Book info

• Title The Lost Symbol
• Author Dan Brown
• Year 2009
• Genre Thriller

The Capitol Building, Washington DC: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon believes he is here to give a lecture. He is wrong. Within minutes of his arrival, a shocking object is discovered. It is a gruesome invitation into an ancient world of hidden wisdom. When Langdon's mentor, Peter Solomon - prominent mason and philanthropist - is kidnapped, Langdon realizes that his only hope of saving his friend's life is to accept this mysterious summons. It is to take him on a breathless chase through Washington's dark history. All that was familiar is changed into a shadowy, mythical world in which Masonic secrets and never-before-seen revelations seem to be leading him to a single impossible and inconceivable truth...

Thoughts

I wasn’t really expecting great things from this book, and that’s good, because it certainly didn’t deliver. Think of every single cliche you can from stories like National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code, and then pack them all into one book. Then add in a character who really should have been retired at his peak, who actually plays very little part in the story rather than running around blindly clutching at a bag.

That’s your lot.

There’s a lot of pyramid talk and some symbols, plus some family angst. I won’t give away the twist, but you’ll see it coming a mile off - like a freight train blaring its horn to clear the tracks. There are also some things that are not at all explained, like why they used that specific type of water, when he had no reason to try and keep him alive at all. Technology for the sake of it. All the research that Katherine has been doing, it doesn’t serve any plot point at all, except to create a bit of a fireball and then make her happy again at the end.

I was bored about halfway through, but I persevered. I do not, however, recommend this at all.

Rating: 1 / 5