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Deception Point deals with the twin focuses of NASA and American Politics, specificly an up-coming election. After Brown kicks off the book with his customary unexplained death, we are introduced to our protaganist, Rachel Sexton, as she meets her estranged father for breakfast. He just ... Read review
When a new NASA satellite detects evidence of an astonishingly rare object buried deep in ... more
the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory…a victory that has profound implications for U.S. space policy and the impending presidential election. (courtesy Transworld)
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When a NASA satellite detects evidence of a rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the ... more
space agency proclaims a victory that has profound implications for US space policy and the impending presidential election. The President dispatches White House Intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton to the Arctic to verify the authenticity of the find.
Advantages: Brown's mastery of the genre, superb level of detail Disadvantages: A silly ending, slow in (occasional) places, patchy characterisation
...murky affair.
Deception Point deals with the twin focuses of NASA and American Politics, specificly an up-coming election. After Brown kicks off the book with his customary unexplained death, we are introduced to our protaganist, Rachel Sexton, as she meets her estranged father for breakfast. He just so happens to be Senator Sedgewick Sexton, the man hotly tipped to oust the incumbent President from the White House, so well has his ... ...President Zach Herney strongly supports.
Rachel is a Gister, or an intelligence expert specialising in supplying the White House with concise information, working at the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office). Called in by the President for an undisclosed reason, she is swiftly despatched to the Milne Ice Shelf in the Artic, where NASA have discovered an object frozen in the ice. An object of such global significance that all their ... more
Like every other human being on the face of this planet, I came across Dan Brown via the excellent Da Vinci Code. Faced with choosing one of his other three titles to digest next, I opted to steer clear of the apparently similar Angels and Demons, having had my fill of religion and symbology for the time being, and went with this offering. Not unlike its predecessor Digital Fortress, this book spins a tale of governments being ... well, Deceptive, and talented, but "out of the loop", employees desperately striving to get to the bottom of the murky affair.
Deception Point deals with the twin focuses of NASA and American Politics, specificly an up-coming election. After Brown kicks off the book with his customary unexplained death, we are introduced to our protaganist, Rachel Sexton, as she meets her estranged father for breakfast. He just so happens to be Senator Sedgewick Sexton, the man hotly tipped to oust the incumbent President from the White House, so well has his rhetoric exposed the recent failings of NASA, a body whom President Zach Herney strongly supports.
Rachel is a Gister, or an intelligence expert specialising in supplying the White House with concise information, working at the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office). Called in by the President for an undisclosed reason, she is swiftly despatched to the Milne Ice Shelf in the Artic, where NASA have discovered an object frozen in the ice. An object of such global significance that all their indiscretions would be forgotten, and President Herney would be back on track for a second term.
Meeting charming celebrity oceanographer Michael Tolland and his scientist friend Corky Marlinson at the site, Rachel is witness to the discovery of a potential flaw in the find, and pursues this anomaly. However, it appears there is someone out there who doesn't want this door to be opened ...
And so we are launched into the recognisable Brown-style thriller; short chapters, switching from location to location, plenty of cliff-hangers (quite literally) and inter-woven stories. Every bit as much as his most famous book, this is incredibly hard to put down; rarely is there a let-up in the action, as the characters delve deeper into the elusive secrets.
Brown never reveals more than is necessary for continuity - he teases the reader by keeping his characters as in the dark as they are. Those that do know anything are peripheral figures, popping up here and there to stir things up, but never letting much slip. The characterisation is well-done on the whole, although Rachel is one of the weaker of those depicted - when the inevitable romantic liasons between her and Tolland happen, it is a little tricky to comprehend what he sees in her blandness.
The dual storylines, switching between the Arctic and Washington, work well, converging slowly until they meet at the end. If either is weaker, it is the side involving Senator Sexton's campaign, which can seem to drag and cover familiar ground, but any boredom here is reduced by the effect of the short chapters - the reader is seldom left in a dry recollection of facts and details long before they are thrust straight back out into the thick of the action.
