Monday, December 28, 2009

Review: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown


Book Info:
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Hardcover: 528 pages
Publisher: Doubleday Books (September 15, 2009)
ISBN-13: 9780385504225
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Fiction
Source: Library
Rating: 2.5/5



As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object -- artfully encoded with five symbols -- is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation... one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom. When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon -- a prominent Mason and philanthropist -- is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him.






It's been quite a while since I read The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons, but I remember loving them. I think I spent a long weekend curled up with both book and I devoured them within just a few days. This time around I wasn't quite as impressed.

For the most part I found Brown's writing to be overdone. It seemed like he was mainly writing so that another movie could be made. I felt like he was trying so hard to be creative and secretive with the plot that it came across as cheesy quite a few times. Another thing that I found distracting was the excessive use of italics. All of the characters thoughts were in italics and I thought it was a bit much.

This was the first full length book I read on my Sony Reader though and I loved it. I loved the portability and really enjoyed the actual reading process. I love the physical feel of books and I was afraid I would like the Reader much, but that wasn't the case. I also loved the simplicity of getting the book from the library. It was really easy to download and transfer to my Reader. So, while The Lost Symbol wasn't a hit with me, my reader was. 2.5 stars

3 comments:

Sandy Nawrot said...

Yes, I too loved Davinci Code and Angels & Demons at the time I read them. I wonder if I would love them now? I think over time I get more discerning. Anyway, I will not be reading this one any time soon. I suppose if someone forced it into my hands I would, but I think there are so many other better things out there. Way to go, though on the reader! I love my Kindle!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I'm not planning on reading this one. Too many book and too little time (for so so books). The reviews really are not very good for the most part on this one.

Melissa...Have a great Happy and Healthy New Year. When is the baby due?

Unknown said...

To me I would much rather read the work of Stephen Berry or James Rollins than Dan Brown. A blurb on the cover of Map of Bones caught my eye when it told me that if I like Da Vinci Code (which I had) then I would really like Map of Bones.

The skeptical side of my brain said, yeah right. However, by the end of the first five pages I was hooked and bought the book right there and I've loved his stuff ever since. I think part of it is that his Sigma Force novels, including Map of Bones, involve a group of people solving a mystery...which I find more believable than one wunderkind like Dan Brown's books.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Dan Brown but if I have my choice I'll take a James Rollins or Steve Berry any day!