Author! Author!

|
I'm really enjoying 'Labyrinth' by Kate Mosse, it treads similar territory to Dan Brown but Ms Mosse can actually write, which is a relief.

One slight irritation with the book was when Mosse gives us the name of the band her heroine is listening to on her Ipod - Nickelback, I mean, please! This does not create a good impression and makes me a little bit less emphatic with the main character.

What does Nickelback say to you? To me: banality, boredom, dullness, aching dullness. So why risk alienating your readers by naming bands?

On the other hand, if I'd read:

'and Alice settled back to listen to Throbbing Gristle'

I'd have thought "well, that's my kinda gal!" You know, kinda left-field, slightly anti-establishment, eclectic and all that.

Or even:

'and Alice settled back to listen to an Integral Naked interview'...hmmm, maybe not.

2 comments:

Umguy said...

I've always thought of Nickelback as one of those bands that people who don't really like music listen to.

So maybe the character doesn't actually like music very much?

martin said...

Tim: Who's the TG husband? Have you met him?

With Dan Brown, I read the first 20 or so pages of 'Angels & Devils' and couldn't deal with what felt to me as being a never ending barage of cliches. Perhaps his writing improved in later books like the Da Vinchi book?.