Reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Music: X, Velvet Crush
Link o' the Day: a nice little press clip about Clarion

Buddy Hackett is dead. God rest his smutty soul. I hope Red Foxx is showing him around up in Heaven, and that they're swilling champagne and goosing dancing girls.

I haven't heard back from RoF. I'd color that encouraging.

I read an article by Bruce Holland Rogers from a 1997 Bulletin in which he talks about alternative markets for genre writers. He has some interesting ideas about alternative markets--he wrote a story for a cat owner's organization and picked up an award. It reminded me that Mike Resnick did the same thing only with dogs. Now I'm considering looking at other markets looking for fiction for their industry publications. Hmmm.

Last night Pretty Maggie and I hung out on Thayer Street, the local college strip in the Brown/RISD side of town. The weather was perfect for walking around, eating dinner at a sidewalk restaurant, and browsing bookshops and used record stores. I didn't get any work done last night, but it was a worth it.

I've recently started Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. I admit that I've been bombarded by enough of the hoopla over The DaVinci Code that it was only a matter of time before I gave Dan Brown a shot. My reation so far? Eh. It's not particularly brilliant writing by any stretch of the imagination, but it moves along fairly quickly--mayhaps a bit too quickly. I strongly suspect that Mr. Brown used the tried and true notecard-method of plotting his novel, but didn't feel the need to bind the notecards together in the story well enough. The story is told in snippets--very short snippets. Chapter 16 starts on page 57. The longest continuous section of text lasts three paperback pages with good-sized type.

Obviously this method works for many people as he is one of the hottest writers around today. I'm a little less warm about it, but we'll see how it goes. My only other niggle is that he's writing an Illuminati story, and I've had my palate for such tales ruined by Umberto Eco. It's going to be the most rare of writers who is going to equal or surpass Focault's Pendulum. (Granted, Eco's endings are disappointing, but I blame this on a very European tendency to avoid the neatly-wrapped up endings Americans are used to. For another example, look at Milan Kundera's work.)

I suppose some folks are going to try and herald Dan Brown as the next Crichton. Again I say, eh. Robert Sawyer explains science better than both Brown and Crichton. Where Crichton goes on and on with technical details, Brown goes for the simplest explanations--too simple. I suppose Brown will get points for creativity, but less for originality. I've not read any Clive Cussler, but this seems to have the sort of trappings one expects from international thrillers w/ a twist of old mystery.

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Okay. Dan Brown again. I'm about halfway through the book now and am revising my opinion somewhat. Brown can get more points for originality and general cleverness. Comparing him to Crichton or even Sawyer is a bit apples 'n oranges of me. Eco isn't too far off still. The storytelling is still a bit choppy, but better than the beginning--it improves along the way. Now I'm more interested in finding a copy of The DaVinci Code and might even go so far as to recommend Angels and Demons/
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Pretty Maggie and I are having guests over the holiday weekend. They're arriving tomorrow afternoon, so I doubt I'll get a chance for an update until Sunday. I also won't have much of a chance to get any work done at home, therefore I'm cramming work in tonight. Laying out articles for SoH #2, revising articles, planning world domination.

You know... the usual.

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Today's link comes with a bit of bad news. Apparently Clarion is in some trouble right now and is losing its funding from Michigan State. Simply put, MSU can't afford to underwrite it anymore. There is talk about letter-writing and such. If someone needs more details, feel free to ask and I'll post here or e-mail more. In the meantime, here's a nice little press clip about Clarion itself.