More Dan Brown Nit-picks

[Sylvene]

Hey Bluejay!  I thought you might like this. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/6232148/The-Lost-Symbol-and-The-Da-Vinci-Code-author-Dan-Brown-50-factual-errors.html

They continue taking his writing apart.  :P  Great plot sells.  Nothing else.

[galamb]

I'll read that book, of course, errors, but it's a book, a story, and Oviedo is in north Spain , I don't like this city

[moonflower]

I wonder if Dan Brown will see this and what his response will be.

[beanyfan]

I imagine he'll continue laughing all the way to the bank!

[exbill]

I think you're dead right there BF . Its all good publicity for him. Especially with the new book just out.
I've read them all except the latest and found them an entertaining read . So what if there are a few minor mistakes.
No offence meant ladies but hollywood completely re-writes history with nearly every film.

[Blue Jay]

I agree with XB here. The book are nice reads, nothing that really stands out from other books in the same genre. It's a good thing that certain errors are pointed out as a lot of people seem to think that was has been written in The Da Vinci Code and other books by this writer should be taken as gospel truth. As for me, I'm in the middle of reading his latest book and so far it's a good read, mistakes or not.

[Sylvene]

I imagine he'll continue laughing all the way to the bank!

Agreed.  :)

[Blue Jay]

O yes, and I'm very jealous .....

 

[Sable899]

I think a lot of people have no clue what "fiction" is supposed to be:

Noun
S: (n) fiction (a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact)
Literary type using invented or imaginative writing, instead of real facts, usually written as prose.
The company’s accounts contained a number of blatant fictions.
I am a great reader of fiction.
Invention.
The butler’s account of the crime was pure fiction.

EtymologyFrom Latin fictionem (accusative of fictio).

Synonyms: fabrication figment, fiction, fable (a deliberately false or improbable account)
Antonyms:fact
Derived terms: non-fiction, science fiction, speculative fiction, fiction section
Related terms: fictitious, fictional

[Blue Jay]

Well, you know that, and we know that, but apparently there are a lot of people who don't and now go on pilgrimage to Scotland because of The Da Vinci Code or believe Sherlock Holmes was a real person ...

[creighton]

My goodness who would we all be able to laugh at if not for all the stupid people in the world?

[moonflower]

I wonder who the stupid people laugh at?

[Sylvene]

The problem comes in when fiction is based upon the real world and the author claims historical accuracy, or perhaps as Mr. Brown put it, "grounded in fact."  At point in time, most readers expect that the author has done his job and what they are reading is accurate.  Some authors like Robert Cornwell, put in historical notes and tell the reader where he has deviated from history.

[galamb]

I tell you again, my town is in "Sharpe's Eagle", because I know my town, but Bernard doesn't write the name of my town, I was very surprised when I've read that book and I've read about my town, and another thing, maybe you don't like, but the Napoleonic's war wasn't as he writes, sorry, I know tht story very well, can you tell me where were the english between 1.809 and 1.812?, of course, the war continued in spain that time, and any eagle wasn't won in talavera, sorry if you don't like that, of course, I like sharpe, I like the serie, it's funny, but not true, the frenchs were in my town, José Bonaparte, never King José, so, if you want to know about that war, please, read another books, sorry for that, but I know the History of my country very well, as you know yours, and another thing, do you know "The Tudors" when Catalina talls about the empereur Charles V, why they love each other a lot? and do you know where Charles V was borned?, myo, if you see that, please don't answer, I've told you where he was borned

[exbill]

Thanks for that Galamb......1809 ..could it have been Portugal.

[galamb]

I know exbill, after talavera, wellington, because he was wellington, because in talavera wellesley knew he becane duke of wellington,  he went to portugal again for 3 years and in spain, the war continued withouth the english because they were in portugal (the english), btw exbill, S.A.will come next week to spain as each year, do you come this year?, as you know, the first place is talavera, I hope better weather that last year , and now, I must be off,

[Sylvene]

Don't worry galamb, he tells of whom he stole that glory for Sharpe from, but probably when the books went to trade paperbacks and translated into various languages, the pages of historical information got left out by the publishers for the sake of brevity - and less pages = cheaper to print.

[Blue Jay]

I don't know about leaving out historical notes, Syl. And yes, the story of how it really went is in the English versions. Precisely for that reason I think it's a good thing that there are articles and websites around where things are explained, like the one you posted, baecause there's always people round who have no idea what to take for the truth. However, I'm also afraid that the people who take everything Dan Brown writes for truth, are also the people who would never read an article like that unfortunately.

[galamb]

you think , but not only in sbo, all sharpe's fans think that the spanish war was this way, of course, we all know sharpe himself is fiction, but the History is true, some of the History is true, but no the hole history

[Sylvene]

True.  Lots of holes in history.  Afterall... like they say.  History is written by the victors.