Once again, Brown's research is seemingly faultless - certainly to someone lacking in-depth knowledge of the space race and surrounding science, this feels incredibly real and well-informed. The processes, gadgets and institutions covered all ring true, and few will come away from the affair without having learnt something.
On the negative side, Brown's books are always something of a battle against plausibility, as is the way with thrillers. Generally, he pulls this off - one is able to retain empathy for the characters, as their adventures and escapes seem like things which reasonably could happen to anyone in the same position. However, not unlike the aforementioned Da Vinci Code, this all goes a tad awry as we reach the climax. The big twist at the end seems a little desperate, and anyone who has read any of the author's other books should, by analogy, be able to see it coming if they take a moment to think it over.
Certain set-pieces at this point seem to belong more to a Schwarzenegger movie than a serious novel, and it is here that the reader loses contact with any sort of understanding they made have had of the characters' situations. As such, the book finishes on a lower note than the 500-odd pages that came before probably deserve, but this should not detract from an excellent mystery/thriller. For anyone who felt The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons to be marred by their religious connotations, this is a perfect remedy, and, on its own merits, compares favourably to its more famous brother.
Advantages: Gripping storyline, scientifically accurate, well written, strong characters Disadvantages: A nightmare to put down
...to work. She returned with Deception Point, costing £6.99.
The basic outline of the story is fairly straightforward and I would say highly relevant to the USA today. After being funded by billions of dollars of federal funds, NASA the US Space Agency are coming under increase scrutiny by the new Presidential candidate, Senator Sedgwick Sexton who in his campaign calls for cost cutting measures at the ailing Agency or indeed full privatisation. The ... ...to pull of the greatest deception (and vote winner) ever?
With more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing this book was easy to read and a nightmare to put down. Like The Da Vinci Code it took a while to get into but again I’m glad I stuck with it. At 585 pages long this is not something you are going to read in one or two sittings but it was very easy to pick up on the story when I began reading again.
The way it is written was fantastic, ...
Badger_Boy 16.03.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deception Point - Dan Brown
Advantages: Better than Digital Fortress Disadvantages: Formula fiction
...read. In this instance Deception Point is the sacrificial lamb at the book reviewing altar. So what's it all about then?
Following a rather bad tempered breakfast meeeting with her father Senator Sedgwick Sexton (who is incidentally running for US presidency), Rachel Sexton an analyst for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) thinks her day can't get any worse. Oh but it can. She's called away from work for a clandestine meeting with the President ... ...to satisfy my 'twistlust'.
Deception Point rattles along at a fairly healthy pace throughout and certainly isn't a slow burner like Brown's better known 'The Da Vinci Code' When the pace does slow, it's usually to explain a few technical or scientific bits, which in no way detracts from the story in hand. Brown doesn't devote vast swathes of this book to technicalities, in the way, for example, of Tom Clancy. I knocked this book off in a couple ...
scampi1 30.03.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deception Point - Dan Brown
Advantages: The start Disadvantages: Everything else
...which provided me with suspense. Deception Point in my opinion is quite dull and tries too hard to be a twist maker and page turner. I thought the plot was pretty good to start off with but then just dragged on for 600 pages. Character development was nowhere to be seen which made the characters seem one dimensional so I couldn't empathise with them at all! I think my main problem with this book is that it was just so incredibly unbelievable it seemed ... ...out there as well but when this book is trying to seem real life yet you have some extremely lucky events in this book it does make you frown. For instance we have three highly trained assassins who can't kill a fat guy. I know this sounds a bit daft but as you're reading it, it does sound a tad unrealistic. So overall I would not recommend this book as it is dull, annoying and will not provide you with entertainment at all. The so called twists ...
mamba17 24.02.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deception Point - Dan Brown
Advantages: Story, scientific content and narration Disadvantages: climax
...can foretell where it going to end. In summary, this is a interesting thriller piece from Dan Brown. I guess one can not compare it to Da Vinci code or Angels and Demons but all in all, Deception Point does not disappoint you and is a good read. ...
