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Dan Brown is a genius. Why is he a genius? Because he confrims all of his facts before writing his books. They are masterful works of mystery/thriller novels. He only has 4 books to his name: but all of them have been on the New York Times Bestseller list.

He has written: Digital Fortress, Deception, Angels and Demons, and The Da Vinci Code.

-Digital Fortress is a techo-thriller dealing with code breaking and the super-secret government branch, The National Security Agency (NSA)

-Deception Point is another techno-thriller, involving poilitics, conspiracy, and a web of lies leading all the way to the White House. also in this novel is a government agency more secret then the NSA, The National Reconnaisance Office (NRO)

-Angels and Demons is an exploration into religious obsession, starring Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbology professor. This novel involves an ancient Satanic brotherhood, Vatican City, and an antimatter explosive

-The Da Vinci Code is the second novel starring our favorite professor Robert Langdon. The Da Vinci Code is about a secrect society determined to protect the one secret the Catholic Church has strived for centuries to destroy.

Dan Brown's next novel is due to come out in summer 2005, and it's another adventure w/ Robert Langdon, his first escapade on American soil, delving into out nation's capitol's secret history. That's all that's revealed at this time.

Note to BKK: I have two other Dan Brown threads, could you merge them, please? Sorry

I'm keen to read Angels and Demons.

It's excellent!

Hey all, was just wondering if anyone has ever read any of Dan Drown's books? I am currently reading Angels and Demons. He also wrote The Davinci Code.

he has alot of fans I see!

I'm his #1 fan!!!

.........Bump

Dan Brown is an Exellent Writer.

I liked the Da-VC and A&D's He is a vary good writer.

he is not a great writer! the books were very good but he isnt a great writer. it is cliche.

I agree with Deano, not an amazing writer, but does write interesting fun books.

Angels and Demons owns.

The DA Vinci Code is a great book best he has ever done.

okay i'm half way through Deception Point now, after I've already read DVC and A&D. I'll have to admit that Deception Point really had me glued to it up to this point, until suddenly I've figured out who's the ultimate "bad guy" behind the scenes without skipping ahead to read the end of the book, just from my experience with DVC and A&D. I kinda know already what to expect in Deception Point. And tht really spoiled the book for me.

I am still a big fan of Dan Brown and the logic and facts presented in all his books. Rest assured, howerver, I couldn't help but noticing one theme shared by all his books I've read - the character who appears to be most trustworthy always reveals himself to be the biggest foe in the end. Duh... Come to think of it, Sir Leigh Teabing in DVC, the Camerlengo in A&D, and the director of NRO in DP... These guys came to "rescue" and "solace" our heros and heroines when they're at the most desperate state. Then they were fighting alongside the main characters, then booooom they unveiled their ugliness. So like I said, pick the most upstanding and justified supporting character in Dan's books, be prepared that he'll be the power broker to twist your minds.

It's the rule of thumb of almost all thriller fictions, including Dan's books too, that the killer guy is among the allies. Ooooo look out, wolf in disguise of sheep skin.

his books are good if you just want a sorta light read action adventure.
he is not however a good writer, as anyone with any remote knowledge of english literature will tell you.
i think that angels and deamons is his best book, however he has just become so hyped because of "his" controversial ideas in the da vinci code which werent even his own!!!
i think its good that he has inspired more people to read, but please dont say hes a good writer, its just painful for the people who know otherwise

yeh thats what i said. all his stuff is cliche anyway

Originally posted by Soth
It's excellent!

Agreed, because of his work I've made it a mission to trek to Europe and explore all the places mentioned in A and D and DVC

Originally posted by Deano
he is not a great writer! the books were very good but he isnt a great writer. it is cliche.

It can't be cliche if it's historically based
Obviously it's happened before, in history that is.
I don't see how having an albino murderer, who's hobbies include corporal mortification, murder, and last but not least devoutness to the church, search out and kill the members of the real secret society of the Priory of Sion, in search of the holy grail, be cliche.


