Where does the "Point" come in here?

Deception Point has proven to be a typical Dan Brown read thus far. Brown’s style of switching between different characters allows us to follow multiple storylines and see the same parts of the story unfold from different points of view. At certain points the switching also feels like a nag in how it will leave you wanting to know more about one character and then you are whisked away to see some other event. Brown’s shroud of secrecy also seems to be a little over the top. While the whole idea of Delta Force operatives watching unknown people in the Arctic does seem to create intrigue, it seems more like Brown has decided to leave us completely out of the loop about some parts of the story. His random bits of intrigue (like the man in the van with Senator Sexton) are like pieces of meat he waves in front of an emaciated dog. He waves these secrets around and refuses to reward the reader with any new info. After awhile you begin not to care and would rather starve then give Brown the satisfaction of eating his little secret because you know he’s just going to taunt you again later.

One good bit about the story is the setting. It is rich with political intrigue and unique characters, but also seems to move much like politics does: slow and uninteresting. The fact that it takes Brown 7 “chapters” just to move Rachel from the Chesapeake to the Artic in a jet moving 1500 mph shows just how slow his writing is. This also brings up a big issue for me: chapter length. Having read Angels and Demons as well as The Da Vinci code a big nuisance for me in Brown’s books remains how he makes each chapter barely 2 pages. Very little also gets done in each chapter what with all of his over the top descriptions about mundane and completely unimportant information. I don’t need 4 pages on different types of meteorites to understand that fossils in a rock from outer space are kind of a big deal. Nor do I need the whole history of Air Force One Mr. Brown, just tell the story.

All in all, the story so far reads more like a movie script instead of a good book. I can sense the later chapters between Tolland and Rachel will read like The Bourne Identity with the two running from people trying to kill them for any number of boring reasons. It’s still a bit early to tell but I have the feeling that there will be some serious revelations, although they won’t be until the very end and will seem rather abrupt. That has been one of my biggest problems with this “Thriller / Conspiracy” Genre. They do whatever they want for no apparent reason other than making you confused for 500 pages and then just come out for the last 50 and tell you everything. Its akin to being randomly punched in the face by strangers only to be told a week later that you had “punch here” tattooed on your forehead and no one bothered to tell you.