A Tale of Two Thrillers
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve read two thrillers: Icon, by Frederick Forsyth, and The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown.
They are two different types of thrillers: Icon is a professional thriller, while The DaVinci Code is an amateur thriller. But I’m not talking about the quality of the writing, I’m talking about the type of protagonists.
In Icon, the protagonist is a former CIA operative. He’s a professional–someone for whom false identities, covert communications, and people trying to kill him are considered part of the job. In The DaVinci Code, the protagonist is an art history professor. That makes him an amateur when it comes to the elements of a traditional thriller plot.
I enjoyed both books a lot, staying up into the wee hours in order to finish them. I know some people, like my friend Scott M. Roberts, have savagely criticized The DaVinci Code, but I thought it was a fast-paced adventure story (slowed down by the occasional rant about how horrid male-based society is because the divine female has been purged, etc., etc., etc.) that kept me interested. Sure, it had a few problems, but I can see why a lot of people enjoyed reading it.
Icon is paced more slowly, and is a more thoughtful read. Intertwined with the fictional story about efforts to prevent the election of a Russian Nazi politician is an account of a real mole within the CIA, Aldrich Ames. Ames is probably the most damaging spy in U.S. history, and it’s infuriating to read about the stupidity that allowed him to continue spying long after he could have been caught.
So, I recommend both books, The DaVinci Code for light, fun reading, and Icon for more thoughtful, but still fun, reading.
Eric,
I just have to say that I couldn\’t stand the DaVinci Code. Maybe it\’s just that Dan Brown managed to nail nearly every one of my peeves for writers of thrillers or whatever. I\’m also not sure why so many people think it is original or well written. For me, it is neither.
I guess it just goes to show that good writing is not requisite for commercial success.
While I didn’t agree with some of the content of the DaVinci Code, I too found it interesting to read and I enjoyed the pacing of the story itself. Frankly I think that more people get caught up in the whole doctrine thing and forget that it’s fiction. You don’t have to agree with his political/religious views for it to be a good read.
Gave it up after the first page or two, the writing was so bad. And I\’m no writing snob either. I mostly read mysteries and scifi/fantasy.
I read Angels & Demons and Deception Point by Dan Brown and rather enjoyed them. I read The DaVinci Code later on and did not think it was as good. I would recommend the first two before recommending the latter.
I haven’t read either book–though I have read Forsyth’s “Day of the Jackal” which I thought was quite good as spy-thrillers go. My gut instinct tells me that Forsyth is a superior writer to Brown.
Thanks for the review, I’ll have to check out Icon. I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code for what is was, an intriguing idea.
Yeah, I enjoyed it for what it was: interesting ideas wrapped up in some brain candy. But since I had already read Angels & Demons, by Davinci Code Dan Brown’s style was starting to bug me the sort of cliffhanger duh duh DUHHHHH pace got a little old.
On the other hand, all the stuff about worship of the feminine I found really interesting (esp. since it was written by a male author) and all the art stuff was cool. That would be the main reason that I would ever see the movie, just to get to see all the paintings while they’re talking about them.
Blogroll Cleanup…
Someone noted that I have a number of dead links so I am cleaning up the blogroll. If you see yourself disappearing and this bothers you, get in touch with me or leave a comment. If you want to be added to……