The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon)

First of all, it's as a great story as all of Dan Brown's books are. However, this one had some reading impediments. Fist, the CIA has no domestic authority and certainly does not harass, investigate, arrest, torture or murder Americans. Second, Dan Brown is a brilliant mind and a master of Ancient Mysteries and lore but this book goes on for pages many times explaining all this to us in excruciating minutia and redundancies. That said, it's a great story and well worth reading despite the issues.

What consists of about 500+pages of puzzles, conspiracy theories, secret society initiations, hidden Freemason knowledge and the pairing of quantum physics with the New Age (or Old Age) theory of a universal consciousness? The new Dan Brown blockbuster, of course. After a successful run, or should I say chase, down the streets of Rome in Angels & Demons - Movie Tie-In: A Novel and Paris in " The Da Vinci Code ," Brown brings the action across the pond to the new world--the shining citadel that Deists around the globe proudly recognize as a onetime symbol of humanity's hope for a future illuminated with the fruition of everything man could create and imagine--Washington D. C.--the Lost Symbol. In our bipartisan political framework where the media rules and dictates what the common man desires--fame, celebrity, wealth, power, plasma TV, brand new billion dollar stadiums to celebrate the idea of a bread and circus for the 21st century--Brown stands at his pulpit of mainstream popularity and delivers a bit of a profound message for the masses. Pointing to the Capital building and the wondrous symbology of the American capital and its environs, he chastises the last---oops! --two hundred and thirty-three years, exclaiming that the very infighting that separated mankind from its own development and caused the founding of a nation that pushed aside religious and all other differences had crept into man's thinking yet again--and a veritable stirring of the ant pile that suggests a natural formation of hierarchical beings was in desperate need to return us to our original founding principles. Cleverly, as media evangelist, Brown hides his own message in a carefully honed vehicle--the popular suspense novel where he lays the cornerstone of his own genre founded and perfected by him, despite the numerous unsuccessful attempts at cloning its success. The reading public reaches for and grabs this, the Da Vinci Code School of Literature like infants seeking sugar-infused formula filled with vitamins and minerals necessary for standardized growth. And grow we do, when we read Brown's interesting philosophy cloaked within the conundrum of the bestselling thriller. Freely, for the price of $30 USD, we follow him into the bowels beneath the Rotunda and onto a magical mystery tour of arcane Americana that leads to the mythical pyramid of the Freemasons and perhaps to the rediscovery of ancient knowledge that will help us approximate the divinity of God. Using the science of Noetics as a springboard, Brown discusses the connection to the universe that we, Age of Aquarians, have been pondering since we knew how to ponder. Wonder of wonders, he deftly demonstrates the exponential power of group intention--where many minds are focused on a particular outcome, creating a phenomenal success for himself--many readers concentrated on Brown's next book--and lo and behold, it was a runaway success, commanding much discussion and speculation even before it was in print. How's that for a universal consciousness changing and redefining Brown's world as orchestrated by Brown? Brown will do for the theories purported by the Institute of Noetic Science what he did for all those egalitarians who loved the fact that Mary Magdeline was the first and foremost disciple of the Christ. Honestly, the intense interest that Brown generates in terms of his message for the masses in the language of the mainstream is close to phenomenal. He teaches. He instructs. And he gains disciples of his own that hang on his every word without the necessity of highbrow esoteric nonsense or the trill of a fancy phrase. Bottom line: This isn't great literature, but Dan Brown achieves the near impossible. After all the numerous imitations to the formula started in "Angels and Demons" and perfected in "The Da Vinci Code," in `The Lost Symbol,' he writes another spectacular whirlwind novel, replete with a crazed villain intent on destruction, a brilliant woman scientist that acts as sacred feminine to the protagonist Professor Langdon's yang, a time-sensitive drive to solve an ancient puzzle both word and numeric, the failure of which means death to an unsuspecting innocent and rings within rings of conspirators who are not quite sure which side they are on until the very last page. Like the conundrums of which he writes, Brown packages a message within a message that in the case of The Lost Symbol subtly urges America back to its roots, rising above the labyrinth of religious differences and bipartisan politics to soar above on the level of the Capital Dome to glimpse at its true destiny. Formulaic at times predictable, with characters speaking as if they just emerged from a cave to see a light that for seconds blinds them, The Lost Symbol entertains and works with no need for either six nor the Masonic 33 degrees of separation. Recommended. Diana Faillace Von Behren "reneofc"

