The Dan Brown Enigma

by Graham A Thomas

  The canister, its digital clock ticking down, is hidden somewhere inside the Vatican City with a stolen security camera focused on the readout. The camera is wireless and feeds back to the security monitors in Vatican City but the Swiss Guard, the Vatican’s elite security force, have no idea where the canister is.

  To make matters worse, as a result of the recent death of the most recent Pope, a papal enclave to elect a new one is under way at the Vatican. The most likely candidates for the post are four cardinals known as the Preferiti, and they are missing. Langdon and Vittoria arrive at Vatican City and begin searching for them, hoping they will also find the canister and the people responsible for Vetra’s murder. Tradition says that all the cardinals in Vatican City have to be sealed in the enclave until a new Pope is elected. With all the cardinals isolated, the man left in charge is the late Pope’s closest aide, Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca. Along with Commander Olivetti, Captain Rocher and Lieutenant Chartrand, the Camerlengo helps the two heroes in the search.

  Langdon is convinced the only way to find the Preferiti is to retrace the Path of Illumination, an ancient and complex process the Illuminati used to induct new recruits into the fold. Prospective inductees had to follow a series of clues in and around Rome. If done correctly, the candidate would discover the secret meeting place of the Illuminati and be granted membership. Langdon and Vittoria set off on the path to uncover the clues that will lead them to the Preferiti and ultimately the canister.

  An unknown assassin, working for a shadowy Illuminati master known only as Janus, has said he will kill the four cardinals in four different places, one each hour starting at 8pm. Using ancient texts written by Galileo and through his extensive knowledge of religious symbology and history, Langdon believes that there are four locations in Rome that the Illuminati believed represented Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Each time Langdon and Vittoria arrive at a location, they find one of the cardinals murdered in a way appropriate to the element. The first cardinal is found with soil down his throat and branded with an Earth ambigram, while the second has had his lungs punctured and been branded with an ambigram of Air.

  After finding the first two bodies, Langdon heads for the third location at Santa Maria della Vittoria Basilica, where he discovers the assassin has set the third cardinal on fire. But the assassin hasn’t left: he kills Olivetti, tries to kill Langdon and kidnaps Vittoria. Langdon meets the assassin again at a fountain, the landmark for the final element of Water, where the fourth cardinal is drowned.

  But Langdon is determined to finish the Path of Illumination, which leads him to the Castel Sant’ Angelo and a secret underground tunnel leading directly to the Pope’s chambers in the Vatican. Langdon finds Vittoria and frees her. They face the assassin together and manage to kill him by pushing him several hundred feet to his grisly death. The two heroes race back to St Peter’s Basilica, only to find that Kohler has arrived to confront the Camerlengo, who points the finger at Kohler, saying that he is Janus. The Camerlengo is branded with the Illuminati Diamond and screams in agony. Hearing his screams, the Swiss Guard break into the Pope’s chambers and shoot Kohler.

  The Camerlengo then accuses Captain Rocher of being one of the Illuminati and orders Lieutenant Chartrand to shoot him, which he does. Kohler, however, has managed to hang on long enough to give Langdon a video tape that he says will explain everything.

  Time is running out. They decide to evacuate the Basilica but the Camerlengo suddenly goes into a trance and refuses to go. He says he’s had a vision from God and now knows where the canister is. He tears into the catacombs under the Basilica with Langdon, Vittoria and others in hot pursuit. They arrive at St Peter’s Tomb to find the canister sitting there, the clock dangerously close to the end.

  With only five minutes left, Langdon and the Camerlengo grab the canister and head for a helicopter. They manage to get into the air well above the city when the thing explodes, causing no damage to the city below. The Camerlengo parachutes safely down onto the roof of St Peter’s Basilica and stands triumphantly before the crowds in the Square. But what has happened to Langdon? There was only one parachute in the helicopter.

  Everyone sees the survival of the Camerlengo as a miracle, so the cardinals in the conclave say that Catholic law should be made to elect the Camerlengo as the new Pope. But Langdon has survived by managing to use a window cover from the chopper as a parachute and landing heavily in the Tiber River. He is hurt, but the injuries aren’t serious and he manages to get back to the Basilica and views Kohler’s tape with the College of Cardinals. Kohler was right: it does tell the truth and Langdon, Vittoria and the cardinals confront the Camerlengo in the Sistine Chapel.

  At this point we find that the Pope had been due to meet Vetra to discuss his work on antimatter at CERN. Vetra, a devout Catholic, believed he’d found a way through his research to bring science and religion together, linking Man and God. This was an anathema to the Camerlengo, who strongly felt that only the Church should have domain over God. The Pope had revealed to the Camerlengo when discussing Vetra that science had given him a son. This had been done through artificial insemination.

  The Camerlengo had looked up to the Pope, seeing him as a holy man who was completely against science. Enraged and feeling betrayed the Camerlengo plotted to stop the Pope and Vetra. His first step was to poison the Pope. He then took the guise of the Illuminati master Janus and recruited the assassin, setting the wheels in motion for the murder of Vetra, stealing the canister and murdering the four cardinals.

