One of the biggest problems is that all of the characters are stereotypical and quite often strawmen. The senator could have been an interesting antagonist, if only he wasn't a walking cliche. Affairs with his staff, hypocritical about family values, back-alley dealing for illegal campaign contributions - you name it, he did it. He does all this to make his strawman support of privatizing space exploration easier for Dan Brown to defeat.
This isn't to say the book is bad, it has a very good premise and is interesting enough to keep you reading, as long as you aren't looking for a timeless classic. It could have been a good book if it had better prose and wasn't used as a soapbox by the author.
Not that bad, but not that great
Have you read Digital Fortress or Angels And Demons? Then you've read Deception Point. The plot sequence is basically the same thing, including the reveal regarding who the Master Mind is as well as their motivations.
One of the biggest problems is that all of the characters are stereotypical and quite often strawmen. The senator could have been an interesting antagonist, if only he wasn't a walking cliche. Affairs with his staff, hypocritical about family values, back-alley dealing for illegal campaign contributions - you name it, he did it. He does all this to make his strawman support of privatizing space exploration easier for Dan Brown to defeat.
This isn't to say the book is bad, it has a very good premise and is interesting enough to keep you reading, as long as you aren't looking for a timeless classic. It could have been a good book if it had better prose and wasn't used as a soapbox by the author.