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What will put you off a book?
- Thread starter pink shadow
- Start date
aniela
New Member
ok, let me entrer into details.
the plot is never the problem. i do not think that the plot of a book is essential. i do not even think that a book must have a plot (or what is traditionally implied by that term).
what i have to reproach to dan brown is his style. outside action, he develops nothing. no character that is well constructed, no general ideas. and what put me off the most in dan brown was the large possibility of making a good analysis of the theme of the feminine being kept hidden in religion. his book was like : fact a lead to fact b which was finished with the action c. i just had the feeling of asking: and then? i did not find in his book anything to challenge me. it was all action from one cover to the other. it was like being on a montagne russe. your heart bumped in your head a couple of time, and that is it. let's go spin in the coffee cups.
thank god they turned it into a movie. it is the best use they could give to the book.
actually, the other nice thing in the success of the da vinci code is the fact that it put in the front an idea which can be considered offensive for the official teachings of the church (did i say this before?
whatever!).
the plot is never the problem. i do not think that the plot of a book is essential. i do not even think that a book must have a plot (or what is traditionally implied by that term).
what i have to reproach to dan brown is his style. outside action, he develops nothing. no character that is well constructed, no general ideas. and what put me off the most in dan brown was the large possibility of making a good analysis of the theme of the feminine being kept hidden in religion. his book was like : fact a lead to fact b which was finished with the action c. i just had the feeling of asking: and then? i did not find in his book anything to challenge me. it was all action from one cover to the other. it was like being on a montagne russe. your heart bumped in your head a couple of time, and that is it. let's go spin in the coffee cups.
thank god they turned it into a movie. it is the best use they could give to the book.
actually, the other nice thing in the success of the da vinci code is the fact that it put in the front an idea which can be considered offensive for the official teachings of the church (did i say this before?
whatever!).
SFG75
Well-Known Member
aniela said:ok, let me entrer into details.
the plot is never the problem. i do not think that the plot of a book is essential. i do not even think that a book must have a plot (or what is traditionally implied by that term).
what i have to reproach to dan brown is his style. outside action, he develops nothing. no character that is well constructed, no general ideas. and what put me off the most in dan brown was the large possibility of making a good analysis of the theme of the feminine being kept hidden in religion. his book was like : fact a lead to fact b which was finished with the action c. i just had the feeling of asking: and then? i did not find in his book anything to challenge me. it was all action from one cover to the other. it was like being on a montagne russe. your heart bumped in your head a couple of time, and that is it. let's go spin in the coffee cups.
thank god they turned it into a movie. it is the best use they could give to the book.
actually, the other nice thing in the success of the da vinci code is the fact that it put in the front an idea which can be considered offensive for the official teachings of the church (did i say this before?
Thank you for the good response.
SFG75
Well-Known Member
aniela said:
Having read The DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons, I guess that I viewed them as being unexceptional. I do enjoy the conspiracy thing, but have read enough on it to not finding that *fresh* in his works(evidently people do find him refreshing for whatever reason, I don't know) Both works did hold my attention and I wasn't bored with them by any means. I'd rate both works as average writings in regards to contemporary works.
ValkyrieRaven88
New Member
What really bugs me about books is characters that resemble cardboard cutouts. They're puppets on string with smiles painted on their wooden faces, and the writer is too busy directing their movements to breathe life into them. This is the problem with Ernest Hemingway...unfortunately, I was reading him for school and couldn't throw the offending volume in the fireplace...until I was done... =x_x= <-Kat dead from boredom
Writesville
New Member
pink shadow said:Is there anything in particular that will put you off a book? Any writing style, theme or something the protagonist just can't do?
For some reason I don't like books written in the present tense. It seems unnatural to me somehow - how can you tell a story while it's happening? I'm not completely consistent in my dislike though, because I like Charles de Lint who writes in the present tense a lot
/pink
Yes, absolutely. I am an avid horror/suspense reader, and love anything that gives me chills. However, unlike horror movies (where gore is sometimes OK), I don't want to read (or listen to) the grisly details in books. This is the case, so far, with the current audio book i'm listening to: Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. The first story is weird and disgusting. It didn't scare me more than it disgusted me. However, since I purchased the audio book, I suppose I have to finish it.
Writesville said:Yes, absolutely. I am an avid horror/suspense reader, and love anything that gives me chills. However, unlike horror movies (where gore is sometimes OK), I don't want to read (or listen to) the grisly details in books. This is the case, so far, with the current audio book i'm listening to: Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. The first story is weird and disgusting. It didn't scare me more than it disgusted me. However, since I purchased the audio book, I suppose I have to finish it.
Ah yes - being disgusted does not mean being scared. "Scared" is a tricky thing. That's what I look for in a book when I want to be "disturbed." Sometimes it is not the 'horror' genre that "scares" us most...
I do hope that makes sense! LOL.
Writesville
New Member
CDA said:
Oh yes, it does. Since I began writing horror, I've learned quite a bit about the genre. There are many subgenres, including some like splatter, gore, etc. These all focus on the, well, mushy-gooey-leaking-nasty stuff. Some people really enjoy reads from these categories - I don't know why. To each his own I suppose.
Oklahoma
New Member
The main character. I am very particular about characters, and the way they behave. If the main character is rotten, I'll like the book less, and usually look to a second or third character, even a villain, for the story's redemption, and revival of my interest.
I hate to pick up a good storyline and have a main character, male of female, turn out to be a real a**! Especially in horror or adventure novels. It's no fun reading it if you have no concern for the hero/heroine's survival.
Is that lame, or do any other readers feel like that as well sometimes?
I hate to pick up a good storyline and have a main character, male of female, turn out to be a real a**! Especially in horror or adventure novels. It's no fun reading it if you have no concern for the hero/heroine's survival.
Is that lame, or do any other readers feel like that as well sometimes?
