Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol combines tourism and terrorism for an exciting suspense novel.’
In this sequel to The Da Vinci Code, Harvard professor Robert Langdon teams up with a new sidekick and visits landmarks in Washington D.C. He uncovers occult symbols, deciphers ancient codes and tracks the footsteps of a murderer.
The book is aimed towards thrill-seeking junkies as readers will be biting their nails and yanking pages while also collecting a vast assortment of factoids.’
Unfortunately, the itinerary is long and the schedule proceeds with urgency, hardly giving the reader a second to breathe.
Brown’s characters use most of their designated coffee breaks to elaborate upon the history of the Freemasons and the strange pseudo-science of Noetics.’
Readers can supplement some of the novel’s weak descriptive paragraphs and dubious academic accounts with Google image searching and Wikipedia.’
The novel does adhere to enough geographical and historical fidelity for intellectual appreciation. Brown juxtaposes his technological sensibility with enough keen historical consciousness to lend a variety of subject matter and intrigue.
The Lost Symbol is a watered-down version of National Treasure. Unfortunately, unlike National Treasure there are no visuals or vindicating piles of gold at the journey’s end.’
Instead, the disappointing conclusion is 50 preachy pages offering only a worn-out ‘Reading Rainbow’ moral that encourages a pursuit of knowledge via studying antiquities.’
In other words, readers who truly want enlightenment should read archaic scriptures instead of this modern thriller.
However, those who enjoy Brown’s fast-paced and twisting plots won’t be disappointed.’
Brown stands true to his formula. Everything unfolds in precisely the same way as his other novels. However, though readers will be fully expecting the plot-twists, they will still be pleasantly impressed when they arise.’
Brown’s piece-by-piece revelation of important information concocts a cleverly complex and dangerous course for his protagonists, integrating high-tech hacking, wire-tapping, state-of-the-art military equipment, and gruesome ritualistic torture.’
Fans of Brown’s prior work can expect more of the same from The Lost Symbol. Just don’t use it as the replacement for a history textbook or as a surrogate for an actual vacation to Washington D.C.
