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Here are some of my thoughts:

I can't comment on whether or not Dan Brown is any good as an author because I haven't read his books, though frankly I have no desire to do so. From what I've heard, the Da Vinci Code and its related books are like a less fun version of Robert Anton Wilson and and Robert Shea's Illuminatus trilogy. By the way, the Illuminatus was supposed to be like a meta-conspiracy novel. The trilogy was written in 70's, and supposedly has all the conspiracy of Don Brown's novels without much religion.

Regardless of whether or not Dan Brown is any good, remember that there is always someone out there who is far worse than him and still making money off his/her novels. I have no idea who this person is, but he/she is out there, writing in English.

There will always be crappy writers for as long as humanity is around. The nice thing, however, is that enough people recognize them to be crappy writers. During a lifetime, these crappy writers may make boatloads of money, but in the end their work will not go into the annals of history as great literature. I say, let Dan Brown enjoy what he can. In twenty years or so, it's very possibly that people will start saying, "Dan who?"

DaVinci Code isn't so bad. No offense to those of you for whom this doesn't ring true, but it really seems to me that most people who say that either they 'didn't like it' or have 'no desire to read it' are merely saying so because they are offended by the heavy religious overtones of the book/movie. Personally it doesn't bother me because I don't believe anything the Bible says except for the fact that there is a god and that His son Jesus the Christ died for our sins (I mean, Adam and Eve story, true? No possible way).

It's that kind of senseless Christian vs. Christianity-Questioner squabbling that makes me wish I were a Jew. stare (Hey, Slip, care to let your Jewish side of the family convert me? whee )

Hmm...I'll give you the grammatical errors. I found a lot of stuff that I thought could have been made more clear in not only DVC, but Angels and Demons, Deception Point, and a couple more of his novels (forgot the names). But the bane of the English language? I don't think so. There are undoubtedly writers out there that make Brown look like he's got a Ph.D. in English.

As for the hulabaloo (sp?) about DVC, here's something interesting: How the Da Vinci Code Doesn't Work cool

Liquid Len is an Atheist. He was saying that because Dan Brown's literature is just very badly written. Not to mention unaccurate, badly composed and childish.

I admit his writing style makes you feel like you're reading something written by an over-excited 12 year old who stumbled upon some conspiracy without checking the facts first at times but you're got to give the author credit for one thing: he's good at writing suspense/conspiracy-ish kind of stories.

DVC was never meant to be a book that you would look to for the answers in life. It's mainly fiction. Why people still discuss how right or wrong he is continues to amaze me.
The fact that Dan chooses to bring in some heavily discussed topics, such as religion and the occult, is just something that holds his interrest.

I myself write novels with a religious touch to them, even though I am of no religion, it is a thing that interrests me greatly.

I could come up with plenty of reasons why I dislike religions as much as they fascinate me, but I am in no way looking for someone to chop my head of for some shallow facts that I know, and how well they say they konw their religion. I have done it before, and it made me want to kill those people for being so blind.