Maybe it's just me though

buh! he's over rated

I don't think he's over rated so to speak, I think that a lot of idiots just jumped on the bandwagon because of the amount of publicity the books were getting and read it because of the promise of gruesomness, whereas some of us *cough me* read these types of books for not only entertainment but for their historical values.

even though theyre not necessarily historically factual....

Originally posted by silver_tears
It can't be cliche if it's historically based



Maybe it's just me though

it is historically fiction


the book is filled with cliche characters for one.


'The novel moves rapidly from cliche to cliche, is full of logical and psychological improbabilities and culminates in a saccharine denouement'

That quote contradicts itself.


And I'm just curious which character you think is cliche?

you dont think they are cliche?

the cast of characters are annoyingly cliche from the get-go

I don't, I don't know what you read, but I've never encountered the same type of characters.

Dan Brown isn't on my top five writers but his novels are really entretaining.

My favorite Dan Brown book was Digital Fortress, that book ruled.
And anyone agrees that in Deception Point, Dan Brown should've wrote more about Gabrielle Ashe? I found her character fascinating.

And there's of course DVC, it was a really exciting book but I don't know I felt it was missing something. I liked A&D better actually, I loved the characters but I hated the end... it was unexpected and all but so... wrong.

So overall Dan Brown is a very good writer.

Anyone has any info on his upcoming book? Or, is there an upcoming book?

In terms of literary talent, Dan Brown is a retard. In terms of marketing, Dan Brown is a genius.

So many idiots have bought his book believing that they are buying something that is more than the crapola that Cussler and his ilk come out with, but in actual fact it's pure drivel. I feel sorry for the people who actually like his books, because they are obviously rather mentally retarded, too.

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
In terms of literary talent, Dan Brown is a retard. In terms of marketing, Dan Brown is a genius.

So many idiots have bought his book believing that they are buying something that is more than the crapola that Cussler and his ilk come out with, but in actual fact it's pure drivel. I feel sorry for the people who actually like his books, because they are obviously rather mentally retarded, too.
I think it's rather retarded that you generalize everyone who likes this book. It's gotten great reviews by numerous newspaper critics, I'm asuming they're mentally retarded? And while we're are it, I'm mentally retarded too?
Don't talk out of your ass. Not because you didn't like his books does it mean everyone who does is ratarded and you thinking that makes you look a little childish.

The book is written for someone with the reading age of a 16 year old. This is not hyperbole, but fact. If this is the level of your reading ability, then woo-hoo, have a field day! However, most people I know feel the same way in regards to the content of the crapola.

I'm purporting my opinion so that other high-minded fools like myself don't make the mistake of reading this garbage.

To the rest of you: I hear the Mister Men series have some killer twists in them!

I thought Da Vinci Code was good

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
In terms of literary talent, Dan Brown is a retard. In terms of marketing, Dan Brown is a genius.

So many idiots have bought his book believing that they are buying something that is more than the crapola that Cussler and his ilk come out with, but in actual fact it's pure drivel. I feel sorry for the people who actually like his books, because they are obviously rather mentally retarded, too.

amen to that



thats an insult! im 16, i read it when i was 15 and even then i could see that his writing is shite!

i read angels and daemons when i was 8, at the time i thought it was amazing, so i think we can safely say these books should be put in the 8 - 12 sections of all bookstores

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
The book is written for someone with the reading age of a 16 year old. This is not hyperbole, but fact. If this is the level of your reading ability, then woo-hoo, have a field day! However, most people I know feel the same way in regards to the content of the crapola.

I'm purporting my opinion so that other high-minded fools like myself don't make the mistake of reading this garbage.

To the rest of you: I hear the Mister Men series have some killer twists in them!
What you're saying in this post is VERY different from what you said in your previous one.
I agree it's not Anna Karenina but it's certainly not a book for retards.

