I’m a big fan of Umberto Eco. His tale of cabalistic intrigue, Foucault’s Pendulum, is very near the top of my favorites list (and that’s saying a lot, considering that my favorites tend to be from the fantasy genre). My first reading of it in the late 90s left me scratching my head to some extent (I’m a smart guy, but Mr. Eco is leaps and bounds beyond me), but it did reignite my interest in the Knights Templar, Illuminati, Rosicrucians and other secret Orders of conspiratorial repute. I was really into all of that as a teenager (perhaps because of my exposure to the Necronomicon shortly after being introduced to Dungeons & Dragons) Ultimately, it was Eco that caused me to break down and buy Brown.I normally don’t go for the current phenomenon of the printed world. I have yet to read any of the Harry Potter books and doubt that I ever will, though I did see the movies (and own the DVDs). The overnight success of the Da Vinci Code put it sqaure on my list of Books to Stay Away From (though I decided to see the movie as soon as it was first announced). Like “Harry Potter” and “J.K. Rowlings”, I kept hearing “Da Vinci Code” and “Dan Brown” every time I turned around. Even here in Korea. And then I started seeing Umberto Eco’s name coming up in Da Vinci Code reviews and comparisons being drawn. I was highly skeptical that such a popular book could come anywhere near Eco’s level, but my curiosity was finally aroused.I took a trip to the local bookstore to hop on the back of the bandwagon. It was there I learned that Robert Langdon appeared in another Dan Brown novel prior to DVC, one called Angels & Demons. Hating come into a seried out of sequence (I had to read all of the Jack Ryan books chronologically - and I only read those because I’m a huge fan of Harrison Ford), I bought both. Much to my surprise, I finished Angels & Demons in two sessions (it would have been one if I’d not had errands to run). I have since started on DVC, but I’m reading it in small chunks when I have free time.
The fun part for me in these types of books is seeing how the author brings the theories, myths and legends together. The “Path of Illumination” in A & D, for example, and “The Plan” in Foucault’s Pendulum. Eco lays the pieces of the puzzle out as he goes along, but in such a way that they are hard to put together. Brown gives you the obvious, teases you with the possibility of something else, and pulls the rug out from under you with something you didn’t see coming. From that perspective, I see Eco’s work as more of an intellectual exercise and Brown’s as entertainment. It helps if the book is well written. On that count, Eco wins I think. Some of the dialogue in Brown’s books is rather cheesy (particularly the “witty banter” portions).
Another thing I like is some of the minute facts that come out in such stories. For example, Foucault’s Pendulum is littered with obscure historical references that turn up more information with research (one of the fascinating points of Eco’s work is how he expertly wove so much history and legend into a cohesive “Plan”). While Eco’s work has been described as “encyclopedic”, Brown’s has been more controversial (apparently some people have a hard time distinguishing fact from fiction, perhaps another reason why Eco does not appeal to the masses). But I’m enjoying little things Brown brings up, such as etymology references (such as that of the word “villain” and it’s relationship to the word “pagan“). That’s the sort of thing that most people would never learn. Learning through entertainment is much more interesting that learning through research.
Anway, I enjoyed A & D and I am finding DVC to be enjoyable as well. But I think the popularity of DVC arises from its subject matter and the controversy surrounding it more than from its artisitc merits (as is usually the case with massively popular literature and why I usually don’t bother). Neither book will make it on my personal top list. I also don’t see myself picking up any of Brown’s other current novels - though I would be interested in any future Robert Langdon stories he might put together.
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