Nix
🤪
I just recieved my copy today. Just wondered if there were any Dan Brown fans out there and have you read the book yet or do you have it on order?
Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol
- Thread starter Nix
- Start date
Washburne
Protector of the key.
I really enjoyed both Angels and demons and The Da Vinci code. Have Deception Point at home but haven't read it yet even if it's been here for years. Think I kind of forgot about it. Haven't been in a reading mood for even more years so not that surprising. But maybe I''ll finally get to it as soon as I'm done with the series I'm reading now. So I'm not sure if having read half of the books (or now even less) and only the most famous ones makes me a real fan. But I'm fan enough to not care about the critisism he gets. I like the books and there's not much more to it.
So giving this a read now Nix? You gave up on the HP books, taking a break or finished them all?
So giving this a read now Nix? You gave up on the HP books, taking a break or finished them all?
B
BillyidolwannaB
You Gotta read Deception Point. It's really good, probably just as good as Da Vinci Code.
Nix
🤪
Taking a break from HP as relaly not getting into them in the way i wanted to. But i'm only on book 2 so don't want to give up yet as people have assured me they get better as they go along. I'll start reading the new Dan Brown book tonight 🙂 that will be my break from HP lol.
Skanky Vamp
Sniffin' the Slayer
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2008
- Messages
- 26,460
I cant read books like that as they upset me.. same reason I cant watch those docu-drama thingys. It's hard for me to get into anything 'based on a true story' because I sit and pick it apart.
Tueuse de Vampires
Love will tear us apart..
I haven't got it yet, and I haven't preordered it either, but I do intend to read this book asap! I've read all the Dan Brown books so far, and although they are pretty predictable, I do enjoy them a lot.
In fact, I think when I'm going home I might stop by at the book shop and see if they got it there. Though I do have my doubts, since it's the Netehrlands...
But hey, let's calculate the odds of Robert Langdon being in some trouble in the book and ending up with some foreign, young thing :lmao:
In fact, I think when I'm going home I might stop by at the book shop and see if they got it there. Though I do have my doubts, since it's the Netehrlands...
But hey, let's calculate the odds of Robert Langdon being in some trouble in the book and ending up with some foreign, young thing :lmao:
BillyidolwannaB
Scooby
I'll be getting LS at some point. I've read all his others and they're all great reads. I liked Deception Point the most 🙂
Revolver
Sir Douche
Don't get me wrong. I read the Da Vinci Code and enjoyed it well enough, but Dan Brown's writing is definitely unintentionally hilarious at times, which is why I found this article pretty amusing.
The Lost Symbol and The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown's 20 worst sentences - Telegraph
If Dan Brown’s new novel The Lost Symbol is anything like his previous works, it will not go down well with the critics. Famously, comedian Stewart Lee mocked him for using the sentence “The famous man looked at the red cup” in his bestselling The Da Vinci Code.
In fact, Lee was making that up – the sentence never appears in the book. So are the critics unfair on Brown?
They’re certainly harsh. Edinburgh professor of linguistics Geoffrey Pullum says “Brown's writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad.” He picks out some excerpts for special criticism. The female lead in Angels and Demons learns of the death of her scientist father: “Genius, she thought. My father . . . Dad. Dead.” A member of the Vatican Guard in the same book becomes annoyed by something, and we learn that "his eyes went white, like a shark about to attack."
Below we have selected 20 phrases that may grate on the ear. It’s not a definitive list. It couldn’t be: he has published five novels, each around 500 pages long, and the arguments over which are the worst bits will go on for a while. But it’s our list. Add your own in the comment box below.
20. Angels and Demons, chapter 1: Although not overly handsome in a classical sense, the forty-year-old Langdon had what his female colleagues referred to as an ‘erudite’ appeal — wisp of gray in his thick brown hair, probing blue eyes, an arrestingly deep voice, and the strong, carefree smile of a collegiate athlete.
They say the first rule of fiction is “show, don’t tell”. This fails that rule.
19. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 83: "The Knights Templar were warriors," Teabing reminded, the sound of his aluminum crutches echoing in this reverberant space.
“Remind” is a transitive verb – you need to remind someone of something. You can’t just remind. And if the crutches echo, we know the space is reverberant.
18. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: He could taste the familiar tang of museum air - an arid, deionized essence that carried a faint hint of carbon - the product of industrial, coal-filter dehumidifiers that ran around the clock to counteract the corrosive carbon dioxide exhaled by visitors.
Ah, that familiar tang of deionised essence.
17. Deception Point, chapter 8: Overhanging her precarious body was a jaundiced face whose skin resembled a sheet of parchment paper punctured by two emotionless eyes.
It’s not clear what Brown thinks ‘precarious’ means here.
16. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: A voice spoke, chillingly close. "Do not move." On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly. Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His irises were pink with dark red pupils.
A silhouette with white hair and pink irises stood chillingly close but 15 feet away. What’s wrong with this picture?
15. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: As a boy, Langdon had fallen down an abandoned well shaft and almost died treading water in the narrow space for hours before being rescued. Since then, he'd suffered a haunting phobia of enclosed spaces - elevators, subways, squash courts.
Other enclosed spaces include toilet cubicles, phone boxes and dog kennels.
14. Angels and Demons, chapter 100: Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers glorified the four major rivers of the Old World - The Nile, Ganges, Danube, and Rio Plata.
The Rio de la Plata. Between Argentina and Uruguay. One of the major rivers of the Old World. Apparently.
The Da Vinci Code, chapter 5: Only those with a keen eye would notice his 14-karat gold bishop's ring with purple amethyst, large diamonds, and hand-tooled mitre-crozier appliqué.
A keen eye indeed.
13 and 12. The Lost Symbol, chapter 1: He was sitting all alone in the enormous cabin of a Falcon 2000EX corporate jet as it bounced its way through turbulence. In the background, the dual Pratt & Whitney engines hummed evenly.
The Da Vinci Code, chapter 17: Yanking his Manurhin MR-93 revolver from his shoulder holster, the captain dashed out of the office.
Oh – the Falcon 2000EX with the Pratt & Whitneys? And the Manurhin MR-93? Not the MR-92? You’re sure? Thanks.
11. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: Captain Bezu Fache carried himself like an angry ox, with his wide shoulders thrown back and his chin tucked hard into his chest. His dark hair was slicked back with oil, accentuating an arrow-like widow's peak that divided his jutting brow and preceded him like the prow of a battleship. As he advanced, his dark eyes seemed to scorch the earth before him, radiating a fiery clarity that forecast his reputation for unblinking severity in all matters.
Do angry oxen throw their shoulders back and tuck their chins into their chest? What precisely is a fiery clarity and how does it forecast anything? Once again, it is not clear whether Brown knows what ‘forecast’ means.
10. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: Five months ago, the kaleidoscope of power had been shaken, and Aringarosa was still reeling from the blow.
Did they hit him with the kaleidoscope?
9. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 32: The vehicle was easily the smallest car Langdon had ever seen. "SmartCar," she said. "A hundred kilometers to the liter."
Pro tip: when fleeing from the police, take a moment to boast about your getaway vehicle’s fuel efficiency. And get it wrong by a factor of five. SmartCars do about 20km (12 miles) to the litre.
8. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 3: My French stinks, Langdon thought, but my zodiac iconography is pretty good.
And they say the schools are dumbing down.
7 and 6. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 33: Pulling back the sleeve of his jacket, he checked his watch - a vintage, collector's-edition Mickey Mouse wristwatch that had been a gift from his parents on his tenth birthday.
The Da Vinci Code, chapter 6: His last correspondence from Vittoria had been in December - a postcard saying she was headed to the Java Sea to continue her research in entanglement physics... something about using satellites to track manta ray migrations.
In the words of Professor Pullum: “It has the ring of utter ineptitude. The details have no relevance to what is being narrated.”
5. Angels and Demons, chapter 4: learning the ropes in the trenches
Learning the ropes (of a naval ship) while in the trenches (with the army in the First World War). It’s a military education, certainly.
4, 3, and 2. The Da Vinci Code, opening sentence: Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery.
Angels and Demons, opening sentence: Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own.
Deception Point, opening sentences: Death, in this forsaken place, could come in countless forms. Geologist Charles Brophy had endured the savage splendor of this terrain for years, and yet nothing could prepare him for a fate as barbarous and unnatural as the one about to befall him.
Professor Pullum: "Renowned author Dan Brown staggered through his formulaic opening sentence".
1. The Da Vinci Code: Title. The Da Vinci Code.
Leonardo’s surname was not Da Vinci. He was from Vinci, or of Vinci. As many critics have pointed out, calling it The Da Vinci Code is like saying Mr Of Arabia or asking What Would Of Nazareth Do?
The Lost Symbol and The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown's 20 worst sentences - Telegraph
If Dan Brown’s new novel The Lost Symbol is anything like his previous works, it will not go down well with the critics. Famously, comedian Stewart Lee mocked him for using the sentence “The famous man looked at the red cup” in his bestselling The Da Vinci Code.
In fact, Lee was making that up – the sentence never appears in the book. So are the critics unfair on Brown?
