The Dan Brown Challenge

Dan Brown, of DaVinci Code fame, has a new book that is due to be released fairly soon, if it isn't out already. I've read his two well-known books and two of his lesser known titles. After reading the last book, I have a theory about the ending of Brown's new book. I don't know what the book is about or what the title even is, but here is my official prediction of the story line:

There's a beautiful girl involved, a man that is older, and a man whose age falls between the two. He might or might not be as beautiful as the leading lady. The older man is a mentor or father figure to one of the two. There is action during which the young couple falls for each other. They are involved in an extremely complicated line of work, only normally undertaken by someone incredibly brilliant. In fact, brilliant may be an understatement. They are on the brink of disaster, skirting danger and death which are dealt to them by an unknown hand. It's could be someone equally as old as the father figure/mentor, but who will obviously gain from the failures of the beautiful brilliant couple. And then, in the end, it will be discovered that the father figure was the bad guy all along. In his defense, he was motivated by some noble virtue and was attempting to protect an institution for which he cared deeply. This, when combined with too much zeal, made him cross over to the Dark Side. He ends up either being killed or sacrificing himself to save either one of the other main characters. The lovely couple rides off into the sunset. The end.

If I am wrong, I will go without Coke for a month. Anyone who reads the new book can post the end of the book as a comment and I won't publish it. For those of you who wish read yet another Dan Brown novel, I won't be a spoil sport. Or maybe I'll publicize when I will be posting so that you know not to read my blog that day. Either way, I will need someone to tell me the story line and ending since I'm not going to be reading the book.

I understand that writing a novel is difficult, to say the very least. Well written dialogue takes such skillful use of the language that a good author can follow the maxim "Don't say it, show it" with their characters' interactions. I haven't figured out how to do that yet. Writing dialogue requires an understanding of how people converse in various settings as well as how that best comes across in writing. Brown's characters are well written, believable, memorable, and evoke from the reader either empathy or a desire to emulate.

In addition, the depth of Dan Brown's knowledge and research are apparent in the story lines he creates. However, one could ask whether such an immense amount of detail in a novel adds to it's complexity or, instead, showcases the knowledge of the author as an individual. Action thrillers are not meant to drag on like the songs and genealogies of The Lord of the Rings. Back story, supporting details, and creating suspense are one thing. When I start to forget that the book is a mystery and not a narrative on the NSA, computer codes and software, it's a bad sign.

I won't bore you with my opinion of Brown's treatment of the Catholic Church and the mainstream media's attempts in the movies to push an agenda that tears down faith wherever they find it. Okay, so maybe you know my opinion now, but that's just the tip of the iceburg as far as the two movies are concerned. It has relatively little to do with my theory.

You should know that I can't stand diet Coke; it's huge that I am willing to go without Coke. I am just that confident that Dan Brown won't change the SOPs that have made him so well-known.

Here's what to do if you're up for the challenge: Post a comment stating whether or not you agree with my prediction. Come up with something you're willing to go without if you lose and post that, too. We're all adults here, so we'll use the honor system. I haven't read the book; obviously, you'll need to cast your vote before you read the book.

The only caveat is that my month without Coke has to end before Christmas. Everybody knows that "Christmas Coke" tastes better. Maybe it's those cute little polar bears and penguins on the commercial preaching world peace that bring tears to my eyes or maybe it's that adorable vintage Santa on the Coke can. Whichever it is, I don't want to miss out. I'm just saying...