The Cult of Dan Brown

My family and I recently became fans of Dan Brown. Although I discovered him after the tide of adulation for Dan Brown's genius has already swept the world, I am brave enough to say the cult status is not just hype.

The novels, four in all, are basically suspense-thrillers that combine extensive research into history, culture, and the arts as well as techno savvy. His plots are spellbinding and full of unexpected twists that leave the reader in a perpetual edge-of-your-seat status.

The first of the novels that I read, The Da Vinci Code, discusses the fantastic theory of how the male-centric Roman Catholic Church kept the secret of the Holy Grail at bay. However, because of drastic measures taken by the Opus Dei (an actual Catholic sect) to obtain the Holy Grail from its secret keepers, the Priory of Sion (another real society whose members include famous scientific and creative minds as Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci), a university professor along with a cryptologist race against time to protect the legendary Grail.

I was most fascinated with Robert Langdon, the protagonist, as his specialization in the academic world is the science of symbols. His theories were the stuff of my own college major, and I even recall many of the symbols and meanings discussed in the novel from my research as I was doing my thesis. Incidentally, my thesis was founded on hermeneutical phenomenology or the belief that 'human existence is interpretative' [http://www.phenomenologycenter.org/phenom.htm].

But more than his interesting discourse on what ordinary objects mean interpretatively, Langdon is notable because he is a made-for-the-movies kind of character. You could clearly imagine Harrison Ford or Sean Connery taking on the role with panache.

Apart from creating a superb character, Dan Brown also triumphs in this novel for his very descriptive tour of Paris and the Louvre. Anybody who dreams of visiting the Louvre or seeing the sights of Paris will find the book as visual as any guidebook.

The second novel, Angels and Demons, is a personal favorite. This novel for me surpasses the more popular The Da Vinci Code for its subject matter development and strong plot.

The book brings life to the ageless debate of science versus religion. However, it provides a richer and much broader discussion as it details historical events that support each side. On the one hand, science which is represented here by CERN -- the historical inventor of the internet -- maintains that it can find a way to explain where life began through exploring matter and anti-matter. The Roman Catholic Church, however, obviously supports the theory that life began with a Supreme Being, even going to the extent of accepting the Big Bang Theory with the condition that before the momentous explosion occurred, there was already a God. Controversies concerning the Iluminati, papal deaths, as well as the persecution of pro-science advocates centuries past liven up this rollercoaster-ride of a plot.

The fictional journey of Robert Langdon, who reappears here with a new 'leading lady', to save the Vatican from an unknown group who have obtained the CERN-developed anti-matter is but icing on the cake.

The third and fourth novels, Deception Point and Digital Fortress, do not provide the same excitement and philosophical adventures as the earlier two but generate interest on things techie just the same. The former puts the spotlight on NASA and its contributions to the world, while the latter is a conspiracy theorist bible highlighting US government web espionage activities.

I urge those tired of the senseless babble of TV and the formulaic products of the film industry to read these books.