The Incestuous Blurb Network

 
The "incestuous blurb network," as one FB&C contributor called it, is a behind-the-scenes system of writers, agents, editors, and publicists who arrange for famous authors to write nice things about less-famous authors.

Yesterday, the New York Times ran a story about Nelson DeMille, an extremely successful thriller writer. The best part of the story was the slip up about the incestuous blurb network:

“I read Time, Newsweek and The Economist,” Mr. DeMille said. “I haven’t read any fiction in two years.”

Except, Ms. Dillingham [his fiancee] reminded him, “the books you’ve blurbed.” Mr. DeMille laughed. Some time ago, he said, he was asked to comment on the manuscript of “The Da Vinci Code.” Mr. DeMille did not predict the eventual fuss. “I said, ‘This is ridiculous! It makes no sense,’ ” he recalled. “And, well, we all know what happened with that.”

If DeMille said, "This is ridiculous," he wrote (or at least signed his name to) the LEAD blurb on the back of The DaVinci Code, calling it "pure genius."

Here's DeMille's DVC blurb, in full, as printed under the headline "Early Acclaim for the Da Vinci Code":

"Dan Brown has to be one of the best, smartest, and most accomplished writers in the country. The Da Vinci Code is many notches above the intelligent thriller; this is pure genius.

Which is, apparently, the DeMille code for "the Da Vinci Code makes no sense."

Comments

[Jack Payne]

The Da Vinci Code is a really upside down approach to religious exposes, as we all know.
Nonetheless it is a fascinating read.

What I don't understand is the utter failure of all legal thriller writers to write in the real world about "legal" crime. Forty years now and I'm still waiting.