The Da Vinci Code - What did you think? - Page 8 - WritingForums.com - Writing Forums, Writing Challenges, Critiques and Help for Writers

imrhati · 05-08-2006, 03:14 PM

respect Nine Inch Nails, they deserve to be capitalised!

AtlanteanTapir · 05-08-2006, 03:51 PM

Downright amazing.

Kane · 05-12-2006, 12:21 PM

I haven't read this book, and don't intend to. After reading the snippet that Connor provided, and assuming the rest of the book is written equally as poorly, it really depresses me to see so many people say how well it's written. I can't say it shocks me, because I realize how many stupid people there are in the world, but it does depress me. That the average Joe would call this book well-written is one thing, but when the members of a writing forum, who supposedly read quite a bit, and even do some writing of their own, extoll the virtues of some of the absolute worst prose I have ever read, it makes me want to put down my pen and stop writing altogether.

Perhaps you did enjoy the premise of the story. But, if the guy can't write, how can you call it well written? And when he's writing a book that deals with history, don't you think it's important that he gets his facts straight? I mean, obviously he has to twist some things here and there to get the plot, but shouldn't everything else be iron-clad in fact in order to make the plot more believable? If he can't even keep simple facts straight -- what side of the road people drive on, the correct command structure of police departments, the proper police departments to begin with -- then how is one able to suspend one's sense of disbelief long enough to make it through a whole chapter, let alone the entire book?

Dan Brown's prose is worse than some of the stories I've critiqued harshly, only to find out they were written by non-native English speakers. And his is a finished product, and not a piece up for critique on a writing forum. If you think Dan Brown's work is well written, it is because you wouldn't know good writing if it smacked you in your face. It is people like you who allow terrible writers to achieve national acclaim, while a horde of brilliant writers never get a single book published. You are the reason Hollywood churns out one prefabricated, vacuous piece of trash after another, instead of spending all that money making great, thought provoking, idea challenging films. And you are the reason that Metallica kept selling albums after they went from being the shit, to plain shit.

Daniel Malone · 05-12-2006, 07:02 PM

I can't believe some on this site would crush snd smash a man who wrote a book and got it published.

The book is good and written as well as any best seller.

I challenge anyone to show me a bestseller that is written better, and I will show you it is just your opinion.

It seems you can't write Stephen King or Shakespeare because you can't. People write in their own unique style and you can't say he is a poor writer just because you think it sucks or you don't like the content. You must have gramatical reasons.

Also, calling something cliche' has become cliche' itself. So, cliche sounds so gay.

Furthermore, if you hadn't noticed history, all languages change over time and become modified. Sometimes
Furhter

Daniel Malone · 05-12-2006, 07:02 PM

I can't believe some on this site would crush snd smash a man who wrote a book and got it published.

The book is good and written as well as any best seller.

I challenge anyone to show me a bestseller that is written better, and I will show you it is just your opinion.

It seems you can't write Stephen King or Shakespeare because you can't. People write in their own unique style and you can't say he is a poor writer just because you think it sucks or you don't like the content. You must have gramatical reasons.

Also, calling something cliche' has become cliche' itself. So, cliche sounds so gay.

Furthermore, if you hadn't noticed history, all languages change over time and become modified. Sometimes becoming a
Furhter

Daniel Malone · 05-12-2006, 07:02 PM

Daniel Malone · 05-12-2006, 07:13 PM

I can't believe some on this site would crush and smash a man who wrote a book and got it published.

The book is good and written as well as any best seller.

I challenge anyone to show me a bestseller that is written better, and I will show you it is just your opinion.

It seems you can't write Stephen King or Shakespeare because you can't. People write in their own unique style and you can't say he is a poor writer just because you think it sucks or you don't like the content. You must have grammatical reasons.

Also, calling something cliché' has become cliché' itself. So, cliché sounds so gay.

Furthermore, if you hadn't noticed history, all languages change over time and become modified, Sometimes becoming a different dialect. So why do some embrace the way they think their language should be? It will change no matter how you despise it.

I will agree if a sentence sound odd or wordy, I will agree if the grammar is bordering illiterate, and I will agree if words are spelled wrong beyond a typo. But I do not agree with bashing a book if you don't like the content or the method used to write.

People talk of how difficult editors can be on grammar, but the book evidently passed their ruthless inspection.

Some of you must understand, a modern book has to be written for the common reader. A common reader does not use perfect grammar and reads on a lower level than “grammar nazis”.

If you want publish a best seller than you must write to the level of the market.

AtlanteanTapir · 05-12-2006, 07:25 PM

well, i dont think he should be killed. if this was reallly all true, wouldnt he just write a documentary put in the NONFICTION section? really... christians and catholics shouldnt take it so seriously. its JUST A NORMAL NOVEL. there, thats how i feel about it.

blademasterzzz · 05-12-2006, 09:41 PM

Quote:

I can't believe some on this site would crush and smash a man who wrote a book and got it published.

Your point...? The book is crap. Publishing it doesn't make it any better.