Originally posted by PinstripePapaya
amen to that



thats an insult! im 16, i read it when i was 15 and even then i could see that his writing is shite!

i read angels and daemons when i was 8, at the time i thought it was amazing, so i think we can safely say these books should be put in the 8 - 12 sections of all bookstores
How ironic a girl whose favorite movies include PotC and Ice Age says DvC is for 8 year olds.
Oh and by the way if you really are sixteen you were 11 when A&D first came out, so it's safe to say you are full of shit.

This is just the way it is, the books come out, everyone praises them "Smart book!" etc. And then when EVERYONE likes the book so people start saying it sucks just so they don't seem like everyone else.

Originally posted by Eis
What you're saying in this post is VERY different from what you said in your previous one.
I agree it's not Anna Karenina but it's certainly not a book for retards.

No, it isn't.

I think you have just proved that, in Dan Brown, you have found an author who writes according to your reading level. Although, an inability to understand two like-minded posts shows that perhaps a 16 year-old's reading level is too optimistic for you. Perhaps, PinstripePapaya is right; I over-estimated the level of difficulty by about 8 years...

Originally posted by Eis
This is just the way it is, the books come out, everyone praises them "Smart book!" etc. And then when EVERYONE likes the book so people start saying it sucks just so they don't seem like everyone else.

Oh, dear. People started saying it was a bad book after they read it. The ones above the previously mentioned reading level, that is...

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
No, it isn't.

I think you have just proved that, in Dan Brown, you have found an author who writes according to your reading level. Although, an inability to understand two like-minded posts shows that perhaps a 16 year-old's reading level is too optimistic for you. Perhaps, PinstripePapaya is right; I over-estimated the level of difficulty by about 8 years...



Oh, dear. People started saying it was a bad book after they read it. The ones above the previously mentioned reading level, that is...

I actually don't mind the man (shock horror perhaps).

He cannot write very well at all; in fact I'd go as far as to say he writes poorly.

However, he is good at everything but writing. Oh, and adding an additional dimension to his characters' first one.

I figure he'd be more suited as a film director.

I think I enjoy them like I enjoy cream doughnuts, or someone getting hit on the side of the head with a football.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom

I think I enjoy them like I enjoy cream doughnuts, or someone getting hit on the side of the head with a football.

Them- the novels.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
I actually don't mind the man (shock horror perhaps).

I am indeed surprised, and it forces me to re-evaluate your worth as a fellow I have previously enjoyed considering things with. Although, if you class it as a 'guilty pleasure', then all this trash talk will be swept under the rug. Otherwise...

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
He cannot write very well at all; in fact I'd go as far as to say he writes poorly.

However, he is good at everything but writing. Oh, and adding an additional dimension to his characters' first one.

First off, it would seem quite the inexpedient career path to follow if this is the case. However, considering his profitability, maybe not...

As for being 'good at everything else', what skills do you speak of? Admittedly, the premise of 'The Da Vinci Code' is an intriguing one, but after the first few chapters it plummets into the realm of crap-fiction. I thought the ending was especially atrocious and generic.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
I figure he'd be more suited as a film director.

I feel 'The Da Vinci Code' will be more suited as a film than as a book, although perhaps this is because my taste in literature is more exclusive than my taste in movies; I am happy to enjoy a stupid movie, but I have little patience with a stupid book/author.

Each time you crave a donut, substitute it for an apple, and then eventually you'll prefer those. Someone getting hit on the side of the head with a football will always be entertaining though.

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo


As for being 'good at everything else', what skills do you speak of? Admittedly, the premise of 'The Da Vinci Code' is an intriguing one, but after the first few chapters it plummets into the realm of crap-fiction. I thought the ending was especially atrocious and generic.

Agreed. You'll see after taking away his writing and characterisation skills, I left him with little. Away from the irony though, he has the odd good idea, and is good at making trivia seem consequential. Hardly great accolades, but yes, a guilty pleasure.


Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo


I feel 'The Da Vinci Code' will be more suited as a film than as a book, although perhaps this is because my taste in literature is more exclusive than my taste in movies; I am happy to enjoy a stupid movie, but I have little patience with a stupid book/author.

