The Lost Symbol

Brown, Dan. (2009) The Lost Symbol. New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

ISBN: 9780385504225

Pages: 509

Genre: suspense/thriller

Annotation: Robert Langdon must solve a Mason riddle or face death.

Summary: Robert Langdon is called to Washington to give a lecture by an old friend. Instead, he finds the old friend has been kidnapped and that Langdon must solve a Mason riddle to save him. Langdon does not have an easy choice: solve the riddle and uncover knowledge kept secret for a reason or face death at the hands of a chilling villain.

Evaluation: good read

I had mixed feelings about this book. In regards to characters there were hits and misses. Langdon’s determination to save lives and solve the riddle endears him to the reader. It is hard, though, for the reader to live the experience with him because he is too levelheaded at times. The kidnapper is portrayed very well: he is a malevolent character the reader wants to look away from but finds compelling. I felt the character of Trish, Katherine’s assistant, was as interesting as Katherine and that more could have been done with her character. The storyline is good because the steps leading to the end are interesting and I wanted to see the end result. On the other hand, there were a lot of elements in the story which made it bog down a bit. Noetic Science was one element I especially had mixed feelings on. It is fascinating but also seems a better fit for science fiction because it, to me, just seems to “out there”. The atmosphere of the story is mostly well done. Noetic Science seems too implausible, but the descriptions of history, buildings and etc. were interesting. This is a good read for those wanting to read about Masons, Washington DC and stories where past secrets intersect with the present.

What else to read:

Other books by Dan Brown.

The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry for a race to solve past secrets which could influence the present.

Secrets of the Symbols: The Unauthorized Guide to Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol by Dan Burstein and Arne de Keijzer for learning more about The Lost Symbol.

The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry by Jay Kinney for learning more about the Masons.