Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Book with masonic content

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Vehicles move through the murky night, carrying highly secret material. And that clandestine material will only be available--after midnight--to those who have signed non-disclosure notices. The plot of the new Dan Brown novel? No, it’s actually how reviewers such as myself obtained our copies of the much-anticipated The Lost Symbol, the follow-up to the Da Vinci Code. And as we read it in (literally) the cold light of dawn, we wonder: is it likely to match the earlier book’s all-conquering, phenomenal success?

Firstly, it should be noted that The Lost Symbol has incorporated all the elements that so transfixed readers in The Da Vinci Code: a complex, mystifying plot (with the reader set quite as many challenges as the protagonist); breathless, helter-skelter pace (James Patterson's patented technique of keeping readers hooked by ending chapters with a tantalisingly unresolved situation is very much part of Dan Brown’s armoury). And, of course, the winning central character, resourceful symbologist Robert Langdon, is back, risking his life to crack a dangerous mystery involving the Freemasons (replacing the controversial trappings of the Catholic Church and homicidal monks of the last book). And while Dan Brown will never win any prizes for literary elegance, his prose is always succinctly at the service of delivering a thoroughly involving thriller narrative in vividly evoked locales (here, Washington DC, colourfully conjured).

Robert Langdon flies to Washington after an urgent invitation to speak in the Capitol building. The invitation appears to have come from a friend with copper-bottomed Masonic connections, Peter Solomon. But Langdon has been tricked: Solomon has, in fact, been kidnapped, and (echoing the grisly opening of the last book) a macabre mutilation plunges Langdon into a tortuous quest. His friend’s severed hand lies in the Capitol building, positioned to point to a George Washington portrait that shows the father of his country as a pagan deity. The ruthless criminal nemesis here is another terrifying figure in Brown’s gallery of grotesques: Mal’akh, a powerfully built eunuch with a body festooned with tattoos. Mal’akh is seeking a Masonic pyramid that possesses a formidable supernatural power, and a pulse-pounding hunt is afoot, with Langdon stalled rather than aided by the CIA.

Caveats are pointless here; Dan Brown, comfortably the world’s most successful author, is utterly review-proof. And there's no arguing with the fact that he has his finger on the pulse of the modern thriller reader, furnishing the mechanics of the blockbuster adventure with energy and invention. Like its predecessor, The Lost Symbol will unquestionably be--in fact, already is--a publishing phenomenon. --Barry Forshaw

The Lost Symbol takes a long time to get going and although there are some interesting observations around The Masons and Washington's history, the plot really does creek quite badly. It's been a while since I read Dan Brown's other books but I do not remember if the constant use of highlighting people's thoughts throughout the narrative was something he used before but it was very noticeable and irritating here. The 'twist' (without giving it away) was odd as the early part of the book misleads in this regard. The Lost Symbol did keep my interest until the end but left me feeling mainly deflated in terms of expectation.

Average Rating:

Rating: - Interesting but very Staid
The Lost Symbol takes a long time to get going and although there are some interesting observations around The Masons and Washington's history, the plot really does creek quite badly. It's been a while since I read Dan Brown's other books but I do not remember if the constant use of highlighting people's thoughts throughout the narrative was something he used before but it was very noticeable and irritating here. The 'twist' (without giving it away) was odd as the early part of the book misleads in this regard. The Lost Symbol did keep my interest until the end but left me feeling mainly deflated in terms of expectation.

Rating: - Drivel
This book only left me with a sense of bitterness that I will never get back the hours of my life that I wasted reading it. I've given it one star only because Amazon won't let me give none.

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Rating: - Brilliant
This book was brilliant, as good as the other Dan Brown Books. Read it in a day I couldn't put it down.

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Rating: - Please Enough Already
I have been a Dan Brown fan ever since reading The Da Vinci Code and have enjoyed all his novels (especially Angels and Demons) until now. I have, of course, learned to suspend cynical analysis when reading his convoluted thrillers but this is a poorly written load of the biggest claptrap I think I have ever read. The basic plot is built around a secret that would bring down the USA if revealed. But hold on, anyone who has bothered to look at the Great Seal or American currency already knows this secret. I won't go into detail, there are obviously people who love this rubbish and I wouldn't want to spoil anything for them. Most of the mysterious twists (give me strength) are easily guessable if you have an IQ higher than a bag of frozen peas, the more obscure ones are ludicrously obscure. Oh, and that secret location? You should have worked it out by about page 300 or you're really not trying.Brown seems to have decided to write an advert for the Freemasons who are really important, very good chaps, and for a mysterious "science" that makes your average fortune teller credible.
Dan Brown has made a fortune from this book and will, no doubt, make a fortune out of his next one, but not from me. Do us all a favour, Dan, take the money and run.

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Rating: - very poor
Like everyone I couldn't wait to read Dan Brown's latest book. What a complete waste of paper. If you are thinking of reading it save your money and time!

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