Rating: Summary: Entertaining, but many problems... Review: OK, this book is a work of fiction, but in the beginning he says that the technologies in the book exist. Nonetheless, I found numerous inaccuracies about NASA and the NRO based on what I know from the type of work that I do. So believe very little of it. Mr. Brown either needs to get his facts straight, or quit passing off stuff as factual when he doesn't know for sure and never will. He's no Tom Clancy.On a separate note, I have only the utmost respect for NASA and the NRO, despite the accidents they've had. Space is never going to be an entirely risk-free area of research and these days NASA needs all the support it can get. Anyway, I don't think that a popular author should lead the public to think that the directors of those two agencies and a close advisor to the President would all be conspiring and killing people. I didn't read DaVinci code, but from scanning some reviews on the Internet, it apparently suffers from many of the same problems as Deception Point. I'm sure they'll both make great movies, but that's about all they're good for.
Rating: Summary: good page turner Review: this is the first book that I've been able to read in the last 4.5 months after going through a very rough loss. The fact that I was able to read it at all, let alone in 2 weeks is worthy of a couple of stars in my book. The ending is ridiculous though. I was annoyed at far too many "just in the nick of time" saves throughout the made-for-Hollywood ending. As far as the reviews calling the plot "implausible" etc, it IS an action thriller piece of FICTION afterall. Cut the guy some slack.
Rating: Summary: Passenger To FrankFurt Review: The book Passenger To Frankfurt. The author of this book is Agatha Christie. This book contains three books in it. I read all the books. This Book Contains a lot of stuff, about this guy named Stafford Nye. He and his friend(Renata), must go see a queen. By her request. Stafford think's that he is going to somewhere interesting,Like skiing or to some big play. But really he is going to meet a queen. This queens name is Grafin Charlotte Von Waldsausen. They all think she is one fat queen! This book was pretty good. I don't know if I would recommend this book to anyone. Because I didn't find it very interesting. Some of the parts in the book I did not really understand. But some of the others just didn't make scence to me. I will be very honest I had a hard time understanding this book. Some people may want to read this book. But I don't think I will read this book again, because I don't think I will get it anyway. I really don't think there was enough detail in this book. I felt it could have had a little more. I really didn't like this book. Here are a few reasons why I didn't like it. One reason was, because I didn't understand.And usually when I don't understand something I don't like the book. Another reason I didn't like the book was because I thought the book didnt tell to much about the people or what they did. This book didn't catch my attention when I started to read the book. A third reason why I didn't like the book was because the book was kinda of boring from the beging. I don't think I would read this book again. Even if I read a book by the same author it definitely wouldnt be this one again. But the last reason I didn't like the book was because I really couldn't understand what the author was trying to get by. Weather he wanted to make a point or just tell a story about it. But other then that I didn't really approve of the book. And I wouldnt recommend this book to people who don't find book's without enough detail or cant understand stories very well. Well those are some of the things that my book Passenger To FrankFurt contains. And why I liked it and didn't like it! This review was written on March 11,204.
Rating: Summary: Deception Point-an excellent book! Review: When a Nasa satellite discovers an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory--a victory with profound implications for NASA policy and the impending presidential election. To verify the authenticity of the find, the White House calls upon the skills of the intellegence analyst Rachel Sexton. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charmismatic scholar Michael Tolland, Rachel travels to the Arctic and uncovers the unthinkable: evidence of scientific trickery--a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversey. 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...
