DECEPTION POINT BY DAN BROWN, Amazon.com Review

DECEPTION POINT BY DAN BROWN

Amazon.com Review
 

     Penzler Pick, December, 2001: In the world of page-turning thrillers, Dan Brown holds a special place in the hearts of many of us. After his first book, Digital Fortress, almost passed me by, he wrote Angels and Demons, which was probably one of the half-dozen most exciting thrillers of last year. It is a pleasure to report that his new book lives up to his reputation as a writer whose research and talent make his stories exciting, believable, and just plain unputdownable.

The time is now and President Zachary Herney is facing a very tough reelection. His opponent, Senator Sedgwick Sexton, is a powerful man with powerful friends and a mission: to reduce NASA's spending and move space exploration into the private sector. He has numerous supporters, including many beyond the businesses who will profit from this because of the embarrassment of 1996, when the Clinton administration was informed by NASA that proof existed of life on other planets. That information turned out to be premature, if not incorrect. (This story is true; I repeat, Dan Brown's research is very, very good.) The embattled president is assured that a rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice will prove to have far-reaching implications on America's space program. The find, however, needs to be verified.

Enter Rachel Sexton, a gister for the National Reconnaissance Office. Gisters reduce complex reports into single-page briefs, and in this case the president needs that confirmation before he broadcasts to the nation, probably ensuring his reelection. It's tricky because Rachel is the daughter of his opponent. Rachel is thrilled to be on the team traveling to the Arctic circle. She is a realist about her father's politics and has little respect for his stand on NASA, but Senator Sexton cannot help but have a problem with her involvement.

Adventure, romance, murder, skullduggery, and nail-biting tension ensue. By the end of Deception Point, the reader will be much better informed about how our space program works and how our politicians react to new information. Bring on the next Dan Brown thriller! --Otto Penzler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Struggling to rebound from a series of embarrassing blunders that have jeopardized its political life at the start of this lively thriller, NASA makes an astounding discovery: there is a meteor embedded deep within the arctic ice. And it isn't just any meteor. Inside the huge rock, which crashed to earth in 1716, are fossils of giant insects proof of extraterrestrial life. Yet, given NASA's slipping reputation, the question arises: Is the meteor real or a fake? That uncertainty dogs NASA and its supporters in Brown's latest page-flipper, a finely polished amalgam of action and intrigue. Trying to determine the truth are intelligence agent Rachel Sexton and popular oceanographer Michael Tolland, both among the first to suspect something is amiss when the meteor is pulled from the ice. Their doubts quickly make them the targets of a mysterious death squad controlled by someone or something that doesn't want the public to hear the meteor may be a fraud. Together, Sexton and Tolland scramble across arctic glaciers, take refuge on ice floes, are rescued by a nuclear submarine, then find themselves trapped aboard a small research vessel off the coast of New Jersey. All the while, the nation's capital is buzzing as to whether NASA has engaged in deception. Or is NASA just a dupe for aerospace companies that have long wanted a bigger share of space contracts? Brown (Angels & Demons) moves into new territory with his latest. It's an excellent thriller a big yet believable story unfolding at breakneck pace, with convincing settings and just the right blend of likable and hateful characters. He's also done his research, folding in sophisticated scientific and military details that make his plot far more fulfilling than the norm.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

For Jana L. Perskie (New York, NY USA)

This review is from: Deception Point (Paperback)

"Deception Point" opens in Washington, DC, during a tight Presidential campaign. The incumbent, a man of strong principles, is a major NASA supporter. His opponent, who is basing his campaign on turning NASA into a private, non-governmental agency, thus saving the US taxpayer billions of dollars annually, is way up in the polls. He is also accepting enormous illegal campaign contributions from private aerospace companies who have billions to gain from the privatization of NASA. After many failures & much spending, NASA is badly in need of a success.

Then a NASA satellite detects a large, high-density rock buried 200 feet below the Milne Ice Shelf on Ellesmere Island, high in the Arctic Circle. NASA scientists determine the rock to be a meteor containing fossils proving that life exists elsewhere in the universe.

To verify the authenticity of the find, the White House sends a team of independent experts to the NASA habisphere, built over the meteor in the Arctic Circle. One of these experts is the intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton, the daughter of Senator Sedgewick Sexton. Senator Sexton is the man running for election against the President of the United States. The plot thickens.

