Is anyone else frightened by the number of people who think Dan Brown is a good writer?

Question

His ideas are good, but I felt his characters, style and execution were boring, overdone clichés. Anyone else?

Answer 1

Well he's not a very very good writer (I'm not saying he's very bad though, he's just not at the top of my list), you're right about the cliché. But you shouldn't be surprised by the number of people who like his work. People in general like cliché, and not everybody can appreciate good literature like you do.

People don't read much and when they do it's either Harry Potter or stuff like Da vinci Code. They need to read more to appreciate what's good literature and what's not.

Answer 2

I read Angels & Demons first & was gripped from start to finish it was one of the best reads ever, so I didn't pay a great amount of attention to the writing skills of the author, he got my undivided attention though!

However, reading The Da Vinci code was painful, it was written in a boring, rigid, unskilled way from start to finish. It didn't flow in the way a good piece of writing should. Dan Brown is has good ideas & he managed to execute them perfectly in A&D although it is not technically brilliant. He is a below average writer over all in his use of language, description etc. I'm not suprised people buy into his stories but anyone who describes him as a 'good' writer have obviously read very little in their lives to compare him with!

Answer 3

I don't think anyone honestly thinks he's a good writer, but a lot of people do enjoy his books and that's a different matter entirely.

I am no literary critic and just want to read a good story; I have no interest in analysing what I'm reading. But I have to admit on many occasions the Da Vinci Code had me cringing.

Answer 4

I've only read the one book, The Davinci Code, of course. I didn't want to, but I ultimately had to know what all the hype was about... It was brain candy, not necessarily good for you per se, but somewhat enjoyable. That being said, I don't plan on reading any other of his books.

I can't help but agree that it is good to get people reading more. Think of what got you into reading in the first place, was it great works of literature, or something fluffy?

Answer 5

i thought his books were ok, but you are right, i really thought that he was trying too hard (esp in the da vinci code)... thought the idea was very clever though, but by the end, it seemed like he was writing just so he could end it, rather than come to a sensible conclusion... i also thought the same for angels and demons... i think most people (like me) jumped on the bandwagon, but reading them again, in retrospect, im really not that impressed!

Answer 6

His stories are good but it seems that no one even takes a break
to eat of sleep or use the toilet. I mean they just go on and on and on. He has things happening in a time period that can't be
done in that frame of time.

Answer 7

he's published more than me so i suppose i'm just jealous. on a serious note i feel he relies more on plot than character, which is appealing, but does'nt draw you in like it should. i have to applaud his success and think most great reads are distorted cliches so can't fault him for joining a rolling bandwagon

Answer 8

regardless of whether or not you think his characters are cliche, it's better that people are actually reading, as opposed to staring at the idiot box all day long. =)

Answer 9

Hahaha, I am!!!! Just work in a bookstore for any length of time, you will get a sense of how terrifying it is!

Answer 10

Yes!