They’re certainly harsh. Edinburgh professor of linguistics Geoffrey Pullum says “Brown's writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad.” He picks out some excerpts for special criticism. The female lead in Angels and Demons learns of the death of her scientist father: “Genius, she thought. My father . . . Dad. Dead.” A member of the Vatican Guard in the same book becomes annoyed by something, and we learn that "his eyes went white, like a shark about to attack."
Below we have selected 20 phrases that may grate on the ear. It’s not a definitive list. It couldn’t be: he has published five novels, each around 500 pages long, and the arguments over which are the worst bits will go on for a while. But it’s our list. Add your own in the comment box below.
20. Angels and Demons, chapter 1: Although not overly handsome in a classical sense, the forty-year-old Langdon had what his female colleagues referred to as an ‘erudite’ appeal — wisp of gray in his thick brown hair, probing blue eyes, an arrestingly deep voice, and the strong, carefree smile of a collegiate athlete.
They say the first rule of fiction is “show, don’t tell”. This fails that rule.
19. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 83: "The Knights Templar were warriors," Teabing reminded, the sound of his aluminum crutches echoing in this reverberant space.
“Remind” is a transitive verb – you need to remind someone of something. You can’t just remind. And if the crutches echo, we know the space is reverberant.
18. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: He could taste the familiar tang of museum air - an arid, deionized essence that carried a faint hint of carbon - the product of industrial, coal-filter dehumidifiers that ran around the clock to counteract the corrosive carbon dioxide exhaled by visitors.
Ah, that familiar tang of deionised essence.
17. Deception Point, chapter 8: Overhanging her precarious body was a jaundiced face whose skin resembled a sheet of parchment paper punctured by two emotionless eyes.
It’s not clear what Brown thinks ‘precarious’ means here.
16. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: A voice spoke, chillingly close. "Do not move." On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly. Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His irises were pink with dark red pupils.
A silhouette with white hair and pink irises stood chillingly close but 15 feet away. What’s wrong with this picture?
15. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: As a boy, Langdon had fallen down an abandoned well shaft and almost died treading water in the narrow space for hours before being rescued. Since then, he'd suffered a haunting phobia of enclosed spaces - elevators, subways, squash courts.
Other enclosed spaces include toilet cubicles, phone boxes and dog kennels.
14. Angels and Demons, chapter 100: Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers glorified the four major rivers of the Old World - The Nile, Ganges, Danube, and Rio Plata.
The Rio de la Plata. Between Argentina and Uruguay. One of the major rivers of the Old World. Apparently.
The Da Vinci Code, chapter 5: Only those with a keen eye would notice his 14-karat gold bishop's ring with purple amethyst, large diamonds, and hand-tooled mitre-crozier appliqué.
A keen eye indeed.
13 and 12. The Lost Symbol, chapter 1: He was sitting all alone in the enormous cabin of a Falcon 2000EX corporate jet as it bounced its way through turbulence. In the background, the dual Pratt & Whitney engines hummed evenly.
The Da Vinci Code, chapter 17: Yanking his Manurhin MR-93 revolver from his shoulder holster, the captain dashed out of the office.
Oh – the Falcon 2000EX with the Pratt & Whitneys? And the Manurhin MR-93? Not the MR-92? You’re sure? Thanks.
11. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: Captain Bezu Fache carried himself like an angry ox, with his wide shoulders thrown back and his chin tucked hard into his chest. His dark hair was slicked back with oil, accentuating an arrow-like widow's peak that divided his jutting brow and preceded him like the prow of a battleship. As he advanced, his dark eyes seemed to scorch the earth before him, radiating a fiery clarity that forecast his reputation for unblinking severity in all matters.
Do angry oxen throw their shoulders back and tuck their chins into their chest? What precisely is a fiery clarity and how does it forecast anything? Once again, it is not clear whether Brown knows what ‘forecast’ means.
10. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 4: Five months ago, the kaleidoscope of power had been shaken, and Aringarosa was still reeling from the blow.
Did they hit him with the kaleidoscope?
9. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 32: The vehicle was easily the smallest car Langdon had ever seen. "SmartCar," she said. "A hundred kilometers to the liter."
Pro tip: when fleeing from the police, take a moment to boast about your getaway vehicle’s fuel efficiency. And get it wrong by a factor of five. SmartCars do about 20km (12 miles) to the litre.
8. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 3: My French stinks, Langdon thought, but my zodiac iconography is pretty good.
And they say the schools are dumbing down.
7 and 6. The Da Vinci Code, chapter 33: Pulling back the sleeve of his jacket, he checked his watch - a vintage, collector's-edition Mickey Mouse wristwatch that had been a gift from his parents on his tenth birthday.
The Da Vinci Code, chapter 6: His last correspondence from Vittoria had been in December - a postcard saying she was headed to the Java Sea to continue her research in entanglement physics... something about using satellites to track manta ray migrations.
