column: EUOLogy #3

[House of Mustard]

See, my point is that I can read a book, and ignore the outside stuff -- if his premise is that Christ wasn't divine, I can read that and accept it as a work of fiction.  

It just bothers me that he creates a world--one where Christ is not divine--but then can't make the story plausible in the world he created.

[Lieutenant Kije]

I agree with the whole plot, characters, and stupid riddles arguments.  It was a poor to mediocre read.

To be more specific: http://www.timewastersguide.com/view.php?id=735

[Peter Ahlstrom]

the book, story, and characters are nothing more than a weak method of getting the author's political agenda across.  Strip the book of its forced message, and the things left over barely make a novel.

Sounds like Robert J. Sawyer's Neanderthal books, one of which won the Hugo last year and another of which is up for it this year.

[EUOL]

Kije:  I almost linked your article, which I thought was right on-target, but I couldn't find a place for it.  (Actually, I was intentionally overly-harsh on the book.  I thought your assessment was fair, since the first chunk of the book was a moderately good page-turner.  However, I claim poetic license of hyperbole.  It says on my SFWA card that I can do things like that.)

[House of Mustard]

Incidentally, I was fully expecting to find out that Sophie was a direct blood descendant of Christ and Mary Magdalene.  I thought that the whole "truth about her family" stuff was heading straight in that direction.  And then it didn't happen.  I was kind of bummed.

[EUOL]

Uh...he 'twisted' that on the end, HoM.  She IS.  It turns out her family changed names to keep themselves hidden.  

Both the fact that it was so obvious, then the fact that he tried to pretend that it wasn't true only to give a silly little double-back at the end, are examples of terrible plotting structures.

[House of Mustard]

I thought that her family were just protectors of the bloodline, not actually in it.

[EUOL]

And so Langdon had remained, standing beside Sophie and listening in mute astonishment while Marie told the story of Sophie's late parents.  Incredibly, both had been from Merovingian families--direct descendants of Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ.  Sophie's parents and ancestors, for protection, had changed their family names...

[House of Mustard]

Well, how the crap did I miss that?

[Entsuropi]

Overpreponderance of crap methinks.

[EUOL]

It was tacked on quite poorly near the end of the book.  Like I said, it was a terrible plotting device.  You probably just repressed it out of unconscious regard for not letting your own talents become corrupted.

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

So because you made a tad fun of the Last Supper? Oh man.... where are me and my friends going then...

Anyways, I like how Entropy posted the 2nd bestseller and not the first. Apparently Brits have a different numbering system than most normal Bestseller lists. Unless I'm reading too far off of it and it's just for this book. Then I'll laugh at myself with you.

[Fellfrosch]

That will involve a great deal of laughing on your part, depending on how far back you're going to retro it. I volunteer to laugh a little extra, if necessary, to help share the load.

I haven't read Da Vinci Code, mostly out of my stubborn distaste for popular things, and now I'm glad I haven't. (And I think EUOL's rant was great regardless of its acuracy or utility--hyperbole is what a rant is for.) On a similar note, however, let me say that when I couldn't sleep last night I tried to find something good on TV, and all I could find was "I Know What You Did Last Summer"--easily the worst, most hole-ridden plotting I've ever seen in my life. Ug.

[Oldie Black Witch]

-ly

[Spriggan]

Cecil explains the math involved in the Da vinci Code

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040618.html