Wednesday, June 15, 2005

DECEPTIVELY ENTERTAINING




I just managed to finish reading the one Dan Brown book that I hadn't read. After having read the other three books (Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and Digital fortress) I plunged into deception point with a lot of expectations and felt decieved and disappointed at the end.
It was because I felt that Dan Brown was getting predictable, I could clearly see the pattern of the plot emerging.
The plot in all of Dan Brown’s books is strikingly similar; the central theme of each book though, is different.
The formula for a Dan Brown book
1.A few controversial issues
Deception point: panspermia, NRO, NASA and the white house
Digital fortress: NSA, and internet privacy
Angels and Demons and Da Vinci Code: Anti matter, Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, and the Vatican
2.Attractive and skilled hero and heroine :
Deception point:
Mike Tolland (oceanographer) and Rachel Sexton(Intelligence analyst)
Digital fortress: David Becker (modern language expert) and Susan Fletcher(Mathematician and cryptographer)
Angels and Demons:
Robert Langdon (Harvard professor and symbologist) and Vittoria Vetra(anti matter scientist)Da Vinci Code:
Robert Langdon and Sophia Neveu (cryptologist)
3. Assassins
4. An important person (head of an organization) usually is the villain

5. All evidence initially always point to innocent people
6. The wrong doings of the villains are always “TOP SECRET” and are not revealed to the general public
This is the general formula for all Dan Brown books. I do agree that his books are riveting and he does have the gift of keeping the reader’s undivided attention. In fact I became a big fan of Dan Brown after I read Angels and Demons. His books do carry a lot of information (sometimes false) and deal with a variety of issues, but the plots are all the same. I think it finally would boil down to individual preference. I still would prefer Dan Brown to some other ordinary author, but I felt it necessary to critique him this way.
Please let me know about your thoughts and comments. Posted by Hello

5 comments:

Ganesh said...

yes after reading A&D and D'Code
I am no longer interested in reading Dan Browns book.
Kind of become predictable, that takes all the fun out

Phil Plasma said...

I've read all of Dan Brown's books too. Though I hadn't ever forumalated my own theory as to the Dan-Brown-formula, I believe I would have written about the same thing as you. If I'm interested in reading something that's lively or fast paced, I saddle Brown in with Grisham and King among others. The one thing I didn't like about Brown was how every chapter ended with a cliff-hanger... using that same mechanism so often becomes tiring. Let at least some of your chapters end with a note of finality, not the note of.... 'he opens the door and was awe-struck by what he saw.'

Ganesh said...

Robbie
congrats your vistior counter is now 1001, you have beat me to it :)

Arvind Srinivasan said...

Robbie,

Traitor, kaetappo review sollame blog ku refer panna ila....ippo i think i agree that this much details can't be brought out over tring tring

Ganesh,

Please set the counter start point 1017 immediately ;). Idhu ellam jujoopi matter....

Ganesh said...

Dude you have been tagged.