Rating: Summary: Pretty good thriller even if it strains credibility a bit! Review: With all the political fiascos going on in Washington DC, though this book skirts the edge of reality a bit too much for my taste, I have to admit maybe Brown is not too far off. What is really scary is Brown states that all the technology talked about in the book are available and being used. By WHOM? That's what has me worried. The technology reads like something out of Jules Verne, and the public doesn't know about it? That is extremely frightening to me. This is a fast-paced read and an intelligent one. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A woman becomes involved through no fault of her own in a very complicated quest to make NASA a hit with the country again (this was prior to the last shuttle demise so the management idiocy still stands true at NASA), by putting a stone that is made to look like a meteorite in the frozen ice cap of the North. This meteorite has in it unrecognizable species of bugs that are fossilized. This attempt to make NASA looks good and retain the government's hold on NASA, start backfiring immediately when the scientists involved start noticing inconsistencies. From there on it is a deadly shootout between the bad guys (overreaching government employees...sound familiar?) and people who are just trying to do what's right. If things ever get this bad, we are in big trouble! Karen Sadler
Rating: Summary: Exceptional and well written Review: COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SUBJECT MATTER THAN DAVINCI OR ANGELS: Dan Brown is now one of my favorite writers. Angels & Demons and the DaVinci code (which I thoroughly enjoyed) were the first and second of his books I read and this prompted me to be concerned that his attention to detail and crafting a wonderfully involved story was limited to Religious symbology and similar doctrines. Well, I had nothing to worry about. MAIN STORY, VERY BRIEFLY: Deception point revolves around a political campaign, NASA, geology and marine biology. Strange bedfellows aren't they, but it works. Rachel Sexton a gister (yes, I spelled that right) for the government is contacted by the president. Her boss is concerned, it is for political manipulation as her father is a U.S. senator, the president's opponent in the upcoming election. As the day's events unfold, Rachel is very divided as to who is being truthful or not. She is to be witness to a great discovery along with many famous scientists. Is the president banking on her family name or her reputation with data? Both could be true or it could be something else entirely. When there are questions about the situation she is involved in, things get very complicated very fast and who are friends and enemies is not so clear cut. CONSISTENT WITH DAN BROWN'S STYLE AND EXCELLENT WRITING: As with any of Dan Brown's books, each chapter is brief well-crafted and builds up to a phenomenal story line. If you like a book (and I do) that brings in bit by bit all the main players and crafts their story until it interweaves in an amazing climax, this is the book for you. I personally am not politically oriented, know little about NASA and could care less about marine biology and geology, but I had difficultly putting this book down. Each section was riveting and each wanted me to read on. Great job, when are you going to write more?
Rating: Summary: Mediocre but Entertaining Fluff: Review: Reading Dan Brown's second novel, it's remarkable how quickly his characterization abilities evolved. "Deception Point" has only one good thing going for it: It's conspiracy/scientific plotline. The book has cardboard standins instead of fully formed charaters. If he couldn't write action well, this book would merit no stars. The book starts, like his others, with a mysterious murder, this time in the Arctic Circle. Then, it moves to Washington DC, and introduces us to Rachel Sexton, a top intelligence analyst with the National Reconnaissance Office, and the only daughter of presidential candidate Sen. Shelby Saxton. Sen. Saxton is perhaps one of the worst writter characters ever concieved. He is the epitome of corruption, both political and moral, the kind of stupid yet evil politician that exists only in very poorly written novels like this one. His daugter, of course, is the exact opposite, hates her father, misses her sainted mother who has died, and wants to do good in the world and protect her country. The first chapter has them meeting for an emotionally chilly breakfast. Then, the story diverges, one following the Senator as he campaigns for President on the bizzare platform of essentially eliminating NASA, and the other following Rachel to the headquarters of the National Reconnassiance Office, which Brown describes as the CIA without the leaks, assasination plots, and general incompetence. Rachel is called upon by the President to go to the Arctic circle and verify the results of several scientists who have been working on NASA's discovery of a very special meteorite. I won't give away what's special about the meteorite, but Brown certainly gives it away as soon as "NASA", "Meteorite" and "Arctic Circle" are mentioned. It's not hard to guess. That he goes on for about 100 more pages before actually saying it is emmensely annoying. You want to hurt him for forcing you to page through the very poorly written Washington/Presidential Campaign subplot. On that subplot, since Sen. Sexton is the political bad guy, the President is a lot like Martin Sheen's fictional President Bartlett, only morally perfect and not prone to quoting latin to show how smart he is. Brown, who did SOME research on Catholic "history" for "Angels & Demons" and "DaVinci", apparently has never been to Washington DC, seen a documentary about politcs, or ever followed a camapign in his life. He has no knowledge of the city, the way things work in DC, or, apparently, how campaigns for President are conducted. His "power politics" dialogue is poor enough to make a high school creative writing class look like Shakespere. And when the plot actually gets intersting he keeps shifting to the utterly