I seldom get the impression of reading the same book again. Even weirder when you read the 'sequel' before the current book.
Half-way into one of Dan Brown's (the author of the Da Vinci code) other opuses, Angels & Demons, and into 3 murders already (out of 5 supposedly), the similarities are striking:
- the main character is Robert Langdon, the - same - Harvard professor running around Paris in the Code. He is assisted - again - by a lovely lady, daughter - again - of the first murdered character - again - and very knowledgeable about her father's work (Vittoria here is some kind of particle physicist...)
- the plot deals with an -again- obscure brotherhood from medieval times (the Illuminati - traces all over the web...), trying to destroy the Vatican -again-; followers of the brotherhood are very well connected (read infiltrated into the upper ranks of society), with links to the Masons, and almost brain-washed followers. Both brotherhoods use expert killers, and descriptions of both brotherhoods are said to be factual in the preface.
- Langdon is woken up in the middle on the night -again- and is supposed to follow a plot, and like in a mistery trail -again-, follows hints found in art; each new discovery leads to the next (here it starts somehow at the Vatican Archives)
- murders are committed with a complex symbological set up
- etc. I'll update this post when I finish the book, but coincidences are all over
And if you are into conspiracy theories, a very similar story can be found in the cartoon series "Le Triangle Secret" (8 volumes). Another very disturbing book is close to the plot in this story: 'In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I' - many unswered questions and details with a background of conspiracy by Banco Ambrosiano, Masonic Lodge P2, Opus Dei, etc...
I am sure these stories are going to make great action/suspense fiction films. I understand from the web that the Da Vinci Code is already being planned; the books have a fantastic kind of ambiance, such as those found in the great 'Silence of the Lambs' or the less good but still interesting 'Seven'.
Has anyone read both books ?
Don't get me wrong. Even this one is VERY entertaining (give it a try Pascal !)...
