Dan Dares

Everyone hates Dan Brown. Stephen Fry calls his writing, 'Stool water.' Why is it when somebody becomes very, very successful they attract such approbrium? His books are a god send to publishing and the book trade. At a time when nobody seems to want to buy anything, here comes a writer with a story to tell and the public buys his book in the millions. There is snobbery in the British Publishing world. Of course you can have your opinion and if you think his writing is not up there with the bard, fair enough, that's valid, but don't be so vitriolic in your condemnation. He's only trying to tell a story. It's fiction. Storytelling. He's not trying to change the world. When we have the Rushdies and Amis's of this world who write awful books but nobody dare say so for fear of not being invited to the next Champers and Peanut party in Hampstead, it smacks of hypocrisy. Publishers spend millions on giving advances to the faded old men of literature, and I bet they don't make a penny on these books. Dan Brown makes zillions for his publisher, admittedly he may not be pushing the boundaries of literature or adding to the literary firmament, but be grateful people will be buying Dan's books, because without him, Martin wouldn't have new teeth and Salman would be wandering the libraries of the North selling his wares from the back of his Morris Minor.