Damn Brown!

Let’s just say that if this novel doesn’t get your pulse racing, you need to check your meds. ~San Francisco Chronicle (Acclaim for The Da Vinci Code)

Fans of fiction novels be warned! Do not give in to the temptation to read any of Dan Brown’s novels for goodness sake!

Dan Brown’s novels, The Da Vinci Code, in particular, has maintained its dominion as the number one bestseller for more than sixty miraculous consecutive weeks. That’s a little more than one year, mind you! And yet it shows no sign of abating. With 7.35 million copies sold worldwide, not only in English but in other languages as well, most of you must have read it. So, I might have issued the warning a little too late. However, if you have read his books, it is definitely a safe bet that you will surely agree with what I am about to share.

Okay, okay, I know it sounds absurd but it is of my opinion that any avid reader of the fiction genre should stay clear of Dan’s highly-acclaimed books. Never mind about what they say in the book reviews, just take it as an advice from a guy who fell victim to the uibiquitous appraisals and acclaims in the newspapers for Dan’s novels.

Well, it is an irrevocable fact that Dan Brown is perhaps the best contemporary story-teller who manages to fuse facts into fiction without spoiling the thrill. Second to none, or maybe ranked just next to classical science-fiction writer, Jules Verne, Dan’s books has the eerie ability to cast a spell on the readers, captivating anyone who reads it, till the very last page.

I bought a paperback version of The Da Vinci Code some time at the end of last year, when my final exam was just around the corner, promising myself to only have a good read after the exam. Nevertheless, a peep on the first chapter was all it took before I found myself sucked into the plethoric amount of suspense even in the very beginning of the story when the plot merely started to unfold.

Dan claims that the books tells of the biggest conspiracy ever planned by the Roman Catholic Church to deceive the world. That, of course, drew a great deal of flak from religious communities, or the conservative churches, to be precise. I am an atheist so I have no qualms about that, though it is wise not to take in the story in toto. After all, it is a fiction novel; not a documentary historical account.

With the bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, Dan instantly shot to stardom. Unfortunately, the tallest trees are usually brought down by the heavens with thunders. As the way things normally progress, Dan who stood in the middle of the limelight found himself targetted by various (envious or offended?) parties. Not long ago, it was reported that an author is going to file a lawsuit against Dan for plagiarising his ideas without proper credits. (Sounds familiar! Remember J.K. Rowling’s case?) Then, an unusual trial went on in Vinci to evaluate the authenticity of Dan’s claims about the unknown side of multi-talented Renaissance artist and scientist, Leonardo Da Vinci. Whatever is the verdict of the trial, in which Dan was not represented, I am yet to find out.

I digressed, anyway. Let’s return to my point. But before that, a round applause for Dan please, though I know this might have been overdone. He managed to make his story a page-turner – I was so engrossed in the story that I finished it before I knew it, and (oops!) before my exam! So, there went my empty promise…

It was then I found myself invaded by an unpleasant feeling, not of guilt for not keeping my promise, but that of parting with a friend. This happens most of the time when the spellbinding book I am reading draws to an end. I simply find myself fused into the flow of the plot, totally submerged in the world of fiction from which I do not wish to leave. But then, the story has to end somehow and that is when I embarked on my hunt for Dan’s other three legendary novels.

Angels and Demons was the next book, which I managed to finish in my track record of one-and-a-half days’ time, though I have to admit it more or less spoiled the pleasure. Revolving around a far-fetched conspiracy of a conservative camerlengo who murdered the pope for his agenda, the story is interwined with facts about the Vatican City and the hierarchy of the papacy. Now, with the the recent death of Pope John Paul II, speculations and conspiracy theories worthy of Dan’s imaginative plots abound. One of them suggests that for some reasons, conservative cardinals lied about the actual date of the pope’s death. Of that, I shall not venture further.

Followed by that, Digital Fortress and Deception Point were next in my reading list, which after finishing both, I was once again craving for more books to read. It was then I found that books by other authors no longer appeal to me, thanks to Dan! Not Stephen King, please! Profanities spill over the pages in his book and I don’t quite enjoy that. James Patterson is a “high profile” writer of murder series but that is not exactly my kind of genre; so is Agatha Christie. Argh! Without any book to read, I was left in distress…

Then, I saw a book review in the local tabloid on The Rule of Four, a story of quite the same genre as The Da Vinci Code, only that the plot is built upon the least-understood Renaissance text, Hypnerotomachia. (Yeah, I know it is a labrythine word that baffles you as it is to me!) Unfortunately, making comparisons with Dan is inevitable and to tell the truth, it was rather a big turn down as the story could hardly rival Dan’s. To compensate for that, though, The Rule of Four undeniably has a better literary value and more down-to-earth, considering that it puts forth the issue of the dilemmas of a young adult in the coming-of-age. All in all, it is a touching story about friendship and love that evokes serious thoughts.

Anyway, I have to reiterate that I have not found a novel better than Dan’s as yet. Perhaps for that, my interest in reading has waned ever since – other novels are simply insipid after Dan’s blockbuster novels numb the senses. His stories are indeed great spoilers! So, if you are one of the fortunate minority who have not lay their hands on his stories, never, never even think of reading them. You will regret!

Meanwhile, I am anticipating Dan’s fourth book, tentatively due to be released later this year, hopefully, after my exam…