Book Review: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

"Sometimes all it takes is a tiny shift of perspective to see something familiar in a totally new light"

                                   - Dan Brown, The Lost Symbols

People are fascinated with esoteric subjects; hidden secrets, conspiracies, ancient mysteries, secret societies, etc.. And Dan Brown is particularly gifted at making up thrilling stories based on these things. Following the success of The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown published the novel, The Lost Symbol in 2009. As usual, the story involves secret societies, ancient mysteries, hidden ancient passageways, and a memorable villain. But is this book any good? Let's find out.





Synopsis:

Unlike the previous books where the settings were in Europe, in The Lost Symbol, the story is set in Washington D.C, US. In The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown's fictional hero, Professor Langdon is tangled up in a heart pounding adventure, racing against the clock to save the life of his friend, the consequence of it could change the world forever.

Peter Solomon, is Robert Langdon's long time friend. Peter, is also a 33 degree Mason, which tremendous power and wealth. In the beginning of the story, Robert Langdon accepted an invitation and a request from Peter to speak at a lecture about Masonic symbols. A private jet took Langdon to the Washington DC, as he stepped into the United States Capitol, he found out no lecture was ever scheduled to take place that night. Realizing something is amiss, he received a call from a mysterious individual, claiming that Peter has been kidnapped by him, and unless Robert Langdon help him to decode an ancient secret hidden by the Masonic order, he will never see his friend again.

Once again, Robert Langdon is on a race against a clock, this time, he has to decode an ancient secret to save his friend, a race to find the lost symbol...

What I think about the book:

I thought The Lost Symbol is a fun read, just like all other Dan Brown's novels, but after reading all 4 of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series, I am beginning to find these books formulaic. Dan Brown seems to follow this pattern in all of his books that often looks like the following: 1)Robert Langdon is thrown into the midst of a conspiracy that threatens the entire world, 2) Langdon meets up with a beautiful, intelligent woman, 3) The duo is on a race against the clock in a city searching for hidden clues, artifacts to unveil the conspiracy, 4) They encounter the villain at the end, 5) The villain somehow dies, 6) Everyone is happy and the world is safe again.

Indeed, I find Dan Brown's books repeats the same structure all the time. Perhaps Mr. Brown should think of something new in his next novel?

Despite the repetitiveness of the story structure, Dan Brown definitely deserve some credits for The Lost Symbol. First of all, I was unable to put down this book, in fact, I finished this book in one day (like all other Dan Brown novels). The pace of the story is very fast, and Dan Brown managed to create the atmosphere of esoteric vibe and kept it flowing in the story. This is why the book is so much fun to read, despite the fact the structure of the story is almost identical to his previous books.

Like all Dan Brown's books, religion is a main element in the story. In The Lost Symbol, Christianity is not portrayed in the positive light, and Dan Brown seems to be promoting the idea that all religions are one. While I agree that all religions are teaching people to be good, but I really don't understand how all religions can be the same, when differences between all religious beliefs are so different at their cores?