Deception Point / Book Review

That’s why they call him a master of spine-chillers. He indeed knows how to rev up the book with the speedometer always pointing above 100 kilometers per hour.  What the jacket of the book promises, Dan Brown delivers.

‘Deception Point’ has been the only book by Dan Brown that I had not previously read, better late than never. It is a story of Rachel Sexton, daughter of Senator Sexton (a rising star in the Presidential Race), an accomplished gister working at the National Reconnaissance Office who one day, out of the blue, gets called by the President of U.S. Biting the bullet and fearing that she would be dragged out and be used as a trump card against her father, she meets the President, not knowing that the next 48 hours will change her life forever. Surrounded by political intrigue, hardcore lobbying, people who would go to any and all extent possible to get things done and the constantly slavering media looking out for the juicy stuff, Rachel inadvertently becomes the kingmaker. Surmounting old fears, not-giving in to the new ones, Rachel manages to save the day by a bit of luck, a volcanic eruption that is nudged out of its dormancy and some mean ferocious hammerhead sharks!

With numerous plots and sub-plots, tension building up to its fracture point, it’s the case of jittery nerves and piqued curiosity and of course, it’s all due to Dan Brown following his clinically-proven technique of keeping the readers hooked and booked. He times his disclosures rather right.

His writing style is simple and lucid. Of course, this guy is enamored with technology and this book can truly be called ‘tech-savvy’.

I sometimes find the writing style of Dan Brown and Michael Crichton similar. While both incorporate the latest technologies in their writing, both believe in increasing the body count with gruesome kills, both believe that the big players are corrupt yet while Michael Crichton ends up portraying the two sides of a coin when it comes to science, Dan Brown wants to give an altogether different message.

Well, from childhood I have been hearing a lot about NASA. In India, we of course have ISRO, but I have always wished for when it would reach to the level of the pioneering space agency. ISRO’s tryst with cryogenic engine powered rockets has always met with burnouts. I always felt that NASA always delivered to its public. After reading this book, some of that lustrous shine has faded. It’s not only ISRO that is prone to accidents. NASA has committed humongous blunders of its own.

Dan Brown, though having faith in the agency that got his country’s first man on the moon, ends up being extremely critical of the agency. So it was rather difficult to infer whose side was he on. Maybe, he’s got a love-hate relationship with NASA.

I feel that ‘Digital Fortress’ and ‘Deception Point’ have always been overshadowed by the popularity of ‘Da Vinci Code’ and ‘Angels and Demons’.  But of course, if you are thinking of kicking off your shoes, stretching your body, digging deep in your bed and shutting off the world with a book as a companion, ‘Deception Point’ will be as faithful a partner as you deem ‘Angels and Demons’ to be.

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