In the words of Professor Pullum: “It has the ring of utter ineptitude. The details have no relevance to what is being narrated.”
5. Angels and Demons, chapter 4: learning the ropes in the trenches
Learning the ropes (of a naval ship) while in the trenches (with the army in the First World War). It’s a military education, certainly.
4, 3, and 2. The Da Vinci Code, opening sentence: Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery.
Angels and Demons, opening sentence: Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own.
Deception Point, opening sentences: Death, in this forsaken place, could come in countless forms. Geologist Charles Brophy had endured the savage splendor of this terrain for years, and yet nothing could prepare him for a fate as barbarous and unnatural as the one about to befall him.
Professor Pullum: "Renowned author Dan Brown staggered through his formulaic opening sentence".
1. The Da Vinci Code: Title. The Da Vinci Code.
Leonardo’s surname was not Da Vinci. He was from Vinci, or of Vinci. As many critics have pointed out, calling it The Da Vinci Code is like saying Mr Of Arabia or asking What Would Of Nazareth Do?
BillyidolwannaB
Scooby
^i had a read at the article. Fair enough he may make some mistakes, but do the millions of readers really care? Doubt it. People that take the time to pick apart things like that are just complete snobs. Big deal he uses a word in the wrong context now and then, are these people jealous or something? I mean, look at the many inconsistances of Btvs!
Crashing Doors
Potential
Hey, lit snobs need to feel good about themselves too.
I enjoyed reading the books for the actual stories, but he's not exactly a great writer. As long as the plots are okay though, I'm not extremely picky about my "best seller" reads.
I enjoyed reading the books for the actual stories, but he's not exactly a great writer. As long as the plots are okay though, I'm not extremely picky about my "best seller" reads.
J
JCC
Guest
I don't think it's being a literature snob to criticise one of the world's bestselling authors for not knowing what the words he uses actually mean.
Tueuse de Vampires
Love will tear us apart..
Okay, I finally finished the book. Took me twice the time to finish the last 30 pages as reading the rest of the book. That alrady says something, huh?
Okay, now about what I thought...don't read if you don't want to be spoilered, I included some very explicit plot points.
Did anyone see the latest Simpsons episode where they completely mocked the book? :lmao:
Okay, now about what I thought...don't read if you don't want to be spoilered, I included some very explicit plot points.
The theme with all the symbols and everything is kinda starting to get boring and annoying. Everything is always a symbol for everything, and in the end you have something pretty lame cloaked in all that secrecy.
Which leads to my second point of criticism. What's wrong with this picture? Chapter x ends with a door being opened, everyone, including Robert Langdon, react shocked. Next chapter begins, everyone is still bewilidered, but strangely, Robert langdon calmly explains that what they found is completely normal. Uhhhm...why were you shocked then? I know, because cliffhangers get people to read further. But there's such a thing as timing,and to just drop them in at random is not really cool.
At one point I was very intrigued and happy that Dan Brown decided to kill of Robert Langdon - until it turned out he didn't. The reason I was happy was because that would've been a real twist, not every author has the balls to kill of their main character. Sooo, at that point I was kinda liking the novel again, because I thought what a smart move. When I discovered that RL was not actually dead I really hated the novel...peak of lameness reached. especially considering how little sense it made for the bad guy to leave RL alone...he had already done his part in the storyline, all the information necessary he had already revealed...and sure, the psycho killer with the deadly trail of destruction leaves mister main character to tell the tale. Argh!
I won't actually comment on the ending of the book, the revelation of 'The Lost Word' because that would just be too depressing.
Which leads to my second point of criticism. What's wrong with this picture? Chapter x ends with a door being opened, everyone, including Robert Langdon, react shocked. Next chapter begins, everyone is still bewilidered, but strangely, Robert langdon calmly explains that what they found is completely normal. Uhhhm...why were you shocked then? I know, because cliffhangers get people to read further. But there's such a thing as timing,and to just drop them in at random is not really cool.
At one point I was very intrigued and happy that Dan Brown decided to kill of Robert Langdon - until it turned out he didn't. The reason I was happy was because that would've been a real twist, not every author has the balls to kill of their main character. Sooo, at that point I was kinda liking the novel again, because I thought what a smart move. When I discovered that RL was not actually dead I really hated the novel...peak of lameness reached. especially considering how little sense it made for the bad guy to leave RL alone...he had already done his part in the storyline, all the information necessary he had already revealed...and sure, the psycho killer with the deadly trail of destruction leaves mister main character to tell the tale. Argh!
I won't actually comment on the ending of the book, the revelation of 'The Lost Word' because that would just be too depressing.
Did anyone see the latest Simpsons episode where they completely mocked the book? :lmao: