Back in 2001, before the world went nuts for The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown wrote a political, science thriller named Deception Point. I truly haven’t been a huge fan of the Robert Langdon series, although I find the involved pseudo-history interesting. The reason I’m not a fan of the Langdon series translates directly to Deception Point, too.
Deception Point starts with the premise that NASA has discovered a meteorite buried under 300 years’ worth of snow and ice on the Milne Ice Shelf in the Arctic. Not only that, but the meteorite contains evidence of extraterrestrial life. This is, of course, a huge discovery for NASA. There are all kinds of scientific, historical, and political ramifications. The female protagonist, Rachel Sexton, is a government official who happens to be the daughter of a U.S. senator who happens to be embroiled in a tight race for the presidency, and Rachel gets sent to the Arctic to investigate. Action ensues.
The aforementioned issue I have with Brown’s writing is his insistence on clean, stilted dialogue. Robert Langdon, Rachel Sexton, and virtually every other character speak like they’re writing a research paper for a Master’s degree. There is no chummy banter, no natural relaxation at any point. For the entirety of the series of events in each book, every character is at the top of his or her game for fear that someone might notice an absence of a five-syllable word in even one sentence.
The first half of the book did actually have me intrigued. Brown is very good at setting up cliffhangers. The setting, the premise, and the political maneuverings are all very interesting. There’s a little bit of a House of Cards thing going on at times. But the dialogue and the conclusion left something to be desired.
What have you been reading lately?
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I read Deception Point on deployment, after DaVinci Code took off. In addition to the dialogue you mention, I had a problem with the racey rollercoaster the book goes through for the first 90-95%, and then the sudden stop it ends with… each were a bit disappointing finishes
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I may or may not have posted this before, but I am currently ensconced in the ‘Wheel of Time’ series by Robert Jordan.
The core series has 14 books, and I’m currently on #8. Engrossing reading and the style of writing and genre would be familiar to GoT fans…POV of 1-2 characters across one or multiple chapters – and then you don’t hear from them for a while…and you also experience events that occurred in 1 character’s past as the present for others. Very interesting read!
https://www.goodreads.com/series/41526-the-wheel-of-time
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I think you did post this before (or someone else did), but regardless, I’ve already added the first book to my “wish list.” I did love the Song of Ice and Fire books, so I’m looking forward to checking this series out, too.
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Dan Brown reminds me of Grisham. Usually good stories, but mediocre writing.
I just read the Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston. It is a true story, but man, it reads like a fiction thriller. It is about the search of this legendary city in the jungles of Honduras. Preston is actually on the expedition with them. I won’t spoil the ending, but the book is amazing. He references events that took place in 2016, so this story is hot off of the presses!
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