Books: June 2006 Archives

I finished another Dan Brown novel, "Angels & Demons". For the second time I can't figure out what the fuss is about.

The story is slow and the "puzzles" are simplistic.

Maybe I would have liked this book better when I was in my "OMG, John Grisham is the best author ever" period.

I picked the book since people I know consider it to be the better book when compared to "The Da Vinci Code". I didn't like "Da Vinci Code" I should have guessed that "Angels & Demons" would be annoying in exactly the same way.

I like stories that involve conspiracy. I like stories that discuss art & religion and history. I like stories that re-invent the classic stories of world religions. I still didn't like this story.

More than being annoyed by the book, I am annoyed by people who have their underwear in a wad, wanting to either prove or disprove the theories offered in this book or "The Da Vinci Code."

Now for an ironic twist. I occasionally spend the weekends with a real life conspiracy crank who thinks the illuminati, the catholics, and gubmint are behind everything. The conversations with said crank seem suspiciously like the plot of this book and they annoy the crap out of me. So why in the H-E-double-toothpicks would I choose to read not one but two novels huge novels that take that same conspiracy crapola and repackage it as a thin plotline?

Above all, since I would like to write a really successful novel, I'm especially annoyed that these books are so popular -- and my blog isn't.