Dan Brown

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skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
Liked The Name of the Rose" even more. But after those two i think Eco, as a storyteller, has been too caught up in his immense learning. so that the storyline kind of ran into a wall. But if you like Eco you should try Hilary Mantel. Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies about Sir Thomas Cromwell, advisor to Henry VIII when he had all those problems with Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. Good writing and great scholarship about that part of Tudor-england. But it is not a mystery of course. If you like historical mysteries i can recommend Steven Saylor. Takes place in Rome when Cicero, Pompey and a young Ceasar is stalking the streets of Rome. Roman Blood is the first in the series.
I just looked at Wolf Hall in the secondhand store a few minutes ago & wondered if it was good :) I'll have to go back and get it--thanks!
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
9,682
65,192
59
sweden
They are not fastmoving but they know exactly where they are going. He had to invent a background for Thomas Cromwell since it isn't in the records but from when he become a man of importance he tells the Story good. Won a Booker prize i remember. Am not exactly sure what they are rewarding.
 

krwhiting

Well-Known Member
Jan 5, 2015
258
1,081
57
Liked The Name of the Rose" even more. But after those two i think Eco, as a storyteller, has been too caught up in his immense learning. so that the storyline kind of ran into a wall. But if you like Eco you should try Hilary Mantel. Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies about Sir Thomas Cromwell, advisor to Henry VIII when he had all those problems with Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. Good writing and great scholarship about that part of Tudor-england. But it is not a mystery of course. If you like historical mysteries i can recommend Steven Saylor. Takes place in Rome when Cicero, Pompey and a young Ceasar is stalking the streets of Rome. Roman Blood is the first in the series.

I also loved The Name of the Rose. My favorite medieval mystery. Those are the only two Eco's I've read. I'll check out the others. Thanks for the recommendations.

Kelly
 

Srbo

Uber Member
Mar 23, 2008
15,209
7,617
Canada
This is what I wrote about Dan Brown in general, hope no one will be offended by this:

  1. I don`t understand the hate towards Dan Brown and his books, coming mostly from Christians.
    I am a Christian, nothing and nobody will ever change my faith. Yes, I believe in the Bible, Old and New Testament, I believe in Jesus, I believe in all the miracles, I believe in God, simple.
    But to be hating on a man because he doesn`t believe is ridiculous. Calling his books heresy and blasphemy is a riot for me, I`m laughing my head off when I read that.
    When he published The Da Vinci Code, I even had the fury of a Christian unleashed upon me, (in real life, and I thought we were friends ) how can I have such a book in my house at all, never mind reading it? Heavy insults were said to me...I said nothing, whatever, vent, tell me I`m a lousy Christian, I`ll go to hell, that I wasn`t raised right, my parents are trash and so on. I thought Jesus said " Don`t judge", but what do I know. I also thought He said something about casting a stone, but again, what do I know.
    I enjoy Brown`s books, and like he states, there is enough room in this world for religion and science to coexist, maybe even help each other out. His books are very informative, it`s not all fiction, you can learn a lot from them about history, art, mythology, religion, science, who might run the world or at least is trying to and a lot more.
    And while his writing, actually his plots are more or less always the same, Professor Langdon and some super beauty discovered this and that and are running away from the Church`s wrath, then there is a super twist at the end, I still enjoy the stories and all the details you can learn from them.
    His newest, Origin, is no different, I`m only 200 pages in, but yeah, that`s the plot once again, I like it, just like all his other books.
    To condemn the man because he doesn`t believe, or at least I don`t think he does, and the people who read his work, is not only judgemental, but also very, very shallow.
    I`ve read Crowley and LeVay as well and so what? How else would I have learned about them and their doings? Doesn`t mean I abandoned God, it means I wanted to educate myself.
    I don`t think outside the box, I believe there is no box at all, it`s a wide open space...and folks who are this fast to pull the trigger on someone who doesn`t think like them are not living in a box, they are in their very own prison.
    Any way, if you are a fan of this genre, read Origin and enjoy the hell out of it ( hah! no pun intended ) :D
    Happy Hump Day.
 

Wab

Well-Known Member
Oct 29, 2017
86
312
Read Digital Fortress after being told that it was his best and that was enough for me. Not only did I find it poorly written but the characters were implausible not least the herione who was supposedly the NSA's brightest analyst but was constantly doing dumb things. Not to mention the repeated use of people with a disability as the villain.