In the past year in the bookshops I keep seeing lots and lots of books which copy the style - something historical which is full of conspiracy theories then a hero who discovers the truth. Why are these books so popular? Some of them are really good, compelling, but some of them are really badly written copies made to make money. I'm currently reading one by David Gibbins - Crusader Gold - and it's a sort of Clive Cussler and Dan Brown molded together but really badly. And it had impressive sales...
Thriller novels have long been popular. I think they're popular because they're exciting and entertaining. They also often deal with themes that fascinate people: ancient manuscripts, religion, pyramids, conspiracy theories, etc. I read a lot of books like that. Besides Dan Brown, I loved a lot of David Baldacci's books, for example. I really enjoy Dan Brown, personally, my favorite being Deception Point, although I know there are a number of people on these forums who don't like Dan Brown and are probably going to reply... I've also enjoyed similar thriller novels by Brad Meltzer (The Book of Lies, the Book of Fate.) I actually like all his books, but those were the most similar to Dan Brown's books. Being a fan of thriller novels, and having grown up a comic book fan, the Book of Lies may be one of my favorite books. It had everything for me: A conspiracy thriller novel based on the creation of Superman. Other examples: I enjoyed the Chopin Manuscript (written by multiple authors), Night Fall by Nelson DeMille, the Secret Supper by Javier Sierra and The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. Charlie
So even though lots of these historical thrillers based on the same conspiracy theory stuff have been released, it's still popular? The Rule of Four has been one special book, I agree.
Conspiracy theories are fun. There are many ways to approach them, many different angles, and it's fun to think there's some big secret behind things we are familiar with. Charlie
