FOREWARNIG...
...Hey Everyone! I'm coming to you live from my couch, post-surgery from getting my wisdom teeth out! Let's see how this goes, as I am on painkillers and every time I stare at the computer screen I REALLY want to go to sleep. (NOTE: this is my third attempt to log in and finish my post today and I keep dozing off, but I am bound determined to get this post completed!)...
Dan Brown exemplifies suspense in and of itself within his Robert Langdon Series. No one would want to read these books without suspense, and I honestly don't see how one possibly could write books like Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol and my latest and greatest (also current) read Inferno. He ties together SO many different styles and underlying tones throughout his books that they appeal to a widespread audience. MY particular preference that shines through is the conspiracy element. I wouldn't go so far as to necessarily call it a "conspiracy-novel", but it's those elements within the book that really excels it suspense factors and thus the plot.
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...Sorry! Dozed off...Ok, more like crashed. That's an hour and a half I'll never get back... oh well, I'm back and ready to finish! But there's another round of painkiller meds in 7 minutes, so it's not looking very promising)...
One of Dan Brown's signature moves in his books is the ever famous "to be continued..." ending of a chapter or scene and then you as the reader hurry up and turn to the next page and it isn't talking about anything related to what you were just reading about. Then, he gets you hooked on another big seemingly storyline twist and then he'll sometimes end up switching back to that first "to be continued..." ending, which you're happy to have finally found out, but then you're mad because you want to know what's going on now. It's a seemingly vicious, irritating cycle, but it definitely holds readers' attention.
"'I can't get a signal,' Sienna said, climbing down from the light well and coming toward him.
'You don't need one,' Langdon managed. 'The gilded *mouseion of holy wisdom ...' He took a deep breath. 'I ... made a mistake.'
Sienna went pale. 'Don't tell me we're in the wrong museum.'
'Sienna,' Langdon whispered, feeling ill. 'We're in the wrong country.'" (Inferno 72%)
This is obviously a very "suspenseful" ending to CHAPTER 75. However, the opening line to CHAPTER 76 is
"Out in St. Mark's Square, the Gypsy woman selling Venetian masks was taking a break, leaning against the outer wall of the basilica to rest..." (Inferno 73%).
This particular entrance does in fact end up relating to the previous events, just set up through a bystander's point of view, however Brown doesn't at first make it appear that way. This is another of his strategies, where he changes the character point of views who often aren't even named, yet sometimes it's often humorous to hear the crazy events surrounding Langdon and his companions' adventures through just an ordinary bystander because it is often very "WHAT in the WORLD!? Those people are crazy! Should I call the police, or act like I don't see them... Crazy Americans..."
or something to that effect.
I hope that you find this intriguing and plan to try out one of Dan Brown's books now. On a side note, you do not necessarily need to read them in order, but if you do, you will sometimes understand witty commentary throughout the books that are technically "sequels". The Robert Langdon series is as follows:
Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol and Inferno
Well folks, we survived this round of pain meds! Now if you'll excuse me, I.....
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Check out this interview with Dan Brown on Inferno, his writing style/quirks, etc.
*NOTE: I realize this is a really weird looking word and my spell-check thinks I'm crazy, but that is how it's written in the book, and it's some kind of archaic art history something or other that over time transformed into the modern day "museum".
Oh! I can't stand how suspenseful it is when authors end a chapter with a cliffhanger and then start the next chapter with an entirely different scene. I've never read Dan Brown before.
ReplyDeleteLet's just take a moment and appreciate your lovely writing style. I love how you bring in some of your own life into the blog and they don't side-track from the main point: the book. Rick Riordan does this same writing style. The tragic cliff-hanger and poof! the next chapter is totally different. Then the readers are like "Noo, why must you do this to me?!" And they get over it and keep reading so they can figure out the rest of the cliff hanger or they can be lazy and skip the chapter and keep moving on. But what's the fun in that? Great post! I'll plan on reading Dan Brown's book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about Rick Riordan's style. I think part of the reason that this occurs is because he employs the same semi-aggravating technique as Dan Brown at times, and that is where when we enter a new chapter, it is being told from a different character's point of view. Hey, I know I just kind of slammed this technique, but even though it is annoying it makes for AWESOME stories:)
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