Dan Brown's Template
By spiderman05
@spiderman05 (851)
Canada
April 12, 2007 11:19pm CST
As I mentioned in another discussion, I have read all of Dan Brown's books. After doing so, I could not help but notice that Dan Brown has used almost the same template in all his novels. These are some common points that have caught my attention:
-All the stories last 24 hours.
-The stories start by an expert in some field receiving a phone call and then being taken generally to a distant place on the globe.
-The investigation leads to a collaboration between a man and a woman, both of them experts in their respective fields and smart.
-There is a boss or some kind of authority who sometimes turns out to be the person who has orchestrated all the crimes.
-There are some bad guys (or just a single guy) who execute the order of this boss and who are generally mentioned very briefly at least at the beginning of the book. Some characters acting in the dark.
-A love story starts between the two main characters of the novel as the investigation progresses.
-The story ends in a bedroom occupied by the two main characters teasing each other.
These are the similarities between Dan Brown's novels that I can think of right now. Maybe you can add some to this list. On the other hand, I don't know why is Dan Brown always sticking to the same template? Could it be laziness or could it be that he does not want to change a template that sells well?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@gsotes62 (70)
• Philippines
8 Dec 07
It's cool you noticed that too. But I don't think there is anything wrong with it. It is his own work, his own idea, and he can use it for as many times as he wants. Every author has his/her own style, and this is Dan Brown's style. He can use it as much as he wants, and as long as it sells.
It's the same with actors. Somehow they retain a fixed style in whatever movie they are in.
@spiderman05 (851)
• Canada
14 Dec 07
Thank you for your reply. True, it is his own work, but it gets a bit boring after reading almost the same thing over and over again. Innovation and creativity is still a good thing.
@ram_cv (16513)
• India
11 Nov 07
I absolutely agree with you that he seems to have a template and only the surroundings and the actual individuals seem to change. Once I had read Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, I was able to predict everything about Digital Fortress and Deception Point.
I think it is high time Dan starts thinking of a different template else his fan club would start to waver.
Cheers!
Ram
1 person likes this
@spiderman05 (851)
• Canada
21 Nov 07
You are right, Dan Brown has become predictable. I am still waiting for his new book to come out. It was planned for fall 2007, but very probably it will not be out before 2008.
@sigma77 (5383)
• United States
13 Apr 07
He is probably using the same template because it works. His books keep selling and as long as they do, he will probably stick to this format. Since he had the huge best seller, he now has a following of avid readers that will religiously read anything he writes, regardless if it is a good book or not.
1 person likes this
@spiderman05 (851)
• Canada
13 Apr 07
I am wondering if his coming novel will follow the same template too. But sooner or later readers will get bored from reading the same things.
@zenmachado (1617)
• United States
10 Feb 08
I have also seen that he uses the same template. Yet I dont find it unappealing. I find that each time the story itself is strong enough to have it be more than its "twist's". They are rather thrilling and entertaining, and from Brown, that is all that I require. Not really seeking much cerebral pondering from him.
@shadowcat_018 (835)
• Philippines
15 Apr 07
i don't know how you noticed it... i only have read angels and demons and da vinci code and its the has what you said on your points... i have to read the deception point to really know for sure that it all has the same plot... great thinking! ;)
1 person likes this
@spiderman05 (851)
• Canada
15 Apr 07
I started by reading Angels and demons, then DAC and thought that the similarities were simply due to the fact that both novels are slightly related. But then, I noticed this pattern in all his other novels.
