IX Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2017

Let’s talk about the most mysterious author of our generation. Dan Brown – who is he? Dan Brown, best-selling author of 'The Da Vinci Code' was born on June 22, 1964. In 2005 Brown was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME Magazine. His novels are published in 52 languages around the world, with 200 million copies in print.

Brown’s sudden transition to writing full-time occured during a vacation in Tahiti, in 1993, when he read “The Doomsday Conspiracy”, a novel by Sidney Sheldon, and was inspired to become a writer of thrillers.

Brown then started working on Digital Fortress, setting much of it in Seville, where he had studied in 1985. It was eventually published in 1998, but was not an immediate success.

Centered on clandestine organizations and code breaking, the novel nevertheless became a model for Brown’s later works.

In between writing his suspense novels, Brown and his wife released books on humor, under the pseudonym Danielle Brown.

Brown subsequently wrote Angels & Demons and Deception Point, released in 2000 and 2001 respectively, the former of which was the first to feature the lead character, Harvard symbology expert Robert Langdon.

Brown’s fourth book, The Da Vinci Code, a thriller that centres on art history, the origins of Christianity, and arcane theories proved to be an immidiate success, reaching the top of the New York Times Best Seller list and selling over 60 million copies.

In 2006 The Da Vinci Code was adapted to the big screens in a production that had Ron Howard as director, Tom Hanks starring as Robert Langdon, and a long list of talented actors portraying the remaining characters.

Brown himself was credited as an executive producer and as a writer for the movie.

The Da Vinci Code caught the media’s attention.

Many religious instititues presented the book as “Anti-Christian” (while Brown himself declared he is Christian), and someone even claimed that Brown plagarised the idea behind the Holy Grail from a book entitled Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Brown won the case in 2007.

Brown’s third novel featuring Robert Langdon, The Lost Symbol, was released on September 2009. Initial plans to turn this novel into a movie have been put on hold. The novel features the fraternity of Freemasons as well as a branch of psychic science known as Noetic science. It deals with the little-known legend of the Ancient Mysteries.

Dan Brown’s latest book, Inferno, saw Langdon following clues related to Dante’s poem The Divine Comedy in an effort to stop the release of a plague.

The American actor Tom Hanks will reprise his role as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon in May for the film version of Dan Brown’s latest bestseller Inferno.

Hanks is joined by Felicity Jones, who will play the role of Dr. Sienna Brooks, and by the actors Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan, and Sidse Babett Knudsen.

What are the specific features of Brown’s writing style? In the sound-like-Brown genre the stakes are high, the scruples are absent and the copycatting is out of control. The much-borrowed Brown formula involves some very extraordinary things. The name of a great artist, artifact or historical figure must be in the book’s story, not to mention on its cover. The narrative must start in the present day with a bizarre killing, then use that killing as a reason to investigate the past. And the past must yield a secret so big, so stunning, so saber-rattling that all of civilization may be changed by it. Probably not for the better.

For example, his novel “The Da Vinci Code” The characters in Dan Brown novels definitely get around. (We're talking about geographically. Get your mind out of the gutter.)

So even though our story starts in the heart of Paris, Langdon and Sophie go to a Chateau in Condécort (France), then over to London via private plane, and then up to Rosslyn, which is just outside of Edinburgh, Scotland.

They basically take an awesome European vacation—they see all the great sights, but then never get to actually relax and enjoy them. (To be fair, their trip is a little more stressful than, say, having to go to three museums in one day.)

And these locations weren't picked willy-nilly. They're all the sites of some pretty significant cultural edifices: the Louvre, Chateau Villette, Temple Church, Westminster Abbey, and Rosslyn Chapel are all testaments to the amazing things humans can create when they're at their best.

But, because you might be having a hard time picturing the most important setting, (you know: where the Holy Grail is hidden) we thought we'd help you out. At the end of the book, Langdon wakes up with the realization that he finally knows where Saunière hid the Holy Grail. His clue reads: "The Holy Grail 'neath ancient Roslin waits / Adorned in masters' loving art, She lies. / The blade and chalice guarding O'er Her gates, / She rests at last beneath the starry skies."

Langdon figures out that the old curator had hidden the Holy Grail right under the place where he could look after it on a daily basis: the Louvre.

So, the "Roslin" he's referring to is the Rose Line, which runs right through the museum. And "Adorned in masters' loving art"? refers to the insane art collection housed at the Louvre. The "blade and chalice" he's referring to reside right in the museum's entryway, and they're pretty hard to miss: And because they're made out of glass, the "starry skies" are easily visible from below.

In my opinion, it’s important for author to be not only published but filmed. I mean results of Brown’s authorship is something new for a reader. When you open his book, you dig into the atmosphere of mysteries, secrets and investigations. Of course, there are a lot of talented detective writers as Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe etc. But Dan Brown is not just a detectives’ writer, he has also his own writing style. He often mentions modern technology of investigation in his writing. He keeps up with the time.

Apparently, Brown’s writings teach us something about the real world. His great thrillers also contain at its core a thought-provoking ethical debate or moral dilemma.

To sum up, I would like to notice that Dan Brown is the main adherent of thriller fiction. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving readers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. So that’s why all his writings keep us on tenterhooks.

References

1. The New York Times;

2. Dan Brown “The Da Vinci Code”;

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/.

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