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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
Rachel honey, speak for yourself. Fish are romantic.
The plot was based on palaeontological bullshit, but well, apart from my frustrations about those, it was still an entertaining read.
I was completely hooked by Deception Point. I could hardly do anything but read! It took me months to get through the first chapters, and honestly, I even had to put it down for a while; it just felt too slow and a bit boring at the start. But once I hit around page 100, when the big reveal happened, I was all in! I haven’t felt this captivated by a book in years! I was actually sad whenever I had to put it down because, unfortunately, as a human, I needed to sleep and do other things. I couldn’t spend every moment reading!
The plot twists just kept coming, one after another! (I’ll admit, I saw some of them coming, but the journey was still so much fun!) This reading experience was a blast, and I hope I’ll remember it forever. This was my second Dan Brown adventure, and now I’m more excited than ever to dive into the Robert Langdon series! So exciting!
The plot twists just kept coming, one after another! (I’ll admit, I saw some of them coming, but the journey was still so much fun!) This reading experience was a blast, and I hope I’ll remember it forever. This was my second Dan Brown adventure, and now I’m more excited than ever to dive into the Robert Langdon series! So exciting!
Anybody who has read more than one Dan Brown book knows that Dan Brown is a man of consistency. He's got a formula, and he's been working off of that for a while now, including this book. You'll also probably know that there's a few things he likes in his writing: dramatic last minute twists, random and obscure information, lengthy descriptions of said random information, science, art, and dramatic plotlines with deep implications for all mankind. You've got all of the above here. Swap out science for art, add a little religion, move to Europe, and dress the protagonist in Harris tweed, and you've pretty much got the Da Vinci Code, only slightly less successful.
It's a shame - I'm betting this would have been a much better read before Brown's other books, but having read the others, it was kind of a yawn. I've got one Brown book I haven't read and I may read it just to round things out, but honestly, I kind of feel like it's probably going to feel awfully familiar...
It's a shame - I'm betting this would have been a much better read before Brown's other books, but having read the others, it was kind of a yawn. I've got one Brown book I haven't read and I may read it just to round things out, but honestly, I kind of feel like it's probably going to feel awfully familiar...
This is a prime example of why I’m not a fan of Dan Brown. He uses a singular literary technique to keep the reader interested. One that will change the face of book publishing! And it will never be the same! FOREVER!
The characters in this novel are a prime example of this. The reader is given either too little information about the character or too much background noise to make their actions seem ‘plausible’. Pasts are created out of the necessity for plot advancement which is adequate at the best of times, and unbelievable at the worst. But this only touches lightly on the bigger issue: That of the most important part of the book! One which changes EVERYTHING! !
The author sets it everything up to be changed. He points you in one direction and gets you thinking in one way only to be tricked. As a joke you’d play on a younger sibling so you can laugh and say “Made you look!” So instead of twists and turns, you get tricked and fooled. Things are never as they appear and WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!!
This would have been cute and interesting if it appeared in one of his books. But it’s becoming a M. Night Shyamalan formula when you expect it. This is my second Brown novel, and more enjoyable of the two. But it followed the same formula. When you expect the change…FOREVER!...it loses all impact. The reader rolls their eyes and says “Yeah, ok, so that’s what it was. That would have been great to know 500 pages ago.”
It’s all bait and switch; smoke and mirrors.
This would be an added bonus if it didn’t get in the way of the plot, characterization, and atmosphere. It seems these quintessential parts of the novel take the back seat for the bait and switch technique. Characters are flat, the plot becomes uninteresting, and everything falls apart to become a big ‘catch the bad-guy’ chase scene.
Taking my personal opinion of Mr. Brown aside, the three main point of this book only has one going for it. The narrative was very easy to get through. The bait and switch technique does serve to keep the reader going. In this face, I couldn’t put the book down against my better judgement. But the other two points: Plot and Characterization fell so far off the table that I won’t look back fondly on this novel.
In sum: This book is akin to a juicy fruit stick of gum. For the first five seconds it’s fun, light, and very easy to chew through. But the flavour disappears too quickly after that, and you are left with a flavourless wad which is very hard to chew.
I’d recommend this book to those who would rather watch a movie than read a book. That seems to be Brown’s target audience. The only problem is: The audience are watching movies and not reading books.
The characters in this novel are a prime example of this. The reader is given either too little information about the character or too much background noise to make their actions seem ‘plausible’. Pasts are created out of the necessity for plot advancement which is adequate at the best of times, and unbelievable at the worst. But this only touches lightly on the bigger issue: That of the most important part of the book! One which changes EVERYTHING! !
The author sets it everything up to be changed. He points you in one direction and gets you thinking in one way only to be tricked. As a joke you’d play on a younger sibling so you can laugh and say “Made you look!” So instead of twists and turns, you get tricked and fooled. Things are never as they appear and WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!!
This would have been cute and interesting if it appeared in one of his books. But it’s becoming a M. Night Shyamalan formula when you expect it. This is my second Brown novel, and more enjoyable of the two. But it followed the same formula. When you expect the change…FOREVER!...it loses all impact. The reader rolls their eyes and says “Yeah, ok, so that’s what it was. That would have been great to know 500 pages ago.”
It’s all bait and switch; smoke and mirrors.
This would be an added bonus if it didn’t get in the way of the plot, characterization, and atmosphere. It seems these quintessential parts of the novel take the back seat for the bait and switch technique. Characters are flat, the plot becomes uninteresting, and everything falls apart to become a big ‘catch the bad-guy’ chase scene.
Taking my personal opinion of Mr. Brown aside, the three main point of this book only has one going for it. The narrative was very easy to get through. The bait and switch technique does serve to keep the reader going. In this face, I couldn’t put the book down against my better judgement. But the other two points: Plot and Characterization fell so far off the table that I won’t look back fondly on this novel.
In sum: This book is akin to a juicy fruit stick of gum. For the first five seconds it’s fun, light, and very easy to chew through. But the flavour disappears too quickly after that, and you are left with a flavourless wad which is very hard to chew.
I’d recommend this book to those who would rather watch a movie than read a book. That seems to be Brown’s target audience. The only problem is: The audience are watching movies and not reading books.
This was my least favorite Dan Brown book. Actually, the only reason that I gave it two stars is because he did manage to surprise me with the villain. Other than that, I was completely dis-interested in the entire book. It was MUCH too long, with descriptions that were very detailed and were still too far over my head. The only reason I actually got the conspiracy is when the characters would finally explain it in layman's terms.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
⭐️ 4.5 stars ⭐️
My first ever Dan Brown, and it surprised me! I did not expect to like this as much as I did, but its fast pace kept me turning the pages. It was science-filled and heavily political, which was interesting to read in 2025 (knowing this was written in 2001). I enjoyed seeing the machinations behind the curtain, so-to-speak, that every day people would never in their wildest dreams imagine happens in government. Now, I know this book portrays an extreme, but it is nonetheless still very interesting to imagine. The thrills and suspense really worked for me here! I was on the edge of my seat during the high action scenes, and I was proud of myself to have guessed the twist before it was revealed. Maybe the twist wasn’t so crazy, but I’m not much of a thriller reader so I’ll take a win when it comes along 😌 My only complaint is the derogatory slur used in the senator’s POV that definitely did not age well 😬
Slow read but worth it
I had a difficult time getting through the first few chapters, but I'm certainly glad that I didn't give up. Moments when I would find myself somewhat bored with this story were quickly reversed with intriguing turn of events.
I had a difficult time getting through the first few chapters, but I'm certainly glad that I didn't give up. Moments when I would find myself somewhat bored with this story were quickly reversed with intriguing turn of events.
adventurous
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced