Dan Brown. Go. Talk.

I started the Da Vinci Code. I'm about a third of the way in. When does it get good? I have a major case of the I-don't-cares with it. He blatantly changes from one scene to another/one chapter to another whenever any minor revelation is about to be made. It gets old. Besides having abundant trivia, I don't see the appeal. My god, he even used this old scene:
"Hurry Mr.Y, you must X"
"OK, but on one condition!"
"What's that?!?!"
"That you stop calling me Mr.Y!"
I'm going to finish it, but please tell me when it kicks in so I can look forward to it!!!

::tries to remember::

i think... when it kicks in... i got tired of waiting and skipped to the end. i think i kept on reading because it felt like an indiana jones movie crossed with dogma...

then i read Angels and Demons (ha i almost typed visitations in there), by the end of... like chapter 3 or something "little did he know this information would save his life in the next 24 hours" i was screaming "yer a HACK!" at the book. altho i liked Angels & Demons a lot better than DaVinci Code. the ambigrams were cool.

Umberto Eco's Focault's Pendulum owns the pants off of The Da Vinci Code.

Discovery did a documentary on [/i]The Da Vinci Code,[/i] and Eco was in it. Such is life, Eco is a footnote to Dan Brown.

The Da Vinci Code. It does not kick in. It is ... void.

I have never had an urge to read Dan Brown.

I'm looking forward to the movie of The Da Vinci Code... Especially if they improve the ending

I personally LOVE Dan Brown, finished Da Vinci Code in a day and a half because I couldn't put it down. Angels & Demons probably ranks as one of my fav books yet..(mom and dad bought me the "Secrets Of Angels and Demons" guidebook for Christmas this year...all the real facts behind the fiction by experts in the field...facinating stuff)

That said, I'm an art history major...so I really enjoy being able to go through and anaylise what he's written, see where his facts are dead on, where they're exaggerated/misplaced and where they're straight up made up...so it's a bit of a different read for me.

I can see where it would be a bit dry...

I liked "Angels and Demons," but it kind of struck me as the literary equivilent of pop music. It had a very Chichtonish feel to me. I liked the detail concerning Rome and all the religious art there in, and geeked out at Steve Jackson getting mentioned, but other than that, it was all such rediculous hokem especially
SPOILER
The part where the middle aged college proffessor defeats the assissn, who easily killed the leader of the swiss guard, because he occasionally plays waterpolo.
/SPOILER
They are definately baby boomer wish fulfilment books, though.

It's pretty much brain candy. If you are willing to let go of your need for say, character development, and historical accuracy, then they can be pretty entertaining. Although yes, some of the dialogue and whatnot is pretty stilted. Whatever, it's better than romance novels any day. I hate those wastes of paper.
As I recall, GMZoe, it was shortly after the third of the way in that it got good. Or, I got drunk. Either way, it was pretty entertaining for me.

quote:

see where his facts are dead on

Which is to say, no where...

:-P
Heh

eh see, with Da Vinci Code i liked the start, but i have read a bunch of mainstream fiction growing up, i was always a fan of spy thrillers, that said, he just fell short.

I always look at this sort of 'best seller' as the crappy blow stuff up movies occasionally you get a really good one but most are just mediocre when it comes to plot and characters.

I did disturb myself by already knowing a bunch of the stuff he goes on about, but then i was always an arthurian legend buff.

Oh and the end sucked majorly, and reminded me of certain aspects of the movie 'there's something about mary' and thats just wrong!

quote:

Originally posted by ClintonHammond:

quote:

see where his facts are dead on

Which is to say, no where...

:-P
Heh

Actually a lot of his base framework *is* accurate. Particularly in regards to the art work, not neccessarily the messages *in* it

I often compare Dan Brown to a really good jazz musician, you have to know your melody cold...then you can improvise with it...

When I read The Da Vinci Code, I thought, wow, is he deliberately doing a hatchet job on the Church, or is he just dumb?

I'm inclined to think the latter. The stuff on antimatter is horribly wrong.

quote:

Actually a lot of his base framework *is* accurate

If you wanna define "Base Framework" as language, to say that his spelling and grammar was good, then I'll agree...

Heh

Never mind Clinton, I don't have the energy to get into a good debate...maybe later...for now, I just agree to disagree..

Naaah... it's not even that big a deal Lady J...

Just take the ribbing, smile, dissmiss me as a big jerk, and let me get the next round....

Bartender! 2 pints over here for me and LJ!

:-)

quote:

Originally posted by fluffyllama:
then i read Angels and Demons (ha i almost typed visitations in there), by the end of... like chapter 3 or something "little did he know this information would save his life in the next 24 hours" i was screaming "yer a HACK!" at the book. altho i liked Angels & Demons a lot better than DaVinci Code. the ambigrams were cool.

My sentiments exactly...it felt like outright bludgeoning with a hammer of foreshadowing...awful...and he does it in Davinci Code as well *dry heave*

I'm in the same boat as GMZoe...I'm about 2/3 of the way through...but my car CD player ate the 6th disk and won't eject it...not sure how I feel about that.

I'm really exhausted by all the exposition and the puzzles within puzzles and all that...

-the whole thing feels a bit forced so far...

I keep waiting to be suprised by anything...

i read it overnight... no hassle, no worrying about motivation, wanting to know what happened next.

Then i found out that for me it was the literary equivalent of mcDonalds... you might want it, but when you've finished you wonder why you wanted it, and that you feel bloated and sick, and then half an hour later i was hungry again.

just like that. or a cheap wank. but i'll stick with the burger smilie for now.

quote:

or a cheap wank

Who pays for them anyway?

LOL

OK...I finished it.

-and I just keep wondering...what was the deal with the President of the Swiss Bank? Why did we need so much back story? He really only wanted the stuff back to protect the reputation of the bank?

Really? That's it?

I hate loose ends.

You finish GMZoe?