Not least among the reasons for the bafflement of the industry (and fellow writers) is the amateurishness of the books – something, curiously, that Larsson has in common with Brown. Readers, publishers and writers alike can agree that John Grisham, Robert Harris, Tom Clancy or Danielle Steel build up their massive readerships by knowing precisely what they are doing; they are master practitioners of their highly skilled craft. Conversely, Brown and Larsson – in their different ways – are mesmerisingly bad.
I tend to agree, but good Christ is this article also a fine example of exactly why “literary” fiction is dying:
…in order to effectively conjure my cup of lactescent silt into existence, the barrista in question would have to put down his… Stieg Larsson.
I’d aver this gentleman has been, puis-je se permettre de dire le, duly hoisted upon his own petard.
Are Stieg Larsson and Dan Brown a match for literary fiction?
Lemkin 