologize to the OP for derailing the thread. It is cool about the special features the NC can take advantage of.

ahhh no worries Grimm.