From the book jacket:
In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world's most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling - a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths...all under the watchful eye of Brown's most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.
As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A distrubing object -artfully encoded with five symbols - is discovered in the Capitol Building. Landgon reconizes the object as an ancient invitation...one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.
When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon - a prominent Mason and philanthropist - is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations - all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.
As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning paced story that offers surprises at every turn. The Lost Symbol is exactly what Brown's fans have been waiting for...his most thrilling novel yet.
Well. Where to start. I suppose the last paragraph from the book jacket, where it says that Brown's fans have been waiting for his most thrilling novel yet...but I was very disappointed.
It took me over 3 weeks to finish this book, and I read
The Da Vinci Code in 2 days. I was so excited for this book and it really did not live up to the hype. I wanted to like this book, I really did, but when it takes about 300 pages to get into it, that's not really a good sign. I thought there was way too much diversion from the real story which really made it drag on.
I actually really enjoyed the religious references in
The Da Vinci Code, despite my lack of participation in any religion. In this novel, I felt like there was a lot of disconnected religion - it didn't make me want to go research it.
Another thing that made the story drag on was much of Katherine Solomon's research. Kidnapped Peter Solomon's sister has an underground lab in the Capitol Building - pretty unrealistic, but much of what was described about her research in the very beginning of the novel was so vague that it wasn't thrilling. I kept wishing the pages to go by faster, but it wasn't happening.
I continued to read despite my lack of interest because Brown is such a great writer I felt I owed it to him to finish the book. I was curious about what exactly the symbols meant, and I will admit it was exciting when the big twist of who exactly the kidnapper was was revealed.
I also had to reread several pages at times when there were multiple Masonic definitions. I couldn't keep that stuff straight. Like I mentioned before, I was really intrigued in
The Da Vinci Code about the religious aspects and the symbols but in this one, I just wasn't into it.
Despite it all, sadly, I don't recommend this book. I haven't read but maybe 1 other review of this book, and I'm curious what others thought. I still have never read
Angels & Demons, but I'm not sure now if I'll give it a try.
