Deception Point by Dan Brown

Author: Dan Brown
ISBN #: 0552151769
585 pages

Deep beneath the Arctic ice, NASA has located a meteorite which may hold physical evidence of life elsewhere in the Universe – a revelation which will affect the entire world. As the President battles to keep his position in the Whitehouse, he employs the daughter of his main opponent, a prominent member of the Whitehouse Intelligence, along with several other civilian scientists, each an expert in his field, to verify its authenticity. But something’s not quite right – events uncover a deception the likes of which has never been seen, a lie so huge that the tiniest piece of information could threaten not only the presidency, but the existence of NASA. To top it all off, it could threaten the lives of everyone involved. When you’re surrounded on all sides by conspiracy, you can trust nobody – not, your colleagues, your friends or your family.

Deception Point is deceptively fast-paced: There’s long period where you don’t think much is happening, then you realise you’ve just whizzed through 100 pages & much excitement has ensued! Mr Brown is decidedly formulaic – we have the devastatingly beautiful, frighteningly intelligent female lead with family troubles, there’s also the dashing hero who’s been hurt in the past & realises he’s ready to risk his heart again, & there’s the cataclysmic event which throws them together. Rachel Sexton could just as easily have been Susan, Sophie or Vittoria from the other books. This time, however, the stars of the show are all-American, rather than European (although there are still international ramifications, as yet another world-changing event is occurring).

This one was, for me, the least believable storyline despite the underlying realities of the political world. I got the feeling that he was trying to prove something with this one, almost a “look how much I know about all these different subjects” feel throughout – I was being bombarded with information at all times.

Still, it was a very enjoyable read & a great piece of escapism & this is the only one of Brown’s books where I was sure I knew who the bad guy was & then was proven wrong! I was rather thrown by that.

It’s a page turner, but it doesn’t actually require readers to engage their brain cells at any point as Brown has done all the thinking for us & spells everything out in great detail – that’s not to say it’s boring at all – actually, the beauty is in the detail!

All in all, this tale of mass conspiracy & hoodwinkery is diverting, thrilling & richly entertaining.

Rating: 7/10