11 May, 2009

The Dan Brown Code

Wanna know how to write a best seller and guarantee a movie deal?

Easy. Use the Dan Brown code:

Ageing Harvard professor
+ Attractive young female
- Murdered father who is brilliant scientist
+ European city
+ Famous landmarks
+ Trail of clues
+ Catholic church (great for pre-release controversy)
+ Secret society
+ Ruthless assassin working for mystery employers
- Loyalty from said mystery employers
+ Knowledgeable old disabled man
+ Race against time
+ Irrelevant romantic ending

= Cha-ching!! Several hundred million dollar profit

Class dismissed.

9 comments:

Anna Sethe said...

...and then repeat the same story several times in different books = even more money

I've read books of more than one author with that concept but I refuse to remember their names.

rhiggs said...

Yeah I read Da Vinci first and thought it was ok, but had a ridiculous ending...

Then I read Angels and Demons and thought it was ok, but had a ridiculous ending...

Then I read Digital Fortress and thought it was ok, but had a ridiculous ending...

Haven't read Deception Point yet. I hear it's good! ;)

Anna Sethe said...

Be careful, Dan Brown becomes highly toxic after three books.
I started with Deception point and liked it (but it had a ridiculous ending)...
then I read the Da Vinci code and thought it was ok...
then I read Digital Fortress and thought it was ridiculous...
then I made the mistake to read Angels & Demons...

rhiggs said...

Did you watch the Da Vinci Code movie? I thought it represented the book quite well. That being average entertainment.

I expect a similar result from the upcoming movie.

rhiggs said...

Just wrote this over at SMRT. It's a synopsis of the two movies:

In The Da Vinci Code an old gifted scientist/mathematician is killed and his daughter teams up with Langdon in a race against time decoding cryptic clues hidden at famous landmarks in a European city in which an assassin working for a secret society is killing people associated with the Catholic church.

In Angels and Demons an old gifted scientist/mathematician is killed and his daughter teams up with Langdon in a race against time decoding cryptic clues hidden at famous landmarks in a European city in which an assassin working for a secret society is killing people associated with the Catholic church.

BeamStalk said...

I have Digital Fortress, was a gift, I haven't read it yet.

rhiggs said...

With Digital Fortress, at least Mr Brown strayed slightly from the above template. No European landmarks and secret societies as far as I can remember...

burbujas said...

hey,
i loved that the da vinci code
wagner

rhiggs said...

Yes Wagner, I seem to remember the phrase 'best book ever' being tossed around.

Forget Dostoevsky, Hemingway and Shakespeare.....

Dan Brown is the man.