Writing is a solitary existence. Making a movie is controlled chaos - thousands of moving parts and people. Every decision is a compromise. If you're writing and you don't like how your character looks or talks, you just fix it. But in a movie, if there's something you don't like, that's tough.
I'm somebody who likes codes and ciphers and chases and artwork and architecture, and all the things you find in a Robert Langdon thriller.
I'm constantly trying to keep people guessing as to what I'm doing, and I will spend enormous amounts of time looking at manuscripts and asking questions, and people will say, 'I know what his next book is about.'
Writing is a solitary journey, so I am always excited to go out on book tour and meet readers one-on-one.
Nobody has ever convinced me that ancient aliens have visited Earth. Not even close.
It's not about what you tell the reader, it's about what you conceal.
It's probably an intellectual weakness, but I look at the stars, and I say, 'There's something bigger than us out there.'
The more science I studied, the more I saw that physics becomes metaphysics and numbers become imaginary numbers. The farther you go into science, the mushier the ground gets. You start to say, 'Oh, there is an order and a spiritual aspect to science.'
I've learned that universal acceptance and appreciation is just an unrealistic goal.