Product Description

Book with masonic content

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-15
• Released on: 2009-09-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 528 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Vehicles move through the murky night, carrying highly secret material. And that clandestine material will only be available--after midnight--to those who have signed non-disclosure notices. The plot of the new Dan Brown novel? No, it’s actually how reviewers such as myself obtained our copies of the much-anticipated The Lost Symbol, the follow-up to the Da Vinci Code. And as we read it in (literally) the cold light of dawn, we wonder: is it likely to match the earlier book’s all-conquering, phenomenal success?

Firstly, it should be noted that The Lost Symbol has incorporated all the elements that so transfixed readers in The Da Vinci Code: a complex, mystifying plot (with the reader set quite as many challenges as the protagonist); breathless, helter-skelter pace (James Patterson's patented technique of keeping readers hooked by ending chapters with a tantalisingly unresolved situation is very much part of Dan Brown’s armoury). And, of course, the winning central character, resourceful symbologist Robert Langdon, is back, risking his life to crack a dangerous mystery involving the Freemasons (replacing the controversial trappings of the Catholic Church and homicidal monks of the last book). And while Dan Brown will never win any prizes for literary elegance, his prose is always succinctly at the service of delivering a thoroughly involving thriller narrative in vividly evoked locales (here, Washington DC, colourfully conjured).

Robert Langdon flies to Washington after an urgent invitation to speak in the Capitol building. The invitation appears to have come from a friend with copper-bottomed Masonic connections, Peter Solomon. But Langdon has been tricked: Solomon has, in fact, been kidnapped, and (echoing the grisly opening of the last book) a macabre mutilation plunges Langdon into a tortuous quest. His friend’s severed hand lies in the Capitol building, positioned to point to a George Washington portrait that shows the father of his country as a pagan deity. The ruthless criminal nemesis here is another terrifying figure in Brown’s gallery of grotesques: Mal’akh, a powerfully built eunuch with a body festooned with tattoos. Mal’akh is seeking a Masonic pyramid that possesses a formidable supernatural power, and a pulse-pounding hunt is afoot, with Langdon stalled rather than aided by the CIA.

Caveats are pointless here; Dan Brown, comfortably the world’s most successful author, is utterly review-proof. And there's no arguing with the fact that he has his finger on the pulse of the modern thriller reader, furnishing the mechanics of the blockbuster adventure with energy and invention. Like its predecessor, The Lost Symbol will unquestionably be--in fact, already is--a publishing phenomenon. --Barry Forshaw

Review
As engaging a hero as you could wish for...A narrative that can grip you like a vice --Mail on Sunday

Unputdownable...Gripping...Jaw-dropping...The blockbuster read of the year. --News of the World

You'll devour this latest offering - it's been well worth the wait. --The Sun

So compelling that several times I came close to a cardiac arrest...The Lost Symbol is as perfectly constructed as the Washington architecture it escorts us around. --Sunday Express

With best-seller status never in doubt, Brown has written another page-turner...A gripping read --BBC News

From the Publisher
The Lost Symbol is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's No. 1 international phenomenon with 81 million copies in print worldwide and the UK's biggest selling paperback novel of all time, and it will once again feature Dan Brown's unforgettable protagonist, Robert Langdon. This book's narrative takes place in a 12-hour period, and from the first page, Dan's readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape.The Lost Symbol is a brilliant and compelling thriller. Dan Brown's prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book.

'This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey', says Dan Brown himself. 'Weaving five years of research into the story's 12-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon's life clearly moves a lot faster than mine'.

Customer Reviews

Interesting but very Staid
The Lost Symbol takes a long time to get going and although there are some interesting observations around The Masons and Washington's history, the plot really does creek quite badly. It's been a while since I read Dan Brown's other books but I do not remember if the constant use of highlighting people's thoughts throughout the narrative was something he used before but it was very noticeable and irritating here. The 'twist' (without giving it away) was odd as the early part of the book misleads in this regard. The Lost Symbol did keep my interest until the end but left me feeling mainly deflated in terms of expectation.

Dire
Dan Brown isn't a literary genius but I loved Angels and Demons and da Vinci Code (having both paperback and hardback illustrated versions) but the Lost Symbol is just plain dire. The previous books are rollicking yarns that have pace, tension, humour and a bit of controversy thrown in for fun.

In the Lost symbol the charcaters are unintelligent and annoying. It is not possible to care about them as they wandering aimless about without much rhyme or reason to avoid yet another weirdo (this time instead of being albino he is covered in tatoos but other than that...). Noetic 'science' (aka noetic tosh), too many pages filled up to make the book longer and an ending I just wanted to finish to say 'there done it, now I never have to see it again'.

The first two Dan Brown books weren't brilliant but at least they had some situations and ideas that made you occasionally think and more often laugh at the absurdity but at least they were entertaining. The Lost Symbol is just plain uninteresting, the story (for what it is worth) could have been written in about 50 pages (the rest of the book is pure padding). Ultimately it is too self referencing and tries too hard to spin some sort of ancient historical interest that the USA simply doesn't have.

It won't get read again for anything and I wouldn't insult anyone by trying to sell this second hand - it just deserves the paper recycling bin.

Entertaining - though not as good as Da Vinci Code
The Lost Symbol opens with Robert Langdon being called to Washington DC at short notice to deliver a speech. The request has come from his old friend, Peter Solomon, head of the Smithsonian Institution and also a high-ranking Mason. When Langdon gets to the Capitol Building, he quickly discovers that there is no event planned and that Solomon has not invited him. Instead he has been lured there because an unknown individual believes that Langdon can help him to unlock an "ancient portal" hidden in Washington DC. The first clue is delivered via a severed hand (Solomon's). In next to no time Langdon finds himself teaming up with Solomon's sister (a former romantic interest) frantically deceiphering clues in a bid to save his friend Peter, all the while on the run from the authorities - and also from a mysterious eunuch with a distinctive tatooed appearance who is desperate to discover the most closely guarded secrets of the Freemasons.

Whilst there are obvious similarities to The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol focuses on new territory, specifically the world of Freemasons. Unfortunately, while interesting, the revelations lack the "wow" factor of The Da Vinci revelations. The Lost Symbol is still an enjoyable book, but it's definitely not as good as The Da Vinci Code. I'd put it more on a par with his earlier novels.

The book takes a while to find its momentum. The early chapters are cluttered with back story after back story. Also lots of "encyclopedia speak". Dan Brown has clearly done lots of research while writing this book, but do we need to be told ALL of it? Sometimes it felt more like I was reading excerpts from Wikipedia than a novel! The pace does pick up though, and Dan Brown is still the master of the hanging chapters that get you staying up late reading "just one more" - it's a long book, but you tear through it. You do need to be willing to ride with the (many) improbabilities, like the idea that Langdon could immediately identify the owner of a severed hand or that the CIA would let him help himself to criminal evidence or that he would totally forget that he was carrying a secret and vital box with him (until of course it was convenient for him to remember). The final chapters are also a let down: they drag out and the main twist is unlikely to come as a surprise.

Despite these flaws, most of The Lost Symbol moves at a good pace and kept me entertained throughout. Ultimately it delivers much what you would expect it to and if you've enjoyed previous novels by Dan Brown, it's a pretty safe bet that you'll enjoy this one too.