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.
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"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)
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"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)
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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?
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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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bradpig369
stranger
Reged: 07/22/05
Posts: 17
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Have any of you guys read the Rule OF Four by by Ian Caldwell
and Dustin Thomason....
It seems to be quite the interest piece..
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AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
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http://www.cultofdanbrown.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1051/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1
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EVDebs
enthusiast
Reged: 07/10/05
Posts: 272
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I just bought Rule of Four today. RandomHouse, DB's publisher, has a site up for it too
http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/theruleoffour/
Anyone know if RandomHouse is listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ ? With all the trees being felled for these books they'll make a killing and I wanna piece of that action !
BTW, Dan Brown's lawsuit against Lewis Perdue was successful yesterday, see article at
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-08-05T215539Z_01_N05733560_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-LEISURE-DAVINCI-DC.XML
Edited by EVDebs (08/06/05 11:46 AM)
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Dazzle
addict
Reged: 04/02/04
Posts: 484
Loc: UK
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Quote:
EVDebs said:
I just bought Rule of Four today.
Have a nice pillow at your side when reading this. You could nod off anywhere; it's that boring.
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AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
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We so could not be book trading pals, Dazzle.  I really enjoyed Rule of Four.
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Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
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I thought it was pretty good, though rather slow at times and a bit less accessible. Rule of Four has a good plot, but it is sometimes hard to read.
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"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
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nineteen7d5
stranger
Reged: 01/11/06
Posts: 6
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I'm partial to adventure/thrillers, authors like Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, Matthew Reilly, Jack du Brul, James Rollins, Steve Alten, Wilbur Smith. Wilbur Smith is primarily an historical fiction writer and I especially like the "River God" trilogy.
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steelgeneral
stranger
Reged: 01/16/06
Posts: 14
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Roger Zelazny was the best at exploiting mythology in fiction. Many of his Sci-fi/fantasy novels involved egocentric characters in the guises of Anubis, Osiris, and other Egyptian gods and goddesses, for example.
An author, relatively unknown, but close to my heart, has a unique take on Solomon on an online novel: The Key Of Solomon.
Over all, my favorite author is Jack Vance. Granted, you may need a dictionary by your side when you read him.
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steelgeneral
stranger
Reged: 01/16/06
Posts: 14
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Ok. And how about: Ursula K. LeGuin (the Earthsea series), Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle (Inferno--a great novel, in which a suicide victim redeems himself by leading others through the seven levels of Hell), and so many more.
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AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
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Quote:
An author, relatively unknown, but close to my heart...
 And you're going to stay relatively unknown if you're not even willing to own up to writing this "online novel".
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steelgeneral
stranger
Reged: 01/16/06
Posts: 14
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Ouch! Ok, enough with self-promotion, AAAA. I agree. If I were wearing a hat, I would take it off to you.
So, what about other authors, though? Especially those touching upon mythic or religious figures in history. Can you recommend some?
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Esperanza
stranger
Reged: 05/22/06
Posts: 7
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I don't think Dan Brown is the best novelist I've ever read... There are better novelists even in the same field: historical fiction. Last summer I read "El Último Catón", it's written by a Spanish author, Matilde Asensi. If there is an English translation, read it.
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bankjc
stranger
Reged: 06/06/06
Posts: 21
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I actually do think Dan is the best novelist I have come across. He's not the best writer (not sure if anyone has read Language Log - http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.html - and god, I would laugh if that was someone on here) but gee that man can produce one hell of a story. What is said on that site seems to be just a little bit too anal for me. I like entertainment and I dont particularly care if Dan has started a sentence with the word 'Renowned'.
Other than Dan though, I like Donna Tartt. She reminds me a lot of Dan Brown. I like intelligent writing. People that seem to know what they are talking about. Has anyone read Secret History? I love how she mixes all these interesting tidbits about the Ancient Greeks and the Anicent Greek language into a really fast paced, thrilling narrative. She's amazing.
Edit - Just read the entire thread (somehow I missed out a whole page) and I just have to say that the Rule of Four was very good. Sometimes that changing setting/timeframe threw me a little (I never knew if he was with that girl or not!) but as a big fan of 'old interesting stuff' (haha!) I had never heard of the hypnerotomachia and then read one of those 'unofficial guides' to the book. Needless to say I discovered the 'renaissance' as it were - and that led me to Dan. The rest, as the say, is history....
Edited by bankjc (06/06/06 01:47 AM)
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Dazzle
addict
Reged: 04/02/04
Posts: 484
Loc: UK
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I've read The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It's about fifty times better than anything Brown is capable of, if not more. She at least has a grasp of her subject matter and knows what she is talking about.
Quote:
I like entertainment and I dont particularly care if Dan has started a sentence with the word 'Renowned'.
Hey, I like entertainment too. That's why I read. But I expect the person to whom I'm paying my money to have a grasp of what they are doing. It's like paying a paperboy to fix your car.
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theHistorian
newbie
Reged: 04/23/06
Posts: 35
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What about Steve Berry? I read the Amber Room and that was a great book. I think I'll read the Third Secret next.
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ash
journeyman
Reged: 11/29/05
Posts: 74
Loc: Bombay India
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I saw UmbertoEco's interviewhere at local TV station and he cited so many examples where intellectual readers tried to get so many interpretations of The Name of Rose. Which he explicitely said was simple historical thriller with a bit of treatise on how too much theology corrupts reasoning.
Interviewer and He both had a hearty laugh. So read what you like and decide good or bad with your own judgement rather than so called intellectual norms.
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