Hence my director comment. I actually have no patience at all for bad films, because it's a period in which you have chosen to commit your time. Bad books, though, are always good for those moments when there's little else to do.

I feel that the book as a format can survive with its poorer exponents, just as music does.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
Agreed. You'll see after taking away his writing and characterisation skills, I left him with little. Away from the irony though, he has the odd good idea, and is good at making trivia seem consequential. Hardly great accolades, but yes, a guilty pleasure.

Sometimes irony floats by my window and I mistake it for a feather. So, basically you are saying he's a poor writer and a poor humanist, but a mediocre dramatist. I'd agree with that, but how the devil does he sell so many books? Surely, after the hype has be recognised, the sales should slide away? However, no matter how many people I tell the book is bad, his sales continue...Perhaps this says more about my influence, though.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
Hence my director comment. I actually have no patience at all for bad films, because it's a period in which you have chosen to commit your time. Bad books, though, are always good for those moments when there's little else to do.

I misunderstood you. I thought you were implying that he would be good at controlling minions, rather than being a screenwriter. When I say 'stupid movies', I mean movies that are obviously trivial, but are still entertaining. 'Armageddon' is probably the best example of this 'awful entertainment'. I appreciate your value of time, but there is always the 'STOP' button.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
I feel that the book as a format can survive with its poorer exponents, just as music does.

I'm rather obstinate when it comes to books. If I begin one, I generally finish it. The only time I just gave up was when I was about half-way through 'Glamorama'. I just couldn't stand the character who was the subject of the first-person narative - obviously, this was Ellis' intention, but f*ck him. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I can read a crap book, but after completing it, I consider it as a whole rather than the sum of each part. It is this method that led me to hating 'The Da Vinci Code'.

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo

I misunderstood you. I thought you were implying that he would be good at controlling minions, rather than being a screenwriter. When I say 'stupid movies', I mean movies that are obviously trivial, but are still entertaining. 'Armageddon' is probably the best example of this 'awful entertainment'. I appreciate your value of time, but there is always the 'STOP' button.

I often exercise the function of that button, that's what I meant. I didn't necessarily mean screenwriting, I meant the sense of a work that directors usually bring to their films. It seems to me he would be more suited to that kind of role than actually executing the writing portion.


Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo

I'm rather obstinate when it comes to books. If I begin one, I generally finish it. The only time I just gave up was when I was about half-way through 'Glamorama'. I just couldn't stand the character who was the subject of the first-person narative - obviously, this was Ellis' intention, but f*ck him. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I can read a crap book, but after completing it, I consider it as a whole rather than the sum of each part. It is this method that led me to hating 'The Da Vinci Code'.

Fair enough. I had a similar experience reading Ennui by Maria Edgeworth.

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
No, it isn't.

I think you have just proved that, in Dan Brown, you have found an author who writes according to your reading level. Although, an inability to understand two like-minded posts shows that perhaps a 16 year-old's reading level is too optimistic for you. Perhaps, PinstripePapaya is right; I over-estimated the level of difficulty by about 8 years...



Oh, dear. People started saying it was a bad book after they read it. The ones above the previously mentioned reading level, that is...

It is, you first said flat-out anyone who likes Dan Brown is mentally retarded, then you said the books are for someone with a reading age of 16. If you can't see the difference I'm afraid it's you the one who's mentally retarded.

Like-minded? No, the first post was an extremely immature exaggeration, the next post was a believable opinion.
And yeah maybe I am someone with a reading age of a 16 year old, after all I am 14.



And no they didn't, the 'persecution' started after a while. And I'm not saying there weren't people who hated it as soon as they read the book.

Oh, dear...I've no wish to act as your teacher, so I'll keep this brief.

Here's the difference:

Retarded books can be written with a reading-level of 16. The vocabulary may be appropriate, but the emotional content and the stylistic conventions are immature in their development.

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
Oh, dear...I've no wish to act as your teacher, so I'll keep this brief.

