  It's all just opinion, and I find that I am less and less interested in logical debate than in exploring my own opinions.
I suppose this is the hardening of the mental arteries that precedes the middle-aged phase that awaits me another decade hence. Honestly though, it is possible to give too much credence to genre. Just to raise the Borwnian sceptre one last time, Pradeep Sebastian, in the sunday supplement of The Hindu, had a line on The DaVinci Code which sums up what I find specious in the praise the lad is getting - it was something like 'imagine finding the concept of the eternal feminine in a mainstream thriler!'.
This reminds me of the remark about the singing dog - you are not surprised that is done well, that it is done at all. Having said that, I realise there are equally questionable sections in my library - all those Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars novels for instance. And I really do seem to forgive HP Lovecraft all the infelicities and ineptitudes of his writing just because those fungi from Yuggoth really do creep me out.
Thank god for differences, and internal inconsistencies. Life would be boring without them, and Shenoy and me wouldn't have the chance to banter (or is it bicker? ) like this!! ! 
