Cult of Dan Brown: Surprised to not see these errors mentioned

Hope you folks won't mind a new guy, and I apologize in advance if these items have already been explored, but...

I'm a big DB fan, about 2/3 of the way through A&D, my last of his four books. I agree with many other commentators (on Amazon, etc.) who don't think much of Dan's writing style - he is pretty hackneyed and doesn't have much of an ear for creating believable characters or dialogue, particularly for a former English teacher (Philips Exeter Academy). (Personally, I have some of the same complaints about Clive Cussler.)

But, boy, can he cram a story full of interesting stuff. I am looking forward to what he can do in the future now that he has more money than God.

I am disappointed at the large number of mistakes he makes in A&D, though, and am curious to see if you folks have discussed them (such as you did Novus Ordo Seclorum ). I recall he made quite a few in DVC (which should, after all, be dVC), but since I'm currently in A&D, let me run these by you:

1. P. 34 - Langdon says the Vatican denounced the Illuminati as Shaitan, explaining that the word is Islamic for Adversary and that we get our word Satan from it. Islam is, of course, not a language, but a religious faith. The word Shaitan is from Arabic. The 82% of Muslims who are NOT Arabic may not be too keen on this oversight.

2. It's hard to believe that any educated person these days (such as Langdon) hasn't at least heard of CERN and antimatter.

3. P. 75 - Vittoria is explaining that antimatter is real: "Everything has an opposite. Protons have electrons...." The electron is not the anti-particle of a proton. That would be an anti-proton, while the anti-particle for an electron is a positron. Completely different animals, as any good nuclear physicist (not to mention a first-year physics student)should know.

4. P. 169 - Olivetti asks the camerlengo if he recalls "The prayer of St. Francis," and the camerlengo responds by speaking "the single line," "God, grant me strength to accept those things I cannot change." This is not St. Francis' prayer as any member of AA can tell you. It is known as the Serenity Prayer and was composed by the American theologian Reinhold Neibuhr in the 1920s (I think). It goes,
"God,
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference."

There is a short second verse as well, but I can't remember it right now.

The beautiful prayer usually called the "Prayer of St. Francis" is longer, and begins,
"Lord,
Make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;"
etc.

5. Finally (for now), on Pp. 242-244, Langdon is discussing transmutation of religious symbols and concepts in one of his condescending lectures to a class. Along with crediting ancient Egypt for eastward orientation and sun-worship (eastward orientation in Christianity, like Islam, is usually ascribed to pointing towards a special site, respectively Jerusalem and Mecca), Langdon says Christianity got its idea of the Eucharist (Holy Communion)from the Aztecs. Folks, Chrisitianity, like most faiths, did not develop in a vacuum, and certainly picked up many ideas and traditions from other cultures, including virgin birth and resurrection; but since the Aztecs didn't show up until around 900 CE (AD), I don't think these vicious people can get the credit for the wine and wafer!

Anyway, I've overstayed my welcome. Nitpicking? Well, these complaints are just off the top of my head after discovering your board; we haven't even considered art history, the Italian language, or Mickey Mouse watches (they've been around a long time, and there are battery-operated models, as some of you have pointed out). To paraphrase, "nitpicking, like a contact lens, is in the eye of the beholder."

What do you think?

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The Universe is not only stranger than we imagine - it is stranger than we CAN imagine.

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