dull Washington story. The Arctic story involves a conpiracy so massive it could destroy the President and elect the hideous Sen. Sexton to office. Since Sexton has the moral character of a paper cup, it's obvious who we're rooting for, though Brown does his usual "lets keep 'em guessing" routine, giving us about a dozen potential top villians until we fidn the real one. I think I guessed who was behind it pretty quickly. It's amazing "Angels & Demons" came out so soon after this poor effort, as that had an incredibly complex conpsiracy that I don't think anyone could crack. This one could be solved by Encyclopedia Brown on an off day. Anyway, Rachel and her scientist love interest are pursued by assasins once they learn a conspiracy exists. They have to warn the Bestest, Most Nicest President Ever that he's being set up. It's fast paced and reads well, as Brown does know how to write interesting action and throws his heros into mortal danger. In this, you can see his talent already. The other problem I had with this book is the same one I have with the other two that I have read by Brown. He includes an author's note saying "The Delta Force, the National Reconassiance Office and Space Freedon Federation are all real organizations. The tchnologies described within all exist". Well yes, Delta Force, the NRO, and the SFF ARE real organizations, however they aren't real in the way Brown describes them. Delta Force cannot be used as a personal black ops/assasiantion team for whoever decides to use them. The NRO is not the largest intellgence agency in Washington, but is in fact a rather small operationa that ANSWERS to the CIA, and I'm pretty sure the SFF isn't full of nasty evil people bent on destroying science. Brown never says his represntations of these organizations are true, but by adding the author's note at the beginning, he probably convinced far too many people that the NRO is the nation's highest guarded secret and whatnot. I'm willing to forgive him INVENTING an agency that has more power than the CIA, but to attribute it to a real life one really takes you out of the story. Also, while in most instances of reading I could care less whether the technology is real or not, all that is real about many of the gadgets described in the book is that someone, someday hopes to build them. It's unlike a Michael Chrichton novel, where he writes with such authority and never pretends that what he's writing about EXISTS RIGHT NOW. So much of the book is predicated on half-truths purporting to be facts. Which wouldn't be a problem if he hadn't gone out of his way to give the impression he was giving a true account of technology and real agencies. The book was follows the exact same blueprint for his other novels. I assume Brown will keep writing like this, finding a new conspiracy to drop into his magic, bestseller formula. And while it appears as if his novels can only continue to improve, it's a shame that he relies on putting up theories as facts and misrepresenting agencies and organizations in ways that are detrimental to the real people who work there. Only die-hard Brown fans should pick this one up.
Rating: Summary: Ok I liked it...but I didn't want to. Review: While reading this book, all I could keep thinking was, "Haven't I already read this...twice?" After reading Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code by Brown, I hoped this would be a little different, but it wasn't. Brown uses pretty much the exact same formula in this book that he did in the other two with respect to plot development and characterizations. All three books start off with the protaganist waking up expecting it to be an ordinary day, only to be whisked all around the world chasing after earth shatteringly huge information about secrets which go to the highest levels of whatever, that people will kill to protect. In the meantime, someone else is working against them to keep the secrets hidden and there is a shadowy unscrupulous organization killing people who get in the way. As good guys turn into bad guys and bad guys turn into good guys, the plot twists and turns through wild speculative leaps of logic that turn out to be right on the button, characters out-guessing so-called experts in areas that they are not qualified to speculate about, and missing simple things that they should know easily from their own areas of expertise. Of course, the characters are able to instantly overcome MAJOR trauma along the way, and perform death defying stunts, all in a completely implausible, if not impossible, time frame. Throw in a family connection with one of the key players, and a completely superfluous love story and you have a Dan Brown thriller. Having said all that, and knowing that I cannot think of a single good thing to say about the book looking back on it, I gave it 4 stars because, despite the mess that it was, it kept me on the edge of my seat, and I was definitely entertained by it...somehow. I'd like to say that I won't be reading anymore of Brwon's books since they are so incredibly similar, but I've already started Digital Fortress.
Rating: Summary: I Loved It!! Review: I thought this was a fantastic book. The Da Vinci Code has gotten major hype and I loved it, but this book could be better. It takes a little longer to really get in to it, but it then grabs you and does not let go. I found myself smiling and cheering after numerous plot turns, it truly is a thriller in every sense of the word. This book will keep you guessing and keep you pleading for Dan Brown to release his next book.
Rating: Summary: Great book - if you can suspend disbelief... Review: I want to start by saying I really enjoyed this book. However, as in his other books, some of the technologies he claims are true simply don't exist. In the case of deception point, most of the advanced technologies he refers to only exist as powerpoint presentations being used by some overly ambitious engineers to justify increases to their program budgets. The technologies simply aren't as advanced as Mr. Brown would have you believe. If you can get past that, it's a great read, with lots of excitement.
|