Dazzle
addict
Reged: 04/02/04
Posts: 484
Loc: UK
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This is a question primarily for those that, to them, Dan Brown is the best novelist they have ever read.
Who else - other than books related to Brown's adopted mythos (i.e. Holy Blood, Holy Grail) - do you read? And how often do you read books?
Fantasy? Horror? Crime? Thrillers? Romance? Science Fiction?
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Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
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I am not sure if I can call DB the best novelist, but he has a knack for exploiting history and theory to make a much more gripping plot than many others.
Basically, I'm a fantasy fan, though I prefer realistic fantasy or historical fantasy. Neither chicks-in-chainmail not dragons nor the my-father-was-killed-and-I-must-go-off-to-fight-half-the-world stuff appeals to me. I prefer books by George RR Martin, some of Terry Goodkinds earlier stuff, and (surprisingly enough) I really liked Jacqueline Carey's Kusheline Trilogy.
-------------------- "Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
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cadaverous
stranger
Reged: 03/09/05
Posts: 6
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Has anyone read Sidney Sheldon books? I think he is an outstanding writer, I only read couple of his books, and found them to be quite intriguing.
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Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
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I read a few. I like only one. (The Doomsday Conspiracy)
-------------------- "Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
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danaholic
member
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 163
Loc: Kent, England
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I've read 'The Best Laid Plans' and thought it was quite clever.
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8549176320abc
enthusiast
Reged: 05/02/05
Posts: 219
Loc: UK
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I think that if you like Dans style (i.e. not too much complex dialoge and dull love sceans) I can recomend things like Philip Pulman and Philip Reave. (With the northern lights trilogy and the Mortal Engines books respectivly)
-------------------- Governments offer us safety for our freedom. It is by seeing this safety as false that we are freed.
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Mustang
stranger
Reged: 05/12/05
Posts: 1
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I am very anxious for Dan's new book, but, until then, I have many favorite authors. I really enjoy Michael Connelly's detective series (new one being released May 16). I also enjoy Stephen King.
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8549176320abc
enthusiast
Reged: 05/02/05
Posts: 219
Loc: UK
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did anyone else find the LOTR books too long winded in places?
-------------------- Governments offer us safety for our freedom. It is by seeing this safety as false that we are freed.
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Dazzle
addict
Reged: 04/02/04
Posts: 484
Loc: UK
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I thought the Lord of the Rings books (I say books but got bored one chapter from the end of the first one) were completely overrated. Tolkien's gifts as a linguist were not matched by any gift as an author. The books were full of pointless characters (Tom Bombadil springs to mind) and poetry that added nothing to the narrative.
Thumbs down to Tolkien.
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AnomanderRake
newbie
Reged: 02/14/05
Posts: 38
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Regarding Tom Bombadil, Tolkien said that every world had its mysteries. Specifically, in his letters, he said that "even in a mythological Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally)."
I loved LotR. The first time I read it, I did find it difficult to read and not very enjoyable. But the second time I read it, I took my time and read every single word, consciously attempting not to skim or speedread as I usually do with most books, and it was, I can honestly say, the best reading experience I've ever had, bar none.
The first is the most traditional but also the "slowest." The Two Towers is a transition book, and quite honestly I don't remember much about it. But Return of the King? Words cannot describe how much I love this book.
Also realize that it is one story, one narrative arc, and taken individually, none of the three books will feel like a story.
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