The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown


WHAT IS LOST...WILL BE FOUND.


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 DC, The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

That was from the novel’s jacket which has a lot of claims, among which :

• TLS will demonstrate that Dan Brown is the world’s most popular thriller writer.
• TLS has the most terrifying villain to date.
• TLS accelerates towards an unthinkable finale.

Unfortunately, out of the above, I am of the opinion that only the last claim can truly describes The Lost Symbol. While Dan Brown writes a great thriller, I don’t think he’s the world’s most popular. I think his fame is due to Da Vinci Code receiving very mixed and controversial reviews. If he had not written the Da Vinci Code , I don’t think he would be that popular. I also disagree that Lost Symbol has the most terrifying villain to date. I still think the villain in Angels and Demons is most terrifying so far.

However, I do agree that the Lost Symbol has an unexpected but rather lame ending, IMHO. It started quite interestingly with Prof Robert Langdon receiving a call to be a speaker at an event which he accepted as a favour to his friend although it’s last minute. However, upon arriving at the venue, he discovered that there’s no such event and the purpose of him being there is totally different.

The whole book covers less than 10 hours of event from start to end. Yet, there’s a total of 133 chapters (hey, 33...that’s a rather significant number in the storyline, clever old Dan) as each chapter is about 2 -5 pages long. As usual, Langdon spent a lot of time explaining/lecturing about the symbols and history behind a building, a location, a symbols, etc.

In terms of entertainment value, this book is quite entertaining and enjoyable and fans of Dan Brown would not be disappointed. New readers to Dan Brown might however, wonder what the fuss was all about.

I borrowed this copy from the local library.  No lost to me as I didn't waste any of my moolah.

Comments

  1. NetherlandApril 2, 2012 at 10:41 AM

    The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown is wonderful, for some reason, I didn't read the Da Vinci Code yet, so I'll catch up to that, but this book is awesome. It's adventurous, my favorite subject!

    ReplyDelete

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