Dan Brown - new book: The Lost Symbol

hamizao

Originally posted by raeshad at 30-1-2006 01:35 AM
thanks hami for da info.....didnt knew all that....sighs.....popularity invites envy

You are welcome, rae. Have a nice day.

aphrodisiac

Originally posted by hamizao at 24-1-2006 07:42 PM
Speaking ahead of a preliminary hearing of the case, Richard Leigh, 62, one of the writers, said: "I don't begrudge Brown his success. I have no particular grievance against him, except for the fact that he wrote a pretty bad novel."

heh...kinda agree with him there..anyone here have read all of brown's novels
?when i finished reading 'em, i had a feeling that dan brown's way of developing a plot is repeated in most of his books especially when it comes to comparing da vinci code and angels and demons..

raeshad

nope....my bad...only read da vinci code.....blame it on my busy schedule....chewahh...mcm pm plak...

hmmm....but my fren said angels and demons actually better than da vinci code...u?

thamrong

My wife is reading "Demons And Angles" and still struggling to finish it. She keeps on battering me on the Quantum Physics which is not her forte.:stp::stp:

[ Last edited by thamrong at 30-1-2006 09:00 PM ]

aphrodisiac

Originally posted by raeshad at 30-1-2006 11:19 AM
nope....my bad...only read da vinci code.....blame it on my busy schedule....chewahh...mcm pm plak...

hmmm....but my fren said angels and demons actually better than da vinci code...u?

depends on whether u like the theme or not...i was very intrigued by the bits on Illuminati and Vatican's cover-up of its misdeeds against scientists during the prerenaissance era in angels and demons...but the ending wasn't very much pleased me....hehe..when u read angels and demons, u'll feel that dan brown's way of putting twists to the plots is very similar to that of the da vinci code..that's why some people were quite dissapointed when they read angels and demons..this novel is also a fast-paced one like dvc...the quantum theory regarding the antimatter technology was quite far-fetched...antimatter does exists,but the technology described in the book is well beyond our grasp according to leading physicists...but nonetheless, dan brown's attention to details made this book quite an enjoyable one..happy reading it...

[ Last edited by aphrodisiac at 30-1-2006 10:21 PM ]

hamizao

Originally posted by aphrodisiac at 30-1-2006 04:57 PM

depends on whether u like the theme or not...i was very intrigued by the bits on Illuminati and Vatican's cover-up of its misdeeds against science during the prerenaissance era in angels and  ...

Actually I am also into a second book of Dan's and am already feeling the similar build up as you say....please do not tell me the ending yet....nanti spoil..... Oops, btw it is Angels and Demons. First time a I am hearing of antimatter....so in between I had to delve into Hawkings' as well.

BTW... the part about creation of matter tu memang betul. Heheheh...I can see my project later .....quarks, blackholes ......:stp::stp:

Someday the scientists may be able to perfect their findings.:hmm::hmm:

aphrodisiac

yeap...antimatter is one of the hottest topics in high energy physics...CERN in Geneva has a humongous particle collider as noted in the novel for particle physics study purposes... but it is also happen that particle physicists don't have the clearest idea on what is really happening on the atomic scale...who knows if a catastrophic chain reaction would take place if particles with extreme energy collide with each other and destroy the entire universe..scary stuff, but that is what Sir Martin Rees, an Astronomer Royal of Britain discussed as a possibility in his book "Our Final Hour"...there are just too many things about universe that their mysteries are yet to be unveiled..

eh apelah off topic plak ni..huhu..

[ Last edited by aphrodisiac at 30-1-2006 10:19 PM ]

hamizao

It is such set up that gives Dan Brown the opportunity to create his mystery stories.

I hope CERN tak pula nak sue dia.............!

aphrodisiac

CERN lagi la suke diorg punye name digunekan...take a look at CERN's official website...

CERN's official site

CERN even answered questions about the technologies used in the story..

[ Last edited by aphrodisiac at 30-1-2006 11:29 PM ]

hamizao

Thanks, aphrodisiac. It is very helpful.

hamizao

oops...forgot to tell ya all I've completed Angles & Demons and I am taking a rest from Dan Brown. Still got another book to read, The Deception Point. The plot is becoming rather predictable. Still it is quite interesting.

adik_nazgul

eh sama ar kita..
aku baru smlm abis baca angels n demons...
veri unsangkaable ...

skrg ni nak sambung citer digital fortress versi e-book...

pastu baru nak baca the da vinci code...