Abracadabra007 02.04.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deception Point - Dan Brown
Advantages: A tense, gripping page turner from a master of the art Disadvantages: Somewhat predictable and characters typical of the author - not a major departure
...therefore, when I came to Deception Point, the third of the Dan Brown oeuvre to attract my attention, to discover it differed from the previous two in a major way. Out goes the mystery based in religion and the inner workings of the Catholic Church, and in instead comes the US Presidential Election, NASA and a mystery based high above the Arctic circle.
The basis of Brown's appeal however remains reassuringly intact. As usual he opens with a bang ... ...dogs. We cut quickly to Washington and are immediately introduced to the main protagonists in the two major story arcs - Rachel Sexton, a White House intelligence analyst, and her father Senator Sedgewick Sexton, who is currently running for election as President. The plot quickly unfolds as Rachel is sent by the incumbent president (who hopes to use her as a weapon in his fight against her father) to the Arctic to investigate a mysterious discovery ...
Agglida 31.05.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deception Point - Dan Brown
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Advantages: Good story, well researched --- a real page turner Disadvantages: A weak central character in Vittoria Vetra
After reading the thoroughly enjoyable Da Vinci Code and DeceptionPoint by DanBrown I was eager to read his other works, namely Angels and Demons along with Digital Fortress. The first to fall under my gaze was Angels and Demons, purchased by my good lady wife for £6.99.
If you have never read a DanBrown book you need to be aware that he sticks to a simple formula of fiction based around one huge conspiracy and then builds within the story a blend of scientific information and religious or scientific symbology. If conspiracy theories or long-winded thrillers are not your cup of tea then this book really isn?t for you.
Personally I have never been a great lover of conspiracy theory books, and felt that they were the product of overactive imaginations, however a good thriller in the vein of ?The Firm? has always floated my boat ...
Advantages: Factual and very accurate, great read Disadvantages: Not brilliant if you read the code first
The basic plot is that the Vatican City is going to be blown up by a terrorist plot in 24 hours, the only thing that creates a mystery is the associated to the scientific cult of the Illuminati. In order to stop this Robert Langdon and his beautiful assistant Vittoria Vetra. Like all of Browns books there is always a cunning twist that will blow your thoughts away.
Unlike DanBrowns earlier two books (Digital Fortress and DeceptionPoint), this is interesting and a great read. Like most of Browns books (except Da Vinci Code) it is a slow starter, but once everything starts to happen it doesn't fail in keeping up the excitement.
Brown has researched this book really well, as is like a typical Brown thriller
So any reader planning to read the Da Vinci Code, I would suggest that you read this first. This book sets up our ...
Advantages: Fantastically detailed; a brilliant read Disadvantages: sometimes detail is too extreme
Brown's research of Christianity is true, and that she actually is the 'holy grail'. I've never been particularly religious, but you do not have to be with The Da Vinci Code. It is a very interesting read that was almost impossible to stop reading.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading, as it will not fail to disappoint.
This book was so good that i read 3 other of DanBrown's novels afterwards - Angels and demons (the best of the 3), also deceptionpoint and digital fortress. Brown is such a detailed writer and you learn many things (whether you choose to believe them or not) about religion and the current world.
A must-buy! ...
When a NASA satellite discovers an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed triumph -- a triumph with profound implications both for NASA policy and for the impending presidential election. To verify the find, the White House calls upon the skills of intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charismatic scholar Michael Tolland, Rachel travels to the Arctic and uncovers the unthinkable: evidence of scientific trickery on a scale which threatens to plunge the world into controversy. But before she can warn the President, Rachel and Michael are ambushed by a deadly team of assassins. Fleeing for their lives across a desolate and lethal landscape, their only hope for survival is to discover who is behind this masterful plot. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all.
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