Book Review - The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Category Book Review Dan Brown The Lost Symbol
Ok, it would have been hard to just flat-out ignore Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol after The Da Vinci Code was so popular. I wasn't one of the ones who had to read it immediately, so I put myself on the hold list at the library to get it whenever I got to the top. After finishing the book, my overall reaction is... meh. It's mildly entertaining, and I was interested to see how it would end. But it seemed to repeat the same scene formula over and over. In addition, it could have been at least a third shorter without losing any impact. The best thing I can I say is that I won't have to see the movie the first weekend it opens... :)
Brown has another novel here that's similar to Da Vinci Code, only using the Masonic legends as the secret sauce. Robert Langdon is called by his friend Peter Solomon to deliver a speech to a group in Washington DC. But when he gets there, he finds the meeting room empty. A phone call sheds light on the situation... he's been tricked into coming to DC in order to help solve a mystery involving hidden clues in Washington that will reveal the ultimate "Hidden Word" in Masonic lore that will open up the Ancient Mysteries. The mystery caller has Solomon held hostage so that Langdon will deliver. As clues are uncovered, more and more people get pulled into the action, with the possibility that certain secrets could be revealed that would constitute a national crisis.
So why isn't this a "must-read"? Obviously with an author of Dan Brown's stature, you have high expectations. After Da Vinci Code, he had a high standard to meet. But it seems as if the hidden secret society genre has been played to extremes lately, and another novel along the same lines doesn't leave much room for new directions. Brown has Langdon in a predictable pattern throughout Lost Symbol. He's presented with a puzzle, he doesn't know the answer, pressure mounts, and then a revelation occurs. Have something bad happen, and then repeat the series of actions... over and over. Furthermore, it seems like about a third of the book in the middle covers the same ground repeatedly without advancing the story or the revelations much. As such, the 510 pages could have been done in about 300 with much better results. It also doesn't help that you're never quite sure where the line between truth and fiction lies in his interpretation and recitation of facts and figures. Are there mystery basements and subbasements under the Capitol? Did a number of major historical figures belong to Masonic societies? Were structures like the Washington monument built with Masonic symbols in the design, or is it all just numeric manipulation after the fact?
I don't regret the time spent reading The Lost Symbol. I expected mind candy and entertainment, and that's what I got. I simply think it could have been much better than it actually was.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed
Ok, it would have been hard to just flat-out ignore Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol after The Da Vinci Code was so popular. I wasn't one of the ones who had to read it immediately, so I put myself on the hold list at the library to get it whenever I got to the top. After finishing the book, my overall reaction is... meh. It's mildly entertaining, and I was interested to see how it would end. But it seemed to repeat the same scene formula over and over. In addition, it could have been at least a third shorter without losing any impact. The best thing I can I say is that I won't have to see the movie the first weekend it opens... :)
Brown has another novel here that's similar to Da Vinci Code, only using the Masonic legends as the secret sauce. Robert Langdon is called by his friend Peter Solomon to deliver a speech to a group in Washington DC. But when he gets there, he finds the meeting room empty. A phone call sheds light on the situation... he's been tricked into coming to DC in order to help solve a mystery involving hidden clues in Washington that will reveal the ultimate "Hidden Word" in Masonic lore that will open up the Ancient Mysteries. The mystery caller has Solomon held hostage so that Langdon will deliver. As clues are uncovered, more and more people get pulled into the action, with the possibility that certain secrets could be revealed that would constitute a national crisis.
So why isn't this a "must-read"? Obviously with an author of Dan Brown's stature, you have high expectations. After Da Vinci Code, he had a high standard to meet. But it seems as if the hidden secret society genre has been played to extremes lately, and another novel along the same lines doesn't leave much room for new directions. Brown has Langdon in a predictable pattern throughout Lost Symbol. He's presented with a puzzle, he doesn't know the answer, pressure mounts, and then a revelation occurs. Have something bad happen, and then repeat the series of actions... over and over. Furthermore, it seems like about a third of the book in the middle covers the same ground repeatedly without advancing the story or the revelations much. As such, the 510 pages could have been done in about 300 with much better results. It also doesn't help that you're never quite sure where the line between truth and fiction lies in his interpretation and recitation of facts and figures. Are there mystery basements and subbasements under the Capitol? Did a number of major historical figures belong to Masonic societies? Were structures like the Washington monument built with Masonic symbols in the design, or is it all just numeric manipulation after the fact?
I don't regret the time spent reading The Lost Symbol. I expected mind candy and entertainment, and that's what I got. I simply think it could have been much better than it actually was.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed
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Comments
The other thing that got to me was the infallibility of the bad guy, maybe until the very end; I won't say :).
Posted by Yancy Lent At 16:56:19 On 14/11/2009 | - Website - |
Really folks, you can actually write a 200 tightly constructed book and we'll buy it.
Posted by Craig Wiseman At 17:29:24 On 14/11/2009 | - Website - |
They are all a collection of really cool facts tied together with a terrible plot. FFS, the butler did it in Da Vinci Code!
Posted by Paul Mooney At 20:36:52 On 14/11/2009 | - Website - |
I'm 110% with Craig on the inability of editors to, um, edit lately. Apparently, once an author becomes famous, they get to overrule the editor whenever they want - either that or the editors don't even try with certain authors.
Posted by Rob McDonagh At 12:07:46 On 15/11/2009 | - Website - |