Quote:

The book is good and written as well as any best seller.

Fair enough. 90% of bestsellers are cheap crap, which really shows the average level of intelligence in mainstream readers today.

Quote:

I challenge anyone to show me a bestseller that is written better, and I will show you it is just your opinion.

Bestseller? Off the top of my head:

To Kill a Mockingbird

Quote:

It seems you can't write Stephen King or Shakespeare because you can't. People write in their own unique style and you can't say he is a poor writer just because you think it sucks or you don't like the content. You must have grammatical reasons.

In other words: "Ur just jealous, and u CANT writte anyway!!11!!1 eleventy-one."

I said it a thousand times: To recognise a bad book you don't have to be a good writer. Just a good reader.

Quote:

Furthermore, if you hadn't noticed history, all languages change over time and become modified, Sometimes becoming a different dialect. So why do some embrace the way they think their language should be? It will change no matter how you despise it.

I am not proposing Brown would write in Shakespearean english. But what he writes isn't dialect, it's heavily dumbed-down English for the masses.

Quote:

But I do not agree with bashing a book if you don't like the content or the method used to write.

We can bash whomever we want.

Quote:

Some of you must understand, a modern book has to be written for the common reader. A common reader does not use perfect grammar and reads on a lower level than “grammar nazis”.

Why not just write in in aol-speak?

"ThA Hax0rrz w3nt into da MUSEUm, where, they, like, totally PWNED this GUY!!!"

Quote:

If you want publish a best seller than you must write to the level of the market

Amen. Which he did. Except some of us are more fussed about writing a good story rather than scoring a buck.

Daniel Malone · 05-13-2006, 12:08 AM

Well, I am not. I love well written stories, but I'm more into the concept of the story than how well it is written.

I know that some of the literary giants of the past didn't write as good as there final works presents. Many had a lot of help because it was considered crucial at the time to appear perfect grammaticaly speaking.

Do you even know that most writers of today hire or make use of editors? Not many writers are good at editing their own work.

You proved my point perfectly when you provided and example of aol-speak. Our language is changing, and in the future people may write in this manner. It is more code-like and simpler.

I just don't understand "grammer nazis" standing on their high horse proclaiming their rule are what everyone else abides by or thier stupid. Yes, your a bunch of jealous gnats who can't stand others publishing work that you feel is much less than you own.

It is obvious you think your a better master of words or you wouldn't be so bold as to make your claims. I wouls settle for 40 million copies sold and be illiterate than to be a grammer nazi and struggle to pay the bills.

You are jealous and care nothing for the evolution of language that will happen no matter how many times you wipe the tears from your crying.

Kane · 05-13-2006, 12:19 AM

It has nothing to do with jealousy, Daniel. Most of us love writing because we love the use of the written language as a form of communication. Because we are avid readers as well as writers, the subtleties of prose are something that we enjoy. Writers like Dan Brown kill that for us. It's like watching main-stream pop singers like Ashlee Simpson receive wide acclaim while true musicians always stay in the underground. Our disgust with Dan Brown stems more from the imbalance of justice with regards to pop-art vs. true art. It's no surprise that you like Dan Brown, however, or even that you hate grammar nazis, as your own writing is full of poor spelling and grammar.

Elvenswordsman · 05-16-2006, 06:14 PM

To let all ppl know, This book is categoried under fiction, it has managed to take things that have already been said by all others and has no real point other than to make money by "Compiling" works and scriptures written by others.

the_stand · 05-17-2006, 06:37 PM

I read it and found it quite entertaining. Which is exactly what I wanted it to do.

What I don't like however is all the snobbery attached. I've found that The Da Vinci Code in particular has brought out an ugly trait in a few of my friends who have jumped on the DVC-bashing bandwagon. I've found it to be quite pretentious, and patronising.

Someone who lets rip on a best-seller just because of it's fame and popularity will never be seen as one of the elite in my eyes!

What's wrong with a bit of entertaining, escapist, unbelievable nonsense?!

Steve.

P.S. One of my favourite modern novels is Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. I guess this might anger some people...!

cellardoor · 05-17-2006, 08:12 PM

He didn't write a book. He wrote a movie in book form. The characters are so uninspired, anyone with a television could write those characters. The plot was ridiculous. Perfect cinema fodder, great way to make money.

The only original thing was the number of twists, and that grew boring after a while. "Oh wow... turns out it was THAT GUY the whole time..." can only be entertaining a certain number of times. And Dan Brown certainly exceeded that level.

And his dialogue is shit.

The information is presented in a factual way, even though this is a fictional book. Therefore people have taken it as truth. I wonder how Dan Brown intended it to be taken.

The codes were pretty sweet though.

blademasterzzz · 05-18-2006, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Someone who lets rip on a best-seller just because of it's fame and popularity will never be seen as one of the elite in my eyes!

The main problem is that such tripe is extremely popular, yet the great literature out there will never be published. It says a lot about the intellectual niveau of the readers.