Our Cup Runeth Over
Entertainment Weekly provided all sorts of interesting book news this weekend. Not interesting as in “my book is in there” or as in “my friend’s book is in there” - unless you count the fact I’ve been in a room with James Patterson, Lisa Gardner and Nora Roberts and they’re all in there on the bestseller list, but I think no.
The first item of interest - think of it as The Item Of The Day - is a comparison of two post-Da Vinci Code knock-offs…I mean books. They are The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury and The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry. I’ll go ahead right up front and admit I haven’t read the Da Vinci Code and don’t plan to. Everyone else on the planet has, and has apparently purchased at least 8 copies, so Dan Brown is fine without my money. It’s also possible I won’t get to see the movie because my hubby, for reasons that are not completely clear, hates - hates - Tom Hanks, and he’s the star.
Back to the comparison… In case you wondered, here’s how these two break down:
-Plot of Last - “Hunted by a ruthless man of the cloth, a willful archaeologist and a dogged FBI agent race to find the Templar’s big secret.”
-Plot of Legacy - “Hunted by a ruthless man of the cloth, a willful Justice Dept. boss and a dogged ex-aide race to find a big secret.”
-Average chapter length of Last - 4.5 pages
-Average chapter length of Legacy - 7 pages
EW grade of Last - C-
EW grade of Legacy - B
I’d add these:
-cost of both - $24.95
-Recent Bookscan rank of Last - # 24
-Recent Bookscan rank of Legacy - Not on there
-Recent Bookscan rank of The Da Vinci Code - # 12 and last week was #16, so the damn thing is gaining again.
-chance of me reading either - less than zero
February 21st, 2006 at 9:04 am
Anymore rather its People Mag or EW, I find myself skimming the books cause their is very seldom. (ok never) a book or books I want to read. Its like romance what is that? I do try to review the titles etc briefly only because I work part time at a bookstore and I need to know what is coming out. But it still makes me made that romance books are left out or they are only mention during the summer months.
Ok I feel better now.
on a side note I received an Arc from Lori Foster and loved your story. Can’t wait till you have another book out there.
February 21st, 2006 at 11:02 am
I read TDVC when it came out because I’d read Angels & Demons and loved the protagonist, thinking A&D would make a perfect Spielberg movie, LOL. So, I gulpled down TDVC and then watched months later as all the hoopla began. Gah, that was like, what? Four years ago? Anyhow, I have The Last Templar - ordered it from the UK before it hit here because of an online reader’s raves. Of course I haven’t read it, heh.
February 21st, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Judy - You made my day! I’m thrilled you liked the story. Next one out is an anthology of three novellas by me - Viva Las Bad Boys - in August 2006.
And, yeah, romance is underrepresented in EW and People and the like. EW actually does a pretty good job with chick lit. Every 4-6 weeks, there’s a spotlight on chick lit and 4 books are featured. In fact, there was a chick lit spotlight in this week’s edition. I’ll chit chat about that later this week (ummm, once I actually find time to read the spotlight).
Alison - How you find time to do anything other than write is a mystery… I just assumed the movie rights for A&D had been optioned off long ago. Maybe not, but I’m betting we see a movie soon.
February 21st, 2006 at 2:13 pm
I haven’t read The DaVinci Code either. Although I do have it in both ebook format and hardcover–both given to me by people who insisted I MUST read it. I’ve never felt compelled to, though. Maybe someday.
February 21st, 2006 at 8:02 pm
I’ve read the Da Vinci Code AND The Last Templar. Both are okay reads, but nothing spectacular. The Last Templar is an okay afternoon read, but it doesn’t merit best-seller sales. it’s just….okay. I’m sure fans of TDVC will enjoy it and it was enjoyable while I read it. But more for just being a fun adventure/thriller book.