Profile of Dan Brown on Famous Like Me

Dan Brown (born on June 22, 1964 in Exeter, New Hampshire) is an American author of detective thrillers. His novels include:

• Digital Fortress (1997)
• Angels and Demons (2000)
• Deception Point (2001)
• The Da Vinci Code (2003)
• The Solomon Key (due to be released in 2006)

He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, where his father was a mathematics teacher, then matriculated to Amherst College, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon Fraternity, graduating in 1986. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he taught English at Phillips Exeter. He currently lives in New England. Blythe, his wife, is an art historian and painter and her influence is evident in his acclaimed novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown is interested in cryptography, keys and codes, which are a recurring theme in his stories.

Promotional materials state that he is working on a new book called The Solomon Key about the Kryptos sculpture at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Controversy

The Da Vinci Code

Several central tenets in the novel The Da Vinci Code bear marked similarities to Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. Steve Kellmeyer has claimed that the central themes, such as that sex is holy, marriage is sacred, and women should be treated as images of the divine, are virtually directly taken from Catholic theology.

Factual accuracy

Brown's depictions of core aspects of Christianity and the history of Catholic Church in The Da Vinci Code have generated some controversy among critics who feel that much of what he wrote is factually inaccurate.

For example, the novel's assertion that the Holy Grail is the bloodline sprung from an apocryphal union between Jesus and Mary Magdalene has been derided by many textual and historical scholars as being not only false, but plagiarized from earlier pseudohistorical conspiratist works featuring similar claims.

Brown states that his books are based on historical fact and that the details regarding the works of art and architecture discussed in his books are easily verifiable. He also states that, while he may agree with some of the theories put forth by the characters in his books, it is up to the reader to evaluate their veracity. As a writer of fiction, Brown has not felt the need to extensively defend the factual accuracy of his work beyond a brief section on his website. As a result, it is not clear what parts of his work he considers theory and what parts he considers fact.

Criticism

At a speech in Kansas on October 7, 2005, author Salman Rushdie expressed a negative opinion of Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code", saying: "Do not start me on 'The Da Vinci Code'...a novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name." Mr. Rushdie is perhaps best known for being himself the subject of a death threat due to one of his own books. He jokingly applied this to his opinion of Dan Brown in the same speech, saying: "Even Dan Brown must live. Preferably not write, but live."

Digital Fortress

Although far less controversial (if controversial at all), Digital Fortress was heavily criticized for factual inaccuracies with regard to cryptography. In Spain, the novel has been criticized for depicting it as a country where "hospitals smell of urine", "Guardia Civil (Spanish police force) can be easily bribed" and from where "making an international call depends on how lucky you are". When one of the main characters is wounded, it is said that "such a lung injury could be easily treated in any medically advanced nation, but this was Spain". As a result, the mayor of Seville (where the Spanish plot takes place) has invited Brown to visit the city to find out what it is actually like.

Angels and Demons

Like The Da Vinci Code and Digital Fortress, Angels and Demons has been criticized for its factual inaccuracies. However, what many critics of The Da Vinci Code fail to mention or realize is that Angels and Demons generally seems to be sympathetic towards the Catholic Church.

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