Here's the difference:

Retarded books can be written with a reading-level of 16. The vocabulary may be appropriate, but the emotional content and the stylistic conventions are immature in their development.
If it has the vocabulay and the reading-level of 16 it's NOT retarded, simple as that.

Seeing as you are 14, it is no surprise that you 'comprehend' all things in an exclusively literal sense. Unfortunately (for you), the world demands understanding on a slightly more intricate level. Don't worry, you have time...

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
Seeing as you are 14, it is no surprise that you 'comprehend' all things in an exclusively literal sense. Unfortunately (for you), the world demands understanding on a slightly more intricate level. Don't worry, you have time...
I knew you were going to somehow make the whole argument about my age, how predictable.
And in the long run, I was just pointing out your extreme exaggeration.

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
In terms of literary talent, Dan Brown is a retard. In terms of marketing, Dan Brown is a genius.

So many idiots have bought his book believing that they are buying something that is more than the crapola that Cussler and his ilk come out with, but in actual fact it's pure drivel. I feel sorry for the people who actually like his books, because they are obviously rather mentally retarded, too. Da Vinci Code, while no masterpiece of literature, is an entertaining book.

Plus, based on this post and your subsequent posts, I'd glean that you are an intensely bitter individual who seems to take joy from attacking a person's intelligence. I've no clue why no one has noticed your flames yet, but rest assured that they have all been reported. I'd appreciate that we keep a positive atmosphere in the forum as a whole.

Keep it on Dan Brown guys, comments about ppl who reads or likes him are unnecessary. This is a book forum, keep it book - author related.

And if you feel like psychoanalyzing ppl based on what they read, go get a life, sorry, do it someplace else... comments like those are not welcome.

Deception Point is the one I have enjoyed the least out of all his books, I am currently near the end of Digital Fortress and while I prefer it to Deception Point, I am still rolling my eyes a lot throughout the book like I did with DP, ESPECIALLY at the love scenes, urgh.

Very easy books to read but the bloody short chapters is playing hell on my ocd! Still fun books to read for a break.

Originally posted by MildPossession
Deception Point is the one I have enjoyed the least out of all his books, I am currently near the end of Digital Fortress and while I prefer it to Deception Point, I am still rolling my eyes a lot throughout the book like I did with DP, ESPECIALLY at the love scenes, urgh.

Very easy books to read but the bloody short chapters is playing hell on my ocd! Still fun books to read for a break.

He has a very specific formula which he seems unkeen to experiment with- the 'love' scenes are awful, truly bad.

Originally posted by Soth
Da Vinci Code, while no masterpiece of literature, is an entertaining book.

Da Vinci Code is not an entertaining book! It had me at "H...", but then lost then lost me at "ello". It was boring, poorly written and the 'spectacular finale' was incredibly mundane. I once had the misfortune of reading a Clive Cussler book, and Dan Brown's strike me as being of the same cloth/used toilet paper.

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
Da Vinci Code is not an entertaining book! It had me at "H...", but then lost then lost me at "ello". It was boring, poorly written and the 'spectacular finale' was incredibly mundane. I once had the misfortune of reading a Clive Cussler book, and Dan Brown's strike me as being of the same cloth/used toilet paper. The ending was a bit of a stinker, and his writing does leave much to be desired. . .but I consider myself to be a history/conspiracy/symbology buff, and this book just hit the spot for those three. I enjoyed thie tidbits about history and the like immensely

I agree with you that the initial conspiracy and symbology was very interesting, but it never again met this opening promise. Instead, it fell down the drain with all the other garbage-fiction.

i just now ifnished reading the da vinci code, although i had previously never wanted to read it, i had to read it for school and found myself abosorbed into it fully, its a great piece of writing spiraling around itself in details that you should all read if you havent already

Why did you have to read Da Vinci Code for school?

outside reading project

I just finished readin the Da Vinci Code it was excellent...I can't wait to ge tmy hands on Angels and Demons! But we can't forget abaout chuck Palahnuik!!!