Rachel, while in the Arctic, uncovers what could be scientific trickery - an incredible deception that could cause political and scientific upheaval and cost the President his bid for re-election. When she & her colleagues attempt to investigate further, they are plunged into life threatening danger. To escape assassination they flee for their lives. Their only hope for survival is to discover who is behind this extraordinary plot and expose the truth.

Dan Brown has proven to be one of the top writers in the suspense-thriller genre. The originality of his plots, his amazingly accurate research, and his ability to catch the reader's interest from the get-go and hold it until the last word in the last sentence of the last page, make him an exceptional author. Plus, after completing each of Dan Brown's books, the reader usually comes away from the experience having learned much more than a storyline. I loved "Deception Point" - couldn't put it down. I also highly recommend "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons."

By Jeff Edwards (Twin Falls, Idaho)

This review is from: Deception Point (Paperback)

After reading the INCREDIBLE 'Da Vinci Code' and the equally exciting 'Angels & Demons' I figured I couldn't go wrong with 'Deception Point' and I was 100% RIGHT. Dan Brown is fast becoming one of my all-time favorite authors.

After becoming familiar with Brown's religious thrillers, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that 'Deception Point' was entirely different--but JUST as much fun. If you enjoy stories about conspiracies that are as big as they come, this story is definitely for YOU.

Rachel Sexton works for the Intelligence Community compiling information for the President. The odd twist in this story is that we are coming up on election time and the man poised to snatch the White House from under the feet of current President Zach Herney is none other than Rachel's own estranged Father, Senator Sedgewick Sexton. It takes some time to figure out who is indeed the bad guys in this tale--and trust me, you will probably be wrong anyway--but finding out certainly IS a great deal of the fun here. Rachel is contacted by the President and asked to confirm for his current staff the existence of a Meteor found near the Top of the World. Not just ANY Meteor, either. At first Rachel is stunned that the President would be so forward and ask this of the daughter of his biggest rival. Senator Sexton has been THE single largest thorn in the side of NASA because of their chronic overspending and multi-billion dollar failures--screw-up's that have cost the American taxpayers dearly over the years. President Herney has been one of NASA's biggest supporters, much to his own detriment in the polls lately. Rachel actually HAS been chosen specifically because of her relationship to his rival to make this report. President Herney believes that this discovery will come with a great deal of skepticism, even from his own staff. So who better to make this announcement than the daughter of the man who wants to TAKE the White House from President Herney? Rachel agrees under a few stipulations and is off to an Ice Shelf at the North Pole. This sets the stage for the Mother of ALL Conspiracies, and when you find out the source of WHY it was all hatched, and WHO is behind it, the surprise ought to be rather big (at least it was for me).

Is the Meteorite in fact real, and if not, how could NASA have possibly tricked some of the most brilliant scientific minds of the country? Is the President IN on this possible scandal, or is he a pawn of someone infinitely more devious? And what about Senator Sexton? Is he who he says he is? Are his motives clean and pure, or is he just as bad as those attempting to fraud the world? There are some honest-to-goodness twists & turns you can expect in 'Deception Point' and a few genuine surprises along the way. Always fun and actually quite educational about the workings of NASA and it answers the question of why don't we see more privately funded companies winning contracts to launch into space? Get to know Dan Brown, do it today! You will NOT be disappointed. Highly Recommended.

By Harkius, from Laramie, WY:

This review is from:  Deception Point (Paperback)  

Dan Brown can keep you clutching your book, well into the night, despite your better intentions to put it down. If you have to move, you will take the book with you. To the bathroom, to the breakfast table, even to your important meeting the next day.

Quite possibly one of the best of his generation's storytellers, Dan Brown weaves a fascinating tale of betrayal, military force, and scientific intrigue. All of his books are extremely well researched, combining the facts most of us desire with the what-if that most of us fear. A compelling storyteller with his head in the clouds and his feet on the ground, he is one of his generation's best.

This book doesn't fail to produce. I won't spoil the book for you, but trust me when I tell you not to think that you know what is going on until the end and you have put the book down. It is awesome!

A great read, and highly recommended.