10,383 people that realised on the train that The Da Vinci Code is a TERRIBLE book.
Okay, I admit, I have only read two pages of The Da Vinci Code, and so I concede that it is possible it has the most GRIPPING plot EVER, and is, therefore, essential reading.
However, those two pages made it abundantly clear that there was no way I would be able to make it through a whole chapter without DYING from shock at the terrible prose, and so there is zero chance that I will ever get to find out what all the fuss was about.
Language Log does an excellent job of explaining just what is so bad about Dan Brown’s writing. And then expands on it a little. (The first line quoted made me literally laugh out loud. I don’t believe Angels and Demons was supposed to be comedy.)
I think Stephen Fry summed it up best when he described The Da Vinci Code on QI thus:
Update! I originally wanted to include a link to The Internet Theologian’s hilarious question and answer session about this execrable book. Sadly, it appears no longer to be publically accessible on his main LJ page. However! Stop the presses! I have just discovered a page where it is rather shamelessly quoted in its entirety. Enjoy!