Dan brown is a conman

Originally posted by eleveninches
Dan brown is a conman

No he isn't, he just wrote a great work of fiction. Anyone with half a brain knows it's fiction, it's just that religious folk seem to not hear that part.

anyone who generalizes people who read a certain book and enjoy it as "retards" isobviously an idiot. While he has great ideas, he jsut doesn't put them together in a way that would be more desirable because of his bad writing. I don't believe in books like this being made for different age groups. Once your over 14, you are just as good a reader as a 50 year old with practice.

They ARE just books! people read them for entertainment purposes..... but i must admitt that Dan Brown is very good writer

I thought it was a good book, it was a fun little read-on-the-beach book. But that's it, I didn't think it was as good as it was hyped up to be. I started it expecting so much, and by the time I finished, I thought "wow, that was kind of like Umberto Eco dumbed down for people who don't read very much." Nothing in it was new to me. I had already read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and "Foucault's Pendulum", so I had heard about all the conspiracy stuff before. Dan Brown didn't come up with anything new there, he just used ideas that were already out there. I'm not saying he plagiarized, he did present the material in a completely new way, in a completely new story. Its just that none of the conspiracy that everyone got crazy about was either groundbreaking or original. I still don't understand why people would get so upset over a work of FICTION, Dan Brown wasn't trying to change the world's religion, he was just trying to entertain. Which, apparantly, he succeeded at.
Oh, and before you ask, yes I did read "Angels and Demons", and I actually thought it was a hell of a lot before than "The Da Vinci Code". In "Code" I was expecting there to be mysteries and conspiracies IN the works of art themselves, as all the promotion and everything alluded to, and yet there was so very little of that in the book. "Angels and Demons" on the other hand had a lot more of that, and a lot more history that I hadn't already read about. Plus it was just a better story.
Yes, I will go see the "Da Vinci Code" movie, and I will probably like it. But I'm really waiting and hoping they'll make "Angels and Demons" into a movie too.

Re. 'The Da Vinci Code':

"Brown's novel is called a 'page-turner', partly because no one capable of reading without moving their lips would wish to linger over his prose.."

- Philip French, The Observer

Funny.

I have just finshed reading The Da Vinci Code and it was brillent, I want to really read Angels and Demons next.

How ironic a girl whose favorite movies include PotC and Ice Age says DvC is for 8 year olds.
Oh and by the way if you really are sixteen you were 11 when A&D first came out, so it's safe to say you are full of shit.


Apologies *checks publication date*
actually i was 10 yrs old at the time, all i could remember was that i was in primary school. But 8 yrs or 10yrs old, it doesnt change the fact that a child could understand this book (angels and daemons) which i personally think was more challenging than the da vinci code.

that said im not knocking dan brown, after all hes spun a good story and got a lot of people reading who might not have otherwise. Just dont go claiming hes some great author who writes great literature becuase hes not, fact.

Your trying to say a child could understand A&D. Yeah, I would love to see a child imagine Rome and imagine the deaths that happen to the cardinals. If a child can imagine Rome as it is described in the book then the child is too smart for its own good.

And Scarecrow, Angels and Demons is fantastic, Deception Point is pretty good too.

i stopped reading there because he admitted that his novels are complete fiction based on bits of real history

its akin to me writing a book about napolean which says that he dressed in womens clothes and invented taramasalata and the colour television

all 3 things existed....but the story made up

not to mention that his writing is perhaps 1 rung on the literary skill ladder above spot the dog

Angels and Demons was also an adventure with Robert Langdon the first I think.

Meh meh meh... The Da Vinci code just did not meet the hype for me. It was only medicore in terms of writing style and it's "twists"... Is it odd that i saw most things coming!? It was so predictable and not at all exciting. Grr i was really disapointed...

I found all those historical tidbits interesting also, but did anyone else feel like he just copied and pasted huge chunks out of some random textbook at times? Cuz I sure did!

I know this is random and no one knows me, but my goal is to spread the word.......there will be a Dragonlance movie in 2007! (don't bother flaming me, because will most likely never see it)