This is the third Robert Langdon adventure offered by Brown.
I’ve also read Angels & Demons, but by chance, have not read the most
controversial of the bunch, “The Da Vinci Code.” Generally, I steer clear of
the spy-conspiracy theory genre (Langdon is basically a less cool Indiana
Jones), but this was a nice change of pace. Things to remember about the
Langdon stories is that they almost always occur within a 24-hour window, so
the action of the story is fast. That produces the page-turning style that
works with the masses. I enjoy the mixing of history and myth in his stories,
and he does enough research and tells enough truths to make you wonder if the conspiracy
aspects that drive the stories are plausible. I did suspect the “Scooby-Doo”
style reveal well before the end, but having a predictable end doesn’t
necessarily make a story bad. If you’ve built to something and the reader
catches on before you get there, it is still logical to follow it to that
conclusion. If the story is told well, the lack of surprise isn’t necessarily
bad. A lot of stories are ruined by writers trying to catch the reader off
guard with the result being a nonsensical ending.
The thing I wanted to point out, since I am a fellow working
on his writing, is the style. Brown is great at matching his writing style to
the pace of the story. It doesn’t make sense to write a thousand page book for
a quick-paced story. He delivers short chapter (2-3 pages) after short chapter.
The paragraphs are generally short, and likewise so are the sentences. When he
does stray from that style, it is usually to provide the dense background
information of the places, people, and myths and so on. Those denser sections
are fed a spoonful at a time, which makes them easier to digest.
If you are simply looking to be entertained then this is a
good book to pick up.
Up Next: While I Was Gone by Sue Miller
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