I have to say right off the bat that a lot of readers apparently didn't like The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Maybe their expectations were so high after The Da Vinci Code that no author could live up to them. I don't know. For me, The Lost Symbol was a pure joy to read. I understand that people often view things differently from each other, but I'm amazed by the sheer outrage this book seems to have stirred up during the past year. Anyway, The Lost Symbol takes place in Washington, D.C. and has Paul Langdon trying to save the life of his close friend, Peter Solomon, while attempting to unravel the hidden codes of the Freemasons and the effect they had on the founding of our nation. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? When Paul Langdon is asked by an old friend/mentor to give a lecture in Washington, D.C. at the spur of the moment, Langdon agrees and flies to the nation's capital from Boston. Once he reaches the Capital building, Langdon quickly discovers something is wrong and that he's been duped by a very clever impostor who calls himself, Ma'lak. Ma'lak is a giant of man with his muscled body tattooed with archaic symbols. He's also highly intelligent, rich, and seeking the hidden portal that supposedly leads to enlightenment and is discussed in the ancient doctrines of Freemasonry. He firmly believes the portal is hidden somewhere in Washington, D.C. Ma'lak has threatened to kill Peter Solomon if Langdon doesn't assist him in locating the portal by midnight. To prove how serious he is about finding it, Ma'lak has left Peter Solomon's severed hand lying on the floor of the Capital building with clues to help Langdon along in his quest. Langdon, however, must deal with a C.I.A. section's chief, seeking to stop Ma'lak in achieving his goal, believing the results will tear the country apart. Langdon doesn't know what to think because all is not what it seems. It doesn't take Langdon long to realize he doesn't know whom to trust. With the clock ticking to the inevitable countdown, our Harvard professor races to unlock the secrets of our founding fathers and to find a portal that may exist or may not. If it does, then it will offer the answers to the ancient mysteries of mankind. At the beginning of the book, the author clearly states that the scientific research he discusses in his novel is actually being carried out today. I just recently had a debate with someone who stated The Lost Symbol was nothing but fiction and had no bases for reality. I totally disagreed with him because though I don't have a background in science, I do try to stay abreast of the current research in quantum physics, astronomy, and the understanding of the human mind in its relationship to the Universe. I've also followed many of the discoveries that have been done in the area of Noetic Sciences throughout the last twenty-five years. What's discussed in The Lost Symbol blew me away its authenticity and how it's carefully woven into the plot. Brown definitely did his research and used the scientific evidence that's out there as a basis for his fantastic novel. This is part of the reason why the book was so entertaining. Clearly, not everyone who read the novel had the same reaction as I did, but what can I say. If anyone out there has the slightest interest in man's quest to understand his place in the Universe, then check this book out for some interesting food for thought. On top of that, it's also a damn good read that has each chapter ending with a twist that literary compels the reader to go on to the next one. The Lost Symbol is certainly one of the best books I've read in the past decade, and I highly recommend it. Buy the book, read it with an open mind, and you might walk away from it like I did, saying, "Wow!"

Diving into "The Lost Symbol" was much like jumping into the deep end of a murky swimming pool. You're expecting it to be cool and refreshing, somewhat familiar, but... once you're down under, you realize that this is your neighbor's pool and though it's still a bit comforting, it's not exactly what you expected. Welcome in the third book in the "DaVinci Code" trilogy. Robert Langdon is a symbologist professor who is known world wide because of his efforts to save the Vatican City during the previous two books. He is smart, funny, and really really cynical. He usually has ties to very religious people, though is still able to separate himself from their beliefs and his own findings. Langdon has remained true to his beliefs and experiences through "The DaVinci Code" and "Angels & Demons". In "The Lost Symbol", Langdon is duped into traveling last minute to a conference where he will be giving a speech on symbology at the capital of the USA for very important people. Upon his arrival there, he quickly finds out that there is something terribly wrong. The CIA is involved, as well as his dear friend's amputated hand- which lies in the middle of a very important conference room floor. The chase is on and "The Lost Symbol" carries out the course of just over one day's time. "The Lost Symbol" carried the same character ideas as "The DaVinci Code" and "Angels & Demons", but it didn't follow the same criteria. "The Lost Symbol" actually had LESS symbology in it than the other two in this trilogy. "Symbol" also had a lot more of a religious lecture to it. While the other two books felt like they were analysing in order to learn, this one was a bit preachy... especially nearing the end. "Symbol" felt like a thriller, more than detective work. While "DaVinci" and "Angels" kept me GLUED to my seat so that I could learn what the world meant, I could put "Symbol" down for DAYS and still not feel like I was missing anything important. As a whole, instead of as the third book in a trilogy, "Symbol" was interesting. It still dissects current day philosophy and pushes you to re-evaluate your thoughts. It still has the enchanting characters that you absolutely hate the villan, love the heroine, and of course Langdon is always fun to watch (love cynicism). Some of the story was a bit... much, though. It turned into a bit of a murder mystery by the middle of the book and I was losing count of the bodies- none of the bodies were important characters, though. As in "Angels", most everyone who died was special in some way. Wait, I said I wasn't going to compare the three books. But, it's hard NOT to. I read the first two and was expecting the same formula and the same abilities. "Symbol" was... entertaining, but... it was a bit of a let down. Instead of non-fiction/ science fiction, I got thriller/ murder mystery- [even a bit of "fantasy" to me. He starts talking about souls and spirits, etc] "The Lost Symbol" is worth the read... just maybe at a discounted price... in softcover. I can DEFINITELY wait on the $1 rental of this movie, if it ever comes out, rather than going to the theatre.

