Review: The Mysteries of Dan Brown
Jan. 6th, 2005 01:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nyykiI just finished the fourth Dan Brown novel, and so I'm starting to see some themes and patterns.
Dan Brown is the authorr of "The Davinci Code", "Angels and Demons", "Digital Fortress", and "Deception Point". They're all mysteries, with fairly scientific themes.
First off, the characters. So far, Mr Brown has evenly split his main characters -- two women, two men, though the two men are the same man, Robert Langdon. All of his main characters are superlatives -- they're at the top of their field, and usually affluent. Every novel involves murders, mystery, and romance, though the romance tends to be at the end of the tale. Three of the books have assassins that are physically unusual -- an albino, a handicapped man, and an Islamic assassin who is physically striking. All the plots involve technology except for The Davinci Code. Technological elements from one book tend to show up in later ones.
Now, for the book specific reviews. I'm avoiding spoilers, as some of y'all don't like em.
Digital Fortress: I had a hard time with this one. A major part of this was because the hero is a member of the NSA, and I have a fundamental mistrust of the security agencies. Things in this book were telegraphed, as I got the answer a while before the characters did. I also saw the assassin's fate long before it happened. I found this one a good tale, but a bit excessively bloody in places.
Deception Point: It was refreshing to have a different type of foe in this tale. I also found this one to be telegraphed, especially in the scene where a car was shot with a hellfire missile. The bait and switch tricks with people in the story was actually pretty obvious to me. The mystery was well crafted, and it was interesting to see how the flaws were accounted for.
The Davinci Code" This was a good read, (Yeah, I know, I listen, not read, but it's all the same here) and focusing on a secret society, which worked so well in Angels and Demons, was another winner. I found the romance elements a bit forced, but this one really had a noir feel for me. Again, some telegraphing, especially in the chapel outside Westminster Abbey. He handled his villan more subtley than in other works, again, seemingly a legacy from Angels and Demons. Yes, the location of the Grail and it's true form is derivative, especially from "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," but it was handled well.
Angels and Demons" I saved this one for last, as I just finished it last night. This is the most complex of his tales, with some rather complex interactions going on here. Like Davinci Code, there was a lot to clean up afterward, and the denouement seemed a bit long after the bomb was attended to. Thhe romance in this one was satisfying, moreso than in Davinci Code.
Of the novels, i would say that Davinci Code wins for Mystery, DEception Point wins for Romance and Science, Angels and Demons wins for Villan, and Digital Fortress wins for suspense. All good reads, though not any of them earthshattering.
I admit that I'd like to see what he could do with a high school drop out as his main character. My only real complaint is that all of his characters seem almost too good to be real.
Dan Brown is the authorr of "The Davinci Code", "Angels and Demons", "Digital Fortress", and "Deception Point". They're all mysteries, with fairly scientific themes.
First off, the characters. So far, Mr Brown has evenly split his main characters -- two women, two men, though the two men are the same man, Robert Langdon. All of his main characters are superlatives -- they're at the top of their field, and usually affluent. Every novel involves murders, mystery, and romance, though the romance tends to be at the end of the tale. Three of the books have assassins that are physically unusual -- an albino, a handicapped man, and an Islamic assassin who is physically striking. All the plots involve technology except for The Davinci Code. Technological elements from one book tend to show up in later ones.
Now, for the book specific reviews. I'm avoiding spoilers, as some of y'all don't like em.
Digital Fortress: I had a hard time with this one. A major part of this was because the hero is a member of the NSA, and I have a fundamental mistrust of the security agencies. Things in this book were telegraphed, as I got the answer a while before the characters did. I also saw the assassin's fate long before it happened. I found this one a good tale, but a bit excessively bloody in places.
Deception Point: It was refreshing to have a different type of foe in this tale. I also found this one to be telegraphed, especially in the scene where a car was shot with a hellfire missile. The bait and switch tricks with people in the story was actually pretty obvious to me. The mystery was well crafted, and it was interesting to see how the flaws were accounted for.
The Davinci Code" This was a good read, (Yeah, I know, I listen, not read, but it's all the same here) and focusing on a secret society, which worked so well in Angels and Demons, was another winner. I found the romance elements a bit forced, but this one really had a noir feel for me. Again, some telegraphing, especially in the chapel outside Westminster Abbey. He handled his villan more subtley than in other works, again, seemingly a legacy from Angels and Demons. Yes, the location of the Grail and it's true form is derivative, especially from "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," but it was handled well.
Angels and Demons" I saved this one for last, as I just finished it last night. This is the most complex of his tales, with some rather complex interactions going on here. Like Davinci Code, there was a lot to clean up afterward, and the denouement seemed a bit long after the bomb was attended to. Thhe romance in this one was satisfying, moreso than in Davinci Code.
Of the novels, i would say that Davinci Code wins for Mystery, DEception Point wins for Romance and Science, Angels and Demons wins for Villan, and Digital Fortress wins for suspense. All good reads, though not any of them earthshattering.
I admit that I'd like to see what he could do with a high school drop out as his main character. My only real complaint is that all of his characters seem almost too good to be real.
