Deception Point

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

Deception Point Review

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.

More & Buy! Cheap Deception Point