The Lost Symbol

Oh dear. I have casually enjoyed Dan Brown's other tomes; however, The Lost Symbol didn't even have that brain candy charm. Tense scenes were frequently interrupted by several page long asides of dubious relevance. The so-called science was hilariously awful and the end of the book suspense revolved in part around the fear that someone would exsanguinate through a “medical needle” placed in a vein in the antecubital fossa (i.e. venipuncture.) Luckily, that part was so ill-paced that the character was saved before I had to waste too much time screaming about how infeasible it was to be killed by an IV.

The core plot – many important men in Washington are Free Masons, a group that has left hidden symbols all over Washington DC and celebrates human life – was far less intriguing than Brown's other books.

Overall – this was in SORE need of an editor and a fact checker.

En realidad, este libro se merece un 3.8

Comencé a leerlo con muchas ganas y entusiasmo porque me pareció interesante y cautivador, pero conforme pasaron las páginas, se volvió terriblemente extraño y confuso. Mal'akh es un personaje al cual no comprendo del todo. Sus motivaciones son muy extrañas y con cuando la historia llega a su clímax, se vuelve aún más.

Lo que no me gustó es que la historia decayera en el final pues todo pareció sacado de un volante de ciencia noética. Sin embargo, reconozco que el autor se esmeró con este trabajo, aunque creo que no es el mejor de sus obras (al menos, de las que he leído hasta ahora)

Dan Brown has done it again.

Brown weaves together characters that don't behave like real humans, dialogue that is decidedly unnatural, and absurd amounts of pointless information (in not-so-cleverly placed info dumps) into a paradoxically engrossing thriller. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger because for some reason every character wants to hold onto every last bit of information until the last possible second. One thing that I will give Brown credit for here is that the female lead is not there just for Langdon to ogle, and so she actually is a useful character.

As always, Dan Brown writes utter garbage that is impossible to put down.

While I loved this book, it was not as good as either De Vinci or Angels and Demons. The pace was great and it made me think, but there seemed to be more unneeded plot twists then in the previous books. Dont get me wrong, I loved it and will read his next without doubt.. I just think Brown set the bar very high with his last 2 books.

The Lost Symbol is the third Dan Brown book about the character Robert Langdon. Dan Brown books seem to follow a pattern in the Style they are written. Because of this, if you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code you will probably enjoy The Lost Symbol. The chapters are short making it easy to read the book in small chunks one chapter at a time. What is lacking is the surprise of the other Robert Langdon stories. Many of the twist and surprises are predictable. The central focus in The Lost Symbol is Washington D.C. and The Masons. After finishing 1/4 of the book I had already figured out who the villain is and where The Lost Symbol was hidden. Many of the problems with this book are the same problems the movie versions of the last two Robert Langdon stories and I think that was Dan Brown's intention in order to make the book more movie script friendly. Even though I enjoyed The Lost Symbol, I only gave it three stars because I felt it could have been better if a movie version had not been thought about while writing the book.

I have to admit I only made it 300 pages in. This is easily the worst book I have ever read. I really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code as well as Angels and Demons, and while I can admit neither are great works of literature they were both enjoyable reads. This book, on the other hand, is a boring, ridiculously written piece of crap. I cannot stress enough how unbelievable, cheesy and slow this poorly written book is.

There has been such a lot of hype surrounding this books release that in anticipation of it I ensured I had finished my previous read so that on release day I could dive straight in.

The book begins when Robert Landon is called to Washington DC to deliver a key notes speech for his old mentor Peter Solomon, but when he gets there he finds his old friend has been kidnapped and possibly killed by a phsychotic madman who wants Langdon to dechiper an ancient mystery that is hidden in the city......sorry is this sounding familiar. Yes it probably is and that's because in no way is The Lost Symbol anything new, it is very very firmly written in the same formulaic manner as both Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

It is almost as though off the back of the massive money spinning success of those two books his publishers have got in touch and said can you do 500 pages in this amount of time for $XX million, be sure to include the ususal old favourites such as intelligent damsel in distress, Robert Landon trying to unravel strange old mystery, phsychotic madman on the loose threatening and chasing said Professor Langdon, old friend with mysterious past linked to ancient organisation, police detective who seems to be helping/hindering the investigation for unknown reasons. When I write it down in as simple a way as that it becomes evident that Brown is fast running out of creative ideas.

I am sure that a big budget blockbuster of this movie starring Mr Hanks will be along in around 18 months or so, it will probably translate well onto the big screen. It will no doubt sell billions of copies worldwide by the time it's paperback release takes place. I find it dissapointing however that this now ranks as the fastest selling book of all time - this is a diservice to the outstanding work that JK Rowling produced in Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows which was a truly awe inspiring novel. In no way is this book evidently produced for the quick sell mass market a patch on Rowlings last Potter book which previously held that accolade.

I read the first two Robert Langdon novels, Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code. After these books, you develop an expectation for a story involving the tweed-clad symbologist. You have a treasure hunt through an significant city (or cities) filled with secrets, an intelligent woman that is emotionally tied to the plot, and a game-changing plot twist.

The Lost Symbol delivers on these three expectations, but does not live up to the other two books in other ways. First of all, Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, while somewhat controversial, still seem somewhat grounded in comparison to The Lost Symbol. Without giving anything away, The Lost Symbol is extremely mystical in tone, from the exploration of the “science” of Noetics to the conclusions reached during the conclusion of the story.

Also, the two main plot twists were pretty clear to me from about halfway through the story. I'm not sure if I have just adjusted to Dan Brown's writing style after reading two of his other books, or whether he just dropped way too many hints in this story. Obviously you don't want plot twists to come out of thin air, but at the same time if they are totally transparent there is no point in presenting them as shocking plot twists.