[ Last edited by adik_nazgul at 22-2-2006 04:31 PM ]

yipun78

'Da Vinci Code' Author Accused in London
Monday February 27 12:57 PM ET


"The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown was accused in Britain's High Court on Monday of taking material for his blockbuster conspiracy thriller from a 1982 book about the Holy Grail.

The accusation was made in a breach of copyright lawsuit filed against "The Da Vinci Code" publisher Random House. If the lawsuit succeeds in getting an injunction barring use of the disputed material, the scheduled May 19 release of "The Da Vinci Code" film starring Tom Hanks and Ian McKellan could be threatened.

Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," sued Random House, which also published their book. Random House denies the claim.


Baigent and Leigh claim Brown appropriated their ideas and themes in writing his book, which has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide since its 2003 publication.

Both books hinge on the theory that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and they had a child, and that blood line survives to this day. The earlier book set out the notion that Christ did not die on the cross but lived later in France.

Brown, who was expected to testify next week, told reporters outside court that this idea had no appeal for him.

"Suggesting a married Jesus is one thing, but questioning the Resurrection undermines the very heart of Christian belief," said Brown, who described himself as a committed Christian.

Jonathan Rayner James, a lawyer for Baigent and Leigh, said the case did not relate to the theft of specific parts of text but to the appropriation of themes and ideas.

"Brown copied from 'The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail' and therefore the publication of the resulting novel is an infringement of my clients' copyright," he told the court.

James said his case was not an attempt to "stultify creative endeavor" or claim a monopoly on ideas or historical debate.

But Jonathan Baldwin, representing Random House, said Baigent and Leigh were making "wild allegations."

He said they were suggesting that "Mr. Brown has appropriated not only the numerous parts of a jigsaw puzzle but the organizational way (Baigent and Leigh) put it together."

"In brief, the complaint appears to be that 'The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail' discloses the idea that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, that they had children which survived and married into a line of French kings, that the lineage continues today, and that there is a secret society based in France which has the objective of restoring this lineage to the thrones not only of France but to the thrones of other European nations as well, and that ('The Da Vinci Code') uses some of this idea," Baldwin said.

He said Brown referred to "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" in his novel, but the earlier book "did not have anything like the importance to Mr. Brown which the claimants contend it had."

The case is being heard in the Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand, a short walk from the Temple Church, which figures in Brown's book. The church, founded by the Knights Templars, has reported an increase in visitor traffic inspired by "The Da Vinci Code."

Brown's book also was the target of a previous U.S. lawsuit. In 2005, a U.S. judge in New York ruled that his book did not infringe on the copyrights of "Daughter of God," by Lewis Perdue. The judge also ruled out any copyright violations of Perdue's 1983 novel "The Da Vinci Legacy."

hamizao

Originally posted by yipun78 at 28-2-2006 04:46 PM
'Da Vinci Code' Author Accused in London
Monday February 27 12:57 PM ET


"The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown was accused in Britain's High Court on Monday of ...

Heard it over BBC last night.

I remember reading about the secret traditions in south of France from other books as well ... tak kena sue pun buku tu!

hamizao

Originally posted by adik_nazgul at 22-2-2006 04:30 PM
eh sama ar kita..
aku baru smlm abis baca angels n demons...
veri unsangkaable ...

skrg ni nak sambung citer digital fortress versi e-book...

pastu baru nak baca the da vinci code...

Mungkin apabila adik baca bukunya yang seterusnya, adik akan dapat predict sikit endingnya...

adik_nazgul

ohh...

dah abis baca buku the da vinci code...

fuh... watak mr.langdon sungguh memenatkan... :lol :lol

adik_nazgul

yep.. dpt predict dah...

1st time baca tulisan dan brown ala cam
terkujat banyak ,

tp bila dah baca buku2 yg seterusnya, seakan2
dpt predict sapa melaun di sebalik dalang...

hamizao

Originally posted by adik_nazgul at 1-3-2006 01:06 AM
yep.. dpt predict dah...

1st time baca tulisan dan brown ala cam
terkujat banyak ,

tp bila dah baca buku2 yg seterusnya, seakan2
dpt predict sapa melaun di sebalik dalang...

