Deception Point - Book Review

Deception Point is the novel Dan Brown wrote just prior to The Da Vinci Code. It opens with NASA personnel making a startling discovery. An ancient meteorite is found buried within an Arctic glacier. Samples taken from this meteorite show that there are fossils of some Isopod-like life forms inside it. Could this discovery prove that we are not alone in the universe? To answer that question, several civilian scientists are dispatched to the site in order to investigate the origin of the fossils and verify NASA's findings. Before any official announcement can be made, however, one of the scientists dies under mysterious circumstances. The remaining scientists quickly realize that all is not what it appears to be as they struggle to separate truth from deceit. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all.

Since reading this, I have now read all four of Dan Brown's novels and this is my least favorite. Here's how I rated them:
- The Da Vinci Code (4.5)
- Angels & Demons (4)
- Digital Fortress (3)
- Deception Point (3)

Part of the reason I liked this novel the least is the fact that the topic was less interesting to me than the others - politics and NASA. There was a lot of talk about meteorites and very specific details about their composition - not exactly a page turner. Also, this novel seemed the least believable even though there was a note at the front that stated, "The Delta Force, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the space Frontier Foundation are real organizations. All technologies described in this novel exist." I find it hard to believe that a remote controlled flying object the size of a fly which is equipped with a wireless camera really exists.

The whole middle section of the book really dragged. It was set up nicely and quickly got to the action, but then it just sort of stopped and crept along for a bit until the last 100 pages which picked up the pace again with some great plot twists. The ending was OK - nothing groundbreaking or spectacular. I think at least 100 pages could have been cut out without losing anything critical to the plot. Hopefully his next novel, which stars Robert Langdon, will be as good as The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

Ever wonder what the proper titanium/zirconium ratio in the chondrules of a meteorite is? You can find that interesting tidbit and more in this book.


Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Would I read it again: No

Deception Point
by Dan Brown
Hardcover: 558 pages
2001