The only thing shocking about Fifty Shades is that someone could develop a following with such poorly-written hack. James' vocabulary is basic and unimaginative; she uses, reuses, and overuses the same few phrases. The main character is always "clambering" everywhere--clambering into bed, clambering into the shower, clambering into the car, the plane, her pants (the word "clamber" appears 22 times). "Holy crap," "holy shit," "holy fuck," and "holy cow" appear over 100 times. This is touted as a "dark" erotic novel, yet the action rarely strays into anything controversial. In parts, I enjoyed the conflict in balance of power--though Christian is an overbearing "control freak" (as James puts it numerous times), Anastasia finds subtle ways to maintain her power over him... 
 Still, the novel reads like a high school girl's fantasy diary. Not sure what all the fuss is about.