4 divisive bestselling book series
by Nicholas Yong
1. The Twilight Saga
(Source: Empireonline)
No less an authority than horror master Stephen King has declared that Twilight author Stephanie Meyer “can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”
The vampire-themed fantasy romance novels have even been accused of glamorising abusive relationships.
And yet, her books have sold more than 100 million copies, and the five movies based on them have grossed more than US$3 billion at the box office.
2. Fifty Shades of Grey
It started out life as a Twilight online fan fic. The story was published with the names changed, complete with lines like "His voice is warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel… or something.“
Then the E.L. James books took on a life of its own. Derisively dubbed “mommy porn” by the critics, the Fifty Shades trilogy has sold more than125 million copies worldwide.
The movie of the same title has also made more than US$500 million. And a new sequel to the books has just been released. God help us.
3. Divergent
A young girl becomes a reluctant heroine in an oppressive society where the adults want to control/kill young people. There’s a reason that the Veronica Roth YA dystopian series is often confused with The Hunger Games.
But the Divergent books have generally been well received by critics and readers alike, and sold millions of copies.
Perhaps its biggest crime was being released shortly after the last THG book.
4. The Da Vinci Code
It has a plot centred on attacking the very theological foundations of Christanity, not to mention a preface from author Dan Brown that says: ““All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate”
Small wonder it has consistently come under attack from Christians of all denominations, as well as historians and scientists for inaccuracies.
Well, the controversy works: The Da Vinci Code series of books have spawned two movies, and made Brown a very healthy man. Though you would probably derive more entertainment from this spoof of Dan Brown’s writing style.
Source: Life Site News, International Business Times, Today, The Guardian