In conclusion, this book wasn't terrible, but it doesn't live up to the former two books. If you really enjoyed those two books, then this book will not waste your time. I enjoyed the ride while it lasted, but it definitely left a sour taste in my mouth at the end.

I do enjoy Dan Brown's writing, which I know is a bit of a faux-pas in the reading community, at least the ones I've been involved in. It's just one of those authors I can just sit down with, turn some of my brain off, and just enjoy an adventure with some mysticism sprinkled in.  ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Dan Brown found a formula, and reuses it ad infinitum, and honestly? I don't mind that. I have ADHD, some reliability here and there is nice ;)

Hmmm...This book was mildly entertaining, but nowhere nearly as fun as “Angels and Demons” or “The Davinci Code”. Maybe it's the fact that the story is set in Washington, D.C. rather than Rome or Paris, or perhaps it's because the central mystery involves Freemasonry instead of more specifically Christian themes, but I found myself saying, “Eh, who cares?”

This on was close to the standard set by dan brown in his very first book ‘the davinci code'..not somebody to miss out on a langdon adventure this one was a far better ride than his second one ‘angels and demons' in which we saw our favourite professor turned into a crossbreed between indiana jones and jason bourne...what worked magic for dan brown was his extra ordinary talent on plotting tales in such a way that it could make even a veteran historian enter a state of confusion and to recheck whatever he studied again to reassure himself that the so called facts mentioned in the story are just a part of a cleverly plotted story-line.I hope he keeps up the standard with his upcoming works too...

This was my first Dan Brown experience, and what a wowzer. The way he builds up suspense, while still being very informative on trivial subjects - I almost felt I was watching a movie. Dan has a very movie script-like writing, but his concise descriptions are amazing.

The cliffhangers at the end of every chapter left me hooked with interest in the pages that followed. I would say the most captivating is that all the mystery, puzzles and search for the hidden symbols in our History are actually based on real events. I would sometimes stop reading to just Google an image or to try and complete the puzzles on my own to see if I could find something by myself.

As an atheist and a scientist alike, this book - although semi-fictional - completely changed my once 100% negative view on religion because it gave me an identifiable logic with all the cultures around the world. The pure concept of faith and inner spirituality changed for me, and only Dan is the culprit.

I loved the Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and Inferno movies, so I bought the book to check out Dan's skill, and the moment I saw pictograms of puzzles, I instantly bought it.

The third book with Robert Langdon back in the spotlight after Angels and Demons and the Da Vinci Code was indeed an addictive novel that I could never put down. Reading it in four days, this book had the same elements that Dan Brown always incorporates in his books: suspense, thrills and alluring details that captivate the mind. In this book, Robert is urgently sent to Washington D.C to give a speech in front of his dear friend Peter Solomon and his colleagues. Little did he know that it was a hoax set up by a power hungry man named Mal'ahk who disguises himself as different people to get his way. Peter Solomon, a wealthy Mason has everything that people want, power and money. Mal'ahk on the other hand, wants the wisdom that is stored within the pyramid, handed down to the masonic family from generation to generation. To keep the summary vague, Mal'ahk goes through all measures to get what he wants and once again, Robert goes on another life-risking journey to save his friend and the secrets of the free masons.

Ho appena finito di digerire, anzi forse è meglio dire metabolizzare, il tomo da 600 pagine, il libro più lungo che Dan Brown ha scritto fino adesso.

Il primo impatto è: bello, mi è piaciuto. Devo dire che mi è anche più garbato del Codice e sicuramente più di Angeli e Demoni, che secondo me non era proprio un degno seguito del Codice. Se andiamo a guardare devo dire che Dan Brown sta migliorando scrivendo, invece che peggiorando come molti scrittori alle prese con lo stesso personaggio in più libri. Non so quanto questo sia dovuto al team che probabilmente ora collabora con lui e lo supporta nelle ricerche e nelle scritture. Ma sinceramente poco importa se il risultato è un bel thriller pieno di simbologia mistica e occulta che ti invoglia a proseguire con la lettura e cosa forse più importante a “cerchicchiare” qua e la su Google, immagini, dipinti, storie. Perchè forse questo è la cosa che mi ha sempre più affascinato dei libri di Brown, la voglia che mi mette addosso di cercare un luogo dove si svolge la parte di una trama, un riferimento misterioso o un quadro citato.

Devo anche dire che sono rimasto piacevolmente colpito anche dal fatto che molti passaggi di questo libro siano sconfinati in un noir più che un thriller e qualche spezzone mi ha ricordato in qualche modo anche la serie cinematografica di Saw.

Certo il dipanarsi della storia è sempre stata uguale nei tre libri con al centro la figura del professore Robert Langdon, mistero da risolvere, personaggio malvagio, ambientazione avventurosa e molta, tanta simbologia. Come già  ho detto per il Codice in passato, credo che questa sia da leggere non come un compendio di sapere (anche se può esserci effettivamente qualche spunto su cui riflettere) ma semplicemente come un buon thriller a sfondo simbolico mistico. Mi piace il personaggio di Langdon, mi piace la simbologia che trovo in questi libri, mi piace lo stile di scrittura non tra i più raffinati, ma non è che stiamo cercando di leggere Proust e mi piace la curiosità  che suscitano in me questi libri.

E' un mix coinvolgente come un buon cocktail che non si può certo dire che non sia stato sapientemente mescolato. Aspetterò anche il film, sicuramente già  in fase di “produzione”.