:bgrin::bgrin::bgrin:

hamizao

LONDON -- Dan Brown, author of "The Da Vinci Code," is to face a High Court action in London this week brought by the authors of the 1982 nonfiction book, "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," who say that his blockbuster was based on their decade of research.
    Speaking ahead of a preliminary hearing of the case, Richard Leigh, 62, one of the writers, said: "I don't begrudge Brown his success. I have no particular grievance against him, except for the fact that he wrote a pretty bad novel."
    Mr. Leigh, an American who has lived in England since 1974, and Michael Baigent, 57, a New Zealander, his co-author, are suing Random House, Mr. Brown's publishers, for infringement of their ideas.
    They are funding the action with the proceeds of their book, which Random House has reissued in a special $35 hardback edition to cash in on the success of Mr. Brown's novel.
    Henry Lincoln, 75, a Londoner who also co-wrote the book, is ill and has decided to remain out of the action.
    A two-week trial is scheduled for the end of February, with both sides assembling formidable legal teams.

Sir Knight Lincoln (Henry Lincoln) received the Honourary Knighthood on 8-11-2003 in the area of Sacred Geometry and Templar History. He had devoted some time in France investigating the mystery of Rennes-le Chateau. He was then a writer for TV. Was responsible for the BBC "Chronicle" series, the first episode of which is "Lost Treasure of Jerusalem" (1972). Then "The Priest, The Painter and the Devil (1974).

He met with Richard Leigh, novelist and short story writer, in 1975. They shared the same interest in Knights Templar. Richard brought in Michael Baigent, a psychology grad who had recently abandoned his photo-journalism career for research in the Templars for a film project. Their cooperation produced the 3rd Chronicle episode, "The Shadow of the Templars "(1979)

After years of research "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail"(1982) was produced. It was regarded as the most controversial book of the century. :hmm:

[ Last edited by hamizao at 1-3-2006 05:07 PM ]

hamizao

By Mike Collett-White
Fri Mar 10, 1:25 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Some heated verbal exchanges erupted on Friday in the closing stages of "The Da Vinci Code" copyright court case, in which two historians accuse author Dan Brown of lifting their research wholesale in his bestseller.

Richard Leigh took to the witness box after more than three days of painstaking cross examination of co-claimant Michael Baigent, enlivening proceedings and saying all he had wanted was proper acknowledgement from Brown in his novel.

Leigh could hardly have been more different than the soft-spoken, professorial Baigent. In delivery he was clear and aggressive, and instead of dark, sober suits he appeared in court this week in a brown leather jacket and dark sunglasses.

Leigh and Baigent are co-authors of the 1982 historical work "The Holy Blood, and the Holy Grail," and say Brown copied their central themes in his religious thriller.

They are suing Brown's British publisher Random House in a case that has attracted huge media attention, both because of Brown's superstar status among writers and the potential precedent the case could set should the historians succeed.

Brown, 41, has been in court for most of the hearings and watched on Friday when Leigh was in the witness box. Brown is expected to give evidence on Monday.

PACKED COURTROOM

"If Mr. Brown had acknowledged Holy Blood, Holy Grail at the opening of his book ... I question whether in fact we would be here," Leigh told a packed courtroom.

After Leigh's cross-examination ended surprisingly quickly, Judge Peter Smith closed the second week of the case by pointing out that a character in The Da Vinci Code actually refers to the 1982 book.

The name of the character, Sir Leigh Teabing, is in fact an anagram of the names of the two claimants.

"In the first place it damns us with faint praise," said Leigh, adding he found Teabing's reference to the book "patronising."

Smith countered that an explanation for this may be that Teabing was a patronising character in the book.

More importantly, said Leigh, was the fact that his and his co-authors' names did not appear. A third author of Holy Blood, Henry Lincoln, is not taking part in the action.

When it was suggested sales of Holy Blood had increased sharply as a result of publicity surrounding the court case and the huge interest generated by Brown's novel, Leigh said: "It might also make me feel churlish for being here."

Once again much of the discussion centered round ancient history and conjecture surrounding the blood-line of Jesus, the real meaning of the elusive Holy Grail, the role of the mysterious Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar.

The themes are common to both works, although Random House's lawyer, John Baldwin, has sought to stress distinctions between the books, the fact Brown drew on several sources not one, and that the historians' work itself was not original.

Baldwin's tendency to pause before naming witnesses during cross-examination prompted Leigh to interject: "Why do you keep forgetting my name?"

When challenged by Baldwin over a point in his witness statement, he countered angrily: "You are thinking I deliberately lied?"

Last August, Brown won a court ruling against another writer, Lewis Perdue, who alleged The Da Vinci Code copied elements of two of his novels, "Daughter of God" and "The Da Vinci Legacy."