Books
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:53 pm
Anyone else here read (or will admit to having read) Dan Brown's new one, The Lost Symbol? I read it last week and I have to say it was a thoroughly entertaining romp. I know it's fashionable to sneer at Brown, and yes his prose style (to say nothing of his dialogue) is clunky in the extreme, and of course his characters are barely even one-dimensional... but fuck me the guy can't half spin a good yarn. And, as with the other two Langdon books, it brought to my notice some extraordinary pieces of art (particularly this) and architecture, including some bizarre quirks of several of the most famous structures in Washington, DC.
Brown does try to have his metaphysical cake and eat it, inasmuch as he hints at the existence of paranormal abilities while stopping short of making his plot depend on them, which will annoy some readers but didn't bother me - his approach allows you to enjoy the story while believing whatever you want to believe. I also found one of the major "shock" revelations towards the end laughably predictable. Again, didn't really spoil it for me. Forget the improbabilities, enjoy the pace.
Changing the subject to a different sort of book entirely: if you watched last night's Doctor Who to the end, you'll have seen a dedication to the memory of Barry Letts, the show's producer during the Jon Pertwee era, whose influence Russell T Davies has cited as being among the most important in shaping Who's modern rebirth. Barry died on 9 October, two days after I'd sent his autobiography (which I designed and typeset) to the printers. We managed to hold the press while we added a postscript from his family, and the planned publication date of November 14 was still met. It's an excellent read for anyone interested in a formative period in Doctor Who history, television production techniques from that era, or just behind-the-scenes gossip in general.
Brown does try to have his metaphysical cake and eat it, inasmuch as he hints at the existence of paranormal abilities while stopping short of making his plot depend on them, which will annoy some readers but didn't bother me - his approach allows you to enjoy the story while believing whatever you want to believe. I also found one of the major "shock" revelations towards the end laughably predictable. Again, didn't really spoil it for me. Forget the improbabilities, enjoy the pace.
Changing the subject to a different sort of book entirely: if you watched last night's Doctor Who to the end, you'll have seen a dedication to the memory of Barry Letts, the show's producer during the Jon Pertwee era, whose influence Russell T Davies has cited as being among the most important in shaping Who's modern rebirth. Barry died on 9 October, two days after I'd sent his autobiography (which I designed and typeset) to the printers. We managed to hold the press while we added a postscript from his family, and the planned publication date of November 14 was still met. It's an excellent read for anyone interested in a formative period in Doctor Who history, television production techniques from that era, or just behind-the-scenes gossip in general.