Dan Brown
June 20th 2006 10:35
Dan Brown
How can one possibly follow up on a runaway yet highly-criticised success like 'The Da Vinci Code' and meet the expectations that have been building steadily since 'The Da Vinci Code' first climbed to the top of Bestseller lists around the world two or three years ago?
As long as one and a half years ago, Dan Brown's website was stating that his next novel was due for release before or around Christmas 2005. It never materialised. His website now gives away even less information regarding this book, merely stating in the FAQ that 'currently there is no release scheduled because the book is not yet near completion'.
No doubt, the intensive filming and rush release of 'The Da Vinci Code' film took precedence. Ron Howard's adaptation of Brown's book would have to be (alongside Speilberg's 'War of the Worlds') one of the most quickly made (discounting pre-production) blockbusters of recent times. If I wasn't the bitter and sceptical person I undoubtedly am, I'd venture that Brown was too busy to continue work on his new book - instead choosing to focus on the film instead. Ha! I think it's more likely that his publishers told him to take it easy - why release a surefire blockbuster like Dan Brown's next book when you could can just re-release 'The Da Vinci Code' in conjunction with the film and hit Number 1 with minimal promotion instead? They'll wait until all the sales die down again and then they'll smile in smug satisfaction, knowing they are safe for their next one because Brown's next book is still on the cards.
What do we know about Dan Brown's next book? All his website will currently say is that it features Robert Langdon - the hero of Brown's previous two books, 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels of Demons'. Previously, his website went as far as to say the book would deal specifically with Freemasonry and will take place in Washington, utilising American history as it's primary source, but now there is nothing on there whatsoever that even alludes to this.
Here's what I think... no, here's what I know. Dan Brown's next book will be a massive hit. It's impossible for him to blow it! Oh sure, critics will probably tear it apart - no one likes a tall poppy, but millions of housewives and bored businessmen around the world will hoe into it and turn into another bestseller. Brown will probably pump out a few more books... either declining in quality or released more and more infrequently as the years go by. A core group of people (a slice of the aforementioned wives and businessmen) will continue to read his works fanatically due to 'The Da Vinci Code' being the first book they ever read. Brown will eventually die and his publishing company will release every unfinished piece of crap he ever regretted writing. They'll slap his name on his posthumous books in big letters... even if he didn't write more than a few lines describing a plot, and they'll get someone else to turn it into something readable, and they'll put that person's name in tiny writing somewhere else on the cover, and people will keep buying Dan Brown's 'novels', completely unaware that he has even died. Sound unbelievable? Tell that to Robert Ludlum's fans!
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Comment by Bunbury
His next book is gonna be a Langdon book eh. I'll probably end up reading it. But the formula is pretty much gonna be the same. Langdon is lecturing on Freemasonry symbols when suddenly he hears his collegue professor, an expert in the study of Freemasonry society has been brutally murdered by a dark, bulky, stranger. He teams up with the sultry, voluptuous yet highly intelligent niece of the professor to track down the killer, till they discover a terrible secret.....and the surprise villain at the end is the guy who was helping them....blah blah.
Comment by Luke
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior
Also, I hear they're trying to make a film to Angels and Demons now as well
Comment by Bunbury
Hanks, Zeta-Jones, and Christopher Walker as the bad guy?