http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&c=3&locID=stc23378&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=Dan+Brown&TI=Angels+And+Demons&finalAuth=true
My first secondary source article I used is titled "The Formula: The Novels of Dan Brown". It was a lengthy article that covered an array of literary techniques used by Dan Brown. Also it compares the similarities and differences between four of Brown's novels. The essay was written before The Lost Symbol was published. The main techniques I found are the formula, characters and time-scheme.
The Formula: The formula for Brown's novels, in the eye's of Doris L. Eder (article author), it begins with a corpse being found in an extraordinary position. In Angels and Demons, the novel starts with the body of Vittoria's dad found in his lab with an ancient ambigram branded onto his chest. An example of the formula in another work by Brown can be found in Deception Point. A geologist is hurled from a helicopter to his death in the opening pages of the novel. Moreover Brown ends all of his novels with a romantic engagement to help bring the plot in full circle. My article spoiled it for me, but apparently Robert and Vittoria are together in the end of Angels and Demons. In Digital Fortress it concludes with a romantic encounter between David Becker and Susan Fletcher, the novels to main characters.
Characters: Next are the consistent use of dark, eerie antagonists in all of his novels. Angels and Demons has the Arab Hassasin, who has the tendency to creep around dark areas and sometimes drops off the body of a dead cardinal in a church. Comparatively, in The Da Vinci Code the antagonist is a self-mortifying albino monk named Silas. On the other hand, the lead characters are always a male and female protagonist. There are Robert and Vittoria (Angels and Demons), Susan and David (The Digital Fortress) Rachel and Micheal (Deception Point) and Robert and Sophie (The Da Vinci Code). Every female protagonist in Brown's stories also share similar personality traits, such as: beautiful, brainy, quick-witted, resourceful, courageous and vulnerable.
Time-Scheme: Lastly, all of Brown's novels take place over a very short period of time. Angels & Demons starts with a call from Switzerland at 5:18am and the antimatter is set to blow up at midnight the same day. In the course of a single day, Robert travels from New York to Geneva, Switzerland to the Vatican City and all around Italy. Brown's other work Digital Fortress takes place over a Saturday and a Sunday and The Da Vinci Code takes place over two days. He even offers advice to other authors struggling to be published to write their story lines with a time deadline. Hes been quoted saying "nothing intensifies dramatic tension like time pressure".
