Dan Brown's Next Book (1 Viewer)

[The_DJ]

I just love the way he makes the reader not want to put the book down. I suppose thats because of his simple use of language, but thats what the book so exciting.. it's almost like watching a high suspense/thriller movie (especially the last few chapters of angels and demons.. over the top, but so captivating). As others have mentioned, the average person can just delve into the plot without overcomplicated and unnecessary details.

 

[Grobus]

People talk about Dan Browns books like everything else on the market requires a PhD to read.

 

[persephone]

i like the plot but it really isn't written well....not literature by any standards

 

[rific]

What the hell? Point out to me an author who has done half of what MR has and I'll send you all the rep you can handle (provided it checks out, of course). The spoiler belwo is a list of thigns you have to match:

Spoiler

- Dual storyline of TEMPLE
- Falling out of a plane backwards (in a tank) while disarming the mother of all bombs
- The 40-page river and hovercraft chases from TEMPLE and ICE STATION
- Fighting the French in general
- Killing 20 men with a single fell swoop (nitrogen grenades in ICE STATION)
- Crashing an AWACS plane down an elevator shaft in AREA 7
- Going into space in AREA 7
- Flooding a dry dock, levelling a 15-storey building, the chase out of the mines, the fight in the Hercules, the tower sequence, the car chase, destroying an aircraft carrier, ramming two supertankers and disarming an ICBM in-flight in a Mach 7 plane.

... Good Luck! I am yet to find someone who can do even a third of that in their books.

I make no claim that a single author has done all this in a single book, or even a series of books or compositions. I only claim that most of the basic concepts behind these ideas have been around the literary block a couple times, and as such are evidence of 'unoriginality', not saying that Reilly didn't come up with them on his own, just saying that others have also come up with them to a degree. As it is 6.08pm and I haven't slept for two days, however, I will simply point out a couple of similarities.

Spoiler

dual story lines? try Dickens' Tale of Two Cities, try Kathleen O'Neal Gear/W. Michael Gear (I think) with The Summoning God, try Flight of Eagles by, actually I can't remember who wrote that one, but it's set in WW1 (?) and present day. Fighting the french - first of all, who wouldn't , but that aside, international armed conflict is hardly a new concept surely? Try Clancy and the Russians and others. Same with the 20 men dead at a go, explosives aren't new, first book I think of is Forbes (Bryan I think) with Quicksand, only he was inventive enough to not need to actually mindlessly kill them, he worked with implied threat v actual threat quite effectively.

For much of the rest, you only have to look as far as some old cartoons and you can see that much of the radical ideas have been sources of humour to generations.

Most of the bindless brutality involved in Reilly's works are seen as original only because they are concentrated in one space to the degradation of storyline and plot. A little strong perhaps, but oh well. I will say again though, I think Reilly is a good read, just not where you could go for truly experimental/modern original thinking.

 

[rific]

I probably shouldn't say this, but the concept of 'no new thought/echolalia/literary repetition' has been around since (at least) the ancient greeks , I disagree with the theory, but that aside...

And if I can use that point for every author as you suggest, than by default, that includes Reilly.

As for Clancy, ya, a lot of people agree with you, which is fair enough, a lot of people don't like Frankenstein, a lot of people don't like Grisham's law books, a lot of people don't like Grug Plays Cricket (a truly genious composition). Honestly, I mind if people disagree with me, it leads to these sorts of discussions. Saying that however, I'm getting a little tired of playing devils advocate, so while I am happy to keep it up, can't we all just get along? For a couple days at least...