  As Langdon has suspected from the beginning, the real Illuminati had nothing to do with the plot. The secret order has long since gone and the whole thing was a plot by the Camerlengo to carry out his evil plans. But there is a sting in the tail for the Camerlengo when he discovers that he was the Pope’s son through artificial insemination. Overcome with grief, the Camerlengo sets fire to himself in St Peter’s Square for all to see. In the conclave a new Pope is elected.

  Langdon and Vittoria end up in bed together in the Hotel Bernini, where Lieutenant Chartrand delivers the Illuminati Diamond from the new Pope for Langdon to keep on loan indefinitely.[92]

  While the plot may sound far-fetched, the true test is what people think of it and what the reviews say about it. On Amazon, one reviewer (Kelly Flynn) called Angels & Demons ‘a no-holds-barred, pull-out-all-the-stops, breathless tangle of a thriller – think Katherine Neville’s The Eight (but cleverer) or Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum (but more accessible).’[93] This review also says the book is ‘a heck of a good read’ and ‘tasty brain candy’.

  Another reviewer said that Angels & Demons was better than The Da Vinci Code. ‘A fast-paced, exciting read. For my money, I think this is a more interesting and surprising book than The Da Vinci Code and I recommend it to any fan of The Da Vinci Code.’[94]

  And again…

  ‘Even for me with the attention span of a fly I could not put this book down! Full of twists and turns it leaves you guessing till the end. Beautifully written, great plot, every chapter leaves you fully engaged and excited to read more!!’[95]

  Not all the reviews are so positive. One reader gave the book a single star saying, ‘My wife asked me to read this book before we went to Rome so that I would know some of the places we would visit… this is the only use for this book. Now, before I start, can I just say that I know this is a work of fiction, BUT when the author begins by making claims of fact and clearly trying to make out that the story is true, then it deserves to be judged on how realistic it is. The story is undoubtedly exciting, but the ending is so preposterous that it completely blows away any lingering sense of realism. Also the death of one of the characters is a total anticlimax, and is at odds with the level of suspense that had been built up to that point. I certainly won’t be rushing back to read more Dan Brown on the basis of this book.’[96]

  Another Amazon reviewer called it a book ‘stuffed with hackneyed clichés, it’s worse than Mills & Boon or a 16-year-old on a
creative writing course. Obviously for the less discerning reader yet it has sold millions. A literary snob? Damn right I am. There’s enough junk in life these days as it is.’[97]

  The reactions to Angels & Demons covers both ends of the spectrum and everything in between. As one reviewer put it, ‘you either hate it or you love it.’ Many reviewers give the book five stars while others give it one star, but the majority of reader reactions are positive, such as: ‘The book starts slowly but as you begin to get into the thick of it, the book picks up pace and takes you on an astounding journey, fast-paced, intriguing and all in all a fantastic read.’[98]

  One of the themes running through many reviews, good and bad, is that there are many inaccuracies in the book. Indeed, the Wikipedia entry on Angels & Demons states that in the first edition some of the locations in Rome were wrong as was the use of Italian, which was corrected in subsequent editions.

  Where the real problems lie is in the areas of science, technology and history. For example, the antimatter discussions that take place in the book claim that the substance can be produced in practical quantities that could lead to a limitless source of energy. But CERN has published a paper on the facts – which Brown placed in the book – stating that it takes more energy to create antimatter than the substance actually produces.

  Here’s what Brown said about antimatter in the Angels & Demons section of his witness statement: ‘Antimatter is the ultimate energy source. It releases energy with 100% efficiency (nuclear fission is 1.5% efficient). Antimatter is 100,000 times more powerful than rocket fuel. A single gram contains the energy of a 20 kiloton atomic bomb – the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. In addition to being highly explosive, antimatter is extremely unstable and ignites when it comes in contact with anything… even air.’

  Brown also claimed that antimatter can only be stored by suspending it inside a vacuum in an electromagnetic field. Once that field fails, the antimatter collides with its container, resulting in a matter/antimatter conversion known by physicists as annihilation. ‘CERN is now regularly producing small quantities of antimatter in their research for future energy sources. Antimatter holds tremendous promise; it creates no pollution or radiation, and a single droplet could power New York City for a full day.’

  However, on 10 May 2009 an American cable television network aired a documentary called Angels & Demons Decoded. In it an official from CERN suggested that the organisation had only been able to produce approximately 10 billionths of a gram of antimatter over the previous 20 years and that the explosive potential of that amount was not much more than a firecracker – certainly not as powerful as Brown had claimed.[99]

  Still, this book stacks up well against the five principles of thriller writing. People consider it to be an entertaining, fast-paced read. Brown’s research into the Vatican, the art in Vatican City, the architecture of Rome and its churches, and the secret society of the Illuminati provides the reader with insight into the inner workings of the Vatican, reflecting the world around the characters. Like Brown’s other books, this one is written to a formula that Brown himself has described – essentially blending fact with fiction and taking a character out of his comfort zone and pitting them against a ticking clock and some ruthless villains. At its heart is the adventure – in this case a treasure hunt to find the codes that lead to the discovery of the canister. And finally, it is written in a stylish way that Brown has developed since Digital Fortress.

  Although the book has sold well since The Da Vinci Code, initial sales were very poor. Though Brown’s publisher had changed from St Martin’s Press to Simon & Schuster, the promised publicity campaigns never happened. ‘They promised to give the book considerably more publicity and support than my previous publishers,’ Brown explained. ‘Their proposed publicity included a much larger print run (60,000), advertising in major newspapers, web advertising, a 12-city tour, an e-book release, and other exciting prospects.’[100]

  Despite good reviews, the poor sales of both his novels left Brown struggling with the desire to write a third one. But he had to do it. He was contracted to the publisher for a third novel. The only thing that kept him going was the possibility that one of the novels might be optioned for a feature film. ‘At the time, that was a big financial incentive,’ Brown said. ‘I did receive numerous offers for the film rights to Angels & Demons, but I turned them down as they were not enough money and not with major studios.’ [101]

  Strapped for cash, Brown and Blythe found themselves visiting low-profile publishing events where they sold copies of Angels & Demons out of the boot of their car. Brown was seriously considering giving up writing and returning to teaching but he and Blythe knew that they had something special from the feedback they were getting. ‘The few readers who read Angels & Demons had gone wild for it,’ Brown said in his witness statement. ‘The store where we buy most of our books, The Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, New Hampshire, was hand-selling my books, but the superstores still did not even know my name.’

  Brown kept on trying to get the book known but failed. ‘I was told that the window of opportunity in book publishing was only a few weeks and that an author needed to reach a critical mass of readers very quickly after release or the bookstores would return his books to the publisher to make room for the next round of new books. This is why large scale, coordinated launches are needed to make a success of most books. I realised I could not do it alone, no matter how hard I tried.’

  CHAPTER NINE

  * * *

  DECEPTION POINT

  Commander James D Swanson of the United States Navy was short, plump and crowding forty. He had jet black hair topping a pink cherubic face, and with the deep permanent creases of laughter lines radiating from his eyes and curving round his mouth he was a dead ringer for the cheerful, happy-go-lucky extrovert who is the life and soul of the party where the guests park their brains along with their hats and coats. That, anyway, was how he struck me at first glance but on the reasonable assumption that I might very likely find some other qualities in the man picked to command the latest and most powerful nuclear submarine afloat I took a second and closer look at him and this time I saw what I should have seen the first time if the dank grey fog and winter dusk settling down over the Firth of Clyde hadn’t made seeing so difficult. His eyes. Whatever his eyes were they weren’t those of the gladhanding wisecracking bon vivant. They were the coolest, clearest grey eyes I’d ever seen.[102]

  The above quote is the opening to Alistair MacLean’s Ice Station Zebra. It sets the stage for a fast-paced, tension-filled, edge-of-your-seat thriller. There are similarities to Brown’s Deception Point: MacLean’s story takes the reader straight into the action as does the prologue to Deception Point. But from the Prologue onwards Deception Point takes more than a hundred pages for the story to really begin. From that point on, Brown builds the tension to the final nail-biting climax. But Deception Point is essentially an American novel set against the backdrop of a presidential election. If the reader has no interest in American politics then those first hundred pages will be tedious indeed.

  Brown’s ‘big idea’ for this book was based on the press stories about the string of failures that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had suffered and the calls to hand the agency over to the private sector. ‘I became very interested in the question of whether it made sense for my tax dollars to fund trips to Mars while the very school in which I was teaching could barely afford an art teacher.’[103]

  Brown built his story around this premise, weaving in characters and locations, again blending fact with fiction. But while MacLean tells his story in the narrow, confined location of a submarine and an ice station on a glacier in the Arctic Circle, Brown uses a much broader canvas to tell his story: from a glacier off Canada’s Ellesmere Island to Washington DC to a research vessel off the coast of New Jersey. And while MacLean tells his story simply and with minimal fuss, Brown peppers his novel with a wide variety of information
covering technical equipment, geological data, physics and much more.

  Why compare Brown with MacLean, Deception Point with Ice Station Zebra? Both books have similar plots and similar locations. In Deception Point a meteorite has been found buried in the ice of a glacier and a team of experts has been sent up there to authenticate NASA’s claims of extraterrestrial life found as fossils in the meteorite. But all isn’t what it appears to be and soon it all unravels as the protagonist finds someone is trying to kill her to stop her from telling the world about what is really going on.

  In Ice Station Zebra a US nuclear submarine is sent up to the Arctic Circle in response to a distress call from a British ice station that has suffered a catastrophic fire. The boat goes there to pick up survivors and find out what happened. However, it is soon apparent that the fire was deliberate and that the expedition is far more than a rescue. It is to retrieve a capsule of microfilm that has been ejected from a Russian spy satellite and landed near Zebra. The film contains images of all the nuclear missile installations around the world and the Russians want it back.

  While Ice Station Zebra is a much older novel than Deception Point, it is an excellent example of the formula thriller writing that made MacLean’s early work so good. The question is, does Deception Point stack up against it?