(emerging from the wilderness rubbing my eyes, having been encased by a Hut for a few months):

IMHO The Da Vinci Code is very well written for what it is and what it has done, pulp to the core, formulaic but original in its subject matter (for a novel) and as easy to pick up and read as a tabloid newspaper

Anyone who criticises Brown for stating supposition as fact is perhaps overlooking the point that this is a novel, therefore it is the characters therein who are believing every nugget of conjecture spoonfed to them, plus indirectly, millions of gullible readers. It's not something Brown himself is guilty of, as it isn't claiming to be a history or archaeology book

Anyone who wants a novel that delves into age-old conspiracy theories, brotherhoods and more knights than you can call Sir Cecil De Pantene, but with considerably more depth is better off reading Illuminatus! by Shea and RAW (I think most of you know that one), or Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco, though there is every chance you will put the book down scratching your head, or at worst, want to burn it rather than unravel the knots it has inexplicably tied you up in

So you disliked the novel John? Bet you finished it though ;-)

tbc.

John Milne <john@highlandland.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:

Possibly this is a reference to the 'lost chord' from "Bad Wisdom"?

Remember that King Boy's dad was (is?) a pretty unconventional Church of Scotland minister, with his anti-apartheid stance in South Africa when Bill was born out there. And Bill's love of myth, self-myth and legend must have come from somewhere - where better than an unconventional minister Dad? I suppose it's JUST possible that the Rev Jack Drummond used to tell young William stories about the myths and legends of the Scottish Church ...

... on the other hand, whenever anyone mentions Rosslyn Chapel now, I just groan. I read the "Da Vinci" code about a year ago, and despite drawing on some interesting (but hardly new) alternative Christian stories, the writing in it is DREADFUL. Sophie Evenue (played by Audrey Tatou in the film) is the most weakly-drawn female character I have read in a long time, and the whole thing reads like what it is - a pulp thriller, very 1970s and a bit "Wilbur Smith" in style. Dan Brown's tendency to write supposition as fact is also pretty annoying.

Still, the movie will make loads of money, so no one cares. And the cash-in novels by other writers are entertaining: things with titles like "The Michaelangelo Code", "Picasso's Puzzle", "Warhol's Whatthefuck?" and "Rowlandson and Hogarth's Really Hard Sums". :-)

John

> Message Received: May 06 2006, 10:23 AM
> From: "Daniel Erlemann"
> To: "All bound for Mu-Mu Land."
> Cc:
> Subject: Re: [KLF] dabbling in forces...
>
> So what?
>
> Pretty interesting but I don't quite see the KLF reference...
>
> Dan
>
>
> Am 05.05.2006 um 17:33 schrieb xe non:
>
> > http://heritage.scotsman.com/myths.cfm?id=627062006
> >
> > ROSSLYN Chapel holds many secrets. For hundreds of years experts
> > and visitors alike have puzzled over the carvings in the chapel.
> > Whilst some debate whether they point to hidden treasure, Edinburgh
> > composer Stuart Mitchell thinks he has cracked one part of the enigma.
> > He believes that the ornate ceiling of carved arches, featuring 213
> > decorated cubes holds a code for medieval music. His father Thomas
> > Mitchell spent 20 years cracking this code in the ceiling and now
> > Stuart is orchestrating the findings for a new recording called The
> > Rosslyn Motet.
> > They hope that the music, when played on medieval instruments in
> > situ, will resonate throughout the chapel unlocking a secret in the
> > stone.[snip]
> >
> > If this science was used in the carvings at Rosslyn, then there
> > needs to be an explanation of how this information came to be lost
> > for centuries. According to Mitchell, the Church suppressed the
> > knowledge as a means of controlling the public. "What it points
> > towards is the church system denying people certain knowledge
> > because knowledge is awareness. People who knew too much were burnt
> > as witches."
> >
> > Interestingly the Devil's Chord - diabolus in musica - makes an
> > appearance in the music.
> >
> > "In the ceiling is this jump of an augmented fourth, in fact it
> > opens up with an augmented fourth," says Mitchell. The Catholic
> > Church had banned this interval (seven semitones) from medieval
> > music as it was believed to be disturbing and therefore diabolical.
> > Perhaps St Clair was indeed challenging the authority of the church.
> >
> > Blab-away for as little as 1¢/min. Make PC-to-Phone Calls using
> > Yahoo! Messenger with Voice.
> > _______________________________________________
> > KLF mailing list
> > KLF@mailman.xmission.com
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> > Report list abuse to list-abuse at studio-nibble.com
>
> >
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