If I were trying to make it as a fiction author, the mere thought of Dan Brown would make me want to eat a bullet.  Not only is the guy a borderline plagiarist, he's a bad writer.  "The Da Vinci Code" is the definition of junk-food literature as it rides completely on its ideas controversial ideas (Jesus had kids!), short-chapters (which work a lot like cuts between scenes in a movie), and the fact that most readers can't tell bad writing when they see it.  This thrilling combination has led Brown to become one of the best-selling authors of all-time and we're all the poorer for it.

And yet our cultural bankruptcy can apparently go lower as Brown's third Robert Langdon novel, "The Lost Symbol" is now scheduled to hit bookstores on September 15th.  I'm wondering if it's just going to be another draft of "Angels & Demons" since "The Da Vinci Code" I just that book but with slightly better editing and story.  If he keeps this up, I imagine his sixth Robert Langdon book will be his best, and will pioneer the five-page historical thriller.