I like all the times the story change and kept you in suspense. Like very much the plot, something different.

I have had several thoughts on this book. This book was put-down-able. The other Dan Brown books were fast paced and I had to read it all. It was impossible to tear me away from The Digital Fortress or Angels & Demons or the Da Vinci Code or Deception Point. However, with this novel, I was able to put it down and walk away from it without coming back for several days. I wish that it wasn't this way, because I love Dan Brown's novels, but alas, I feel like he is losing his touch. I think that this happens to a lot of author's once they become well known and popular. Lets look at J.K. Rowlings. After the first several books came out, she became well known. Hence she came out with book number five, which was one of the most painful books I have ever read in my life. It took me two - three months to get through it. Luckily I am such a faithful follower that I returned, and book six redeemed it. But even book seven, you were left wondering how much better it would have been if there hadn't been pressure from publishers and expectations from adoring fans. Another example of this can be seen in Stephanie Meyer. The first book of twilight was amazing... the second two were okay, but the forth book, when she became a megastar, was horrible. It took twists that made me vomit in my mouth. I stopped reading it at page 400 because, even considering it was about vampires and warewolves, it had crossed a line so unbelievable for the world she had created, that I couldn't accept it anymore. So Dan Brown is in good company... lets just hope that he his next novel is better. Now, all of that said and done, I still give the book a 3.5/5 stars. Lets face it, it was a Dan Brown, so it still had the mystery and scandal and conspiracy theories that make all of his novels so wonderful to read. I found myself wanting to know more and more about the Freemasons and the world that they live in. I wanted to somehow sneak into their secret meetings and find out their secrets. I know, I know, it is like they are a cult or something else horrible, but what can I say... I am human and I when I hear about secrets, I just have to know what it is all about. Another positive side about The Lost Symbol is that, for once, Robert Langdon's female counterpart was significantly older and she was portrayed more as a friend then as a lover. I for one was starting to get tired of Landon always hooking up with the lady at the end of the novel. Now, lets talk about what went wrong... Is it possible that Robert Langdon got stupider??? I mean in the other novels, he seemed to figure things out fairly easily, but in this one, someone was always guiding his hand and having to explain things to him. I was very frustrated with him. There were times when I was figuratively screaming at him telling him to wise up! And could he get any more stubborn? It seems like he had all of this evidence put before him throughout the entire novel, and he refused to budge, or even to reevaluate his stance on the Free Masons. It was annoying. Now another problem that was in this novel was the last 50-75 pages. It was so anti-climatic. Why did they have to go to the secret location? There was no point in it. Everything could have been explained to Langdon without going there. And upon finding out what the great secret word was, I was left wondering why was it so secret? What was so important about that secret that it was worth risking everything to protect. It was a huge let down. And I was also left wondering how Peter Solomon seemed to know everything about it, when no one had decoded the pyramid before. Overall, this novel was a huge let down that I am still trying to recover from. But I guess that with all the hype surrounding it, I shouldn't have expected as much as I did... It wasn't really fair to Dan Brown. So the question is, if Dan Brown puts out another novel, will I rush to the bookstore and pick it up and read it??? Answer: In a heartbeat!

This book grabbed me from page 1 and I read the entire book on a flight to Hong Kong. The Noetic Sciences and Freemason incorporation into the plot were fascinating and led me to further reading on Noetic Sciences. I am not sure why all the poor reviews of this book. It was far better than Angels and Demons and much more believable in terms of plot and characters. The book was very long but pacing was excellent and the characters were not doing anything superhuman like parachuting out of an exploding helicopter as in Angels and Demons. This book was as good as Digital Fortress which was also and excellently paced book. The research into the Bible and Noetic sciences was fascinating. I liked the way it was all tied together over a few chapters at the end of the book and not just all explained and wrapped up in one chapter as many thrillers do. It showed the care that Mr. Brown took with the subject research, by fleshing it out over a few chapters so the reader could sit back and relax after the excitement of the previous chapters as the action came to a climax. It would have been unfair to the underlying subject material to just end it after the main action and the villain is revealed. I liked seeing Robert Langdon out of his depth a bit and be surprised by something he did not know. I hope he will revisit some of these themes and characters in later books, it would be a shame to go this deep into such rich fertile soil and then just abandon it as just another day in Robert Langdon's life. I would hope some of the revelations would change the character in some small way or what is the point of this long unwinding novel if it is just a forgotten adventure in his past. Overall it is an engaging read and I would recommend it to everyone. I hope it will eventually be a film in the Robert Langdon canon but I am not sure it had the acclaim of his previous adventures to get this off the ground. I enjoyed all of Dan Brown's books and I look forward to Inferno. I just wanted to state how much I appreciated and enjoyed this novel. It made a 17 hour flight go by much faster as I tuned these pages and got lost in this great story and actually learned more about some interesting topics that I think everyone would benefit from researching further. From my further reading I can see that Noetic Science is attempting to give humanity a bright future by exploring the potential we all have to be greater that we think we can be. As the Beatles said in Yellow Submarine. "Its all in the mind "......Enjoy....

There are two ways to consider the contents of this book. First, it is gripping novel about efforts to save the life of Robert Landon's friend, Peter Solomon. Second, it delves into religious thought, drawing each reader into his/her personal understanding of a Higher Power. Either way, it is book well worth reading. On the mystery side, Brown takes us on a roller-coaster ride with a climax the reader never sees coming. One the religious side, Brown's discussion of Freemasonry is intriguing for one who has little to no understanding of what it all about. Whether the portrayal is accurate or not remains, in my mind at least, an unknown, but, if true, an interesting glimpse at a mysterious organization. What I found especially thought provoking was Brown's treatment of whether God exists in the form many religions would have us believe, or, whether God is in each of us waiting to be developed to the fullest sense as our mind and intellect grow as we age, accepting what we don't know, striving to ever learn more. He makes no case against a Supreme Being, but simply questions what form we should look for as we puzzle through finding both God and ourselves. When Langdon speaks of being in a canoe, in the middle of a lake, in the middle of the night, looking up at the sky, questioning its origin, he touches the very essence of what many of us experience when doing the same thing, whenever and wherever it occurs. At age 80, Brown has stirred my thought process, for which I must thank him. I recommend reading this book, very carefully indeed, allowing the underlying premise pull you in, perhaps questioning your own beliefs.

I haven't yet finish it, but it's interesting.

They delivered the book almost a week earlier then predicted, really happy!! The book is awesome I love the suspense

Writing is an art, and Dan Brown proves himself a master yet again in this thrilling novel featuring the highly resourceful (and extremely lucky) Harvard symbologist, professor Robert Langdon. What sets apart Dan Brown's books is his ability to use real-world art work, monuments, and actual pieces of history and weave them seamlessly into a complicated web of secrets, philosophy and hope. His other recent books - Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code - bear testimony to his style that has become the trademark of Dan Brown. In The Lost Symbol, this time the plot is based in Washington D.C. and revolves around a centuries-old Masonic secret and its revelations. Langdon, who is unexpectedly called to D.C. on short notice, discovers his dear friend has been kidnapped and in grave danger, the Harvard professor quickly finds himself unwittingly involved in a deep conspiracy involving an ancient secret, the CIA and an issue of national urgency. Paired with the attractive Katherine Solomon, the duo use both scientific techniques as well as Langon's potent knowledge of symbology to crack the ancient mystery placed before them before its too late. The pacing is quick and the reader is drawn into the world of ritualistic secrets, age-old philosophy, history, medieval art and theology. What is impressive is the amount of research that has been put into writing this book - most (although not ALL) historical references are in fact accurate, and while the element of fiction does tend to overplay reality, it is to be expected in a work of fiction. However, one aspect of The Lost Symbol I didn't particularly appreciate is the drawn-out closure of the book. In my opinion, the ending seems to linger on for some 20 pages after the climax, where the narration turns elaborately religious - almost to the point of becoming a lecture - where the author seems to have taken the liberty of preaching his personal opinion on the concept and Word of God, the role of man and other theo-philosophical concepts that aren't really central to the book...and which some people might find offensive. However, I still give this 5-stars because I don't think its fair that some 20 odd pages should mar the rating of an otherwise excellent book. A must read to all fans of Dan Brown books; and a good read for newcomers as well.

Super spannend geschrieben! Lohnt sich absolut. Und wie immer bei Dan Brown, lernt man nebenbei noch einiges.

Esse não é o melhor trabalho de Dan Brown na minha opinião, mas ainda assim eu adoro o livro; cheio de reviravoltas e com um final surpreendente. A edição é linda! As ilustrações são excelentes para ajudar quem não conhece tão bem os locais que Robert Langdon se encontra e não quer pausar a leitura a todo momento para pesquisar na internet. Recomendo!