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.