Behind the Scenes with Dan Brown
...est selling novel, Digital Fortress. The plot explores the line between civilian privacy and national security. His second novel, Deception Point, held similar issues of classified technology, national security, and the morality in politics. At the moment, Brown is in the midst of yet another series of novels starring the handsome, tweed jacket wearing Harvard professor Robert Langdon, rumored to be set in Paris, London, and Washington D.C. All of Brown's novels are slightly futuristic, but is safe to assume that they occur in the present time. In The Da Vinci Code and its prequel Angels & Demons, the novels revolve around a lot of problems that many people are facing to day in reference to the controversy between Evolution and Creation and declining faith in the Catholic Church. In the novel Deception Point, Brown describes secrets of the United States intelligence system and exploits the harsh world of politics, leaving the public to question the government's motives. Brown has written a total of four astounding, thrilling novels, all topping the bestseller list within a total of eight years. How does he do it? Brown's writing style is unique, with mind blowing twists secretly woven in the text. Each one of his novels has a similar theme, characters, motivation, and climax. Disregarding the search for something a little less repetitive, the public eats up every word. This strategy should not be looked down upon; it is a tool that works, obviously from the reaction of the release of each novel he has produced. Each one of his novels is at least four hundred pages with at least one hundred chapters. Brown instinctly writes the chapters to be only a few pages long so that the reader feels the sensation of moving quickly through the novel. At times, he closes the end of a chapter in a sudden, quick suspenseful moment encouraging the reader to turn to the next page. Using descriptive words and an erudite tone, Brown draw's the reader into the very heart of the story. From my own personal account, I could feel my heart pounding and my palms of my hands sweat as I quickly turned the page to learn the truth behind the painstaking clues throughout the book. Brown strategically starts out with a bang: he immediately jumps into action with his novel Angels & Demons with a mysterious phone call and a set time limit; the reader's attention is captured instantly. "Dan Brown's writing style won't be winning any awards, but he is a good story teller . . . it reads much like a movie script."Says critics reviews (Robinson, 1996-2004). Brown is formulaic in that almost all his books have a similar plot with hidden encryptions that lead to the discovery of a secret organization, meaning to disrupt the peace and take over the world. "Dan Brown used the exact same template for both Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code," say critics ("Angels & Demons," 2004). Similarly, both novels begin with Robert Langdon awaking to a mysterious phone call. It is then followed by a secretive people sending him urgently to Europe to join forces with a beautiful female relative of the assassinated figure, whose body holds hidden symbols revealing the nature of his killer's motives for them to uncover. This method seems to work for Brown, evidence to his four novels being best sellers, but many critics find his techniques distasteful and lacking in style. Phrases like "We're adults, Robert . . . I see it in your eyes. A deep, carnal hunger," from Angels & Demons is described as being crass. Another criticism is the poor development of his characters. Characters like Langdon seem to just "figure out everything", leaving the reader to ask where is the source of conflict? (Book Crossing, 2001-2004). Referencing to The Da Vinci Code, the villains in the novel were mild, at best, another source of poor style. "Brown did way too much backpedaling toward the end and never seemed to get a hold of any sense of urgency", from one critic (Robinson, 1996-2004). Catching the reader's eye with a flashy title like The Da Vinci Code is very intriguing, but Da Vinci hardly appears to have much relevance to the main plot of the story (Blogcritics, 2004). However, in all Brown's novels, the enormous amounts of historical information that he uses in his writing is what captures the attention of the reader. The information can be astound...